Monday 10 December 2007

Double FOs, and Raspberry Pear Pie (Warning: Tons O' Pics)

A double whammy of FOs today. First up, Lady Eleanor, in all her unblocked glory.Pattern: Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole by Kathleen Power Johnson (Scarf Style) Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colour way #243, ten skeins Needles: 5 mm Modifications: The standard one: dropped the needles size down to 5 mm (pattern calls for 6.5 mm) And then I just knit until I ran out of yarn, basically. Notes: it's still pretty big for my small-ish frame. I think it would be a great size for someone a bit bigger than me, or I could have not cast on for as many blocks, but I still love it to no end. I may have spent most of the evening cuddled up in it. My apologies for the blurry photos, for some reason, my camera is not fond of taking photos in the mirror. I probably should've asked for a new camera for Christmas. Oh well. Next year. Next up: Quoddy Scarf. This is going to be a Christmas gift for my Dad. Pattern: One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Yarn: Briggs & Little Regal, in Quoddy Blue. 2 skeins. Needles: 6 mm Modifications: What's to modify? it's four stitches, over and over and over again. If you need a mod, you probably are knitting a different scarf. Notes: This is now my go-to scarf stitch pattern. It's simple, completely reversable, and utter perfection. Love it. I do not, however, love this yarn. It's super itchy, and I usually have a really high tolerance for itchy yarns. I'm going to block this in a lovely conditioner-filled bath, to soften it up. And since I infinitely prefer modelled shots of FOs, here are a couple of me wearing my Dad's future scarf: And if you are looking for a delicious new pie that you probably haven't tried before, look no further. I give you... Raspberry Pear Pie. I don't know where I got the idea, but I was hell bent on making a raspberry and pear pie for Sunday dinner (some friends and I have a regular Sunday home cooked dinner gathering. It's a feast, and feels so homey and comforting, especially in winter. I usually bring pie or wine.). I kind of made up the recipe as I went, so here are the notes for it, so you can make your own raspberry pear pie. It would likely also make an excellent crumble, for those who think making pie crust is dreadful business. Ingredients: - Pie pastry of your choice (I use the one on the back of the Tenderflake box, and it's great) - 2 pints of raspberries (500 g) - about 9-12 pears (I used Bosc pears) - quarter cup of orange juice - 2 tablespoons of brown sugar - 1 tablespoon of cinnamon - half cup of white sugar (you'll need 2 quarter cups in each step, plus more for dusting) - a pinch of salt - 3 table spoons of flour Preheat your oven to 350(f) degrees. Peel and core the pears, and cut into chunks. In a large saucepan, simmer the orange juice, pear chunks, pinch of salt,and a quarter cup of the white sugar. Stir reguarly, and let them simmer until nice and tender, about 20 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your pears. This is necessary because pears do not behave like apples in pie- they won't get soft if you skip this step. When the pear chunks are tender, transfer to a strainer and let cool. The strainer is to let any excess juice drain off (and to avoid watery pie syndrome). While the pears are cooling, wash the raspberries, and pat them dry (again, to avoid watery pie syndrome). Now sort out your pastry- roll it out, throw a pre-fab pie shell together, whatever you please. Now throw the pears in a bowl, although the raspberries, cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, and the remaining quarter cup of white sugar. Toss together lightly. Dump into pie crust. Now for the top: The star top is something I did before I perfected my pastry making skills. I was making an apple pie for a Christmas party, and my dough was refusing to stay together and be lifted on top of the apple pie. So, I grabbed a cookie cutter, cut out a bunch of stars, threw them on top, and baked it like that. That was 5 years ago, and I'm still getting requests for 'Star Pie'. Lightly dust the top with some white sugar and bake for 1 hour, although you may wish to put foil around the edges of your pie crust to prevent burning, if your oven is prone to that kind of acting out. Sorry there are no photos of the interior- in our fervour to eat the pie, we didn't pause for photographs. And the whole thing is gone now. For a pie that no one had ever tried before, it certianly was popular.

13 comments:

Farrah said...

Oh, your Lady E is just ridiculous in its gorgeousness. I am inclined to purple, myself, and the heavy plum of it just intoxicates me!

I have about 10 more tiers of a Lady E for my mom to go (it's my 2nd) and have just reached my entrelac peak. I'm so happy to see yours in all its beauty to inspire me!

Lara said...

I love your Lady E! It is sooo pretty. That is a great colorway. Mine is big on me too but I really like it that way. Especially on really cold days - I can wear Lady E instead of a jacket!

That pie looks way too yummy.

mjm knitting said...

Lady Eleanor looks great.
One row scarf is my new favourite too.
I wish my apple pie had turned out as nice as your raspberry pear pie. Love the star shapes topping.

Adriana said...

I am madly in love with your Lady E! I want to make one someday but I'm worried my Clap would get jealous :P
The Star Pie looks super fabulous. I've been wanting to bring some baked goods over to the boyfriend's family since I'm crashing their Christmas and this might just do the trick (I'll have to run the raspberry-pear combo by him first, though)

Team Knit said...

I know that raspberry-pear seems weird at first, but that's only because those two are not naturally in season together. Hooray for imported foods and hydroponics, I say. The 100 mile diet can bite me- I'd only be eating parsnips and soy if I lived by that.

Anonymous said...

I'll take one of each, please- Lady E, pretty scarf...and pie! I'm just about to CO for a Lady E myself, and really appreciate your comments about the size. I'd wondered about that. It looks great on you, I bet it is fantastically warm (in addition to good lookin'!).

Anonymous said...

All three look great!

Viktoria said...

Your pie looks delicious! Good job on the scarves!

Anonymous said...

That shawl is stunning and I relly do love the colourway and how the colour changes work with that pattern - in spite of my cautious attitude towards multicoloured yarn! And I love the size and chunkiness...

The pie *drool*...

Sophie said...

Lady E is such a great pattern (I'll buy Noro next year to do it) and yours is fabulous ! Love the color !

The star pie is just a great idea... but with my tiny appartement... i'll wait for my house (next year too) to try it !

c h r i s t i n e said...

Looks beautiful! You better get that package soon! I sent it Wednesday right? Has it been a week? Has it been more? Oh man. It better get there soon, I wouldn't be too worried. It's probably just customs or something.

Hilary said...

Your Lady Eleanor is AMAZING and I think it looks very nice on you! I've had my eye on that pattern for awhile...now I MUST have one. Thanks for the pie recipe, too. The stomach is grumbling...

Penny said...

I have put your raspberry and pear pie on my to bake list. It sounds just yummy. AND I love the idea of using stars for the top crust. Way to go.