Candied Orange Peels and Knitting Fun

     While meandering through Safeway last Friday, I found some rather large,rather lovely navel oranges on sale. This gave me an idea to do candied orange peels. I’d done them once before around Christmas, but they just sounded great then. I didn’t get the chance to do them last weekend, but I did get them done this time around. :) They’re not hard to do, just a bit time consuming with the boiling and rinsing three times, candying them, then letting them air dry. It’s worth the effort though!  The hardest part has to be letting them dry. They look so tasty and inviting that you can’t help but sneak a few now and then.

     Sometime back,  Citron caught my eye when I saw it on Yarn on the House's blog. It’s simple, vibrant, and  still incredibly elegant. I ordered the yarn last week, figuring that I’d pick up the needles at my local craft shop. No luck on getting the needles there, so I ordered them. However, that means that I have to find something small to keep me occupied while I wait for the needles.    

     After digging through my yarn stash, I got the idea to make a matching serviette type napkin to go with a tea cozy I made about a year ago. I  still had plenty of yarn left from the project to use up anyway. After combing through Ravelry, I found a pretty washcloth pattern that suited my needs. It’s my first attempt with yarn overs and this was an excellent way to fiddle with them. :D

Friday Night Adventures

I had a hankering for scones earlier. As with a lot of my baking endeavors, I usually decide to attempt to make something or make a favored recipe because something piqued my interest in it. In this case, it was a comment I saw on an online community about currant scones. In lieu of the fact that I don't have currants close at hand (well, I wasn't looking for them in the stores either), I decided to go with a favorite of mine- cinnamon apple.

Now, the recipe (click here for recipe) I use doesn't call for apples and cinnamon. No, it calls for toffee bits, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Tasty, however, that's not what I wanted tonight. And that's one of the things I love about cooking and baking—— making something my own.

First, I start by mixing my dry ingredients. Some flour (I used a combination of wheat flour and all purpose), baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix them together real well and then toss in some chopped dried apple slices——about a cup—— and mix again.

Next comes the only wet ingredient you need— whipped cream. I know. It's definitely not what you'd expect to see in there, but it makes them light and fluffy.

Now, fold the whipped cream into the dry ingredients dump onto a lightly floured surface and knead until you have a soft dough. Pat into a disc, cut into slices and ta-da you have scones. :D Make sure you line your pans with parchment paper, not wax paper. I have smoked my house up a bit before when I grabbed the wrong paper one time. LOL.