Recipe for a Perfect Christmas..........


(Not a picture of my rice balls but they look like mine)

Rice Balls

3 cups of Arborio Rice - Boiled 20 Minutes Exactly
3 Eggs
6 oz Grated Cheese
8 oz Mozzarella - Diced
Bag of Parsley

Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper


Cook rice and add grated cheese while the rice is still hot. Let cool completely. Add parsley and eggs, mixing well. Add 2 tsp of salt and some pepper to the rice mixture.

Season plain bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Make a ball out of the rice (the size of golf balls.) Stick in a piece of mozzarella. Roll in bread crumbs.

Deep fry (370) until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.

La Miniature II......



Pattern - http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2007/06/knitted_mini_ch.html

Touch of Italian....



It wouldn't be Christmas without Struffoli! (and rice balls!)

Struffoli

4 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 eggs
½ cup butter melted
¾ cup sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon

Juice of One Lemon
Two Cups Honey

To the flour, add salt and then eggs one at a time. Melt butter and add when cool. Add vanilla, sugar and lemon zest. Mix.

On a floured surface, knead until smooth. Let rest. Dough will be a little sticky. Roll out ”pencils,” adding a light dusting of flour if needed. Cut "pencils" in to ½” pieces.

Deep fry(360) until a light golden color.

Heat honey and the juice of one lemon. Add struffolis a little at a time. Coat well and place on platter.

Dust with sprinkles.

La Miniature....

Too cute! I think it took me longer to weave in the ends than to knit!

http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/minisweater-pattern.shtm

The Whirr of the Spinning Wheel.....



184 yards of squishy merino...although you can't tell by my crappy picture, the yarn is a pale celery green....very pretty...Jackie gave me 3.3 ounces of pencil roving to try and it was a dream to spin. I wasn't obsessive about the singles or the plying...I just wanted to spin...and had a great time doing it. I definitely see more merino pencil roving in my future!

I opted to spin instead of clean....and wrote out a schedule...which will allow me to clean/shop/wrap and knit and spin. Sounds good, no?

Nuts.....



In 2001, while Bob was spending 99.9% of his time in Gatlinburg, I took up bead weaving. Although I purchased 3 looms, thousands of beads and spent hours beading, I only finished 2 bookmarks and one beaded bag (just need to weave in the ends – where have you heard that before?)

I really love the way beads feel so decided to start a little beaded cell phone case for Joan. Will I finish it? Probably not. Just wanted to fiddle with beads. It isn’t very artsy or creative….but…it’s fun (aside from threading the beading needles which can take up to 20 minutes with my very bad eyes.)

I should be knitting though….or Christmas shopping…or cleaning…that would be nice! And, I haven’t even thought about baking!

Funny Things....



Joanie requested I knit her a cell phone case....I spent 3 hours yesterday looking at beading books, gathering up looms, obsessing over the 11/16" depth of her phone...when on my desk I spied an unfinished sock...knit years ago...that I set aside. It was the perfect dimensions! I did a 3-needle bind off, crocheted a tie, wove it in and voila! A prototype for the black cell phone case I will knit her.

The only difference? I will choose a cable pattern...and decrease at the bottom for a gently sloped bottom that won't flare.

I think it's a pretty nifty idea with oodles of possibilities!

Hideous Kinky....


1045 yards of Susan's Spinning Bunny Mohair/Merino/Silk in the Clematis colorway.

I started spinning it in September....and....it had some issues...or I had some issues. One 3-oz ball was difficult to pre-draft/spin...I tossed quite a bit of it due to really overspun, kinky singles. Just glad to have finally finished it!

Next up? 3 oz. of merino pencil roving.