Baby Hat

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I made a baby hat today (hat pattern is from The Reading Hospital and Medical Center Friends' Knitting Guild). It's a light yellow shade, in a knit two, purl two rib stitch, with a little pompom on top. I knit this on straight needles.

This was knitted on US 5 needles. I did try knitting it on circulars, but gave up on that because knitting on straights is so much simpler...

How to make a Pompom

Wondering how I made my pompom? It's super easy, and it does not involve buying a pompom maker, or wasting your time with a piece of cardboard. Just wrap the yarn around your fingers until it reaches the desired pompom thickness. Then cut the top and bottom, wrap with yarn in the middle and knot. Let me know if you want me to do a photo tutorial on this, if you think it'd be easier to follow.

Knitting/Crochet Projects in Progress

• Snood for my sister
• Triangle shawl
• Purse with wooden handles

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 25, 2012.

Lamb Roganjosh

Another One of My Favorite Recipes

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A modern twist on an Indian restaurant-staple. A jar of store-bought roganjosh sauce gets jazzed up with some simple spices to prepare one of my favorite all-time dishes.

Ingredients

You will need:

• One package of butterflied leg of lamb
• One medium onion -diced
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• A few springs of cilantro
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• One jar roganjosh simmer sauce-available in the ethnic/international food section of your grocery
• Salt and pepper

Method

Prepare the lamb: First, trim the fat off the lamb and discard. Cut the lamb into approximately 1 inch chunks, and season with salt, black pepper and turmeric. Set aside in a bowl.

In medium sized cooking pot, add the oil and fry the diced onion until lightly golden brown; add in the garlic and cloves and allow to mix with the onions for about 2 minutes. Add the cubed lamb and cook until it is almost no longer pink. You want the lamb to be tender, not dry. So leave a little tiny bit of pink so it doesn't dry out completely. (Don't worry- it'll cook thoroughly in the simmer sauce).

When the lamb is nearly done cooking, add in the entire jar of simmer sauce, and, well, simmer. :-) I like to simmer on a low fire for about 30-45 minutes. This will most definitely get rid of any pink remaining in the lamb, but this is also what makes it tender. If the sauce is too thick for your liking, you can dilute it a bit with some water. Add it in small doses, until you achieve the desired consistency. Throw in the cilantro (I like cutting mine with a pair of scissors right into the pot!)

Serve with daal and naan or roti.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think of it, and any improvements that you made to it!

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 16, 2012.

My First Cable!!!

My Foray Into Cable Knitting

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I have been knitting for several years, and I have never ever knitted a cable stitch before. All that changed tonight- Take a look at my first attempt at cable knitting below:

The yarn was is Lily's Sugar n Cream yarn in Pastel Delight. I got it on clearance at Walmart for a whopping 75 cents! I plan on making a crochet dishcloth out of it, but the mood struck me to try something new, so I tried cable knitting. It's gonna get frogged and turned into a dishcloth, but at least now I know I can cable knit!!!:-)...

The swatch was knitted on US 8 needles, and the stitch is called "Six Stitch Cable" from "Beginner's Guide Knit Stitches & Easy Projects" by Leisure Arts Little Books.

Knitting Projects in Progress

• Snood for my sister
• Triangle shawl
• Purse with wooden handles

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 6, 2012.

A Recipe Surprise!!!

My Taco Pie Recipe

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This easy-peasy taco pie recipe is fast becoming a favorite of mine. It's quick and easy to prepare, and is vegetarian.

Ingredients

You will need:

• 9 inch frozen pie shell
• One can refried beans
• One can corn kernels (washed and drained)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend (as much as you'd like)
• Cilantro
• Other veggies (optional): add whatever you like- red onions, tomatoes, olives, etc
• Salsa

Method

Preheat oven to 425F. Pre-bake a 9 inch frozen pie shell for 5 minutes at 425 F. In a large bowl, mix the refried beans,corn kernels, about 1/4 cup sour cream, as much cheese as you'd like, cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste; be generous with your favorite salsa! Stir until mixed completely- you can add some tomatoes, red onions, pretty much whatever veggies you want...Pour the mixture into pre-baked pie shell, top with a layer of cheese, and bake at 425F for 30 minutes.

I've been toying with the idea of adding tortilla strips to the top for some added crunch. Let me know what you think of this recipe!!!

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 6, 2012.

Cross Stitchery

Cross Stitching Fun

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It took me a while, but I finally completed this lovely cross stitch sampler I got as a present when I went to Valley Forge National Park. If you've never been there, you really ought to go- it's a historical treasure!!!

A Cushion Cover Re-do

If you've been following my blog, I once posted about creating a cross-stitch pillowcase. Well, after some deliberation, I decided I did not like the pattern I had started out with, so I ripped it out stitch by stitch, and am now stitching a lotus pattern onto it. I still have to decide on a border...

Knitting Projects in Progress

• Snood for my sister
• Triangle shawl
• Purse with wooden handles

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 11, 2012.

My Christmas Goodies

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I know it's been a loooong time since Christmas has passed, but I finally got ahold of the pictures of some of the items I made.First up is this Christmas-themed tea cosy I made for my cousin as a present.

My second Christmas project was a set of hand-embroidered handkerchiefs for my uncle.

A little bit of baking

Here are some pics of some fun cakes I've made in the past. The first one is a red-velvet cake made from a Paula Deen recipe, with a cream cheese frosting.
The second cake is all dressed up with fruits to make it appropriate for a 4th of July birthday.

Just look at that vivid red color!!!

Here's the 4th of July birthday cake, made with strawberries and blueberries.

Knitting Projects in Progress

• Snood for my sister
• Triangle shawl
• Purse with wooden handles

Check out my Library Thing book list and reviews:

This is my first blog post that I've created using html.

©2012 Arti Kochhar. All rights reserved. This blog is best viewed in Internet Explorer. All images by Arti Kochhar, unless otherwise credited.
All materials on this site are available for scholarly and educational use only, via Creative Commons License Last update: May 6, 2012.