Christmas Miracles!

This holiday season has been jam packed with Christmas miracles.  First, the Buffalo Bills walloped the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve.  We celebrated.

This is HOWE we do it Tebow!

Then, I got my non-speaking niece and nephew to say my name.

Nephew Noah was the first to say Meg

Then Alice said Meg too.

And finally, with the help of my mom, I finished Nephew Nate's wolf.  He doesn't have the fuzzy cheeks called for in the pattern.  However, I gave him a fancy mustache for good measure.

The wolf and I had a drink to celebrate our success!

George meets the wolf.  Check out the 'stache!

Happy holidays!  I do believe, I do, I do...

Happy Knitting!

Just read this...and LOVE it. 

KnitRiot Strikes Again!

Epic Fail

The Graduate and knitting...a fine day...or so it seemed...

Our blog this year has been greatly abandoned.  This does not mean we have not been cooking or knitting, just that we got swept away in the business of every day life.

So, here is a quick update on my recent attempts at getting something posted on here.  In the knitting realm, I have been working on another toy.  My nephew Nate requested a wolf for his birthday and I found a pattern he liked and started knitting about a month ago.  Last week I discovered a problem with the pattern and conferred with Marmie who said the problem was in fact, with the pattern.  Since then, I have put the project on hold but hope to pick it up and make my way through some solutions this weekend.

Until I noticed the first of many fails. Notice the color in the pattern...

And then the cooking world.  I came home from school sick today and decided after some rest it would be a good day to meet our October goal of making soup.  I found a pretty basic recipe in my Julia Child cookbook and set to cooking.  VERY simple.  Peel and cut potatoes.  Cut onions.  Throw in pot with other vegetables.  (I chose cauliflower.)  Simmer for an hour.  Take off lid.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Mash.  Yeah.  I got a watery mess of vegetable garbage.  I ate a pear.


So while my recent attempts at posting for this blog failed, I am glad that I have successfully posted something!  Hopefully my lovely ladies will follow suit! 

Yes Folks, There is a Blogger

Delish!

So while the other Howe girls are busy with life, I am still truckin along, maintaining not one but TWO blogs all by myself.  I did not forget about our June Mediterranean recipe.  Last night I made mussels for the Howe boys since the Howe girls were doing who-knows-what.

I stuck to my go-to place for recipes: RealSimple.com.  I swear people, this is the place to find food recipes.  It was a beautiful dish to prepare on a sunny summer evening.  The only adjustment I made was not to include the olives.  My brother Zach had never had mussels before and I had never made them so this was a risky meal to be sure.  I started with shrimp for an appetizer and we served white wine. 

So here ya go folks.  Oh, by the way, I am also knitting a little yellow bag from the Stitch n' Bitch book.

Ingredients

Steaming Mussels in Mom's Cast-Iron Pot

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 pound beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
• 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 small baguette, warmed

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the wine and simmer until slightly reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and olives.
3. Add the mussels and cook, covered, until they open, 3 to 4 minutes. Discard any that remain closed. Stir in the parsley.
4. Divide the mussels and cooking liquid among bowls. Serve with the bread.



The Empty Shells!

May - Mexicano!

I know, I know, April is missing.  That is because we had so much fun and we so much miss Rome that it is taking awhile to get over the fact that we are gone.  However, JJ is working on a blog and whittling down the hundreds of pictures to post something.  In the meantime, I am at home sick today and thought I would update the blog with my Mexican meal this month.

Guacamole to Start

Last Sunday night I knew that time was of the essence to get a May meal cooked.  So I reverted to my go-to website for all meals, RealSimple.com.  I just typed Mexican and it came up with a meal that looked delish and easy: Chipotle Shrimp with Radish and Jicama Salad.  Recipe Here! Not sure about the authenticity here but it produced a nice meal.

Russo's Market

Before cooking my first thought was, "What the hell is a jicama!?!"  A quick google search produced the image and info I needed.  This meant I had to head to a store with unique produce.  Enter Russo's.  Russo's is God's gift to the cooking world.  You can find rare produce, it is delicious, and inexpensive.  When I used to live on "the other side of the river" I traveled to Russo's frequently.  I was happy to have an occasion to bring me back.

Jicama "Matchsticks"

Sizzling Shrimp

After the trip, I settled down to make my meal.  Turns out, a jicama has a taste kind of like a radish, at least in my opinion.  This salad was amazing!  The combo of red onion, lime juice, and cilantro will make any dish worth eating.  So, of course, I made an appetizer too.  I whipped up some guacamole to munch on while making my meal.  The guacamole and salad were my favorite parts.  I slightly overcooked the shrimp because I forgot to set a timer and well, you know.   I would make this again for sure. 

Buen Provecho!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 small jicama (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 2-inch matchsticks
• 1 large bunch radishes (about 8), cut into thin half-moons
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds large peeled and deveined shrimp



Radish and Jicama Salad

• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chilies or chili powder

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the jicama, radishes, onion, cilantro, raisins, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp, ground chilies, remaining tablespoon of oil, and ½ teaspoon salt.
3. Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the shrimp until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve with the salad.

NEWS FLASH

Forgot to mention...next months post will also be extra special. The Howe ladies will be cooking our Italian meal in ROME!!!! Thats right. We will be cooking up some Italian goodness at the source!! So stay tuned!!

Thanks to our fabulous photographer Whitney, our entire live blogging session was documented from start to finish. Dinner ended up being delicious- although I didn't try the cheese pie- reasons stated previously- but the cauliflower cheese thing was out of this world. and the sauce did taste a bit like grams- the big difference being that once it was baked the consistency changed. Also to note- Liam's cooking style is much different than the Howe girls - you will notice that there were 4 pies made instead of just one- he hates running out of food! But that meant Meg didn't have to make dinner for a week and Whit got to take one home! So sit back and enjoy the pics from our fun filled British Isle cooking session!!