Bamboo baby

There is a bit of a baby boom happening in my family right now and I like to be a little creative about the gifts I give. I especially love to make things for people and I recently saw some lovely dishcloths on pinterest  https://pinterest.com/pin/82120393176077120/. That got me thinking... dishcloth/washcloth same thing. I found some beautiful bamboo/cotton blend yarn and decided to make these little treasures. I made a darling little hat to but I forgot to take a picture so when I make the next one I will include a pattern.

For the crocheters out there this is 2 different patterns.
One is a single crochet with a band of single crochet all the way around. The other is alternating rows (row 1) single crochet, double crochet, (row 2) single crochet. Then a band of single crochet all the way around the edge. I have never written a crochet pattern so I might attempt it but if you know the basics of crochet this should make sense to you. Also if you google crochet washcloths or dishcloths about 10 million patterns will come up. My husband would also like everyone to know I crocheted and pulled these apart about 10 times before I got the look I was going for. I love the way these look with the natural colours and the simple textures. They were unbelievably soft. The mummy to be loved them too. Her sister is also pregnant so I will be making some more very soon.

Make this!

My husband and I came across this dish in a restaurant in Seattle about 15 years ago. Sadly the place is no longer there but this delicious appetizer stuck with us all this time. We call it Hot Cheesy Bread but you can call it what ever you want. Sometimes we have it on its own or sometimes we have it as part of an antipasto plate with nice salami and some olives. However you serve it you will make it again.

Step one is a nice crunchy/chewy bread roll. Something like a bolo roll, small ciabatta or rustic bread roll. It is essential to use the best chewiest roll. Not a yucky soft one. Cut a square in the top and scoop out some of the insides.

Step two is to stuff it with cheese. The original dish used Cambozola which is a soft blue cheese with a Camembert like rind. Here in Australia we have used Tasmanian Heritage Blue Brie and Costello blue with success. Once you have stuffed it put the square of bread back in place.

Step three is cut another roll or a piece of baguette into thin slices and brush with olive oil. Lay these and the stuffed roll on a tray lined with baking paper or a silpat and bake for about 20 mins in a moderate oven. About 325ºF/160ºC.

Let is rest for about 5 mins unless you like to scorch your taste buds off. Dip, scoop, rip, eat.

Make this!

I saw a picture of potatoes cooked like this on pinterest last week and showed them to my husband (he loves potatoes) and he insisted I make them for dinner that night. And why not? They looked delicious. After looking in to the recipe I found they are sometimes called swedish potatoes. The original post was here http://foodgawker.com/popular/favorites/

Step one is to scrub the potatoes and slice them very thinly but not all the way through. After slicing through a few times I found it much easier to stick a cake tester (you could use a skewer) through the potato to stop me from cutting all the way through.









Step two is seasoning. We sliced garlic really thin and slipped it in each crack along with a sliver of butter. I added rosemary, salt and black pepper then drizzled the whole lot with olive oil. A few more dabs of butter on the top and into the oven.










Step three is patience and a very hot oven 220º C/450ºF for as long as it takes for them to get really crispy. About 40 mins.

They were delicious and definitely worth the wait and the calories. We had them with a steak and some amazing horseradish my aunt brought back for us from Tasmania.