hitchhiker & an adopted project {tending my yarn garden}

So much happening around here currently that reading has been kept to a minimum; I don't think I picked up Cooked  more than once, but that's ok. We did have family in town over the weekend so lots and lots of knitting took place; it's easy and socially acceptable to knit and visit -- not so with reading -- haha. :) My hitchhiker is beginning to take shape; the 8 row repeat along with the growing number of simple garter stitch rows made it easy to stay engaged in conversation (you really only have to pay close attention on rows 7 & 8 when forming the "teeth"). I am so loving my dreamy jade Tosh!!

My "adopted" project is a shale baby blanket the daughter-in-law has been working on throughout her pregnancy and had hoped to finish in time for the baby, but she admittedly prefers crochet to knitting, so this project (I offered) has become mine. Unless the baby is way overdue (she's due today!), it won't be finished, but one never knows... I asked yesterday and will ask again today, please keep Christina in your prayers as she waits for labor and the birth of her firstborn -- so exciting!

My cascades cabled mitts pattern will, Lord willing, be finished and published later today over on Ravelry (so excited!); my project notes are there, too, if you're interested. :)

How about you? What books are you reading? What's growing in your yarn garden? Please share in the comments and join me at Ginny's.

~Lisa

Thanks for visiting Happy in Dole Valley! To join us on our journey, look to the upper right to follow or subscribe. :)

a window into my day...

         

The first day of summer is right around the corner just like the birth of our first grandbaby who is due tomorrow. So exciting. Say a pray for the mama-to-be if you would. :)

Cherries are in season, so AnnaLynn baked up a batch of the most amazing muffins -- chocolate cherry -- we'll share the recipe next Monday.

White, puffy cotton-ball clouds filled the sky today which made it nice to sit outside and do a little knitting, a gauge swatch for my soon-to-be-released mitt pattern (which I'm hoping to finish today or tomorrow...stay tuned!). Notice the green toes? I painted them just for fun; yep, I'm really into green...

The garden is growing like crazy! Green beans and carrots are up as is the corn. Tomatoes and pumpkins are beginning to flower, and blueberries and raspberries are developing! Our altitude and micro-climate here in the Cascade foothills puts both our flower and vegetable gardens up to three weeks behind our friends in Portland, Vancouver, and even Battle Ground, but we're ok with that.

Blessings from an impatient g'ma to be,

~Lisa

Thanks for visiting Happy in Dole Valley! To join us on our journey, look to the upper right to follow or subscribe. :)

Breakfast Quiche Muffins {Muffin Monday}

Happy Monday! Hope you had a chance to wish your dad a happy father's day yesterday. We enjoyed having my dad and stepmom come visit for the weekend which is always nice. On Saturday we celebrated by grilling brats and some yummy chicken (that I'll have to share the recipe for), and we built a bonfire so we could roast marshmallows for s'mores -- a rare, nummy treat to be sure!

Toasting three generations of dads (my dad, my husband, and my son whose firstborn is due in just two days), with local craft brew and a fine something red was a tasty way to celebrate and simply caused my heart of overflow with joy! :)  When I sat down this morning to look for a picture to share, I was shocked to realize we hadn't taken a single photo all weekend. How could that happen? Argh! So upset with myself...

I suppose I should just move on to this week's muffin which is not really a muffin in the traditional sense at all. Since these quiches are baked in a muffin pan, I'm cheating and calling them muffins anyway -- enjoy!


Breakfast Quiche Muffins
inspiration here -- makes 12

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar (or other cheese)
sea salt & black pepper to taste
1 T. minced, dried onion
4 sausage links, chopped (optional)
4 stems chive, rinsed and chopped (optional)
7 eggs
2/3 c. milk (raw is best)

Preheat oven to 350F and generously grease muffin pan using coconut oil or butter. Sprinkle cheese into the bottoms of muffin cups and add seasonings. Add meat and chives, if desired. Whisk eggs and milk together, then pour this mixture over other ingredients leaving about 1/8 of an inch head space.


Bake quiches in preheated oven for about 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned; check with a toothpick to be sure they're done.



Allow quiches to set for about a minute; run a knife around the edge of each before removing from the pan, then serve hot!

These go well with and can be baked at the same time as regular muffins (be sure to select a recipe that bakes at the same temperature), just rotate the pans half-way through baking time and remember that these will take about 10 minutes or so longer to bake.

Please don't be shy about leaving a comment to let us know you were here! And while you are, please feel free to visit our Muffin Monday page for more deliciously healthy muffin inspiration!

Have a great week!

~Lisa

Thanks for visiting Happy in Dole Valley! To join us on our journey, look to the upper right to follow or subscribe. :)

Sharing with some of our favorite places...

The Nourishing Gourmet, Tasty Traditions, Make, Bake, Create, Real Food Wednesday, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, and

hitchhiking with madelinetosh{tending my yarn garden}

I picked up this skein of MadelineTosh merino light in "jade" while at Stitches West back in February, and it's been calling to me from my yarn basket. Trying to decide what to create with this gorgeous green hasn't been easy, but I've finally decided on a Hitchhiker. :) I'm thrilled to say that the yarn color looks exactly like the pictures...that doesn't happen for me very often! I'm still working on my Tea Leaves and discovered that my thinking it would be too small last week was due to not accounting for the future button bands. Silly me. This actually occurred to me after reading a comment from a kind fellow knitter...thank you. :)

While Pride & Prejudice is still on the top of my stack of bedtime reading, I am starting Michael Pollan's Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation which I was given as a mother's day gift. From the book description...

"The effects of not cooking are...far reaching. Relying upon corporations to process our food means we consume large quantities of fat, sugar, and salt; disrupt an essential link to the natural world; and weaken our relationships with family and friends. In fact, Cooked argues, taking back control of cooking may be the single most important step anyone can take to help make the American food system healthier and more sustainable. Reclaiming cooking as an act of enjoyment and self-reliance, learning to perform the magic of these everyday transformations, opens the door to a more nourishing life."

A more nourishing life sounds good to me. :)

In other knitting news, I'm super excited that my Cascades Cabled Mitts pattern is so, so close to being finished! Actually, the pattern itself is finished; the final step is getting just the right photos to include in the pattern. So thankful for my dear friend's daughter {hi, Jess!} who agreed to be my photographer!! The first two pics are mine, and the ones below them were taken by Jess -- aren't they wonderful?!


We have one more photo shoot scheduled for tomorrow and then, Lord willing, my mitts pattern will be available early next week in my Ravelry shop. Speaking of patterns, the beanie I designed to go with the In Threes Cardi I recently knit for the yet-to-be-born granddaughter (7 days 'til the due date!) is available for free here or here. Please let me know if you make one!


and just because...

an amazing shot of one of our kitties captured by my lovely mitt model, AnnaLynn :)

How about you? What books are you reading? What's growing in your yarn garden? Please share in the comments and join me at Ginny's.

~Lisa

Thanks for visiting Happy in Dole Valley! To join us on our journey, look to the upper right to follow or subscribe. :)

PS: Today I'm also joining in at Frontier Dreams for keep calm & craft on :)

Monday morning update...

Normally there's a new muffin recipe here on Monday mornings, but today I'm sharing a peek into why there's not...




My to-do list for today/this week is a wee bit long. Along with the regular tasks of day-to-day life, I'm in charge of the arts & crafts department of our church's usually-annual Evening of the Arts which is happening this Friday, so lots of last-minute emailing going on to get everyone's entry info.

See that box of pineapple? I picked up a box of 10 last week for only a dollar per pineapple; we'll be canning later this morning (thanks, Kim, for the idea!).

The cosmos seedlings on my front porch need to be planted to fill in where all my spring blooms have faded from their glory; hoping to get to this tomorrow or Wednesday.

The muffin? I figured I throw in last week's muffin just for fun -- these are a delicious, low-sugar way to use those over-ripe bananas as well as any of last year's blueberries that might still be hanging out in your freezer. Click on the picture if you'd like check out our recipe. :)

This morning's garden shots...






Not from this morning, but had to share the wild iris Daniel picked for me last week from down in our field...love that young man :)



And just in case you missed it, I posted my beanie pattern (the one I created to go with the In Threes Cardi I knit for our soon-to-be-born granddaughter!!!); click on the picture to check it out. And another post you may have missed is our hummingbird story; again, a quick click of the picture will take you there.



Lots of other exciting, happy, bold changes happening in our lives which I hope to share SOON! Keep us in prayer if you would -- thanks!

~Lisa

Thanks for visiting Happy in Dole Valley! To join us on our journey, look to the upper right to follow or subscribe. :)