Need help with knitting and cooking...

[Vermilion]

And for some reasons these seem to be preferred secondary hobbies for smut-writers, so... who can help?

First the cooking (and easier) question... has anyone got any good recipes for *eating* apples (as opposed to cooking apples)? Particularly (though not exclusively) unripe ones? The tree at my parents' has just lost a branch through the weight of the fruit!

Secondly... I am a novice knitter (great at knit one, purl one, but can;t do much more than that) and I'm attempting a lace-work style scarf. I will list the pattern, then explain my problem...

Row1- Cast on 30 sts.
Row 2- Purl
Row 3- Knit
Row 4- Purl
Row 5- K4, *yo, ssk, k8; rep* , yo, ssk, k4.

I'll type the rest of the pattern below, just in case you're curious, but I'm already stuck on Row 5 (although I anticipate further problems...)

However - my problem first: I do all the first 4 rows, knit 4 stitches, do a yarn over (loop yarn around right-hand needle then do a stitch as normal) then do two slip stitches (move two stitches individually to the right-hand needle, insert the left-hand needle down in front of the two stitches, loop the yarn around the back needle and make the stitch) then knit 8 stitches.

I repeat the yarn over, the 2 slip stitches and then knit 8 stitches all fine. (this is the bit they want me to repeat, right? from the * to the semi-colon?)

Then I do the next yarn over, two more slip stitches and... this is where I come unstuck... I only have one stitch left - how am I supposed to knit 4? I even did this row twice just to see if I'd cocked it up the first time and the same thing happened... am I doing the slip stitches wrong? Where's the problem?


Here's the rest of the pattern for when (not if) I have more problems!

Row1- Cast on 30 sts.
Row 2- Purl
Row 3- Knit
Row 4- Purl
Row 5- K4, *yo, ssk, k8; rep* , yo, ssk, k4.
Row 6 -Purl
Row 7- k2, *k2 tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k5; rep *, k2 tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k3
Row 8- Purl
Row 9- Same as Row 5
Row 10- Purl
Row 11- Knit
Row 12- Purl
Row 13- k9, yo, ssk, k8, yo, ssk, k9
Row 14- Purl
Row 15- k7, *k2 tog, yo, k, yo, ssk*, k5, rep * to *, k8
Row 16- Purl
Row 17- Same as Row 13
Row 18- Purl

Rep Row 3 to 18 until desired length.
Work 4 rows st st.
Cast off.


Clear? As crystal or as mud?

x
V

 

[galaxygoddess]

my granny would know the answer to this... unfortunately that would require her knowing that I'm on this site and her going around telling my family and then my mom would die of shame..... ok maybe not but I don't feel like being chased down by my granny for another one of her "comdom lectures" (I'm married you crazy old bat!)


However, I will e-mail her your question pretending it came from someone in my office and see what she says XD

 

[Vermilion]

my granny would know the answer to this... unfortunately that would require her knowing that I'm on this site and her going around telling my family and then my mom would die of shame..... ok maybe not but I don't feel like being chased down by my granny for another one of her "comdom lectures" (I'm married you crazy old bat!)


However, I will e-mail her your question pretending it came from someone in my office and see what she says XD

Hee hee - good plan
Thanks GG
x
V

 

[rgraham666]

Can't help you. I'm not allowed to play with anything sharper than a rubber ball.

 

[galaxygoddess]

Can't help you. I'm not allowed to play with anything sharper than a rubber ball.

Why does HE get a rubber ball and I all get is wet tissues? That is SO not fair!



No I am not saying why the tissues are wet

 

[CharleyH]

And for some reasons these seem to be preferred secondary hobbies for smut-writers, so... who can help?

First the cooking (and easier) question... has anyone got any good recipes for *eating* apples (as opposed to cooking apples)? Particularly (though not exclusively) unripe ones? The tree at my parents' has just lost a branch through the weight of the fruit!

Sorry, can't help with knitting since I don't even know what that is. However, raw or no fuss apples I can help with.

Try a salad:

California greens
Shavings of Asiago cheese
Apple slices
Roasted and candied pecans
and a honey, balsamic vinegar and tarragon dressing.

Also, try a pork tenderloin stuffed with a bread, roasted almond and apple stuffing and use a Jamaican Jerk marinade for the pork. (good blend of sweet and hot).

Otherwise, I suggest letting neighborhood kids run through the apple orchard (or filtering the tree) eating all unripe apples until they are sick of them. This way? You don't have to clean the yard.

 

[TxRad]

Sorry but my preferred secondary hobby involves a bunch of horsepower, a lot of left turns, and a small or big dirt circle according to where I am on which weekend...... VaRooom VaRoom

 

[carsonshepherd]

You can cook the apples down and make applesauce.

 

[Vermilion]

You can cook the apples down and make applesauce.

but they're eating apples, not cooking apples. I have *lots* of recipes for cooking apples, cos they hold their form and tartness quite well after cooking, but eating apples turn into a pale brown, pear flavoured mush... Yuck.

I mean... d'you think a chutney would work with the unripe apples?

x
V

 

[carsonshepherd]

but they're eating apples, not cooking apples. I have *lots* of recipes for cooking apples, cos they hold their form and tartness quite well after cooking, but eating apples turn into a pale brown, pear flavoured mush... Yuck.

I mean... d'you think a chutney would work with the unripe apples?

x
V

True, but they're not ripe, so they might hold up better. (I know nothing about chutney, being from the Midwest US.)

 

[galaxygoddess]

still haven't gotten you a knitting answer, but for recipes:



http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blappleindex.htm

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/c,2505,0,Apple-Chutney-Recipes.html

http://www.cookingvillage.com/cv/search/1,1785,sLang=us&SrchTp=adv,FF.html




'Baking won't help unripe fruit. Be patient or use prepared fruit filling"



and utoh...

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/home-remedy/acidity.html

Avoid unripe high pectin fruits, such as unripe apple. But ripe apple such as delicius apple or fuji apple may help.

 

[Vermilion]

True, but they're not ripe, so they might hold up better. (I know nothing about chutney, being from the Midwest US.)

whereabouts in the US would be good for chutney then?

x
V

 

[3113]

There's a lot of things you can do with the apples.

For example, breakfast: Get some good sausages. Core and peel an apple or two, and slice into rings. Toss sausages into a pan with a little butter. When they begin to brown, add apple rings. When the apples begin to get brown and tender, add a cup of apple cider/juice, turn up the heat till liquid is reduced (about 2 or more minutes). Using a slotted spoon, scoop out apples and serve with sausages.

And then there's this recipe which calls for red and golden delicious apples which are both "eating" apples--sweet with a nice crunch. However, given that your apples are unripe anyway, they should do even better as tart apples, firm and sour, do well in pies. Taste a slice and one and see just how tart they are. This recipe is light on the sugar, expecting the apples to be naturally sweet and juicy. You decide if more sugar is needed or if a tartness to the pie would be good.

APPLE CINNAMON PIE

ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Basic Pie Crust

preparation
Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 400° F. Combine sliced apples, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, vinegar and salt in large bowl; toss to blend.

Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Brush edge of crust lightly with water. Transfer apple mixture to crust, mounding in center and pressing lightly to compact. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll out second dough disk to 13-inch round. Place atop apples. Trim dough overhang to 1 inch. Fold top crust edge under bottom crust edge, pressing to seal. Crimp edge decoratively. Cut several slits in crust to allow steam to escape.

Place apple pie on baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon in small bowl. Brush top crust of pie with milk. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake until crust is golden brown, apples are tender and juices bubble thickly, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool.

 

[3113]

whereabouts in the US would be good for chutney then?

Nowhere in the U.S. will you get Indian food as good as you can get in England. My husband tells me that every time he visits friends there--the Indian food is just beyond compare.

 

[rgraham666]

Personally, I think 'Delicious' apples are badly misnamed. I much prefer Granny Smiths and Macintoshes.

 

[Vermilion]

Nowhere in the U.S. will you get Indian food as good as you can get in England. My husband tells me that every time he visits friends there--the Indian food is just beyond compare.

You'll have to come with him, next time

x
V

 

[Guest]

Can't help you. I'm not allowed to play with anything sharper than a rubber ball.

Well what about -?

Oh.

Never mind.



No clue on the knitting or the apples, I'm afraid.

Sorry, V.

 

[starrkers]

Row 5- K4, *yo, ssk, k8; rep* , yo, ssk, k4

to me "ssk" means:
...Slip one stitch, then slip the next. Insert left needle into the front loops of the slipped stitches and knit them together from this position (through the back loops).
so the two stitches are turned into one.

so the repeat section should involve 10 stitches. You start with 30.
so it's K4, *10stitch thing*, *10 stitch thing*, yo *2stitch thing*, k4
Should come out at 30 stitches.
You will still have 30 stitches after this row - the yo stitches making up for the ssks. The next row will be a straight knit or purl row, giving a decorative hole effect from the yo stitches.


Hope that helps

 

[Vermilion]

to me "ssk" means:
...Slip one stitch, then slip the next. Insert left needle into the front loops of the slipped stitches and knit them together from this position (through the back loops).
so the two stitches are turned into one.

so the repeat section should involve 10 stitches. You start with 30.
so it's K4, *10stitch thing*, *10 stitch thing*, yo *2stitch thing*, k4
Should come out at 30 stitches.
You will still have 30 stitches after this row - the yo stitches making up for the ssks. The next row will be a straight knit or purl row, giving a decorative hole effect from the yo stitches.


Hope that helps

I'm just confused because you have 30 stitches on the needle, so you knit 4, then do yo, then the ssk, so that's three stitches... because you're still using two of the stitches on the needle and the yo only creates the stitch for the *next* row... right?

so that would be k4, *11 stitches* *11 stitches* yo ssk (so 3 more stitches) and that only leaves you with one still on the needle....

so my three stitches are getting lost on the ssk's

x
V

 

[starrkers]

That's because the ssk only involves 2 stitches, not three.
You slip two stitches and then knit them together through the back loops. This puts the resulting stich on the left needle - slip it onto the right needle.

Slip one, K1, psso, works just as well and is less confusing.

 

[CharleyH]

True, but they're not ripe, so they might hold up better. (I know nothing about chutney, being from the Midwest US.)

Chutney is tricky business. How do you propose making and storing one, Carson? (PS - I want to know!)

 

[Vermilion]

That's because the ssk only involves 2 stitches, not three.
You slip two stitches and then knit them together through the back loops. This puts the resulting stich on the left needle - slip it onto the right needle.

Slip one, K1, psso, works just as well and is less confusing.

God bless Starrkers. This isn;t the answer, but in a series of very patient PMs she did manage to figure the answer out.

I was being blonde and doing an extra stitch, not realising that the yarn over meant *just* looping the yarn over - no stitch, no nothing, just the looping.
Doh!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to Starrkers
V

 

[starrkers]

God bless Starrkers. This isn;t the answer, but in a series of very patient PMs she did manage to figure the answer out.

I was being blonde and doing an extra stitch, not realising that the yarn over meant *just* looping the yarn over - no stitch, no nothing, just the looping.
Doh!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to Starrkers
V

I'm just glad my knowledge of an arcane cottage craft can still be useful - haven't trotted it out in a while.

 

[Vermilion]

I'm just glad my knowledge of an arcane cottage craft can still be useful - haven't trotted it out in a while.

Well, I'm 24, I have one small nephew (for whom I haven;t yet made anything) but fairly soon my friends and same-generation family members are gonna start popping out babas all over the place and when that happens I'd like to make them something. So I'm practicing now.

I still need to make the nevvy somethig, but he'll probably have to make do with something sewn- mebbe patchwork or applique, because that's a leetle easier to master and I've done more of it.

Maybe a nice little quilt in bright coloured patchwork with animals appliqued on? Or a cushion?
I miss my sewing machine, but there's barely eneough room in this flat for the fiance and I, never mind more bits and bobs!
x
V

 

[SensualCealy]

Best of luck to you and your scarf!
As for the apples...I would imagine anything you have to cook down with sugar would work, brown betties, cobblers, applesauce, and chutney etc.
C