Candy and Knitting

As my blog name suggests, I do knit, usually more than a bit, but there hasn't been much proof of that on here so far. I've been working hard on my daughter's new school bag, but it is a bit monotonous. So while it is progressing very slowly, but I don't really feel like I should work on much of anything else, since I promised her I'd get it done 'quickly'. Luckily I have one other obligation that always takes precedence, to break up the monotony, since it is a time-sensitive project.

I belong to the Snohomish Knitters Guild and last year I designed a square a month for the members (pattern available on Ravelry.com here), which ended as a complete afghan. Even though I have switched roles in the guild, I got the okay to go ahead with another pattern series for the new guild year (October - September). To build on the knit & purl squares that we did last year, I choose to do textured squares using increases and decreases. Sort of building on your skills type of thing. Since the guild meeting is tonight, I had to finish the square, write the pattern and photograph it before tonight. Just finished everything this morning, though it was a possibly close call, since we were without power here until almost 8 am (wasn't sure why or when it would be back on). Here is this month's square, the pattern is available free to guild members or you can also join the knit-a-long on Ravelry for $5.00 (receiving a pattern update every month).

I also tried a new fudge recipe that my knitting friend and guild president shared with me last week. It is an extremely simple recipe with the potential to be dairy-free, egg-free & gluten-free, depending on the ingredients you use. I love to collect shaped silicon ice-cube trays and used them to mold the fudge into pumpkin shapes since it is Halloween this month (though the fudge had no chance of lasting that long). I also made a half batch which perfectly filled two ice-cube trays (another great reason to have a scale in your kitchen). Here is the recipe, such as it is.

Two Ingredient Fudge
related to me by Barb Simonds
[Printable Recipe]

1 - 12 oz package of semi-sweet (or other flavored) chocolate chips
1 - 16 oz can of prepared frosting
butter or vegetable shortening

Butter the molds or a 9" x 9" square pan. Melt chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl in the microwave, using 30 second bursts on medium power, stirring in between each heating cycle. Stir in the frosting, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom to thoroughly incorporate both ingredients. Microwave for 30 seconds on medium power once more (to make fudge pourable). Pour/spoon into molds or pan & smooth out. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. Unmold or cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

The wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can choose any flavors to mix together, you could also make your frosting with your favorite recipe and use that instead of the store bought brands.