Summer discoveries: Brownies, Knitted shapes, and Frozen herbs

Top discoveries this summer:

1. Coconut Flour Brownies:

A handy tip for using or substituting coconut flour:

•   use 1 egg to every 1/4 cup of coconut flour  required. 

The recipe that I used to try it out was pinned on pintrest and can be found here, although I altered it a bit as you can see below and it was still amazing. Yet a tip about this recipe is that I found it was quite dry and crumbly so be forewarned. Perhaps coconut oil and an egg per 1/4 cup of dry ingredients would have been better. I will try it again, as it was so delicious that even the crumbs were inhaled.   

Coconut Flour Brownies.

    makes one 8x8 or 9x9 pan

    1/2 cup  butter (coconut oil)

    3/4 cup  brown sugar

    2 eggs

    1/2 tsp  vanilla extract

    1/3 heaping cup  cocoa powder

    1/4 cup  organic coconut flour

    1/2 tsp  baking powder

    1/2 tsp  baking soda

    1/4 cup  dark chocolate chunks

To make your brownies:

  1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2.  In a medium bowl, use a mixer to cream butter with sugar, until light and fluffy.

  3.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

  4.  Add vanilla extract.

  5.  In another bowl, sift cocoa powder and coconut flour to remove lumps.

  6.  Stir flour mixture into wet mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

  7.  Pour into a greased/oiled 8x8 or 9x9 pan, depending on how thick you want your brownies. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired.

  8.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until center is slightly set and springy, and the sides are pulling away from the pan.

  9.  Cool and enjoy!

2. Knitting a Hexagon Blanket:

After seeing it on pinterest and then being frustrated by only finding crochet patterns my search has ended and I have found that brilliant knitting pattern! So now I can begin a new project for my favourite old yarns to get used up by! Here is the pattern copied from Knitty, Vintage, and Rosy.

One Hexagon requires about 12 yards of wool

Cast on 79 stitches.

Row 1. And every odd row, Purl.

Row 2. K2T, K 10, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K10. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 3. Purl

Row 4. K2T, K8, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K8. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 5. Purl

Row 6. K2T, K6, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K6. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 7. Purl

Row 8. K2T, K4, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K4. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 9. Purl

Row 10. K2T, K2, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K2. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 11. Purl

Row 12. K2T, *Slip 1, K2T, PSSO. Repeat *four times. Slip 1, K1, PSSO.

Row 13. Purl

Row 14. Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, Slip 1, K2T, PSSO, K1.

Break wool. Leave a twelve inch tail. Run end through remaining 3 stitches. Draw close and seam two edges together. Leave end for joining next hexagon.

The only problem is my pentagons are hexagons and I didn't notice the difference till i attempted to pull them together...I think I misunderstood a knitting term and instead of PSSO I may have passed one over, knitted the next and then passed the one back over the one I just knitted.....SOO I have a lovely Pentagon pattern now :) 

3. How to Freeze herbs for the winter 

1. Pluck all the bigger leaves and leave the smaller ones to grow

2. With your pile of bigger leaves and a knife, dice them into smaller bits

3. Melt butter 1/4 cup or so

4. In a ziploc bag dump in the chopped herbs and add melted butter 

5. lay flat in the freezer 

After a day or two you'll have fresh frozen herbs, freezing them will lock in the flavours. When you'd like to use them simply break of a chunk and add to the frying pan :)

~ElysiaB 

P.S. Pictures will be added soon