Baby G's blessing gown

I've told how I learned to knit here. I love to make lovely things for my children and grandchildren. When my first grandson was born 5 years ago, I was only just beginning to knit, but he had a few sweaters and blankets that I'd made for him. Two summers ago, my daughter Amber was pregnant with her second child and she asked me to knit her a christening gown, in the hopes that her baby would be a girl. Then she told me to make 5 more christening gowns so that if I died before her siblings had children, she wouldn't have to share with them. Such a kidder, that Amber! Ha ha. (I'm pretty sure to this day that she wasn't kidding).


So I made a lovely little gown and baby girl "I" was born in February of 2010. She was oh so sweet in her little gown, but had a hard time expressing just how much she loved it.

The week that "baby I" was born, my older daughter had an ultrasound and learned that her first baby was a boy. I had 5 months to come up with a blessing suit for baby M who was born in July.

When Amber learned that baby #3 was another girl, she asked me to make another blessing gown for her. I wanted to make something a little more ambitious (because I have a bit more experience now). Amber selected this pattern and I was able to get a wonderful bamboo/silk blend yarn. Since I live in Hawaii, I buy most of my yarns online and I was slightly disappointed when the yarn arrived and it wasn't pure white, but a bit of an ivory. But the dress turned out so pretty, I wasn't disappointed long. I'll be going back to Hawaii before her blessing, so we had a little fashion show a bit early. Here is our newest family member, Baby G, modeling her gown.

And, of course, the outfit isn't complete without the shoes.

 I loved making this for my baby granddaughter! I imagined Amber saving the dress for G's daughter to wear in 25 years!

-Lorie

Creamy Pesto Shrimp Linguine

13 oz. box of linguine pasta
8 Tbls. butter, seperated
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 -5 sliced mushrooms
2 chopped green onions, optional
2 cups half and half, I used fat free
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto - Thanks Amber for the homemade!
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

~Cook linguine until al dente and drain.
~In a skillet, melt 2Tbls. butter and saute mushrooms. As soon as they are done, pour shrimp on top of mushrooms, remove from heat and cover with a lid. Set aside for now.

~In another skillet, melt the 6 Tbls. butter and saute minced garlic and green onions, then stir in half and half, season with pepper. Stirring constantly, cook about 6 minutes on medium heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese and pesto, cook until thickened.
~Stir in the shrimp and mushrooms,the shrimp will be mostly pink from the steam of the mushrooms, but if not cook, (this will be only a minute or 2) until shrimp are all cooked through and pink. Spoon over the hot linguine. Sprinkle with a little fresh Parmesan and sea salt.

No picture of this because we are forgetful. But it is so good. I used whole wheat pasta and my teen-ager loved it despite it having additional fiber :)

A New Arrival

You may have noticed how us posters here at Paisley are a little distracted with life and not too consistent at posting lately. Look and see what a beautiful distraction we have... Happy BIRTH-day to Amber's new daughter and Lorie's new granddaughter, Lil' Lady G! She weighed in at 7 lbs and 8oz. She was delivered at home and her and her mama are doing GREAT!

Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce

When I was a girl, my mother frequently brought home Chinese takeout and my favorite was the sweet & sour pork. As a young wife and mother, I wanted to learn to make my own, and got this recipe from a friend many many years ago. It has become a family favorite of ours.

Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 TBSP corn starch
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 6 TBSP soy sauce
• 3 clove minced garlic
• 1 TBSP fresh grated ginger

Mix brown sugar and corn starch in small sauce pan until well blended. Then add liquids and other ingredients. Heat until thick. Use for dipping egg rolls, won tons or chicken nuggets, or add pork or chicken and vegetables for a main dish.

Traditionally, sweet & sour pork is made with marinaded pork (Marinade raw pork chunks in garlic and soy sauce) drenched in corn starch and then deep fried. It's delicious if you want to go to all that work and have the extra calories. I've gotten lazy and more calorie conscious over the years, though, so I usually just use grilled chicken or slow cooked unseasoned pork, which is also very tasty. I like to add red and green bell peppers, onion chunks, carrots, celery and pineapple tidbits to my dish. Stir fry the vegetables in a bit of olive oil, add the cooked meat (I used pork here, but boneless grilled chicken works well too).

Then pour over the prepared sauce and serve over steamed white (or brown) rice.

I love this sauce! I've been using this recipe for over 20 years and have always had good results with it. As a bonus, it's much lower in sodium than bottled sauces and there's no MSG, for folks who are concerned about that.

Enjoy!

Lorie

Raspberry Coconut Cookies

I tried a new cookie recipe from Taste of Home. They are so yummy. A little crunchy on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle. I made these with my homemade raspberry jam and they were a BIG hit!



Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam

Directions

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, water and extract. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in coconut (dough will be sticky).
Set aside 2/3 cup dough; roll remaining dough into 1-in. balls. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a 3/8-in. deep indentation in the center of each ball. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon jam. Cover jam with a teaspoonful of reserved dough; seal and reshape into a ball. Repeat.
Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.
Happy Baking
~jan