The New Chic Ear Warmer


It was Whitney Port, from “The City” who popularized the updated Ear Warmer look in 2009. Anthropologie was the first to introduce the modernized version, in a knitted light-grey tone, called the “Roaring Rose Headwrap.” Now these bands are all the rage, available in stores and online, in every color and style. I’ve made a few in the last year, both knit and crochet. They are incredibly easy to make and warm too!

I like the monochromatic look with the headbands, but I did make my daughters a colorful one to go with one of their skirts. It really completed the outfit (see pictures below). Go ahead and experiment with different color flowers and embellishments.

Ear Warmers

How to:

First make a 1″ square to check your gauge. You’ll want to see how many stitches you need for the width of the band. Using worsted weight yarn and a size G hook, I like how 14 stitches look. You can also experiment with single, double, or half double crochet etc. to make the band. I like to use the hdc stitch since it allows me to finish faster, but its not as open-worked as a double crochet. Everyone’s head sizes differently. You will need approximately 30 rows, but try the headband on as you go to see if you need more or less.

ROW 1: Ch14.
ROW 2: hdc in each st across, turn
ROW 3-30: repeat row 2
Join and sew in ends.

For a finished look, you can sl stitch around the sides of the headwrap, using the same, or a contrasting color.

If you’d like, you can also crochet your headwrap so that it gets smaller around the back. To do this, start off with about 4 stitches, then increase your stitches by one at the end of each row. When you reach 14, continue to crochet 14 stitches for 10 rows (or more, if needed to fit around your head). Then, start to decrease your stitches by one at the end of each row until you reach 4 again. Join.

For the flower, follow the pattern in the Shell Stitch Crochet Hat post.

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Leftover Chicken Soup Pot Pie

I’ve got to hand this one over to my favorite Facebook page, “Whats for Supper” (introduced to me by my sister-in-law CR), which was started by two sisters, Chava and Naomie (from what I gather anyway). As the name suggests, each day, they post what they are making for supper, and invite all their followers to do the same. Naomie sometimes suggests interested cooking tips, and the health benefits of various foods. They’ve created a family atmosphere, a place to shmooze about more than just food!

Now back to the food. In one post, a little while back, they offered suggestions of what to do with leftover chicken soup. I always have leftover soup, and it kills me to throw it away! Only one of the recipes appealed to me, and that was chicken pot pie. The delicious, creamy comfort food that we all love (and you thought it couldn’t get any comfier than chicken soup) is surprisingly easy to make. Making chicken pot pie using leftover chicken soup seemed a bit “off” at first, but once I tried it, I couldn’t help but make it again the next week. And it just keeps getting better. If you don’t like the sound of it, you can go ahead and boil up some chicken and carrots from scratch.

If you have other vegetables in your soup, like celery, parsnips etc. feel free to add them. (Almost) anything goes!

Leftover Chicken Soup Pot Pie

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock (leftover from soup)
1/2 tsp dried thyme or rosemary
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
leftover chicken from chicken soup, cut into 1 inch dice
(or 2-3 pieces of cooked chicken)
leftover carrots from chicken soup
(or 1 large cooked carrots, diced)
1 potato, boiled and cut into a small dice
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 sheet puff pastry or puff pastry squares for individual pies , thawed
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add onion, saute until translucent, add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and continue to saute until the flour starts to take on some color. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer, whisking as it cooks to incorporate the flour. Season with herbs, salt and pepper. Add chicken, carrots,  potato and peas and stir to incorporate. Pour into an pie dish (or individual dishes) and cover with puff pastry (stretch lightly if necessary). Seal well and place on a baking sheet. Brush the puff pastry with egg. Make a few slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape when baking. Bake until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes.

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Roasted Garlic Hummus with Pita Chips

My husband is not much of a sports fan. He’s more of a computer fan, if you know what I mean. So, if not for my brother, I would have no idea that tomorrow is the big day for most men out there! That, and the fact that I wanted a crunchy, healthy snack tonight, is what brought me to make this delicious and healthy recipe. Chummus is available at any grocery, in so many flavors and styles. So why go through the hastle of making it? Well sometimes, I like the chunkiness of a purely garbanzo-based spread, sans the techina. That’s when I whip out some fresh garlic, a food processor, and of course some pita bread, for homemade toasted “everything” pita chips with roasted garlic hummus.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 can chickpeas
1 head of roasted garlic
1/8-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more for garnish)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
parsley and paprika for garnish

Method:

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add to food processor. Add the cloves of a small head of roasted garlic. Add the lemon, salt and pepper. Start blending in the food processor, adding the olive oil slowly. Start with 1/8 cup and add more until you reach a creamy consistency. Spoon into serving dish. Drizzle with more olive oil and garnish with paprika and parsley.

For instructions on roasting garlic, click here.

Homemade Everything Pita Chips

Regular or whole wheat pita
Olive oil
Poppy seeds
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Kosher salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut pita into eight triangles. Brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, onion, garlic and salt. Bake for 10 minutes until toasted and crispy.

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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but I’m not that big into baking. I do it every once in a while, but not all the time. Why? Well, first of all, I don’t particularly enjoy it. It’s too technical. I like the creative freedom that I have with food. Baking on the other hand, it’s very scientific. You need to follow the recipe to the tee, otherwise, it won’t come out right. Also, it makes a huge mess. Not that cooking doesn’t. But baking, I just feel like there are the measuring cups, spoons, bowls, the mixer, the gazillion ingredients. And lastly, most importantly, it’s just so fattening! I’d rather eat food! With that said, I did make some really yummy pumpkin whoopie pies yesterday. I halved the recipe, because who needs all that temptation lurking.

Based on my experience, I’d like to make a suggestion. If you decide to halve a recipe, do yourself a favor, and rewrite it, because chances are, if you work off the original, and you think you’re gonna make the calculations in your head, halfway down the line you suddenly forget and you screw up the entire recipe and have to start from scratch all over again!

Now being as I have a daughter who’s severly allergic to milk, I decided to make these parve, using toffuti cream cheese. I also substituted smart beat light margarine for the butter. This resulted in a runnier filling (see pics). I would suggest going with the original dairy recipe, or, see my other alternative below.

To make the pies, I used organic pumpkin puree that I found at Pomegranate around Thanksgiving time. I think it adds that extra richness of flavor to the pumpkin. (Trust me, I’m no organic addict, I just find that when I do buy organic, the flavors are more full-bodied) The pies come out so incredibly moist, with that kick of spice you get from nutmeg and ginger, and the warmth of the cinnamon. Really yummy on a cold winter day. B’teavon!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Adapted from browneyedbaker.com

Yields about 2 dozen assembled whoopie pies, depending on the size you make them. These are medium.

For the Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling: (see below for a delicious alternative to this filling)
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate bowl, Mix the sugar, brown sugar, oil, pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture until completely combined. Using a scoop or tablespoon, drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

ALTERNATIVE TO CREAM CHEESE FILLING (PARVE):

Now, as an alternative to the cream cheese filling, I must tell you about this DELICIOUS maple butter I bought recently (available at Benzs Gourmet). It was sitting in my pantry, waiting to be paired with the perfect match. And I have to say, pumpkin whoopie pies is it! The butter is like thick creamy maple syrup, sticky and sweet! I couldn’t resist spreading it on a few sandwiches. The result was extremely rich-tasting, too much for more than a couple of bites.

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“Everything” London Broil

London Broil is regularly served in my house, mostly on the side of cholent on Shabbos day. Since it is relatively inexpensive, I have started serving it more often during the week. Now lets get things straight. The name London Broil is NOT a cut of meat, but rather a method of preparation. The method? broiling or grilling marinated flank steak, then cutting it across the grain into thin strips. Because the muscle fibers run the entire length of this cut of meat, it can be tough. However, if prepared correctly, the outcome is delicious. To tenderize the meat, I massage it with olive oil and a mix of seasonings. Then, I let it marinate for a few hours. Finally, I broil it until medium (anything more will cause the meat to be tough). It is very important not to score, cut, or penetrate, the meat before (or during) broiling because all the juices will run out of it. It is best served with mashed potatoes, but being as I had an entire container of leftover rattatouille, I wanted to make use of it. I mixed it in with some Mezze Penne for a delicious pasta on the side.

London Broil
(measurements are approximately, I sort of just sprinkle):

(Approx. 2-2.5 lbs.) London Broil
Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Minced Onion Flakes
1 tbsp Minced Garlic Flakes
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper

Method:

Generously drizzle the london broil with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle onion flakes, garlic flakes, salt and pepper. Massage the oil and spices into the London Broil, until well absorbed. Let the meat marinate for a few hours (as long as you have, I’ve broiled it within the hour and it’s still delicious). Set your broiler on high and your oven rack to be 3-4 inches from heat source. Broil for 8 minutes on each side (total 16 minutes) until medium. You can increase to 9 minutes (per side) if you want it medium-well. Do not broil more than 10 minutes (20 minutes total) or the meat will be tough. Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice thinly, against the grain.

Red Wine Reduction (optional):

Now I wouldn’t want to lose all those yummy drippings from the bottom of the pan. To make a delicious and easy pan gravy, remove the london broil from the pan and pour some good quality red wine into it (about 1 cup). Scrape the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan and pour into a small pot (or put your pan directly over the fire). Simmer, uncovered, until reduced by half. You can strain out the little onion and garlic bits (some may be burnt from broiling) but personally, I like them!

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