Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• 6 medium-sized zucchini
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped baby bella (or button) mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
• fresh parsley
• sea salt and pepper
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Rinse and drain the quinoa. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, or until broth is fully absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the soft centers, leaving a hollow boat-shaped shell.
In a mixing bowl, gently toss the quinoa with the chopped pepper, onion and mushrooms. Season with parsley, salt and pepper. Drizzle oil and vinegar over and stir to combine.
Arrange zucchini in a shallow baking dish. Scoop quinoa filling into the zucchini. Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Pour water into the pan to cover the bottom by 1/4 inch (this helps keep the zucchini moist while cooking). Bake for 35 minutes, until zucchini is tender when pricked with a fork. Turn on the broiler for about 2 minutes, just to brown the cheese. Serve 1 half as a side dish or 2 halves for a main course.

Panzanella with Cannellini Beans
• 1 loaf day-old Italian bread
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 large, very ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 handful fresh basil, thinly sliced
• parmigiano or pecorino cheese
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus 1 tablespoon for the beans)
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• sea salt and black pepper
Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Toast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium low. Cook garlic for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Rinse and drain the canned beans, then add them to the pan, stirring to combine with the garlic. Cook on low for 5 minutes.
In a large salad bowl, pour the bread cubes, cooked beans, tomatoes and basil. Separately, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make vinaigrette. Drizzle over the salad and toss gently to combine. Let the salad sit on the counter for 15-30 minutes to let the flavors meld before eating. Just before serving, grate some cheese over top. Makes 4-6 servings.

This project is driving me crazy. I actually started it in October to give to Katie at Christmas. I had another project going for her sister, so I figured I’d get to it in November. I finished the first project and started Katie’s and got sick.

Went back to the sweater after Christmas and ran into problems.

The pattern is 16 rows. It was hard to keep track of. Ripped it out. Got out the row counter and still had problems, because I could not see the pattern. Added stitch markers at the end of each pattern repeat and while I still couldn’t see the pattern (certainly did not look like the photo), I continued until the end, sewed it together, the sleeves were too small at the shoulder.

I knew this was a counting problem, I was not happy with the whole thing. So, you guessed it, I ripped the whole thing out. Hubby “I don’t know why you bother, Katie will never notice.” Are you sure? The Katie who always notices my hair cuts, wants to look into my eye to see if she can see the new lenses or the old cataract, the Katie who finds green inch worms in grass? And even if she didn’t notice the crunched up sleeves, I would and my Katie deserves perfect (or closer to it than the first attempt).

Did I mention one of my problems is that I have always knitted in the “Combined Knitting” style? That is holding yarn in my left hand and going in through the back of the knit stitch. This is fine unless you are knitting in the round or the pattern depends on the direction of the stitches, like Sophie.

So with the restart I am attempting to use the “Continental Method”. I find it awkward, time consuming and almost impossible to “knit two together”. Some of it may be the yarn. Shibu is a blend of cotton and rayon and doesn’t have much give. On the plus side, I can now see the pattern, and I have learned to hiss instead of swearing.

I’ve had the second eye surgery to remove a cataract; now that both eyes are complete, my long range vision is almost perfect. My short range vision is getting better but not good. So knitting is a challenge.

The second 16 rows of the pattern are complete and the gage is off. After conversion from inches to centimeters, instead of 26 rows and 19 stitches per 10cm, the swatch is 10 rows and 11 stitches per 5.1cm. I will be blocking it and at this point my brain can’t figure a solution, without ripping out, which isn’t happening.

In the meantime, my wonderful daughter sent me a pattern for an Olympic hat. My niece wants to knit one too, so we will visit my favorite store, Sheep Thrills, and get stuff this weekend!

Did the conversion wrong Tension: 10 cm (3.9 in) measures 19 st and 26 rows. My gage measures 2 in so ½ of 19 = 9.5 and ½ 26=13. Thus my 10 rows and 12 stitches is off by not much at all!

In another development my niece and I did visit Sheep Thrills and bought Ella Rae, Classic Superwash to make the Olympic Reindeer Hat (cleverknits.com). The pattern has changed from the original  the materials are now 5 and 6 circular 16” needles.

I’ll go out later and get the correct needles, probably at Michaels or Walmart. My husband saw the pattern and has claimed the hat. So I must knit!