A 90’s laugh, crochet pattern
Since we were in the field last month and “back to the earth,” I am reminded of how things used to be. This e-mail brought me back to the present.
Signs you’ve had too much of the ’90s:
1. You tried to enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with a real deck of cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail your son in his room to tell him that dinner is ready and he e-mails you back “What’s for dinner?”
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5. Your daughter sells Girl Guide cookies via her website.
6. You didn’t give your valentine a card this year, but you posted one for your e-mail buddies via a website.
7. Your daughter just bought a CD of all the records you used to play.
8. You check the ingredients of a can of chicken noodle soup to see if it contains echinacea.
9. You check your blow dryer to see if it’s Y2K compliant.
10. Your grandmother clogs up your e-mail inbox, asking to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can create a screen saver.
The pineapple pincushion
Thank you to the readers who responded to our request for the pineapple pincushion pattern for S.B. from Thorsby, Alta. The first person to send the pattern was C.G., Gravelbourg, Sask., and we have printed this since other readers might like to make this beautiful cushion, too.
Materials required:
Mercerized crochet cotton (one ball each pink and white, two balls pink spangle, one ball silver spangle or colors of your choice).
Steel crochet hook No. 7.
five yards of one-inch ribbon.
one-quarter yard material for
lining.
Kapok for filling.
Abbreviations:
ch – chain
s c – single crochet
tr c – treble crochet
sl st – slip stitch
- – repeat
- With pink, ch 6, join to form a ring, ch 4, 2 tr c in ring, ch 3, 3 tr c in ring, ch 15, 3 tr c, ch 3, 3 tr c in ring, ch 6, turn.
- 2nd row- 3 tr c, ch 3, 3 tr c (shell) in ch 3 loop, ch 5, 19 s c over the ch 15 loop, ch 5, 3 tr c, ch 3, 3 tr c in next ch 3 loop, ch 6, turn.
- 3rd row- Shell in centre of shell, ch 8, 1 tr c in first s c, o ch 1, skip 1 s c, tr c in next s c, repeat from o 8 times, ch 8, shell in centre of next shell, ch 6, turn.
- 4th row – Shell in centre of shell, ch 8, s c in first tr c of pineapple, o s c in next ch 1 space, s c in next tr c, repeat from o 8 times, ch 8, shell in centre of shell, ch 6, turn.
- 5th row – Shell in shell, ch 8, tr c in first s c , o ch 1, tr c in next s c, repeat from o 17 times, ch 8, shell in centre of next shell, ch 6, turn.
- 6th row – Shell in shell, ch 8, s c in first tr c of pineapple, o s c in next chain 1 space, s c in next tr o repeat from o 17 times, ch 8, shell in next shell, ch 6, turn.
u 7th row – Shell in shell, ch 8, s c in first s c, o ch 5, skip first s c, s c in next s c, repeat from o 17 times, ch 8, shell in next shell, ch 6, turn.
- 8th row – Shell in shell, ch 8, s c in first ch 5 loop of pineapple, o ch 5, s c in next loop, repeat from o 16 times, ch 8, shell in next shell, ch 6, turn. Repeat the last row 16 times having one loop less in pineapple in each row until one loop remains, ch 6, turn.
- Next row – Shell in shell, ch 8, s c in remaining loop of pineapple, ch 8, 3 tr c in centre of next shell, ch 1, turn, s c in centre of last shell made, ch 1, turn, 3 tr c in same space to complete last shell, ch 6, turn, s c in same space where last two shells are joined, cut thread. Work another section in same manner.
- Cut lining same shape as sections. With mercerized sewing thread, sew half an inch around edge leaving opening at top. Fill with kapok and sew remainder of cushion.
- For the edge – Attach pink in any ch 6 loop and working through both sections, ch 4, 2 tr c, ch 3, 3 tr c in same space, o ch 3, 3 tr c, ch 3, 3 tr c in next ch 6 loop, repeat from o all around inserting cushion after joining one side, ch 3, join in fourth st of ch, cut pink.
- Attach white in centre of shell, ch 6, tr c in same space, ch 2, tr c in same space, ch 2, tr c in same space, o ch 3, s c in next loop, ch 3, 4 tr c with ch 2 between each tr c in centre of next shell, repeat from o all around ending with ch 3, s c in next loop, ch 3, join in fourth st of ch, cut white.
- Next row- Attach pink in s c, **ch4, s c between first 2 tr c, o ch 4, sl st in third st from hook for picot, ch 1, s c between next 2 tr c, repeat from o once, ch 4, s c in next s c, repeat from *o all around, cut thread.
- Trim with ribbon as follows: Starting at top, place ribbon under the ch 8 loops around entire cushion. Having the wrong side of ribbon toward you, pull up a two-inch loop between each ch, then holding cushion with outside edge toward you working from back of loop, turn first loop of ribbon right side out and lay ribbon down toward the outside edge of cushion, pick up the next loop before it is turned and draw ribbon gently until first loop forms a point.
Continue forming a point in each loop of ribbon all around. Finish with ribbon bow.
Shortening power
Dear TEAM: I have many recipes that call for shortening, and I am confused by this. Does it mean butter, lard or margarine? Also, should it be the soft tub margarine, or what kind?
I notice in recipes for baking powder biscuits or tea biscuits, it also calls for shortening. I have used Crisco and am not happy with the results. Here is a recipe that calls for shortening. – Confused.
Orange Raisin Scones:
1 cup raisins 250 mL
1 cup orange juice 250 mL
1Ú2 cup sugar 125 mL
1 egg 1
1Ú2 cup shortening 125 mL
3 cups flour 750 mL
4 tsp. baking powder 20 mL
1 tsp. cream of tartar 5 mL
1Ú2 tsp salt 2 mL
Sift dry ingredients, cut in shortening. Beat egg. Combine liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring lightly. Add raisins. Turn onto floured board, knead lightly 10 times. Roll out, and cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes in hot 450 F oven.
Dear Confused: I tried this recipe, and my family enjoyed these scones. They can be used for breakfast, lunch or dessert.
I remember this fat discussion from our Foods 210 labs at university, so I looked up my old notes.
I also referred to the 1997 copy of The Joy of Cooking. Biscuits and scones can be quite forgiving. Biscuits rise in the oven to become light and flaky, not only from baking powder well distributed throughout, but also from the tiny flake-shaped pieces of butter or fat in the dough. These melt in the oven, leaving pockets of air that fill with steam from the moisture in the dough as it bakes.
Baking powder produces tenderness in biscuits as well, but the dough must also be mixed briefly to avoid developing gluten in the flour, which toughens the biscuits.
Tenderness depends on the covering power of the fat. The greater the covering power, the more fat covers the flour, the less water can contact the flour. Thus, little gluten is developed, and a tender, but crumbly product results.
In our labs, we discussed the different types of fat used:
- Lard gives the most tender product, and is recommended for pastry. Pure fats like lard or shortening have more tendering power.
- Shortening was the next desirable to lard for producing a tender product. Softer fats spread more readily and contact more flour particles than do firmer ones.
- Butter contains water, so has less fat, and therefore a less tender product. It provides good flavor.
- Margarine also contains water, and gives a crunchier effect. For biscuits and scones, hard margarine would tend to have more tendering power than softer margarines.
Incorporating the butter or fat into the flour is called cutting in the butter or fat. Butter must be cold, but shortening or lard can be at room temperature, since it does not melt so readily.
Add the fat to the dry ingredients in a lump or several pieces and then cut into smaller pea-sized pieces with a pastry blender or two knives. The flour coats and separates the pieces of fat as you cut. Some cooks use their fingertips instead, breaking the fat into smaller and smaller pieces and rubbing them lightly into the flour.
You can cut the fat into uniformly small pieces that resemble coarse crumbs to make soft, fluffy biscuits, or you can leave some of the butter pieces as large as peas for flaky biscuits or scones with a layered structure almost like a croissant and a little crunchy at the edges.
In many recipes, the flavor, tenderness and flakiness desired will determine the choice of fat.
