The Meatless Gourmet: Favorite Recipes from Around the World
by Bobbi Hinman
This cookbook is loaded with worldly flavors from Mexico, the Carribbean, Italy, Middle East, Eastern Europe, India and the Orient.

Better then Peanut Butter & Jelly by Wendy Muldawer & Marty Mattare
My mom found this one to help me feed my kiddos when they visit her. It’s an awesome book with very easy kid pleasing recipes. It has a vegan option for most of the recipes in this book. It also has the BEST banana muffin recipe.

125 best Vegan Recipes
by Maxine Effenson Chuck & Beth Gurney
I’ve posted about this book before here. It has an amazing Pad Thai recipe that I love. There are very many other quick and easy recipes that I use often.

Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson
Given to me by my lovely sister Jenny, this book has an amazing array of delicious vegan fare. My favorite part of this book right now is the New World Pizza section. A creative collection of cheeseless and meatless pizzas. Very Yummy. Great soup section too!!

Although I am not the best at following recipes exactly, these books do inspire me to try different things and come up with my own variations of meals that my family love. And even if you are not vegetarian or vegan, these books, and ones similar to these offer some different, delicious and healthy options.

I had a wonderful 34th birthday. It was quiet and simple but very nice. My thoughtful hubby took me out to dinner with the two little guys and I ate a few very delicious avocado spring roll appetizers and a very large bowl of the most tasty vegan pasta dish loaded with eggplant, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. After dinner, we went home to eat the most delicious homemade vegan chocolate cake (made by me but frosted by my boys) then we opened gifts. The two boys got for me (via daddy) a very beautiful peridot ring. It is really very gorgeous. And my very very thoughtful hubby bought me this book, Stitch ‘n bitch: the knitter’s handbook , to encourage and support my continued quest of learning to knit. All very exciting. I read the first 4 pages to my son for his bedtime story(sometimes I can get away with reading just about anything as long as I make it sound interesting with animated voices). Probably would have looked pretty funny from an outsider- me reading about knitting in several different animated voices. Fortunately, the first few pages of the book are about the author’s family and not about the actual knitting process. Still, probably only very slightly interesting to a 4 year old.

I have found a knitting group in my area thanks to Krista. She suggested looking up a group on meetup dot com. I will try to go next month since they only meet once every month and January’s meeting was on my birthday. I’m both excited and nervous to go check it out.

Just thought I’d share a few gifts that I received for Christmas.

I have been really wanting to learn how to knit (for reals). I do know how to crochet and I have knitted a few scarves but they were only done with the knit stitch. I have never really known how to properly cast off and I have never known how to purl a stitch. Unfortunately I don’t know anyone who can knit. (if there is someone out there that I know who knows how to do this amazing craft please call me).

Anyway, my grandmother gave me a very cool book about needlework ( The Complete Guide to Needlework circa 1979) . I tried learning by reading the knitting section from this book but that was a disaster….

“Hold needle with slip knot in left hand. Insert right needle and take yarn around it as for knitting. Draw yarn through to form new stitch, but do not drop first loop from left needle. Instead, transfer new stitch to left needle and knit into it to form the next new stitch”

Say What?!?!?!

I just can’t learn this way. I am very much a visual learner so I needed something better than this. Fortunately I received some great knitting gifts to help me on my way to knitting something other than scarves (see my 43 things # 29).

Learn to Knit is a kit complete with video, yarn, instructions and needles (#8). I’ve watched it and am trying to make a real scarf with real knitting and purling stitches. From this I was able to watch someone do each stitch… rewind…. watch…. try…. rewind…. watch… try… etc, until I finally figured it out. I’ve learned so much from this little video. You are given instructions to make the pictured scarf. I really don’t fancy the blue yarn or the look of the scarf but its purpose is to teach you the garter stitch, stockinette stitch and ribbing. All very exciting.

The Cool Girl’s Guide to Knitting has simple instructions that are easier to follow now that I watched the above video. It has lots of cool and simple projects that I can’t wait to get started on.

Alterknits was given to me by my sweet husband. He likes to set high expectations for me because he thinks I can do anything. This book seems a little more complicated, but the projects are ultra cool and hip. There are some great felting projects in this book too. Another things I’ve always wanted to learn.

So, now all I have to do is complete my first “real” scarf. After that, I’m off to learn more and try bigger and better projects.

A special thanks to Grandma Fern, a close friend of the family, who passed away recently. It was to me, that all of her yarn was given to. I appreciate it and am looking forward to making something very special for her three beautiful great grand children whom I love dearly.