Doctors Without Borders/Médicins sans Frontières Donation

Today I donated $215 to Doctors Without Borders, in large part thanks to purchases of the Knitters Without Borders fundraiser version of the Mug Jacket knitting pattern.

Thank you all for helping to make this donation possible.

Enabling

As I put my yarn stash into storage (again), I am reminded that I have plenty of yarn to work with and don't need to acquire much more. Mom, on the other hand, has been knitting and crocheting much of what I've destashed at high speed. Last week I handed her a bag of oddballs of Karabella Aurora 8 that had been sitting in a box since 2007 (because it had turned into two complete balls and a small heap of small balls of only a couple of yards each) and this week she showed me the hat she knit up from the full balls and then topped with a dense, squooshy, carefully hand-snipped pom-pon made out of the small balls.



Well, that kind of productivity ought to be encouraged, especially when it means I can help support YarnStory, a brand-new yarn shop that opened just a few weeks ago in Honolulu. The shop hasn't had a Grand Opening yet (the owner is waiting on several boxes of yarn), so I'm holding off on a full review, but here's what I picked up today for Mom:


Brown Sheep Co. Kaleidescope, 80% cotton, 20% wool. Pink/red dominant is color KAL-20 ANAHEIM, Paintlot 0310, and Blue/purple dominant is KAL-10 BELIZE, Paintlot 179.


Yarn spun from recycled silk sari fabric

Swatching

Although I'm still knitting away at the Matilda & Tillie pattern revision samples, I do have a swatch going. It's nice to have something I can just pick up and knit away at without thinking too much! The yarn is Berroco Remix, which Mom used for a baby sweater (pattern: Arshile, color: Smoke - kits available through WEBS). I'm swatching for an Ingenue sweater (from Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits book). In the spirit of practicing what I preach, I bought the book from the same yarn shop I bought the yarn from (Webs - yarn.com), and while I went into the transaction willing to pay full price, I saved $5.50 off the MSRP because the Webs discount system now includes books! I would have purchased it from a bookstore here, but none had it in stock.

Remix is a worsted/10 ply yarn made of 100% recycled fibers, a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, and silk (you can read more about it on Berroco's info page for Remix). It is soft and pleasantly nubby and I'm enjoying knitting with it.

Lilikoi Lovers Passionfruit Cupcakes (Lilikoi Frosting)

Part 3 of 3 - Part 1: Cupcakes, Part 2: Lilikoi Curd

Swiss meringue/7-Minute frosting is light, fluffy, and sweet without being cloying. It also suited my purposes - I wanted something that would be sweet enough to help balance out the tart flavor of the curd without overwhelming it. Because a very specific shade of blue was requested and I didn't want to take any chances with that, I used water instead of juice and vanilla bean-scented sugar instead of vanilla extract in the frosting I made for the wedding cake and cupcakes. With only the vanilla to flavor it, the frosting is like a high grade of marshmallow fluff - smooth, shiny, and melting on the tongue. With the juice to flavor it, there is an additional layer of fragrance and flavor to dance on the tastebuds. Both are delicious! Best used the same day it is made; can be put into pastry bags [piping bags] and refrigerated for a day or two with minimal deflating. If there are leftovers, you can use them to make a pavlova: spread a layer about 1" [2.5 cm] thick on parchment paper and bake on a cookie sheet at 250 °F [120 ℃ or Gas Mark ½] for about 1 ½ hours. Turn off oven and let cool. Serve topped with lilikoi curd, whipped cream, and assorted chopped fresh fruit (I like pineapple and berries).

Lilikoi Frosting (adapted from classic 7-minute frosting - there are many recipes out there; I printed out Paula Deen's recipe from the Food Network website, used the same proportions, but changed up the instructions to be based on temperature and appearance).

One batch will frost a 9" 4-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

2 large egg whites

1 ½ cups [165 g] granulated white sugar [UK: caster sugar works better as it will dissolve faster. US: if desired, first measure and then grind the sugar finer in a blender or food processor]

1 Tbs corn syrup [or 1/4 tsp / 1 g cream of tartar - if not available, you can leave this out; the frosting will then be less stable and should be served as soon as possible]

1/3 cup [80 mL] fresh lilikoi (passionfruit) juice (or lemon juice, or water)

pinch of salt

1 Tbs [15 mL] vanilla extract

With electric hand-held mixer, beat egg whites on low for 1 minute. Beat in remaining ingredients. In a bain-marie or double boiler, beat on high until temperature reads 140 °F [60 ℃], then continue to beat on high for 7 - 8 minutes until soft peaks will stand on the surface. Remove from heat and continue beating on low for 2 minutes. Should be fluffy, smooth, and glossy. If it begins to separate after cooling (water visible in bottom of bowl under the fluff), it is undercooked and can be re-beaten over hot water to get it completely cooked.

Update (August 2019): for those looking for a lilikoi glaze, it’s super easy:

Lilikoi Drizzle or Glaze

• 2 cups [8 oz or 226 g] confectioners sugar (also called icing sugar and powdered sugar - fine sugar with cornstarch)

• 2 - 4 Tablespoons [about 30 - 70 ml] fresh lilikoi (passionfruit) juice

Stir the lilikoi juice into the sugar a spoonful at a time, until it’s the consistency you want. For a drizzle that will sit on top of a cake, use 2 Tablespoons of juice. For a glaze that soaks into the cake, use more. I test it on a corner of a cake to see how thick or thin it is. The total amount will depend on things like how humid it is in the room you are working in and how warm the cake is. If you want the drizzle to stand up and hold its shape, make sure the cake is completely cool first!