Fox in Socks Gift Set for Baby

When I found out that my godson and his wife were going to have a baby, I wanted to make something different.  Something that no one else would be giving them. I searched Pinterest and found this fox hat picture. 

Problem was it only had the ear pattern and not the hat. So I used this pattern below for the hat, but you could use any beanie hat with earflaps. I'll get back to the ears.

http://www.crochet-patterns-free.com/2012/03/free-crochet-pattern-for-baby-beanie.html?m=1

First I want to say, I'm not a professional, but hope you can follow what I did. 

I used a 4.50 crochet hook.  I left out row 10, then went on to 11-26 (not 28) 63 sts., then finished the rest of the pattern as is.

Go to this link below for the fox ears.  For row 1, I did ch 10 instead of 13 and ended after row 14. Crochet around edge with red. It's a little tricky to figure out where the ears should go on the hat, but if you fold the hat front to back as shown in picture you can see better where you want to put them.  Pin them on first to see how it looks.

http://www.feathersflights.com/2013/02/the-perfect-fox-ear-crochet-pattern.html

For the nose make a 10 st ch in red and an 8 st ch in white. *Sc 1 row, ch 1 turn, 2sctog decrease, sc to last 2 sts, 2sctog and ch 1 turn*  Repeat *to*until 2 sts are left and cast off. Sew red and white pieces together down each side, stuff with pillow stuffing. Sew a black button on the end of the nose and sew onto hat.

For the eyes, ch 4 and slip stitch together. Then crochet around for 3 rows, cast off.  Again sew on black button.  I used white wool to sew on as it seemed to give the eyes life. Sew the eyes in place.

Now for the scarf, well here goes.  I found this one.  It's cute, but the pattern wasn't in English, plus I wanted it to look more like the hat.

http://herkkujakoukku.blogspot.ca/2011/12/joulukalenterin-luukku-7.html


So this is what I came up with for the scarf.

With white *ch 1, sc 2 in 1, ch 1, turn sc across row, ch 1*
Continue increasing 1 st each end *to* five times to 16 sts.

Change wool to red  (approximately 2 1/2 inches).
*2 sctog, sc across, 2 sctog, ch 1, turn.  Sc across row, ch 1, turn*
Repeat *to* 3 times to 9 sts.
*inc 1 st finish row and 1 row sc*  Repeat *to* to 16 sts (3 times)

Then sc to desired length of scarf.

*dec 1 st, ch1 turn, sc to end of row, ch 1, turn*
Repeat *to* to 9 sts.

Change wool to white and dec to a point, cast off.

Scarf ears. With red 10 sts, sc across for 2 rows. *dec st, sc to end of row, ch1 turn, 1 row sc, ch1 turn*. Repeat *to*. Crochet around edge with white.
Make eyes as per hat.  Sew on buttons and attach to scarf.

If it is a long scarf, you are done. But if it's a short baby scarf, crochet a 1 inch wide strip to be sewn on the back and when baby wears the scarf the tail just has to be tucked in instead of tying it.

Any bootie pattern will do, as long as they're blue. (Like Fox in Socks)
This is the one I used

http://www.crochetandknitting.com/babysock.htm

Go to the bookstore and pick up Fox in Socks, and you're good to go!

Cedar Plank Salmon with Mixed Greens & Avocado Dressing

I'm not crazy about fish......but this was goooooood!

Soak a cedar plank in water for at least 1 hour.  Take it out of the water and put sliced lemons on it, top with salmon fillets.  I spread about 1/2 tsp of honey on each filet, then rub in the spice.  You can use whatever you like but this is what I used. Summer Kitchen Gone Fishing spice rub from HomeSense.

(If you don't want to BBQ you can also put your lemon slices on a piece of foil, top with fish and seasonings and wrap up. Bake at 400F for 20 mins then uncover and broil, keeping an eye on it, for 3-5 mins) 

If you are BBQ'ing you need to have the BBQ at 375-400F. Put the plank with the salmon in, close the lid and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Then be patient and let them sit 5 minutes before serving on a bed of rice.



For the salad take 1 ripe avocado, 2 Tbsp. lime juice, 3 Tbsp. water, 1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp. cilantro, 1 small garlic clove, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Combine in a food processor and refrigerate until ready to use. (recipe from Ontario turkey farmers booklet)

Toss together 3 cups greens, 3 cups broccoli slaw, 1 cup grape tomatoes halved and 1/2 cup corn kernels.

I'll be making this again!

I bought some Basa fillets last week...........maybe I'll try this recipe with them, will keep you posted.

August 7, 2013 Basa was great too!

BBQ Lime Duck (or Chicken)

Isn't this beautiful?  This is how it started...

BBQ LIME DUCK

1 whole duck (approx. 4-5 lbs)
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp. plum sauce
1 lime, juice and zest
1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)

Mix everything together, yes even the chili flakes (not optional in our house)

Marinade the duck in the sauce for 6-24 hours (but before marinading reserve 1/4 cup marinade for basting)
I didn't have an extra-large ziplok bag to marinade the duck in, so I used a large waxed cereal liner bag and a clip.  (These things are handy for alot of things, like marinading and breading.)

Heat up your BBQ to 400F (or oven), and using indirect heat, bbq the bird. Discard the marinade that's in the bag and place the duck on the rack with a pan below the bbq to catch the grease.  There's going to be alot of it!

You should cook the duck for about 20 mins per lb. Baste for the last 20 mins. Rest 15-20 mins before cutting. This one took 1 hr & 40 mins.