Win some and Lose some....

I had an idea.... I thought it was a great idea even though various gauge swatches told me it wouldn't work....  I ignored my intuition and the, rather, solid evidence of my swatches and cast on, deciding that "you never know" ..... The idea was to have some ruched panels around the bottom of a tee and then have wide open short sleeves (sort of a cross between a Dolman sleeve and a Batwing) and an open neckline. Well, I finished it last night and tried it on... It was ugly.... I decided to wash/block it to see how it turned out..... The top is close to what I had envisioned, but the bottom is still ugly.... Now, what to do.... do I rip it out and try again, hopefully with a pattern at the end?? or do I cut off the ruching and fix it so that I can wear it... and call it a day??? I'm going to sit on it and decide later... I'm leaning towards a total re-boot.... there is a great top in there, I can tell...

and yes, I know... it looks pretty good laying flat on the ground... it loses it's appeal when worn, however..... looks a bit like a mushroom, masquerading as a shirt.....


On a more successful note... I thought I'd share my recipe for phyllo wrapped salmon.... I'm not a fabulous cook, but I get the job done.... this recipe is pretty darn awesome though...... If you've never used phyllo before it's not difficult. Just make sure it's thawed (you buy it in the freezer section of the grocery store... near the other types of pastry).

You need:

a couple of filets of salmon with the skin removed (not huge thick chunks..... )
about 3 sheets of phyllo pastry per filet
some melted margarine or butter... I used about a tablespoon per fillet
Last night I added some fresh dill and a splash of lemon  to the margerine, but usually I add a clove of mashed garlic... I left it out because of the garlic on top of the salmon.
Boursin cheese to taste. (I use garlic and herbs and tried the "Cuisine" version last night... it was great because it's spreadable).

Preheat the oven to 350F

On a cookie sheet (you can do this on a counter and move the finished package to the sheet, but I don't like having to clean up the counter afterwards so I do it on the cookie sheet) spread a single layer of phyllo dough  and using a pastry brush, wipe a layer of the melted butter combo all over the phyllo. Add a second and third layer and repeat. Place a fillet of salmon on the phyllo and spread about a tablespoon or two of the Boursin cheese on the top of the salmon. Wrap the salmon in the phyllo adding the margarine to any of the phyllo that does not already have some.

Repeat for as many fillets as you choose....  bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown.... They are a bit of a PITA, but I think they're worth it... YUM!












Finally, here are a couple of pictures of Chey playing with her new umbrella in the rain.....