Category Archives: Cooking

Crafty Mojo

Yarn-winding disaster

I’ve made substantial progress on my shawl! I am quite impressed with Argante and may even knit Gaenor. It would look quite gorgeous with my new Unwind Yarns. Unfortunately, today I have totally lost my crafty mojo. It’s not the inspiration, it’s the actual talent. So now I am avoiding my shawl for fear of killing it. I tried to wind two skeins of yarn today and look what happened to the second: That’s my poor Unwind Yarns skein of lovelyness. *sigh* I may have to bring it to knitting night on Monday to get some assistance. I really need to figure out how to use my swift properly. It just keeps flying off the ends and getting tangled. So instead, I decided to sew my new pillow cases… and I realized I hadn’t pre-washed my fabric. So first of all I had to do a load of laundry to pre-shrink my fabric. Look at this lovely fabric I bought: Unfortunately, as I was trying to figure the second step (and thinking that the fabric looked too square and not rectangular)… I realized that I miscalculated my yardage and didn’t buy enough at Dressew. *sigh* Now my apartment is a disaster, covered in fabric scraps, yarn bits, and chunks of chewed paper (from the bunny). I quit the living room and went to the kitchen to make pasta salad. Fortunately that turned out well and it was quite tasty.

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Carrot Ginger Soup

How to make carrot ginger soup

This fat-free vegan-friendly recipe will make any soup lover’s tummy smile. I combined a couple recipes to create this bad boy: a carrot-coriander soup that called for milk to make it creamy, and a butternut squash soup with ginger that is next to make on the recipe list! Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium cooking onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 medium potatoes, cubed 1 piece (2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and minced 4 cups of carrots, peeled and chopped 1 (32 fluid ounce) container of vegetable stock salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Directions: In a large pot, drizzle olive oil over onion, celery, potatoes, and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Put in the carrots and pour stock to cover the vegetables. If not enough, use some water to cover. Cover the pot and raise the heat to medium to bring to a simmer. Reduce to low and gently simmer until vegetables are soft when pieced with a fork (20-25 minutes) Remove from heat and let cool. Working in batches, ladle soup into a food processor or blender. Process to make a smooth purée. Return the purée to the large pot and add 1 cup of vegetable stock or water to thin (add more if too thick), salt and pepper to taste. Notes/Recommendations: I would suggest you use bulk carrots. My mom had the pre-peeled and chopped ones left over from family dinner, so they were quick and easy to [...]

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The Call of the Crock Pot

Vegetarian chili in a crockpot

I bought a crock pot. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while but wasn’t sure if I could find enough vegetarian recipes for it. Turns out there are lots of options. Last week when I got it ($20 new off CraigsList), I immediately unboxed it and started making Hot Mulled Apple Cider. Nom nom nom. Last night I prepared vegetarian chili (with meat substitute) to cook today. (I like to put chili on noodles and top it with cheese.) Speaking of food… I hope my American friends are having a nice Thanksgiving! Now, if anyone has any fabulous crock pot recipes to share… I would love the suggestions!!

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Fall Festival Recipe Exchange

pumpkins with fall leaves

My Friend Amy recently came up with this idea to celebrate autumn and all the great foods that go with it. I have to say that Autumn and Spring are my favourite seasons (I can never decide which I like more). I love the smell of the leaves, the colours, and the lovely wind. I enjoy bundling up because it’s just a little chilly (not freezing yet) with hand-knit scarves and cowls. My favourite fall recipe (also the one I’m most proud of) is my Pumpkin Spice Loaf. I absolutely love the pumpkin spice loaf from Starbucks, and I was determined to make it. After many failed attempts and some mediocre loafs, I discovered the secret to Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Loaf. Now, since I already shared that recipe for Tea Talks so I need to share something different. Then my second thought was my mother’s Oven-Roasted Vegetables. So I went searching for a picture, knowing that I made them when we were living in London. Well, it turns out I already shared the recipe for Oven-Roasted Vegetables as well. So I’ve decided to share my mom’s lovely Tuna Noodle Casserole adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook! I love canned tuna and this casserole is perfect straight from the oven, or reheated for lunch the next day. It’s comfort food and a well-balanced meal. Also, visit My Friend Amy’s blog for a Mister Linky with all the Fall Festival recipes!

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Blackberries Gone Wild

blackberries_picking1

That got your attention didn’t it? On Monday, we partook in the 3rd annual picking of wild blackberries. CW and I grab some buckets, put on long pants and sleeves, and trek out into the wild. Okay, so it’s not really the wild, it’s 44 acres of children’s camp / farmland and it is riddled with wild blackberries. Elvis (pictured right) joined us of course. He loves running in the trails and fields; he’s lived on the property (with the owners) since he was a puppy. He also chased and tracked a rabbit while we were in the trails. He’s much too loud and not nearly quick enough to catch a rabbit, but he had fun just the same. (Isn’t Elvis, the hound dog, aptly named? If you say no, I might just have to sing at you!) We still had lots of company; the horses, the bugs, and the birds: Now answer me this, what is the difference between blackberries with these pointy leaves (see photo left) and these round leaves (see photo right). The blackberries don’t taste any different, and the grow right next to each other, so why the different leaves? We collected nearly seven cups of blackberries, so I made Blackberry Crumb Bars which we really enjoyed last year. They’re really good heated up a la mode. I prefer them to making pie (like I did two summers ago) because I find the filling is too juicy with fresh blackberries. We also had enough left over [...]

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