1:01 pm - March 15, 2012 - AngelaH

I Can Feel the Seasons Changing

Crocuses – a sure sign of Spring.

I can always tell when spring is here because overnight my mood shifts. Last week, for example, I was anxious and frustrated and simultaneously bored with and all-encompassed by my projects. I couldn’t wait to finish Almondine, but I also couldn’t stand to look at them anymore; the apartment needed cleaning but the sight of the broom made me chafe, etc. On Monday, this funk was transformed into a super-productive get-shit-done mode. I finished my book. I finished Almondine. I finished a tea cozy that had been languishing since January. I cast on something new. I cooked. I baked. I went for a big walk in sneakers with my jacket sleeves rolled up.

This spurt of positive productivity (that is, getting stuff done that I wanted to get done – not just doing what I had to do, but enjoying it) definitely coincided with a shift in the weather. It has been gorgeous in Toronto this week and, although I know it’s March and therefore, more snow is likely, I can’t help but be excited by the prospect of spring. L and I went biking on Sunday and it was glorious.

So, that’s one reason I know it’s Spring. The other reason is that for the past two weeks I’ve been craving hot cross buns something fierce. It’s weird, because the rest of the year I don’t think about them (I’m also someone not tempted by shortbread unless it’s Christmas), but something trips in my head when the weather perks up and I get into Easter mode. I’m not religious, nor am I a super fan of pastels, nor do I have children excited for an egg hunt, all of which means that what I love most about Easter is the food, and particularly the baking.

Hot Cross Buns, fresh out of the oven and right after the lemon glaze went on.

Thus, yesterday I made hot cross buns – my first of the season – and half the batch is almost gone. When I was making them, L (who is not a super fan, but will indulge a bit) sand “Hot crossed buns, hot crossed buns, see how they run” and then stopped, because he knew he’d gotten mixed up somewhere in there (obviously his nursery school failed him). Anyway, these are Lemon Currant Hot Cross Buns, from the LCBO Food & Drink magazine from Spring 2009 (yes, I keep all the issues stacked on my shelf) and they are delicious! I didn’t have currants, so I subbed in raisins and pecans and they worked out perfectly; next time, though, I will find some currants because they really are delicious.

I don't have a garden, so I bought some primroses to keep me company inside.

What signs of Spring have you noticed? Have the seasons changed for you yet?

Category: Cooking Tags: baking, Easter, flowers, hot cross buns, knitting, photos, productivity, socks, Spring, tea cozy

12:10 pm - March 13, 2012 - AngelaH

Lacy Socks: Almondine is finished!

Can you tell I’m excited? I have been knitting these socks for nearly a month, which seems like a crazy long time for a pair of socks, but I am nonetheless pleased with the results. (I should perhaps add that I have not owned “lacy socks” since I was a very little girl, at which time their wearing was restricted to when I was also wearing a “party dress.” This history makes these socks feel very everyday fancy and fun.)

Almondine!

These strike me as the perfect kind of socks for Spring because the lace means they’ll breathe well and the merino wool they’re made from means they’re actually still quite warm. Also, as the weather gets warmer (it’s 16C in Toronto today!) I will return to wearing skirts and dresses and thus be able to show off my fancy work.

Right side, wrong side.

The pattern is, as you can see from the title of this post, called Almondine, and it’s from the book Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd (the pattern is designed by Anne Hanson) – once I’ve knit a few more projects, I’ll write a little review of this book, but so far I quite like it. When I bought this book back in January, it was for two main reasons. First, I pretty much always have cold feet, so knitting socks seemed like an obvious way to keep myself busy and productive; after knitting a few pairs of basic socks, though, I decided I needed to spice things up, hence a book of patterns. Secondly, I wanted to expand my repertoire of knitting techniques, and it seemed to me that the repetitive nature of sock knitting would be a good place to do so. Thus, I have been making an effort to try new things. For example: I learned how to do the long-tail cast-on for these socks, which were also my first lace-work project. I also forced myself to concentrate on Kitchener stitch, which I had tried before but never felt very confident about.

Anyway, here are all the details:
Pattern: Almondine by Anne Henderson
Wool: Indigodragonfly Merino sock in colourway My Boyfriend had a Bicentennial (Buffy) – this colourway has almost a dozen gorgeous, subtle variations of purples and reds and pinks (my favourite of which was the cranberry-tinted mid tone) and I loved working with it. It isn’t a soft yarn, but it is smooth and even and perfect for socks.
Needles: Clover bamboo dpn in 2.75 mm

My Boyfriend Had a Bicentennial (Buffy)

Modifications is getting its own line, because it includes things I learned about my own knitting strengths and weakness, as least insofar as they relate to knitting lace.
First, I suppose, it that once I figured out the logic of lace (the relationship between where a stitch is added to where one is decreased), the pattern became simple enough that I could put away the chart.
Second, that swatches are really important when you’re doing anything new. Maybe this should be point one, but whatever. I swatched this with 30 stitches on toothpick-thin 2.25 mm needles (as recommended) and ended up with a little tube that fit snugly around my thumb. Clearly, this was much too small, so I went up a needle size and delightfully found myself exactly on gauge. Imagine if I hadn’t swatched!
Third, when it comes to moving between needles, some connections are better than others. Knit to knit, fine. Purl to purl, fine. Purl to knit, fine. Knit to purl, loose and ugly. Because of this, I ended up with ladders along the “seam” of needles one and two all the way up the foot of my socks. In this pattern, it’s actually not noticeable when I wear them, but I know it’s there and I am annoyed. I have ravelled my solution to this.
Fourth, lace is really impressive. I knit these socks at home, on airplanes, in a bar, and at home, and everyone who saw them (knitters and non-knitters alike) thought them quite fancy. As a knitter, this is very satisfying and makes me want to knit nothing by lace in public (lesson: I am a little vain).

I will now, I suppose, learn lesson number 5, which is about blocking (something else I’ve never done). More on that once it has been (I hope) successfully accomplished.

Category: Knitting Tags: Indigodragonfly, lace, lessons learned, merino wool, ravelry, socks

1:19 pm - March 8, 2012 - AngelaH

Granola, Two Ways

I admit that I had hoped to be posting about finishing my Almondine socks, but I haven’t had as much time to knit this week as I’d hoped and it’s looking like it may take the weekend to get them done. Am I the slowest sock knitter ever? Maybe. But I’ve been distracted, at least partly by the following.

Right out of the oven.

Granola!

For a while last year I was in the habit of making granola regularly – every two weeks or so – because I loved having it with fruit and yogourt for breakfast. It was quick, healthy, reliable, and, when I could get to Bulk Barn for supplies, quite cheap. This habit ended abruptly in September when L and I moved and our new oven was such a disaster I put off cleaning it for a month. That, combined with no easy access to a bulk foods shop (a new one has since opened downtown) put an end to my granola making. Well, no more!

My favourite serving: fruit, yogourt, honey, granola

Inspired by L’s recent musings about how it’s been a while since I made granola and the Slate Culture Gabfest (one of my favourite podcasts)’s recent Granola-off – you can listen to all the action here – I decided it was time to revive my granola habit. I am so pleased I did. Our apartment smelled great, breakfast is no longer a sort of sad chore, and it felt a little like getting reacquainted with an previously enjoyable routine. The recipe is below.

After it's all mixed up (the pink is from raspberries).

But yes, my post title does say Granola, Two Ways, so here’s the second: cookies.

Two dozen cookies.

Although I usually call these Trailmix Cookies, they have pretty much all the same ingredients as my granola, with the addition of baking things and dried fruit, and are just as simple.

There's a lot in there.

This is the basic recipe I used (from food.com), but I definitely modified it. For example, instead of 1 cup of brown sugar, I use 1/2 cup of molasses and a 1/2 cup of brown sugar, which lets me get away with not using any eggs; I also use shortening over margarine; 2 cups of flour instead of the flour-wheat germ blend; and no chocolate chips. As for nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, I just use whatever I have on hand. The result is a reliably delicious, but not too sweet, cookie chock-full of crunchy, chewy goodness. Seriously, you cannot go wrong (even my sisters, who hate raisins in every form, love these cookies with raisins in them).

Vanilla-Scented Granola

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1.5 cups whatever other unsalted nuts you want, broken to your preferred size (I usually use cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup flax seeds
pinch ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey (could sub in maple syrup)
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp vanilla extract (don’t bother with this if you use maple syrup)

Preheat oven to 300F and lightly oil a large baking sheet (make sure it has edges).
Mix oats, nuts, seeds, and cinnamon in a bowl.
In a small saucepan, combine oil, sugar, and honey. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, and add vanilla.
Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and stir well. Use your hands to toss the mixture until everything is thoroughly covered.
Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 or so minutes, until it’s golden brown.
Cool and enjoy!

Categories: Cooking, Recipes Tags: breakfast, cookies, granola, socks

1:12 pm - March 5, 2012 - AngelaH

Tomato Soup bliss

Not Campbell's soup.

For years, thanks to Campbell’s, I thought I hated tomato soup. Then I went to Europe. When I was backpacking through Austria, tomato soup was one of the most reliably vegetarian and cheap items on the menu, so, in the spirit of trying new things and eating on the cheap, I tried it. Well, it turns out those Austrians know a thing or two about making incredible soup. I ate pretty much nothing else the entire time I was there (well, that and bread and cheese, of course).

Anyway, when I got back to Canada I set out to try and find a reliably good tomato soup recipe. So far, I haven’t found anything as good as the Austrian soup (I should say, though, that it’s just as delicious and consistent in Switzerland, so maybe there’s a skiing connection?), but I do have a couple of good ones to fall back on.

My first foray into tomato soup making was four years ago via the New York Times. It was right around the time they started their ‘Recipes for Health’ series, and they posted a recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup. It is delicious (although I always use stock, not water), but it can be pretty time consuming to roast and peel all those tomatoes. I also ruined several baking sheets before I realized I could use a pyrex dish just as effectively.

Lately, though, I’ve been mixing it up. First was that Georgian Tomato Soup with Walnuts and Vermicelli, which was very rich and meaty-tasting, despite being completely vegetarian. Anyway, when I had friends over for dinner on Saturday I thought about making that again, but since I was also going to make the Khachapuri, I thought I should at least change up the soup. So, I went looking for a new recipe.

I scanned through a lot before settling on The Kitchn’s Cream of Tomato Soup. It wasn’t too time consuming (good if you’re having people over) and sounded like it might get me in the neighbourhood of my European dream soup. I used tomato passato instead of canned tomatoes – there are fewer preservatives and, for a pureed soup, it makes for a very smooth texture – and since I didn’t have any dried basil I just subbed in some dried oregano; I also left out the celery, because I didn’t have any. Delicious, and a perfect match for the Khatchapuri – who doesn’t love tomato soup and something grilled cheese-esque?

Cream of Tomato Soup

I didn’t take pictures on Saturday, but it was so good and there weren’t any leftovers, so I made it again today. In the meantime, I bought some basil, so I used that and dried oregano. I also added a swizzle of olive oil, a little bit of honey, and some leftover (frozen) puréed Marzano tomatoes (ostensibly pizza sauce). For a richer taste, I think 35% cream would be ideal, but we only had 1% milk, so I used that. Anyway, if you’re in the mood for an easy and very yummy soup, add this one to your repertoire.

This soup is even faster if you have stock on-hand. I usually try to make big batches so I have some in the freezer when I feel like soup.

Reliable Veggie Stock
2 sticks of celery, washed and chopped into big pieces
2 large carrots, washed and peeled and roughly chopped
2 onions, quartered
2 med. potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 apple, washed and chopped (just cut around the core)
5 or 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
12 or so pepper corns
3 bay leaves
12 cups of water

Put everything into a big pot and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for an hour or so. Strain and you’re finished! Use it warm right away or cool completely and then freeze.
To give it more body, I recommend adding mushrooms (or, just the stems, if you have them – just make sure to wash them well).

Categories: Cooking, Recipes Tags: bread, Europe, soup, tomato soup, veggie stock

12:40 pm - March 2, 2012 - AngelaH

Seen Knitting

I love seeing people knit in public, especially on transit. I have been known to knit in bars and cafés, but I generally use my transit time for reading because I’m almost never able to get a seat. (That being said, I once brought my knitting with me because I knew I’d finish my book and found I loved knitting on the subway.)

(This is not me)

Anyhow. The other day I was on a bus and and this woman (above) was knitting a lovely pink sock across the aisle from me, so I sneakily took her photo (do you know her?). I realized, while I was watching her, that I rarely get to just sit and observe someone else knitting – it’s kind of mesmerizing. L watches me knit all the time (even if we’re supposed to be watching a movie or something), but he’s an engineer, so perhaps he’s interested in it as a method of construction or something. Naively, I assumed that watching someone knit would be most interesting if you weren’t a knitter; how wrong I was.

For example, this woman was knitting in the continental style (that is, throwing the yarn with her left hand). This looked like magic to me, an English knitter, and I found myself unable to tear my eyes away as I tried to figure out just how it all worked. She made it all look so easy, but when I tried it at home later on, I found my own hands were too clumsy to make it work. Nonetheless, seeing someone at work on her own project inspired me to try something new, and I wonder if it has this affect on others – non-knitters included.

This thought makes me want to knit in public more often. I very much like the idea of taking a craft/skill that is often so identified with the private and domestic and bringing it out into the public. I get a lot of stares when I bring my knitting to the bar where L and his friends are watching soccer, but I am constantly surprised and pleased to find they are looks of curiosity, not disapproval. So, as the weather improves, I think I will make more of an effort to get outdoors with my knitting – because why not, right?

What do you think of this? Do you watch public knitters? Are you a public knitter who feels watched?

(Also, I would like to point out that I’m not the only one taking secret pictures of public knitters. My friend Gustavo tweeted this photo the other day – don’t you wish you could ask her what she’s making and for whom? It looks so lovely and soft!)

Category: Knitting Tags: public knitting, transit

1:27 pm - February 28, 2012 - AngelaH

Fake Spring Scarf

Remember this scarf?

An outtake from our previous photo shoot.

Well, it seems like the end of February is the perfect time to write it up. Technically, I suppose, I knit this up at the beginning of January, when I decided I needed a better wool scarf (the first two I knit – back when I was just learning to knit – were both cowls, the first way too long and the second too short to wrap twice but two long to just wrap once). Anyway, I decided I wanted to start the New Year by knitting something easy, but still pretty.

I have accumulated a lot of Cascade Eco+ (it is gorgeous to knit with) so I picked three colours and set to work thinking about how best to knit them up.

Main colour – in real life, it's much more green.

Contrasting colour 1.

Contrasting colour 2.

I wanted something quick, so colour work was out, but I also wanted the scarf to have a main colour (and some symmetry), so any stripes would need to be fairly far apart, but not so far that the scarf with hang out the bottom of my coat (I hate that). And thus, the Fake Spring Scarf was born.

Right side – showing off the reversed middle stripes.

Comparing the right side to the wrong side.

I’m not always the biggest fan of straight-up garter stitch and I worried a lot that the colours would be too garish to wear with my bright red winter coat. Luckily, I ignored my initial misgivings, because this scarf is both warm and soft, and has garnered me many a compliment. I actually quite like that this looks”homemade” because, of course, it is. There’s something a little rustic about it, and although the wool is both thick and a little hairy, it is surprisingly soft around your neck while still feeling sturdy.

I kind of like knitting that has a right and a wrong side (it looks cleaner somehow), so I made sure to start all my stripes on the same side. That also means all the weaving is in the same area, which makes things a little tidier.

So stripy.

Fake Spring Scarf – so named because a) It’s in bright, springtimey colours, and b) It’s a nice quick knit, so when you’re hit with March snow you’ll have time to knit it up before it all blows out for the season.
Pattern: by me!
Needles: 6 mm
Yarn: Cascade Eco+ in colourways 2452 (green), 9454 (purple), and 9451 (blue-green)
Finished length: 61 inches
Gauge: 14 sts/24 rows = 3 inches in garter stitch

Cast on 30 stitches in main colour and knit in garter stitch for 7 inches.
Switch to cc1 and knit four rows.
Knit 2 rows in mc.
Knit 4 rows in cc2.
Knit 2 rows in mc.
Knit 4 rows in cc1.
Repeat five times, but on third rep, switch the order of the contrasting colours. Finish with 7 inches in mc.
For the stripes, I cut the contrasting colours between stripes (leaving about a four-inch tail to weave in), but wove the main colour along the top. It’s a bit neater this way.
And voila! A lovely scarf that will keep you warm and is still fun and colourful enough to make the transition to lighter jackets when real spring rolls around.

Update: Now also on Ravelry

Categories: Knitting, Patterns Tags: Cascade Eco+, my designs, scarf, seasonal knits, stripes

3:07 pm - February 27, 2012 - AngelaH

Fake Spring Weather/Real Spring Cleaning (and cooking!)

It is a gorgeous day in Toronto – about 7C and sunny – and L and I just went for a lovely walk around the neighbourhood (we brought a disc instead of a camera, though, because he wanted to toss a bit in the park). I am so ready for winter to be over that, in my mind, it already is. This weather just proves it, right? L, who doesn’t want me to be disappointed when the March storms inevitably roll in, was more tempered in his enthusiasm, but still, even Fake Spring feels pretty nice.

And, whether the season is fake or real, the cleaning it inspired over the weekend is unquestionable.

The nicest it's ever looked.

Look at how tidy my work space is! I didn’t take a before shot because, frankly, it was too embarrassing. There were half-unpacked boxes stacked there, with bags and shoes piled around in front, and it was so bad that my rolling chair was reduced to basically a swivel. But, on Saturday L got a new dresser, which meant his old one could be used for organization (can you believe a grown man used a dresser that small?). The top two drawers have been designated for our hats, mitts/gloves, and scarves, but I claimed the bottom drawer for knitting-related items, and have also gained an office surface on top. The basket is currently holding needles, notions, and other odds and sods, while my pattern books are stacked beside it and, on the shelf above those, my to-be-read pile (you can see my knitting – Almondine sock number 2, of which more later – on the desk at the edge of the photo). It may never look this neat again, but I’m very pleased with it.

Besides cleaning and organizing, this weekend involved lots of cooking, which I love. On Saturday we had friends over for dinner and I made some Georgian food, inspired by my parents’ Grub Club (monthly dinner club they’ve have going with friends for over a decade). I made Bostneulis Kharcho (tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli) and Khachapuri (bread baked with cheese inside.

This soup looked much better in person.

The lighting in my kitchen is a little iffy, but you get the idea. Both recipes were incredibly simple, but had rather impressive results, and I would highly recommend them – both are from The Georgian Feast by Darra Goldstein.

Khachapuri – all puffed up and fresh out of the oven.

L, Carmen and Sam playing boardgames after dinner.

Boardgames!

Yes, this is just the sort of Saturday night I like.

Category: Cooking Tags: adventure cooking, bread, organization, soup

11:56 am - February 24, 2012 - AngelaH

Swatches, Socks, and Skeins – oh my!

I’m sure there will be many a multi-barreled Friday post in my future, and I suppose that makes great sense since Friday is the day you sort out the week so you don’t have to carry it into the weekend. I mean, it’s not just me who does that, right?

First up, my first lace work. About a month ago I decided to focus on socks for a little while because they are both practical and a great way (in my mind) to learn some new skills that I can apply to larger projects in the future. So, L and I went all over the city looking for The Knitter’s Book of Socks by Clara Parkes, which had been recommended. Sadly, I couldn’t find it; however, I did pick up Sock Knitting Master Class by Ann Budd, and it has been excellent. Since finishing my mum’s socks, I have been knitting Almondine (rav link) and I am quite pleased with how they’re turning out.

Almondine socks in progress.

I’m just finishing up the foot of the first sock (they’re knit top-down, clearly) and once I’ve got it all finished I’ll write about what I’ve learned/what little pattern changes I’ve made, etc. I will say, though, that for someone new to lace but not to socks, this is a very satisfying knit: the pattern is clear and has enough repetition to become natural without becoming boring, and seeing the lovely little almond shapes come together is never-ending excitement. It was also great trip knitting (I started it in the airport lounge last week).

Sock knitting is not quite all-consuming, though, so I’ve been puttering around and doing other things as well. First, I’ve been trying to clean up my stash a little bit. For a relatively new knitting, I have certainly accumulated a lot of wool, and I’m not complaining, but with a yarn-happy cat around, I do need to keep things somewhat orderly.

Ganymede loves to chase knitting.

So, I took an hour or so this week (while watching some silly TV) to wind up some of my ends. I like to knit from the middle out – as opposed to from the outside in – which means that if I don’t entirely finish a cake, it ends up flat and floppy and libel to get very tangled indeed. The solution (for me) is little balls, and now that I’ve gotten the hang of making them even, I quite like them.

From left to right, these are two colourways of Abuelita Mysterious Blend Bulky ( 95% merino-corridale, 5% silk – so soft and gorgeous to knit with), used to knit L a hat, and my leftover Tanis Fiber Arts DK weight 100% Merino. What will I do with this ends? I’m not sure yet, but at least when I get to them they will be easy to knit with.

Finally, I realized I have never done anything with the wool I bought in Switzerland in December. I picked it up from a market stall in Bern and, because I don’t speak German and the man selling it didn’t really speak much English or French, all I can say is that it s indeed Swiss wool, but what breed of sheep it comes from and where it was spun remains a mystery.

Swiss skeins

One skein is a sort of grey-green and the other is a grey-blue (which you can’t tell in this photo), and they’re both quite wooly and finely spun, which is nice.

The market gentleman was only equipped to sell skeins, which means it still needs to be wound somehow. I’d like to know just how much I have, but ho-hum, I suppose I can add that to its mysterious characteristics. But oh, what to do with them?

Also! I completely forgot, but you remember that nice Maritime wool I bought when I was at home? Well I’ve been swatching it (ostensibly for mittens) and I must say, it is even lovelier to knit with than I first imagined. There’s just enough lanolin to make it soft and almost buttery in your hands, but not so much that it smells or sticks. It also has just the hint of a hallow and although I haven’t quite settled on what I’m going to do with it yet, I am getting very excited to do something with it.

Here’s my swatch (knit on 3.75 mm dpn, which gave me 7 stitches and 9 rows to an inch), including a little section of colourwork, just to see how it went.

Category: Knitting Tags: Fridays, Ganymede, lace work, socks, stash, swatches, wool

12:01 pm - February 22, 2012 - AngelaH

Pancake Tuesday

I love pancakes. Love them. When I was at home my mum and I made pancakes for breakfast on Sunday (my grandparents were visiting, so we dressed up breakfast a little), but even though I had eaten pancakes recently, when I realized it was Shrove Tuesday yesterday, I knew I would have to whip up some more.

We had spent the rather overcast and rainy day in the Junction (one of our favourite neighbourhoods) making use of our Coffee Passports. Actually, as an aside, if you happen to live in Toronto, I definitely recommend The Good Neighbour, a café at Annette St. and Quebec Ave. – it had great decor, a delicious selection of drinks and pastries, and was a productive place to get a little work done.

Indie Coffee Passport

Where Quebec Ave. meets Annette St. – the view from The Good Neighbour

Anyway, from there we went to a pub to watch some soccer (I knit, he watched) and then headed home. Long story short: In our ramblings I had only managed to eat a muffin (albeit a delicious muffin) since breakfast, so when I got home around 5 I was starving and immediately set about making myself a grilled cheese. I realized an hour later that it was pancake Tuesday.

Pancakes!

Luckily, L had a late frisbee game, so I had a feeling he’d want a bite to eat when he got home, which meant I could make late-night pancakes without worrying they wouldn’t get eaten. The real bonus, though, was that neither of us were hungry enough to eat more than two each, so we got to have leftover pancakes for breakfast this morning. There’s something about cold pancakes with jam that I just can’t get enough of, so Pancake Tuesday turned out to be a success all around!

Leftover pancakes, dressed up with marmalade (right) and my mum's homemade strawberry jam

Fool-proof Fluffy Pancakes

1 1/3 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp salad oil

1. Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well.
3. Add liquid to dry and beat until smooth (if you let it sit, you will probably need some more milk to thin it out – the baking powder makes for fluffy pancakes, but it starts working quickly).
4. Use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Greasing griddle/frying pan for first round only.

Makes 8-10 pancakes.

Categories: Cooking, Recipes Tags: food holidays, grilled cheese, pancakes, photos, Toronto

3:24 pm - February 20, 2012 - AngelaH

Maritime Wool

Last weekend I escaped the city for the lovely Nova Scotia countryside where I grew up. I hadn’t been home home in over a year, so I was really excited already, but when my mum told me about a local wool producer, I’ll admit that added to my excitement. We went on Friday and then, because I didn’t fully consider my purchases, we went back on Saturday so I could pick up some more wool.

A camera shy Cotswold

Gaspereau Valley Fibres raises their own Cotswold Sheep, which were once one of the most popular wool sources, but had since been reduced to a rare breed. Cotswold wool is recommended for outerwear, and Gaspereau Valley Fibres offers complimentary patterns with each skein, which come in both natural colours and hand-dyed.

Natural skeins of Cotswold wool.

The shop is gorgeous – it’s in a converted barn, but has retained all its original post and beam construction, and is headed by a wood stove – and carries a huge selection of fibre. In addition to their own wool, the also carry skeins of 100% Maritime Wool made from 60% New Brunswick alpaca and 40% Nova Scotia Corriedale wool. It is gorgeous and soft enjoyably squooshy and I bought three 250-yard skeins, although I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do with it yet. It’s also sold in natural colours, which are what I tend to gravitate toward anyhow.