accidentally awesome bean soup

a few weeks ago i went on a southern cooking frenzy, and i made barbequed (how the heck do you spell that word?) boston butt in the crockpot and braised turnip and mustard greens with bacon. both of these things generated a bunch of broth-y liquid for which i had no immediate need, but which seemed too good to throw away. so, like a good thrifty housewife, i put it in the fridge overnight, skimmed off the fat, and then put it in the freezer. this broth became the base for some bean soup i made that turned out about 20x better than i thought it would. i think this soup will be ALMOST as good with just chicken broth or other stock, but the complex flavor of that pork roast and the greens definitely brought something to the table. one other note, everything in this recipe but the beans, broth, and tomato puree came from my local farmers market. yay for local!

it's fall--it's the right time for a simple hearty bean soup--get cooking!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb dried white beans, soaked overnight
1 lb smoked polish sausage
~8 to 10 cups broth
1 can (14 oz.) tomato puree
1 medium onion
1 red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 - 1.5 lb red russian kale (or other variety of greens)
salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS
i made this in the crock pot, but i am sure you could do it in a dutch oven or large stock pot just as easily. slice the sausage in 1/4-inch slices and roughly chop the onion and red pepper. combine everything but the kale in your pot.

in the crock pot i cooked this on low for about 7 hours. then i added the kale and let it go for about one more hour before calling it good.

on the stove, i'd say bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for ~3 hours or so. if you do it this way, watch your liquid level and don't hesitate to add some broth or water if too much evaporates. when the beans are starting to get soft, but not mushy, add the kale and simmer for another 30 minutes or so.

add salt and pepper to taste, and hot sauce if you want a bit of a kick to it.

serve with some good crusty bread.

the salty sheep

The Salty Sheep Yarn Shop
105 W Church Street
Swansboro, NC 28584
Phone:910-325-0018
i had the good fortune of stumbling across the salty sheep yarn shop in swansboro while on vacation last september. it's in swansboro, at the end of a little street of shops in the tiny historic district of the town. the building in which it sits also houses a fabulous deli/coffee shop/irish pub, a pottery shop, and a cigar shop. in our family, that means there's something for everyone.

i've been back to the store four or five times now, and that has been enough to make it one of my two favorite yarn stores ever. (the other is purl soho, where i get to go next month--whoo hoo!) this one is probably the closest thing to what i would do if i opened a store myself. i think it's a great example of where dreaming can get you. the owners, peggy and amber, were knitting friends who often joked about opening a store in this location, and then--one day--the space opened. amber called peggy, and less than 3 months later, they opened for business. just like that. not to make it sound easy--i think there was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in those three months, and a TON of work after the doors opened. but the fact that they pulled it off and have managed to build a profitable business in less than two years is nothing short of amazing to me.

this is a store full of fabulous. they decided early on to stock it with yarns they wanted to knit with, and this is working VERY well. any knitter who walks through their door is bound to leave with SOMETHING. they have a boatload of many of my favorite yarns, including malabrigo, blue sky alpacas, be sweet, dream in color, and rowan. it's a wonder i don't felt it all with my drooling. and if i were a sock knitter, i would just pull all the koigu and malabrigo sock yarn tothe floor and roll around in it. it ALMOST makes me want to knit some socks. (but not quite.) and here's the part i love: they are completely up to date. there's ravelry open and running in the store on one or both of their laptops. if you pick up something interesting, both peggy and amber can tell you 10 things you could make with it. i have been in so many stores where the help is kind of not there, but not the salty sheep. they are ON it without making you feel like you can't think for yourself.

further, the salty sheep is a community. i feel like part of this community in spite of living so far away and getting to the store so seldom. and i have discovered through ravelry that i am not alone in this. there are others here in the cary/raleigh/apex area who get yarn shipped from the salty sheep all the time in spite of many closer and larger stores. that truly says something.

on this year's beach trip, meredith and i were fortunate enough to be able to pull off going to the friday knit night at the salty sheep. there was yarn. there were snacks. there were about a dozen very friendly knitters and crocheters. and amber and peggy made is out-of-towners feel 100% welcome. meredith knitted practically a whole hat, and both of us spend too much money, which is only the Right Thing.

in conclusion, if you are down in the emerald isle-swansboro-atlantic beach-beaufort-morehead city-jacksonville area at all ever for any reason, and you are a knitter or a crocheter, then you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't find some time to go check out the salty sheep. it's utterly worth it, and i can't wait to go back!

SALTY SHEEP LINKS
the store: the salty sheep yarn shop
the ravelry group: the salty sheet support group
my pictures of the store: the salty sheep, a set on flickr

there's been some action in the yarn department

since last we discussed knitting, i've been--well--knitting.

first up, the tarris heeter hat, designed by a friend from my tuesday night knitting group. (ravelry link here) she literally followed a woman around in harris teeter until she had the woman's hat firmly in her head so she could pseudo-knock-it-off, using some information on reducing for the crown by the great and versatile ann budd. all in all, i LOVE this hat. i made it for a gift, but then caved and decided to keep it for myself when i couldn't bring myself to take it off my head. i lerve it. mine.

the yarn is lucious malabrigo, but i fear i've lost the label, so i can't tell you what colorway it is. i'm going with red. i bought it ages ago at bella filati. i have more malabrigo i picked up recently in hillsborough, and with it, i'm going to knit some more of them for actual gifts. i have plans to use some new dream in color class to knit one with a matching scarf (in the little box stitch that makes up the bottom half of the hat), my only christmas knitting so far.

i also made a bulky baby hat for kieran in one night from some blue sky alpacas bulky naturals. (ravelry link here) very instant gratification, and lovely and squishy in all the right ways. it was the color of this yarn that got me. and the hat fits the critter like a dream. so cute! size 15 dpns though--not my favorite. i'd knit this again bc the yarn is to die for and it's so fast, but i am not a fan of giant dpns.

making a shedir hat for the hippie's aunt. it's slow going, and there's not a lot to show yet, so i have no pictures. slow because 1) i have to concentrate on it, and 2) it makes me unspeakably sad. i'll take a picture when it's done.

almost done with a baby blanket for a woman i work with who has a tiny baby girl. i waited on this one for a bit, but now i am cooking with gas on it. it's pink and purple and fluffy and just like the hundred other fluffy baby blankets i've made in the past. i haven't take any pictures of it either--it's nothing you people haven't seen me knit before.

made my mama a ball band dishcloth--my first one. (ravelry link here)i went home to see her a few weeks ago, and she was all bitching about how crappy all her dishcloths were. and then we had to run an errand to the super-walmart, which was FULL of peaches and cream. so--i grabbed 2 balls of it and some size 8 needles and whipped out a dishcloth for her. she reports that it's great but needs to be just a little longer than i made it. as a good daughter, i will oblige and make her some more of them. besides, it was superfun. :)

let's see, what else? i've been working in fits and starts on kieran's hoodie, which now has a full body, a hood, and half a sleeve. (ravelry link here) i am 1.5 sleeves out from finishing the knitting, and then i have to sew down the casing for the drawstring, and i'll be done. if i actually keep working on it, i should have it done in time for cooler weather here. i really love it, but all the gauge problems i had with it in the beginning have worn me down. i pick it up now with a little fear in my heart every time. i'm committed now though--if the gauge goes south on me this time, i'm done. i don't have it in me to rip it out again. besides, it's so pretty!

i am sure there's something i am forgetting, and i have some new yarn to report on as well as a new and a favorite yarn store. however, i am saving those for later when i have both pictures of the yarn ready to go and more energy than i have right this minute. i am The Tired.

but really y'all--i've been missing this bloggy thing.

cucumber mojitos

last week we went to the beach, as we do. and we made some stuff to eat and drink, as we do. we have old favorites, and we add a few things every year. one of this year's keepers is the cucumber mojitos grant invented/made for us. i pelted him with questions about the process, stole the one picture of them that the hippie took, and i made some notes so i could share. this one's worth the trouble, folks.

INGREDIENTS
3-4 cucumbers
32 oz of decent white rum
4 limes
12-ish sprigs of mint
1 cup simple syrup
seltzer
lime and cucumber for garnish
fancy straws and stuff

DIRECTIONS

1. ~24 hours ahead: make the cucumber infused rum. cube the cucumber and place in a large-ish bowl. pour the rum over. cover tightly and go to bed. the next night your rum will be lovely and ready to use.
NOTE: steeping it longer than ~24 hours is a mistake--it becomes overwhelming;y cucumber-y. if you aren't ready to use it after 24 hours, strain out the cucumbers and put the rum in the fridge. save some of the cucumber cubes for in-th-drink garnish if you like.

2. make simple syrup--this is just sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio. combine in a pot and boil for a few minutes. cool. voila.
NOTE: can be done up to a week ahead.

3. make you some mojitos. juice 4 limes, and pull the leaves off the mint stems. if you are making a big batch, get out the blender and do the following: combine mint leaves, lime juice, and 1 cup of simple syrup. blend briefly, but don't overblend--you aren't pureeing those mint leaves. stir in the rum. pour generous helping of this mixture into tall glasses over ice, top with seltzer, and garnish.
NOTE: if you prefer to do it glass by glass, then you want to muddle about 1/2 a lime's worth of juice, about 1.5 mint sprigs' worth of leaves, and about an ounce of simple syrup in the glass. add about 3 ounces of rum per glass, top with seltzer and garnish.

4. drink up.

on down time, and how i don't have enough of it

we've had one of those weeks here that feels like fall. i know it's a fluke--we have one or two of these every year right before it gets hot as hell again. but man, does it ever feel awesome! i've gotten to eat lunch outside a couple of days this week, and go for a few walks outside, and best of all--the windows are open. there's something truly wonderful about having them open and hearing the crickets and frogs outside my window while i am falling asleep at night. makes the mornings delightful, snuggling under the warm comforter while a cool breeze blows in the window. it makes my house smell like my grandmother's house always smelled when i was a child.

this weekend, the critter and i are packing up and heading to my parents' house on the edge of the mountains, and i am really hoping the weather holds. i'm overdue for a walk in the woods with my little guy, kicking leaves around. i'm also looking forward to some good nighttime conversation with my mama after everyone else is in the bed. i might even get some knitting done if i am far, far away from all the household stuff that usually distracts me from doing creative things.

sometimes in the day-to-day rush of living my life, i forget how important it is for me to take some DOWN time. i need it--i think everyone does--but it's so hard to take it when there are always 1000+ things you need to do, most of which you should have gotten done yesterday. but right now, i feel so overdue for a vacation, it's not even funny. i'll get one soon, but even the week and a half till we leave for the beach feels far, far away right now. so let's think about that for a moment, shall we?

let's look again at the house where we will be staying this year. let's remember some of the beach trips from the past, and let's revel for a moment that this one is going to include all of the original beach group but one person--kind of a miracle after 9 years. yay! i absolutely cannot wait for a whole week of sitting, and hanging out, and walking on the beach with my hippie, and talking to friends, and cooking, and eating, and knitting, and putting that baby's feet in the sand again. maybe i should start a countdown ticker for it, so i can let the anticipation build even more--it really can't get here soon enough.

visitor

this summer, we have had some lovely herbs planted along the front sidewalk that we've been using in all manner of thing. it's been awesome to just run out front and grab what i need, and it's saved me a fortune. i found, however, that i didn't really use the parsley all that much. so when these fabulous huge yellow and black caterpillars moved in and started to chomp it up, we let them have at it. this photo is a testament to a) how awesome my camera is, and b) how much we've enjoyed these visitors to the yard. the parsley is gone as of a few days ago, and all these caterpillars are off being big swallowtail butterflies now. so cool.

gone, baby, gone

so this will be news for some of you, and not for others. for those of you reading this and thinking--wow--who knew? i am so sorry for not talking to you in person about this. it's a conversation i just can't have over and over again, but for some reason, i feel like writing about it. so i am.

i took last week off. my nanny was having foot surgery, the hippie's sister was supposed to be in town all week, i was tired, and i missed my baby. once in a while, as a working mother, it's nice to take a week and pretend you're a stay-at-home mother instead. but anyway. i took the week off.

at the beginning of last week, i was about 6 weeks pregnant. now, i am not. over the course of the past week or so, i lost that pregnancy, and now, i am just me again, instead of me and a little growing bit. and folks, it's a weird feeling. i am rational--i know that losing an early pregnancy is unbelievably common. and i know that it means something, somewhere, in the nothing-short-of-a-miracle process of making a baby from a couple of rogue cells went wrong, and that's all there is to it. i didn't drink, smoke, eat a slew of high-mercury fish and bacteria-laden cold cuts. i didn't take up cage fighting, or start riding horses out of the blue. this shit just happens sometimes. and in some ways, i actually feel lucky. i didn't have a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy. i didn't have uncontrollable bleeding or a tremendous amount of pain. i didn't not know what was going on. i don't need a D&C to complete the process. my body just said--hey--this ain't right--and took care of it. ah, nature... what a bitch!

so it's weird. there's a sense of loss and emptyness, but i think far less than if you lose a baby later in a pregnancy. there's also an odd sense of just wanting it to be over if it's going to be over, so i can let it go and move on. and not to get all graphic, but i am so sick of the sight and smell of blood, i can't even tell you.

somewhat unexpectedly, it's made me feel incredibly closer to the family i have. i want to hold kieran so tight and never let him go. i want the hippie to sleep so close beside me that we are like one person. i want to hole up in the house with my family and not let anyone in or out for a month. i have more love than ever for them. where's it coming from? am i trying to protect what i have? i am honestly not sure. but it's a crazy side effect of this crap, that's for sure.

in the end, i am fine. we are fine. this was yet another accidental pregnancy for us--lord help us all if/when we actually decide to TRY to get pregnant. either we won't be able to, or i'll have triplets. lol.

ok--enough about that.

on an utterly different topic--i'm 40. when the hell did THAT sneak up on me? i don't feel any different, but there it is. where's that Box of Badass i was supposed to get when that happened? i DID get a brand new macBook pro and a whole bunch of unexpected guests over the weekend, plus a slew of other unexpected gifts. and a party. what i really want is a do-over week off, which i will get in a couple of weeks when we go to the beach. maybe i'll manage to get through at least registering the macBook by then. i have a real problem with time lately. there's just not enough.

when that Box of Badass arrives, i would like it to contain the following: some ID's for covert international travel, some plane tickets, a few interesting firearms, lots and lots of cash in various currencies, the ability to speak 9 languages of my choosing, PhD's in planetary science and mechanical engineering, some hidden macGuyver capabilities, black belts in at least 3 martial arts styles, and definitely, DEFINITELY the superpower that allows me to stop time for everyone but me so i can get some shit done and then take a nap before things turn on again.

dragonfly washcloth - free!

i blogged about this little washcloth i made an age ago, but since i am on ravelry and have emailed it out to bunches of people, i decided to officially offer it up as a free pattern. it's one of my favorite and most well-used knitted items, and it makes a great little gift with a bar of soap. so here ya go--have at it.

you can download it directly here.
or if you prefer, here's the ravelry pattern link.

ps--i have no delusions about becoming a designer or anything, but i might someday get around to drawing a few more washcloths. i'll keep you posted. :)

new toy!

this little video camera is my new favorite toy. i wish i had had it sooner! the hippie asked me when the critter was born if i thought we needed a video camera, and i was all--nah--i'll never use it. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG! i have a friend with this one, and as soon as i saw it i was beside myself with jealousy. and now--i have one too! yay! this thing came just in time for the weekend, and i think i made like 25 videos in a day and a half. HIGHLY recommend. this one is my favorite so far:

and now for a little something different...

last night i blew off all responsibility after the critter fell asleep and retreated to my studio to make a spontaneous birthday present. i haven't made any jewelry in ages, but one apparently doesn't forget how to do it. i am pretty pleased with how this came out, and kerstin LOVES it, so WIN! this is a stone pendant ( i think it's jasper) and many many glass beads (the leaves may be smokey quartz actually--i can't remember), with matching earrings. analysis in 3 parts:

1. the necklace is on beading wire with crimped ends. sadly, my crimps are a bit assy. turns out that my crimping pliers a little too large for my tubes, so i am a little concerned that the crimps aren't going to hold--we'll see. could be i'll be re-stringing this in a week.

2. the earrings, which i basically made as an afterthought, are my favorite part--for once i am actually really proud of myself: the wraps are beautiful. this is a tiny detail that no one who doesn't make jewelry would ever notice, but to me, getting them right is absolutely crucial.

3. i am a fan of a) making necklaces adjustable in length, and b) adding a little fob detail to any open chain end. this is what my friend rita, who is a phenomenal jewelry designer, always does. i think if i take my cues from her, i can't go wrong.

so yay for some pretty jewelry! now i want to make more stuff. stuff begets stuff, people. it really does.

progress report (aka, third time's the charm)

one of my goals for the year is to knit kieran a sweater. i tried once already, and ran out of yarn due to a mistake in the pattern i was using. boo. so i decided to go for this children's hooded pullover, which i have made before, as it would be reliable and simple,and useful. silly moi--little did i know i was going to have gauge issues out the yin yang! i started and ripped this sweater twice due to gauge problems (i swatched, i swear!), and had to put it in time-out for a little while before i wanted to work on it again. however, i really want the sweater, so i thought--ok, one more time... and so far, so good.

i love the color, although dark heathered charcoal grey proves to be remarkably difficult to photograph. the yarn is mas acero from brooks farm--i bought it at SAFF specifically for this hoodie while i was still pregnant. it's listed as worsted--it's not. this yarn is DK, or i will eat my hat. however, i find that i like it knitted at the worsted gauge--i am on size 10 needles to make that happen. it's a little looser of a fabric than i usually knit, but it's giving it this lovely, beachy feeling. and in NC, that's not such a bad thing--it just means he'll be able to wear it more. i am concerned about colorfastness--my fingers turn corpse-grey when i knit this yarn for more than 20 minutes. i think perhaps a vinegar soak will be in order before it gets officially washed. but anyway--so far, i am loving it. links and details are all in ravelry for you knitters who might be interested in those. otherwise--isn't it pretty? still have a ways to go...

new farmers market--whoo hoo!

WARNING: i am a farmers market evangelist.

everything in this picture is labeled--just click on it to see the notes.
the western wake farmers market is changing my life. it's one of a handful of new farmers markets that have opened in our area this summer, and it's the closest one to us of any size. we missed the first weekend it was open, but we've been every other saturday for the past month and a half. it's impacting our weekend and the way we shop for food, which i think is a VERY good thing. we are getting to know the vendors, who have come to expect us--also a VERY good thing.

i have long been a fan of the raleigh farmers market, but a) it's HUGE and sometimes a little overwhelming, and b) it's far away. we still go--just not as often as we did when we lived downtown. and there's something to be said for a smaller marketplace--it's more intimate. the farms represented here seem to be fairly modest in size, and the farmers and sellers seem knowledgable and enthusiastic about what they do. it gets us all excited about the food we are eating, and it has definitely made me more enthusaistc about cooking lately, too! it's a little more expensive than going to the grocery store, but i feel so much better about the quality of the food and about the types of farms we are supporting that i think it's worth every cent.

so far, we've bought the following things from the new farmers market: arugula, radishes, romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, swiss chard, a basil plant, whole wheat and seeded breads, stuffed baguettes, carrots, radishes, squash, eggs, ny strip steaks, breakfast sausage, lamb bratwurst, ground beef, a whole chicken, pork chops, goat cheese in various forms, camambert, mozerella cheese, broccoli, savoy cabbage, spring onions of every color, elephant garlic, asparagus, flounder, swordfish, trigger fish, scallops, shrimp, sunburst tomatoes, grape tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. i am probably forgetting some things...

some of the more amazing meals we've made featuring these things?

• grilled cumin-rubbed NY strips, sliced and served with a two part salad. part 1: baby arugula tossed in a french vinaigrette with sliced radishes and shaved goat manchego; part 2: chopped sunburst tomatoes and purple spring onions with basil tossed in olive oil, balsamic, and lemon juice. (we've made this a few times, because we love it so much!)
• pan fried trigger fish with cheese grits and sauteed swiss chard with soy and lemon.
• diver scallops sauteed with garlic, butter, lemon, and white wine over pasta with sundried tomatoes, spinach, and baby portabella mushrooms tossed with cream and parmesan.
• roasted herb-stuffed chicken with sweet potatoes and steamed asparagus. (made stock from the carcass.)
• lamb bratwurst with roasted rosemary potatoes and savoy cabbage slaw. (see recipe below) (see also picture)
• flounder soaked in buttermilk, breaded in cormeal and 3 peppers, and pan fried in peanut oil and butter with the leftover potatoes and slaw from the above meal. (see picture)
• and last but no least, lunch after the farmers market run has become 1/2 a mini stuffed baguette from la farm bakery with a salad made from whatever fabulous veggies we got that day.

here's the recipe for the fabulous savoy cabbage slaw i made my messing around in my fridge this weekend:

1 sm. head of savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
1 white or purple spring onion, thinly sliced
1 clove fresh elephant garlic (could use 1/2 a clove of cured elephant garlic or 1 clove regular garlic as well)
~1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
~2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
juice from 1/2 a lime
1-2 tablespoons good vinaigrette (i used briana's traditional french vinaigrette)
2-3 tablespoons miracle whip (yes i know--hush! i grew up eating this, and have not yet found a replacement for it in salads. i like the sweetness and the creaminess

mix it all up. chill. eat.

and now, i leave you with one more picture. here are the blueberry scones i made at 6:30 this morning just because i wanted them. the berries in these are from right down the road, and are second in flavor only to the ones on my pseudo-in-laws' farm. so good!

catching up

it's been so long since i have written that i feel like i need to catch the blog up on my life. kind of funny how this thing that's mainly cathartic and fun can sometimes put pressure on you. or well--i guess that's really ME putting pressure on myself, a thing you would think i would get used to after almost 40 years. lol.

so anyway. let's start with the kid, and then later i'll get around to mama.

kieran turned one. the fastest year of my life! it's almost impossible for me to believe he's one, to tell you the truth. i am still adjusting to the fact that he's actually MY baby and that i am not playing house with someone else's child. but i guess we'll keep him. :)

for his first birthday, the hippie and i took the day off and took him to the zoo (pictures here), which was great fun for all, in spite of the fact that this kid is NOT a stroller napper. thank goodness he does ok without naps once in a while--he fell asleep in the car before we even got out of the parking lot on the way home.

then we had a birthday party for him (pictures here), which was just a simple cookout at our house with our friends and their kids. he had fun watching all the other kids, but was a bit confused by the singing and the FIRE on the cupcake. he got to have his own cupcake, with predictable results. he's a fan of the cupcake, it turns out. not too big of a shock--he IS my son, after all. i gave all the kids bubbles and beachballs and turned them loose in the back yard--much fun. :)

in the month since his birthday, he's somehow stopped being a baby (although we still call him the baby), and started being a little boy. he has developed all these opinions about food all of a sudden. i LOVE avacados! i hate avacados--what the hell is that green mess you are trying to kill me with?! yay, strawberries! but not cut up like that please--i will take a whole strawberry mother, and i want it NOW! blueberries! oatmeal is my favorite, but i prefer to eat it myself with this spoon, which i will hold upside down and then fling. no mama--what are you thinking? YOU feed me! whew! i just offer the kid everything in the house, one thing and one form at a time, bot with and without utinsils, until something sticks. if he flings it, pushes it away, knoocks it out of my hand, or violently shakes his head, i take the thing away. if i try 10 things without succes, i give up and release him from the confines of the high chair. some meals he eats it all. some hardly any. welcome to toddlerhood. i know this is all perfectly normal, and that it is, in fact, important for his development, but it sure can try the patience at 7am. lol.

all that said--he's so freakin' cute! and lovey and affectionate and fun--he definitely makes up for it all. he continues to sleep well, develop at an alarming rate, grow like a weed, and make us both (all three if you count aunt jenn) fall in love with him 10 times a day. he's a joy.

observe the diffrence one year makes:

one