The time, she gets away from me.

I think Thursday is kinda late for a weekend update, but lately I've been spending a certain  amount of time staring at the wall considering stuff, and while this considering is, I believe, ultimately useful to me as a human being, it lacks narrative flow.

I watched the lights in the creek for an hour while reviewing certain choices I have made over the past few years.....not good story telling.  I have a feeling that blogging will be sporadic until after the holidays.  Though you never know.

I did make soup - found the recipe via Specs and highly recommend.  North African Kale and Chickpea.  Not spicy at all, just a really full warm flavor and very head clearing.  It was vegan until I topped it up with chicken broth to cover my excessive kale contribution (I wasn't sure what the meant by a large head of kale.  I erred on the massive side and then I had to put it all in because I'd already chopped it and well, you know).  Part of me wants to put in some lamb sausage too, but that would really be getting off track, since the point of this is that it is kind of temple food, something that's good and healing and delicious.

Next time maybe a bigger dice on the onion, more carrots, more chickpeas, slightly smaller large bundle of kale.  But delicious....there WILL be a next time.  I love soup.  Any food you can put in a bowl, really, but soup particularly.  Winter and me, we are all about the soup - I have a stick blender and I am not afraid to use it.

During this process I was rummaging around in here for something and I saw the wooden shoving tool for the chinois.  And I thought, why is there a nostepinne in the kitchen drawer?  And then I got the camera, becasue I knew you'd understand.
Just goes to show you how your perspective can change.

Last winter I had to take the Merlin wheel back to Dave for some TLC and while he was tinkering her into a whole new and fabulous state of being, he set her up with a giant bobbin and flyer for plying too.  It is dandy, and in between kale chopping and staring at the creek, I made some yarn.

Picture no good?  Yeah.  How about this?

50% merino, 25% cashmere, 25% silk.  Two batts from the magnificently talented Abby. 

This was a struggle a bit.  The first batt was easy - spinning Abby's stuff makes you better than you were, no matter what else is going on - but then I went to SOAR and when I came home I was a different kind of spinner and the second batt was actually way more inconsistently spun - even though the weights were the same, it came up MUCH shorter yardage.  See how the fatter ply has way more air in it?  I could no longer replicate the way I was spinning before, plus the whole time I was trying to spin as I had, I was twitching to get into some long draw and practice what I learned.
Note to self - finish what you're working on before you undergo a sea change.   

If I sound like I am picking on myself, I really am not.  I'm thrilled with this skein, all 300 yards of it.  It is a much higher level mish-mash than I usually achieve, its elastic and not hard surfaced and will make something nice to wear.  I only wish it wasn't November so I could get a picture that showed you how beautiful it really is.

Comments

[Jennie]

Yum! for chard soups!

That's funny about the nostepinne. It does look like the pusher thing for my Kitchenaid Mixer's ricer attachment. In a pinch... why not?

[Gina]

I have a stick blender as well, and I need to use it more. This soup sounds perfect for the chill that has overtaken the Northeast.

[anne]

oh that soup sounds fab but i can't get the website to come up . . and i have SO much homegrown kale in the freezer.
i'll try later . . .it looks like a cool site for recipes that i would want.

[Sarah]

I know what you mean about learning in the midst of a spinning project. Still, the learning is good stuff.

[David]

Hurrah for soup weather!
It'll be interesting to see what kind of spinner you are changing in to.

[Lizbon]

Heh. That "note to self" is highly applicable to most every aspect of my life right now. The trouble is, I thought I HAD finished what I was working on...

Also, right there with you on the winter = soup arithmetic. Tomorrow: my own red lentil concoction with beets, carrots, and yams (and whatever greens are left over from my kale-and-collards-in-garlic fest tonight).

[Anne]

A friend of mine made the most delicious steamed kale with fresh lemon juice earlier this week... Amazing.

I'm saving a batt from Abby, which might be silly, because she can make more. (But I could definitely use some fiber that makes me better than I am!)

Wishing you lovely walls and not-too-cold creek-watching weather.

[Lee Ann]

Um, honey? In my kind of temple, we eat sausage.

(Don't. Go. There. Though I fully understand that you want to.)

And leave it to you, in Joisey, to direct me to a kitchen site in Canada that I didn't know about. I deeply love you.

[Specs]

You know, I suggested sausage in the soup when talking to a meat-eating friend. If two of us had that idea, it's got to be good, right?

And I have a knitting needle in my shirt drawer. I put it there a while ago when I was home by myself and got freaked out that someone might break in. It's a big aluminum 13 -- could easily be mistaken for a big ass knife in the dark.

[Amy]

I'm glad to see that you're taking my advice about stuffing warm liquids in your belly to keep warm. Between you and Cassie chatting up Abby's yarn I am severely tempted to get some, even though I have absolutely no time to spin. But it sounds just marvahlous. You both come out saying "I was a decent spinner until I tried these batts, but now they've changed my life!"

[cari]

Mmmmm....soup. I need soup. Soup soup soup.

[Laurie]

That skein is beautiful. I think it forgave the transitions between spinnings and brain shifts.

The soup sounds good, but my winter sense says definitely meat.

[Stephanie]

The soup looks perfect. I may make up a batch tonight, actually, maybe add a diced sweet potato. I've been craving temple food too.

[allison]

quality is better than quantity. especially in writing.

I'm a soup lover, too. I don't cook much, but will make soups all winter. (Oh, and you can never have too much kale!)

Also, I don't see self-reflection as self-deprecation. Noting things to add to your pool of wisdom is different from berating oneself simply for the sake of reinforcing low self-esteem.

Keep on with your many ways of spinning. I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts.

Cheers.

[Cynthia]

You've been busy with a big leap inside, so of course the blog lags.

The soup looks lovely and is perfect paired with spinning on chilly days. I have a fabulous pumpkin soup recipe that helps with the drearyness, if you ever need it.

Excellent to see you at Rhinebeck, too, if only for a second.

[Spinning Fishwife]

I like kale. I grow buckets-full of it on my allotment. Very good in stir fries, with a bit of chilli and strips of pork meat. I like chickpeas too, so thanks for the link.

[Manise]

Thanks for the kale soup link. I still have quite a bit in the veggie garden that has survived 2 hard frosts and subsequent warm ups. Off to go and pick some in the rain!

We share a cheese grater in common :-)

Love your skeins btw. Nice blues.

[Beth S.]

Your soup looks wonderful. I have never been a fan of kale, but maybe I need to give it another shot?

And your nostepinne could probably do for a rolling pin, in a pinch, so maybe it's not so out of place after all. ;-) Sadly, I have never quite got the hang of using mine for its intended purpose, so maybe trying it on pie dough wouldn't be such a poor idea...

[heather]

mmm, that soup sounds fabuous. reminds me a bit of one i often improvise with chickpeas, very thinly sliced squash and turmeric. it also has a great warm flavor and the bright yellow turmeric broth is a nice welcome when nightfall starts at 4:30pm.

[elizabeth]

I believe it's time for me to make curried red lentil soup.

The yarn is lovely, spinning Abby's batts are such a treat. I need to learn long draw, but I will heed your advice and finish current projects first!

[kmkat]

I took one look at the drawer photo and thought, Wow! A chinois shover would make a dandy nostepinne!

Yes, that knitting, she changes our view of the world.

[Becca]

That soup looks delicious! I printed the recipe out so hopefully I can try it this weekend.

There probably IS a nostepinne in my kitchen drawer. Along with Mardi Gras beads, a 10 yr. old pacifier, and who know what all else.

Pretty yarn!

[lanea]

I think I found my way back to spinning at the KR retreat last weekend. Finally. And no one died. You hear that universe? Spinning needn't equate to death, even for those of us who read far too much Scandinavian mythology.

The handspun is lovely.

I think your brainstem wants to turn that soup into Caldo Verde.