Baking and Knitting

My baking mojo is coming back! Yesterday I baked bread for the first time since Day X and for the first time ever I used sourdough starter (my new - rather demanding - pet). It is a little pale but it tastes very good and has a nice texture. 

I bought myself some lovely yarn and cast on a spring cardigan. The yarn is very nice to work with and the pattern is uncomplicated and perfect for knitting while binge watching 'Call the Midwife'. 

I have a busy week ahead and find that keeping myself busy makes life a little easier and more enjoyable. Every night when I go to bed, the memories are playing in my head like a movie and I get very little quality sleep. I stay up very long, get up late but still feel not really rested.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, getting back into blogging is harder than I thought. So much to do, so many projects to make, books to read, holidays to prepare for. I hope I will be back in the swing soon. For now, have a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy food and family and don't forget the pie.

Monday is Cookie Day!

The cookie of the week: Spiced Oat Slices

Happy October!

Finally cool enough to be baking again. I also got new cookie cutters.

Happy Easter!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Well, if the weather stays all Winter like it is today, you will not hear me complaining. Not very likely, but one can always hope. I have been a bit under the weather the last few days but I am feeling better today and here is this year's Yule Log. I used a different icing this time because I was not happy with the buttercream one last year. Seconds after I snapped the photo Mr. Moose grabbed one of the holly sprigs and made me chase him all the way into the bedroom. I love cats. Never a dull moment around here. Later I will make a big pot of mulled cider with various fruits in it and something sunny (yellow) for dinner.

Speaking of cats, there is a new kitty hanging out in my back yard, watching the bird feeder. It sure is pretty and not very shy. I wonder if new people moved into the neighborhood and it is their cat or if it was dumped. It does not look like a stray and does not seem to be hungry, I offered food twice and it did not accept it. For now I call it No. 9 (my cats are going to kill me if I bring in another one, but that is a different story).

Crochet and Baking

I finally finished my Cat and Kitten Silhouette Afghan, it took a while because it is done in single crochet only. It is big and I am happy with it, so is MamaCat, whom I had to wrestle it from for the photo.

Yesterday I christened my new bundt cake pan with a pumpkin bundt cake that turned out great. I see a lot more of these in my future.

Oktoberfest

Baking

I baked this lovely Lemon-Blueberry-Bread for our Lammas celebration and it was delicious, definitely a keeper. It uses greek yogurt in the batter and it is moist and not too sweet.

For the recipe just click HERE

Knitting and Baking

Last weekend I baked a Lemon Crumb Cake, which was delicious and I finished the Blarney Stone Cowl, a fun and easy knit.

I know my little blog has become rather quiet this year but there is really not much going on around here. We are all well, the house is still standing, the car is still running and there is plenty of yarn to keep me busy. I did not plant a garden this year, so no veggie pictures and I spend most of my time in my room, knitting away and watching movies or listening to audio books. I still cook and bake but usually I forget to take pictures. I'll pop in whenever one of my many projects gets finished and when the kitties allow me to take pictures of them.

Sunday Breakfast

My baking mojo is back!

Bread

I have been playing with a new recipe and I like the result.

Holiday Baking

Well, day one went well, so did days two and three, on day four however, disaster struck. I let the mince pies sit in the pan too long and they resisted removal. Nine out of twelve survived with minor injuries, three are completely destroyed and will be eaten tonight. One more day and then I am done for this year, oh wait, I have a secret plan for Monday, stay tuned.

Da 1 - Gingersnaps

Day 2 - Sugar Cookies

Day 3 - Gingerbread

Day 4 - Mince Pies

Day 5 - Barmbrack

Del's Birthday

Yesterday was Del's Birthday. I baked him a cake and he got his usual birthday hat, this year he requested a green one, he also picked the style. I also knitted him some slippers to keep his toes warm this Winter.

Weekend Baking

A tea loaf and heart shaped Lamingtons for Valentine's Day. I am currently baking my way through this book.

Knitting, Stitching and Baking ...

... are three things I really like doing. Over the past week I finished the last two washcloths in the KAL. The cross stitch piece I finished a while ago but I found it very tricky to photograph inside, I will turn it into a wall hanging.

And my new stove and I are becoming quite good friends, I gave it a good workout and I am very pleased with its performance. I baked regular bread, dutch oven bread, a nutmeg cake and a spice bread for the weekend, everything turned out very well.

Weekend

I had a really nice and relaxing weekend despite the fact it was grocery shopping weekend and we had to go to no less than 6 stores on Saturday morning for groceries and some extras (like a whole bunch of colorful embroidery floss for a new project).

Since it was St. Brigid's Day and Imbolc weekend we celebrated with a special breakfast with braided bread and a special dinner with potatoes and greens (Bubble and Squeak), trifle and a nice hard cider.

I read a lot and knitted a little on the next washcloth in the KAL, a very nice pattern again.

February is going to be my big cleanup month, house, garden, body, mind and soul. :-) I have started with giving up coffee and feel a lot better already. I am drinking a lot of nice herbal teas and eat lots of fruits and veggies.

The seeds for the garden are ordered and will soon come in. I cannot wait to get started, I am so looking forward to digging and planting and fresh veggies and herbs.

I hope your weekend was a nice one too.

Weekending with Karen

Baking

One of my Christmas gifts was a cast iron dutch oven and I could finally try that beautiful bread I have seen on so many blogs. It looks wonderful and we will find out tonight at dinner if it tastes as good as it looks. My dutch oven and I are becoming really good friends these days and it gets a lot of use, from mulled cider to roasting chicken and pork chops it has proven its worth.

Today's Project

Cupcakes for Del's office party, orange with orange frosting and chocolate with peppermint frosting.

Del's Birthday

His cake - Apple Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese frosting.

His (handmade) gift, he also got a CD he had wanted for a while.

Lunch (ribs from our favorite local pig farm and oven fries).