Happy Easter and Happy Spring (only slightly belated). I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. We enjoyed having lots of free time and a couple of family dinners. I spent Sunday working on the above - pretty, springy lime green superwash wool. It will become sock yarn.(The observant among you will notice that green roving did not feature anywhere in my "in progress" to-do list - I chose to ignore it for Sunday.) This stuff is lovely to spin. Not much pre-drafting required, I just tore the roving into strips and added twist. I was finished nearly half of it before I realized. I can't wait to get some more. The colour is great and not as flat as it looks at first- it's actually a few different very close shades all blended together.

Stuff in progress.

As part of the Spring Sassy Apron Swap each swapper had to include a family soup recipe along with the apron sent to her partner. We only had one family recipe when I entered the swap - a tasty Asian style noodle soup featuring rare steak and vegetables. I had a bit of a problem when I got my swap partner though - she was vegan and I just couldn't send her a soup recipe where the first instruction was "Choose a nice steak."

After mulling things over for a while, I decided to ask Rob for help. I wanted to send a recipe that was home-made by our family and Rob is really good at combining flavours and being inventive with food. Here is the result:


Rob's Spicy Corn Soup*

For the soup base:
2    tbsp  pepper infused olive oil
½  C       onion, coarsely chopped
¼  C       flour
4    C       vegetable stock
½  tsp    chilli powder
½  tsp    ground cayenne pepper
2    C       corn (frozen)

In a pot, heat oil and add onion. Cook until translucent but not browned. Add flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually add stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened. Add spices and corn. Return to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend soup until mostly smooth. Return to heat and add spicy kernels (below). Heat to desired temperature and serve with pita bread for dipping.

For the spicy kernels:
1    C      corn (frozen)
½ C      water
1    tsp  cayenne pepper sauce
1    tsp  ground cayenne pepper
1    tsp  chilli powder
dash of cinnamon

In a fry pan, combine all ingredients. Boil over low heat until all moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.


*watch out - it really is spicy.