knit parade: getting fancy

i've been experimenting with cables and lace. 

such exploits are reserved for late night knitting, when all but the cat and i are asleep.

both projects need finishing. and then i'll share them with you properly. 

i can't wait. they both belong to me. 

knit parade: arm warmers/ leg warmers

i originally intended to make myself some arm warmers.

pattern: toast

yarn: the fibre company terra (delicious, beautiful yarn!)

but my daughter looks better wearing them, of course.

she rocks them as leg warmers too.

i'm sooo making more!

from the kitchen: salsa

the wife and the boy nurtured 3 tomato plants all summer, each of which are beginning to groan with its load of lovely roma jewels. 

this is the first time the wife and i have ever attempted to harvest anything more than herbs in any garden and we are just giddy about it.

our little vegetable garden, early days

alas, 3 tomato plants do not yield quite enough to put by for the winter. especially since we've been eating them as they ripen. and they are spectacular: deliciously sweet and tasting of the sun.

it's already sublime to eat them lightly dusted with salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and some of the torn basil that grew alongside them.

but so far, our favourite way of eating our very own tomatoes have been in the form of salsa - which we've been devouring with cheese empanadas from jumbo empanadas my parents surprised us with when we saw them for a day on their layover between toronto and manila. 

this list of ingredients is purist and fresh. add and subtract amounts as you wish. if it were up to me, there would be 2 jalapenos with all the seeds in... but the wife prefers moderate heat and i really do live to make her happy.

a dozen fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced 
2 limes, zest and juice 
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper (seeds in or out, your choice. i only put half the seeds in)
a handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
salt to taste

combine ingredients and eat with anything you can think of that this fresh salsa would enhance (like fresh nachos, your morning eggs, grilled chicken or fish, folded through quinoa. i really could go on.)

my kids, by the way, aren't fans of fresh tomatoes or of spicy food. and while i live to make them happy too - in this instance i am quite content to say, more for me!

fall starts

alas, i let the last few weeks pass before documenting what was left of the summer. and now, fall has us in its unmistakable grip.

the leaves have started to turn. the air has started to nip. we have survived the boy's official first week of preschool. now and now he has a cold.

if i was being honest though, i have been nesting in anticipation of fall since early august. nesting, in my world of course, mostly equates to cooking and knitting. 

shepherd's pie made with turkey and smashed potatoes

a new sweater for the girl, in a riot of fall colours. a riot.

roast beef, veg, and jus

newly wound yarn from the stash

fritatta of leftover mackerel, carrots, potatoes and parsley

a hat for me

identical hats in three different yarns for three of the littles in my life. more forthcoming, methinks.

canning tomatoes for the first time with a gracious neighbour

falling off the blogging wagon is rather like falling off any other habit for me. it only took a few days for the habit to become a thing of memory. to get going once more, and now that my job-that-pays workload has abated just a bit, i'm planning on making a concerted effort to rekindle this habit of mindful reflection.

as i type, i had not realized how much i missed this ritual. there is much to share and conversations to be had.

even in blogging, starting over is a gift i don't take for granted. happy mid-september!