Girl Gets Garter Grafting

Here's what we saw this weekend... actually, I didn't get to see the sheep shearing this weekend- I was shopping.

Well, yesterday I somehow managed to make bread despite all the craziness around here! This Basic White Bread recipe is what I use. Lately I've been using 2 C King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour and the rest (3) regular AP. Plus I usually add 1/4 C of vital wheat gluten and I've subbed canola oil for the Earth Balance, too. I'll be taking one loaf of the bread to the picnic tomorrow with peanut butter and jelly so the kids have something to eat.

I also made Red Lentil Soup which is my attempt at Niskena, a recipe from a local Kurdish restaurant, Babani's. It's pretty simple, but it turns out well.
2 C red lentils
6 C water (plus more if needed, more for blending)
2 1/2 t salt
2-3 onions, roughly chopped
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C olive oil
1 T cumin

Saute onion until browned. Saute garlic. Mix in salt and cumin. Rinse lentils and stir in. Add water, cover and simmer on low (20+ min). Remove in batches to blender, adding water if necessary to help blend well. Alternately use immersion blender. Serve with bread.

I started The Blue Sword and it's pretty different from The Hero's Crown. Pretty impressive range of writing styles- I guess I'm used to an author picking a story and style and then flogging it and the characters to death through a progression of neverending books.

I'd better get to the library and get some more books soon, or I won't have any.

Hey, guess what? When they say "Keep the working yarn UNDERNEATH the needles" when you're grafting, they mean it!! Like literally, underneath! Man, when that seam started coming together and I flipped it over and the backside looked like garter stitch too, I was so pleased. I figured out what I was doing wrong- yippee!