Last week, I flew up to Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I’d heard great things, but I wasn’t prepared for the amazingness to come! I’ve finally finished editing the hoooours of footage I took over that weekend, so you get an extra special triple-whammy today!
Part 1: I’m heading off to Edinburgh Yarn FestivalÂ
Part 2: Visiting the festival & meeting wonderful peopleÂ
Part 3: Interview with Rachel Atkinson on the making of her Daughter of a Shepherd yarnÂ
Leave a comment once you’ve done your good deed to be in with a chance to win one of the lovely giveaway prizes to celebrate Along The Lanes reaching the 2000 subscribers milestone. (Before 20th March 2016)
In this episode, I consider moving back to Canada, show off my completed Gemini top, and go stash diving for the perfect purple sock yarn.
Rachel Atkinson kindly offered 25% discount on the Reasons to be Cheerful socks. Use the code ALONGTHELANES (before 21st February 2016, at midnight GMT) when checking out on Ravelry to take advantage of the code.
I make a big ol’ stew to weather the cold stormy weather we’ve been having, share my knitting and foodie projects, and take you to Knit Night at the pub with me. Excitement abounds as Along The Lanes nears 2000 subscribers, and I make plans to go to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. Join me there? 😀
I used the following ingredients, but change them based on what you have, or what you fancy!
– Cooked ham, cubed
– Pumpkin, cubed
– 2 red onions, chopped
– 4 cloves of chopped garlic
– 1 tin of Pinto beans, rinsed
– 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
– Vegetable stock, if needed to add a bit of liquid
Spices & herbs (to your own taste): Ground coriander, cumin, paprika, chilli powder, smoked salt, pepper, cinnamon and a squeeze of my favourite BBQ sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s.
Sweat the onions for a few minutes. If you need to cook the meat, do this before adding everything else in. Otherwise, throw all ingredients in on medium heat, stir in your spices and add the vegetable stock.
Cook it on medium heat for at least half an hour, ideally an hour, until everything’s softened and the sauce has become nice and thick. Add fresh chopped coriander if you like.
Serve with white or brown rice and, if you’ve made yours spicy, a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream to balance out the spice. Perfect with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc!
Knitwear designer and colour lover Stephen West came by Cambridge on his tour of European cities. We had a chat about knitting inspiration, finding beauty in the ugly and mad inventions.
Vero’s Warming winter chilli recipes for meat-eaters and veggies
This is a very loose recipe, so use your creativity and use the veggies and meats or meat-alternatives you enjoy the most.
Today’s chillies both contained:
Onions and garlic with olive oil to get started
A mix of courgette (zucchini to the American-speaking viewers), mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, roasted butternut squash… but you could add green beans or any fresh veg you have at hand
Beans; Butter beans, canellini beans, red kidney beans and one tin of Heinz baked beans
Tomato paste and a tin of chopped tomatoes (unless you have tons of fresh ones at hand, of course!)
A good glug of red wine (and another for the cook!)
A splash of Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and a squeeze of ketchup
In the veggie one, I used 100g of soya mince. In the meaty one, I went all out with a mix of pork sausage meat, turkey mince and ground beef mince. Choose a combination that makes you happy – we’ve been known to throw in leftover pulled pork or ribs meat!
Start by frying off the onions and garlic, then add the meat and cook it until it catches just a bit and starts browning nicely. Add a glug of wine and let it mostly evaporate. Add in the veggies from the hardest to the softest, and let them cook down a bit.
Once the veggies are partially cooked, add the beans, tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, spices – and the soya mince if usnig the dry version – and mix it all together.
Give it plenty of time; An hour or two will allow the flavours to merge together. Leave to cool, if you can help it, or grab a nice big bowl to enjoy!
We love to serve it with steamed rice or tortilla chips. Even small amounts of leftovers are great in a burrito wrap with rice, guacamole and cheese. So tasty! 😀
