Soup!

I made some REALLY good soup the other day. Felt like eating something for lunch that was a "meal" and not just a sandwich, but didn't want to go to the store.

oil (I used olive oil because I like the taste)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic (I love garlic; you could use less)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. cayenne
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 cup red lentils, sorted and rinsed
1/2 can diced tomatoes
salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Chop HALF the onion and the garlic cloves.
Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat, add the chopped onion and garlic, and brown them lightly.
Add the spices, stir and fry for a few seconds.
Add the lentils and broth. Boil, lower heat and cover pot to simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. They'll kind of fall apart.
Whisk soup until the lentils are mostly smooth.
Add tomatoes and salt, cook for a few minutes more.
Immediately before serving, stir in the lemon juice.
Garnish bowls of soup with fried onion strips (see below).

Fried Onion Garnish:
While the lentils are simmering, slice the remaining half onion very thinly. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a small nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the onion slices; stir and fry until they are brown and crispy. Spoon them out of the pan and drain on paper towels.

fantastic customer service

When I recently had problems with a ball of Meilenweit 100, the people at Muench Yarns really came through for me. I emailed asking how I could exchange yarn since mine was defective. Although the color was discontinued, they offered to send two replacement balls if I'd let them know my taste in colors. It's really nice that they made the problem right.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my good opinion of them.

I've been stung . . .

Yup, I've started a Beekeeper's Quilt. 

Matryoshka Russian Doll Potholder

I learned a couple of really neat factoids while I was researching matryoshka dolls . . .

Matryoshka dolls became really popular after a set was displayed in the Russian exhibit at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Those dolls, painted with pictures from Russian folktales, were awarded a medal by the exhibition committee.

Another medal-winning entry? Campbell's canned soup! (They still have a picture of the medal on their label.)

Hot soup and potholders go well together!

The pattern is available for $3 on Ravelry. The pattern calls for 4 balls of yarn, but you can make a coordinating set of two potholders from that yarn if you swap the main color for one of the other colors.

"Who Cooks for You?"

I've got a new crocheted potholder pattern for sale -- I'm making 5 of these for the 2011 potholder swap.

The potholder requires 3 colors of yarn, but you’ll need less than half a ball of CC1 and CC2.

You can buy it for $3 on Ravelry. (Update: also on Craftsy)