Chai Masala #2

Today I decided to try out a new recipe for Chai Masala. 

I added some grated nutmeg, and sweetened with demarara sugar instead of white sugar. 

2 peppercorns

4 cloves

4 cardamom pods

1,5 cm cinnamon stick 

a small grating of nutmeg

1 deciliter water

1,1 deciliter milk

1 bag of tea

2 teaspoons of demerara sugar

I put the spices in the mortar to crush them up a bit, added them to the pan of boiling water and left it to simmer for 7-8 minutes. 

Added the milk, sugar and bag of tea, brought it to a boil and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. 

I wish that I had crushed the spices a bit more, and maybe simmered it for a few minutes more to reduce the water. 

All in all, a good attempt. With the demerara sugar it became a bit less sweet, but that was ok. 

Not throwing away food

The Spanish call it tortilla, the Italians frittata.
We Norwegians call it bondeomelett, which translates into farmers omelet. Or as I call it, "chop up veggies and leftovers, cover with eggs and enjoy" omelet.
That's what we had for dinner today.

Here I have onion, chili, garlic and spring onions.
In the fridge I also found some potatoes that I peeled, chopped up and boiled.
The chorizo is something my boyfriend usually put on his slice of bread for breakfast. I'm sure he won't mind that I used some slices in his dinner.

First I put the potatoes in the frying pan with a knob of butter.
Then I added the onion, garlic and chili, then the spring onions and chorizo.
Five eggs were beaten together with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt and pepper and poured over.

I remembered that we had some cheddar in the fridge as well! Nom nom! So I grated some over while it was still a bit wobbly.

I didn't want to flip it over, so I covered it and let it set completely. Then I slid it over on a plate and served.
It was yummy! We each took a fork and shared it on the plate.
I love doing that some times. It makes the simple omelet a bit more exciting and slightly romantic.

#14 Leftover Retro Mittens

Last year, after I finished the Retro Playsuit I had some yarn left over. I did make Archimedes von owl out of some of it, but still had a bit left.
So I decided to make mittens.
But did I finish them? No...

But today I did! I finished the #14 Leftover Retro Mittens!
#7 and #9 is taking some time to finish, and I really really really wanted to finish something!
So into the bag I went, pulled out the mittens and started.
There was only 1 thumb, seaming and fastening of the treads to do. And I got them done within the hour!

Yay, another item to cross of the list!

The pattern is from the book "Strikk til Nøstebarn" by Kathrine Gregersen, and the yarn is Garnstudio Drops Baby Merino. The mittens are knit flat and seamed up the side.

Trønderrokk 2016 update

I'm so glad I went with my mom to the Trønderrokk 2016 last weekend.
Not only did she spoil me rotten, but I had a really good time!
Thank you mom!!

I had met some of the ladies before, bot most of them were new to me. But everyone was just lovely! Friendly, including, loud and chatty and interested in what others were making.

My mom spun on her Schacht Sidekick that she bought last summer at Spinnvilt.

And I got to try one of her drop spindles. We don't remember who it is from, but the hook has a weird shape. It is lighter than my Kromski drop spindle, and I found it easier to spin Shetland with it, than with mine.

After trying it for a while, I got to try my mom's Turkish Spindle. It was pretty and light, but I felt that it was to light for me, so I went back to her other one.
Suddenly mom got up and went over to the sales tables and came back with another Turkish spindle.
Try this, she said, and so I did.
It was lovely to spin with! You're welcome, mom said! She had bought it for me!!!
It was an 24 grams cherrytree Turkish dropspindle made by Kjerringrokk, or fru_elle as she calls herself on Instagram. I highly recommend checking her out!

After I got my new Turkish I was allowed to dive into moms fiberstash. There I found a pretty braid of 80% merino, 20% silk. And it plays so well with the Turkish! So I can't wait to get it spun up!

Oh, and mom showed me a new technique! If I'm spinning on the other dropspindles I can do the Andean plying bracelet if I want to ply my yarn.
Very practical! There are lots of YouTube videos on how you do it.

There was also a talk about wool at Trønderrokk 2016, by Rhonna Robbins. And we also got samples of the wool she talked about.
This year she talked about the three C's; Cormo, Corridale and Cotswold. It was very interesting, and I learned a lot about the different types of sheep.

 Kittens love wool, did you know that?

In addition to 3 samples of unwashed wool, we got 3 small samples of prepared wool. The difference is miles apart!

And we also got a goodiebag from the people arranging the Trønderrokk 2016.
Bamboo circulras, a ribbon, a balm for our spindles, stitch markers, wpi gauge and a tiny bag of lovely Cashmere!

I really had a lovely time! And I might go again if I can.

Chai Masala #1

I was looking around the web, looking for something yummy to drink, and I stumbled across Chai Masala. Chai Masala is an indian tea made of spices, milk and sugar.
And I foundt that there must be equal as many recipes as there are moms in India!
So today I'm trying out one of the recipes I found.

Chai Masala recipe #1
1,5 cm cinnamon stick, broken
3 black peppercorns
4 green cardamom pods, crushed
1 dl water
4 cloves
3 teaspoons of sugar
1 dl milk (I used lactose free, 1,5% fat)
1 bag of black unflavored tea

Add the spices and water to a small pot, bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the milk and sugar, bring to a boil and turn off the heat.
Add the tea and let steep for 1-5 minutes (depends on what tea you have).
Give it a god stir, strain the tea and serve.
Enjoy!


It's nice and creamy, the taste of the cloves and sugar is quite dominant.
The next time I think I'll let the tea steep a bit longer, and maybe cut down on the sugar. 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons will probably do it. And maybe I'll crush all the spices coarsely in the mortar, to free more of their aroma.

But all in all, a very good Chai Masala!

Trønderrokk meetup 2016

This weekend my mom came to stay because we are attending the Trønderrokk meetup. 

It takes place in one of the hotels here in Trondheim. 

So this will be a weekend with spinning, lots of chatting and LOADS of wool!

My mom brought her Schacht Sidekick, and it spins beautifully!

And I'm trying out her drop spindles in addition to my own Kromski drop spindle. 

#6 On The List

I asked my friend Siw what she wanted for her birthday. "Sheepy socks!!", was her constant reply! So sheepy socks it is!

At first, I figured that I'd just use a regular vanilla sock pattern, and do colorwork on them.
What I forgot to take into consideration was that I knit tighter when working with two colors. Or rather, I pull the yarn I'm carrying to tight...
Of course this didn't occur to me until I'd knit the cuff and leg on both socks, and the heel and gusset on one of them.
I decided to try that one on, since Siw and I have almost the same size foot.
To my horror, the socks was waaay to tight! I almost cried!
I could get it on, but I really struggled to get it off again. Well, after I pulled on it for a little while, I got it off. And I sat it on the table to think about what it had done.

Deep inside I knew what had to be done. I had to rip it back...
And I did. All the way up to the cuff.

I looked at a few patterns, found some help in the Saueflokksokk by Hifa, and followed their instructions for the sheep. That meant that I had to increase some stitches after the cuff, and decrease again before the heel. And so I did.

They still feel a bit snug when I pull them on, but they fit a lot better, and don't strangle my foot.

Needles: 2,5 mm, and 3 mm.
Yarn: Jarbo Mellanraggi
Pattern: Plain vanilla sock with Sheep chart from Saueflokksokk by Hifa.