Tanglewood Fibers, Sweater and Beef Stew

Check out the beautiful superwash merino wool sent by Trish at Tanglewood Fiber Creations. This is my next batch to spin for her and I always enjoy it, especially because it funds my recreational spinning! You can tell I like the colors, because look it matches my couch fabric.

I'm going to get started on this right away, but had to get a few more rows in on The Sweater. It's coming along pretty well, although the seed stitch stripes at the bottom don't show up very well with the woolen style yarn (as opposed to worsted). Worsted yarn, from what I understand, is very sleek and spun from combs without much loft and fluff. My style has always been more lofty, woolen yarn produced on a drum carder, but it does not show the details of the intricate stitch patterns as well.

I'm looking forward to getting the sleeves done because I really don't like the short-sleeved sweater look. But, according to the instructions, I will finish the body first and then go back and pick up the sleeve stitches and finish the sleeves, and then the collar band.

As mentioned earlier today, I made beef stew last night from a new recipe I got from Whole Foods. As usual, I made my own alterations but mainly because I had to do without some of the ingredients called for because our fridge needs re-stocking. This was a really, really good stew, the rutabaga adding a bit of sweetness and flare to what seems an ordinary stew. And in my opinion barley adds such good flavor.

Here is my version of the recipe:

Beef Stew

~3/4 cup of flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 lbs. beef brisket cubed

2 Tbs. grapeseed oil (or olive or vegetable oil)

3 large carrots chopped

1 large rutabaga chopped

3 stalks of celery chopped

1 onion chopped

1/2 cup of pearl barley

1 1/2 cups of mushrooms sliced

1 qt. beef broth

1 qt. vegetable broth (or another quart of beef broth. I was out)

1 bay leaf

parsley

Mix flour, salt and pepper. Toss cubed beef in the mixture to coat all sides well. Save the rest of the flour for later. Heat 1 Tbs. of oil in a soup pot or dutch oven. Brown all sides of beef and set aside in a separate bowl. Add another Tbs. of oil to pot and add vegetables, cooking for two minutes, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add barley and cook for an additional minute. Blend in a little beef broth into the rest of the flour until smooth and add with rest of the broth and the beef into the pot. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, sirring occassionally for about an hour or until thickened. Remove bay leaf, and garnish with parsley.

Try it! I'm sure you'll like it if you like a hearty stew. The leftovers are even better!