Cold Snap, Warm Cinnamon Apples, and the Jane Doe Cowl (scroll down!)
jess
Winter has more than arrived in the mid-Atlantic. The cold blasted in this week, the first week to dig out one’s loved and worn mittens, hats, scarves, pantas, cowls, glittens and all the other winter whatnots of which only knitters seem to know the proper names. (v. “neck thingies,” “head thingies,” “hand thingies”). I had few obligations this frigid weekend - at least no unpleasant ones - other than vague plans to hang out with friends and have dinner with Chris’ dad. Brunch out in the neighborhood turned into me making waffles and duck bacon (for a friend who doesn’t eat pork - a convenient excuse to try something awesome!) and not really getting out of my PJs. Plans to knit at Brooklyn General became, hey, why don’t you come over for waffles and we’ll hang out in our PJs all afternoon.
waffles with cinnamon apples
[note our favorite mug in the background, it’s from danmade, purchased at this year’s renegade craft fair!]
We had a bunch of Honeycrisp apples on the counter, and as it is really past Honeycrisp season, they’d been kind of watery and bland. On to Pink Lady season! I do love me some designer apples. Anyway, in the name of not wasting food, I suspected that like overripe bananas their disappointing qualities would fade when cooked, so they ended up as a topping for the waffles, and they did cook right down and recover their intensity.
cinnamon apples
Stovetop Cinnamon Apples
Makes about 6 servings
5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced about 1/4” thick
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 -1/2 cup sugar (depending on how much of a sweet tooth you have)
a squeeze of lemon
a dash of nutmeg
1. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Cook in a medium saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until apples are tender and a nice syrup has formed.
Next time I’m going to try this with a teaspoon or two of fresh ginger juice to add a little bite. If you want to try it that way, peel and grate a section of ginger into a cheesecloth or tea strainer over a bowl, and press out the juice, then add to apple mixture after cooking.
(the waffles are Mark Bittman’s Rich Buttermilk Waffles from How to Cook Everything, and the whipped cream is whipped cream!)
After brunch, we pretty much sat on the couch drinking coffee, knitting, and reading the Times. I made a lot of progress on my as-yet-unnamed cowl. The first sleeve is complete, and I’m on to the second. The goal is to complete this before Christmas.
unnamed cowl
It is already apparent that I am going to love this sweater. One hopes that is the case with something self-designed. But the blessing and the curse of this sweater is the Morehouse 3-Strand Merino. Like any super-soft unplied merino, it’s going to pill and the fabric will weaken, and it may not hold up well for more than a couple of years. However, I do plan to share the pattern (with the caveat that I have not written many patterns, and have never written one for a sized garment), so will probably knit this again. When that happens, I will be using something hearty and durable like Cascade 220.
At least I know this sweater will come pre-cat-haired.
sweater, interrupted
Catty is profoundly unhelpful. There isn’t even any alpaca in this yarn!
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