Sopa de Papas

Note: working on a better photo, I don't like this one. I am not a good food photographer!

And on the stove or in the oven at a New Mexico Kitchen.......

Sopa de Papas

This recipe is loosely based (to be milk-free/gluten-free/nut-free) from an adorable little gem of a cookbook called Flora's Kitchen, Recipes from a New Mexico Family, by Regina Romero. I think this was the first New Mexican cookbook I purchased the first time I moved here. I may have mentioned this before, New Mexican cookbooks are more than just recipes, they are history, a coming together of family with the staples of New Mexican cuisine.

We eat this because, well, it is just down right economical and it tastes good. I will be the first to say that I love creating fancy meals when I have time, but lately, the trip to the grocery store is just killing me. And with the crazy food restrictions we have going on in our household our food bill is driving me a little crazy!

I caramelize the onions while the veggies are cooking. If you don't want your soup to have a pink tone, remove the carrots before processing.

This is my version of her recipe. Yields 4 servings.

Sopa de Papas

Course: Soup & Stew

Cuisine: New Mexican

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced
• 2 carrots peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1/2 quart water
• 1 1/2 cups rice milk (optional)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 small onion peeled,and cut into thin cresents
• Olive Oil (or other fat)
• Herbamare to taste
• Black Pepper to taste
• Roasted New Mexican Green Chile (optional)

Directions

Put potato, carrot, celery and water in pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are very soft. Strain and reserve liquid, puree veggies and return to stock. Add the rice milk and beat in the egg yolks, heat gently and season with Herbamare. Saute onion in olive oil to your liking, lightly browned or caramelized, and add to the soup. Serve. Of course we add a dollop of roasted green chile.

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Beginning With Intermesh

There's nothing like a new technique to make you feel like a beginner again! But that's part of the fun for me (or occasional frustration, lol). I am also getting reacquainted with my backstrap loom set-up.

There is some thing very profound about working in a backstrap set-up. With minimal, inexpensive tools you can weave beautiful cloth. And for me, there's a connection in thought, as I think about all the people who have woven this way for generations in the past. Not only are these textiles beautiful, but generally they had physical function and spiritual meaning in away most of us take for granted. Cloth woven for clothing we now mistakenly call costumes. Those thoughts drew me to fiber arts years ago, that we must try our hardest to not lose these precious, traditional ways. Anyway, that's what I am thinking about while I am weaving.

I was first introduced to Intermesh in Laverne Waddinton's first book, Andean Pebble Weave (2010). In this book it is not introduced as Intermesh, but rather a technique to weave a thicker, sturdier border. Intermesh is a two-heddle weave that produces a sturdy, thick fabric that resists curling and lies flat.

A fellow IGer posts amazing photos of textiles and I saw a few motifs that I thought would look amazing using this technique. And I needed a reason to get back into my backstrap! After trying a backstrap sample (the yurt band motif), my toddler has been really great about not pulling on the sticks.

I got Laverne's second book, More Adventures With Warp Faced Pick Up Patterns (2012) as soon as it came out, and holy cow, what an amazing book! Until now, I've only been reading it, and as much as I want to dive into the Andean Pebble Weave patterns, I know my sons will not tolerate me staring at large pattern charts!

Anyway, in this book, Laverne goes into the Intermesh set-up. If you read her blog, there are pictures scattered among the posts where she has taught this technique at workshops.

So using the back of my Navajo loom, I set up my warp (it was a pain in the butt - I need to wrangle together a different way to warp). I used size 3 cotton, the blue color is not my style, but works for the sampler.

I will resist doing pick-ups for now. I just want to weave it plain, concentrate on the rhythm of weaving, getting reacquainted with tensioning and the whole backstrap process.

I love seeing the two sides, different colors! Some things I found very helpful while weaving. At Laverne's blog she has a great video/s about dealing with sticky warps. I had a terrible time with opening the sheds about half way thru weaving the band. I also took her advice about weaving the stick shed in one direction and the heddled sheds in the other. As I continued weaving I was able to distinguish which heddled shed I was to weave next. I think if I had jumped into patterning, I wouldn't have concentrated on these basics.

a shed saver cord - 4 strand braid

At the very end of the band I couldn't help but try a horizontal and vertical line. I am going to warp on for another sample in size 3 cotton and start the tutorials for creating horizontal and vertical lines.

Weaver Speak and Tags: Intermesh, Intermesh Warp Floats, Two-Heddle Intermesh, Plain Intermesh, Two-Heddle Complementary Warp Weave, Complementary-Warp Weave, Double-Faced Complementary Warp Weave.

 

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Sampling With Weaving

After such a long time being away, I wrote a blog post this morning on my iPad using a blogger app. I saved it online, took a peek at it once more, only to come back now to insert photos, and poof, it's gone! Not using that app again.....

Instead, I'll leave you with a quick photo. I've been a sampling fool these days. One of my samples is an inkle-woven band with a tablet-woven edge. I originally loaded one card z-twist and the other s-twist, but didn't liked it, so I flipped the s-card to z-twist and wove turning the cards away.

A lot of fun, and really intense when you have a toddler into his alphabet, trying to read and yank on the tablets/cards. If you don't know what tablets are, you will think this all sounds crazy. I will try to include a photo on the next post!

Books & Yarn

 

I am nearing the end of this project! It has taken me a bit longer to finish than I wanted, but not because of the pattern or knitting. Finding time to sit and knit has been challenging! Mostly, I've been working on it when I get together with the girls to knit. I have about 10 rows to go, finishing the picot edge on the other side of the cowl (the top).

 

The pattern is Willow Cowl and I can finally tell you what the yarn is: Studio June Yarn, Eight Bells, 100% superwash Merino, 8 ply heavy fingering weight, color TRUE NORTH. I feel like I bought this yarn at the Loopy Eve in Colorado, but I am not entirely sure. I am loving this colorway! I did alter the pattern a bit, thinking I wouldn't have enough yarn, but I now see I could have done the extra rounds, and just made it.

I am still reading the same book, and probably will for awhile. I am chugging my way thru a manual of sorts that I will talk about next week (smile).

 

Finally it has turned cool here in New Mexico, but we still need to prep our heater. We wait until we can't stand it anymore, and that time is nearing. At 3 am we are starting to find it chilly, and it wakes one of my sons up!

Joining Ginny over at the yarn along.....

Nature's Bouquet

Lately we've been taking the boys to the various open space areas for "hikes". We really just walk, but that is good enough. I've been craving a bit more vigorous hike, but the reality is that my older son just can't with his physical limitations. But give him some flat open land to walk on and he can cruise!

I have a habit of collecting while I walk (don't we all?). My eyes just can't help it, they go and bam, there is something I just I need to pick. Often it's feathers. And there is a project or two in the works for some of the bits I've collected on the way. My oldest is completely disinterested in collecting (he is more concerned with the critters that jump, buzz, and fly). But my youngest has taken to collecting a bit, mostly acorns and pine cones.

So I've gathered these bits, and when I can find my favorite vase (it's hiding somewhere), I will put them together with some sorghum I have hanging, dried.