Cooking and knitting

Now that classes are over and we've been on a more random schedule of meetings and workshops, I've had a chance to get some projects done. And a little bit of cooking.
The other day I grilled Barefoot's Asian Grilled Salmon, which has a complexity that belies its really basic pantry ingredients. That was served on a bed of greens with sauteed Brussel sprouts and fresh squeezed lemonade. You can see in the background the pine nut shortbread cookies that are great for dessert or with afternoon tea. I also did one of my favorite dishes: baked beans with a side salad and New England Brown Bread, which is what you see here. It is bread that is actually cooked in a coffee can. You simmer the can in a water bath until the bread is done. It is chock full of good-for-you grains and the molasses makes it sweet and moist. Though it's best while still warm and slathered with butter (what bread isn't), I also like it toasted with butter and jam for breakfast. Oh, by the way, I went super authentic and added turkey frank rounds to the baked beans- yum!

On the knitting front, I've been working to use up leftover yarn from Christmas, and after making five different pairs of the Log Cabin socks for others, I wanted my own pair of warm handknit socks. Since I was using leftovers, I knew I wouldn't have enough to make the Log Cabins for me, so using my One Skein book by Leigh Radford, I whipped up the cabled footies in a couple of nights using Lamb's Pride Superwash in Lichen and Finches. Mobi likes leaning up against them while chewing on her bones.I didn't have any feltable stash yarn, so I had to buy a skein to make a case for my new camera. I got Malabrigo, because I had heard so much about it. I made it fairly bigger than wanted so I could felt it down nice and tight, and I think it took two wash and dry cycles for it to get to this size.
My big project of the moment is a fair-isle sweater that I'm thinking about taking with me to South America- finished or not. Most of the yarn is leftovers, but I had to order the three skeins of dark grey Peace Fleece for the body. Although the motif is not done here in the photo, I've actually completed the back and am about here on the front. The pattern is Helga, from Rowan 36.I should have the front done today, as I'll have a couple hours in the car on the way to a workshop in Rochester, but getting both sleeves done before Wednesday will be a challenge, as I'm still writing as much of chapter two as I can before leaving. It's two hours to the airport and then a really long flight, so no matter what I could have it done before touching down in Buenos Aires. I'm just not sure I want to take the bulk at all. We'll see...