A milestone birthday...

March 27, 2016

I've been fairly absent here on the blog, on Facebook, and Instagram lately. Rest assured, I'm alive and doing well... March is just a CRAZY month - it's still the "busy" season at Firefly Fibers (yay!), classes and knitalongs need to be planned and launched, Mr. Yarnista and I vended at Madison Knitters Guild (it's a ton of fun AND a ton of prep), we have several birthdays (including mine) to celebrate, the pesky taxes need to be done (are you groaning at this one, too?), and then Life decides to rear its (sometimes) ugly head at the most inconvenient times (you know, just to keep things interesting).

With all that had to be done in March, I set a deadline. Yesterday. I made it to the finish line (mostly) not exhausted - although our boys probably thought I ran away from home and hubby has been a bachelor for the last 2 weeks - and I'm pretty much caught up and even worked a bit ahead on some things. Whew!

Why yesterday as a deadline? Well, today is my birthday and not just any birthday, it's a milestone - at 12:50PM CST, I'll be 40. There. I said it. 40. I remember thinking 40 was SO old, and maybe it is, but I think I'm feeling okay. So far.

I had a lovely trip to Door County last month with one of my most amazing gals and we had a fabulous time - a million thank you's to hubby for "manning" the shop so I could get away and not work for a couple days. My gal took this photo of me and it makes my heart smile so big.

And, just because I love this photo from our Door County trip (I promise I will share all the details soon), I feel like sharing it, too...

Getting away for a bit, made me realize that I need to make more time for "time off" and what better day for that, than my birthday?!

With that.... let fabulous 40 begin! Today will be full of food, family (hopefully all of my boys remember me), relaxing, and maybe even some knitting (I hope I remember how to knit). I'm off to open birthday cards and a special birthday package from my dear cousin before we start our day. Hope you have a lovely day and relax a bit, too!

CHEERS!

Simply Handmade-along | Maximus March

March 13, 2016

March is here and I can't believe how fast the month is going! Are you ready for our new Simply Handmade-along project? I fell in love with this hat the second Libby released it and I've been itching to get in on my needles... Maximus by Truly Myrtle !

MARCH | MAXIMUS BY TRULY MYRTLE | THROUGH APRIL 4TH

"Maximus is a stylish hat for the men in your life.
Featuring a cable panel reminiscent of strong iron helmets worn during misty battles, Maximus appeals to the smallest of boys, the largest of men and all the warriors in between."

Maximus is indeed a handsome hat and will be perfect for my handsome Mr. Yarnista as a small "thank you" for all he does for me and our family. You see, it's busy at Firefly Fibers year-round, but the cooler months are exceptionally busy and this year has been even more so. Yes, it's fabulous and it makes me so very happy, but it means that I ask for more help with shop tasks and I have less time to contribute at home - Mr. Yarnista to the rescue!

As if he doesn't do enough for me, this past month he tended the shop on a Saturday so I could spend a (much needed) weekend away with a friend in Door County, WI. It was a wonderful weekend and I have photos and details to share on that, but back to the task at hand... this hat!

Do you have a special guy or gal in your life than you want to say "thank you" to? As handsome as Maximus is, it's equally suited for us ladies and I may just have to knit one for myself, as well - wouldn't it be fun in a bright pink? Using a 100gr skein of worsted weight yarn, this is a great project to whip up before the weather warms too much (in our hemisphere, that is) or for getting ahead on holiday gifts.

So, as always, for our 'along' you are welcome to stashbust or get some fresh new yarn - Malabrigo Rios or Tosh Vintage would be lovely (special offer on Rios below). I'll be using Rios for my hat in Coco (after all, it is Malabrigo March) - my yarn is all wound and I can't wait to cast on!

AND... through Saturday, March 19th....

PATTERN :: Libby is very generously giving us 15% OFF Maximus - enter coupon code 'MAXIMUSKAL' before you check out on Ravelry.
YARN :: Firefly Fibers is offering 15% OFF one skein of Rios - use code 'HandmadeMarch' when you check out (or just mention the Handmade-along to us at the shop).

Want more Truly Myrtle? You can find Libby here...

WEBSITE :: FACEBOOK :: INSTAGRAM :: RAVELRY DESIGNS

I hope you'll join in this month - if you haven't signed up officially to be eligible for the giveaways (one is coming up very soon), you can do that right here! Many thanks to Libby for (again) offering our knitalong-ers a discount on one of her gorgeous designs!

CHEERS!

RECIPE | Homemade Refried Beans... in the Instant Pot

February 14, 2016

A couple weeks ago I shared in this post and on episode 25 of our podcast, that I was testing out batch of homemade refried beans (vegan & gluten free) in our new favorite kitchen addition, the Instant Pot. I was *almost* successful that night, but wanted another run through before sharing with you.

The first time around, they tasted great, they were a bit dense because I underestimated how much they would thicken up. The second run though was much better and I'm happy to report that we have a nice stash of these delicious homemade refried beans in our freezer. The recipe is for the Instant Pot (an electric pressure cooker), but you could adjust for the stove top or slow cooker - the great thing with the Instant Pot is cooking time is dramatically reduced and in an hour, we went from dried to delicious refried beans.

RAPID REFRIES IN THE iNSTANT POT

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds dried pinto beans - sorted and rinsed
3 tablespoons + 1/4 cup coconut oil
1 large onion - chopped
6-8 cloves garlic (more or less to taste)
1 jalapeno - seeded and diced
1 bunch cilantro - stems and leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
9 cups of water
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse and sort beans and set aside.
Set Instant Pot on the saute setting. When hot, add 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, add onions and sautee for 5-10 minutes until softened.
Add garlic, jalapeno and roughly chopped cilantro stems. Saute another 3-5 minutes until aromatic. Mix in cayenne, chili powder, cumin, beans and water.
Cover and set Instant Pot on Bean/Chili Setting for 35 minutes - unplug when time is up. After 10 minutes, release remaining pressure. Check beans to make sure they're tender at this point - if they're not, close it back up and set for another 5-10 minutes.
Heat a large pan over medium/high heat and add remaining 1/4 cup coconut oil.
Strain beans (reserving liquid - you'll need this later), add to hot pan with oil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring as needed to keep from sticking to the pan.
Begin alternating adding liquid (more to begin with) and mashing beans (I use an immersion blender, but a potato masher will work, too) until you reach the desired consistency - we like ours to have just a bit of texture, so we don't blend completely smooth.
Add salt to taste and mix in lime juice (you can microwave a the lime for 30 seconds and get a lot more juice with little effort).

Garnish as you like (queso fresco and cilantro is a favorite at our house) and enjoy!

Cheers!

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