Dipped in Neptune

Yarn: King Cole Tints Super Chunky (discontinued)
Composition: 100% Acrylic
Colour: Neptune
Pattern: Ribbed Wrist Warmers (a variation)
Size: adult
Needles: 4mm
Amount used:
Started: 30th October 2026
Finished: 2nd November 2026

There was one ball of yarn left after finishing the 'Wrapped in Neptune' cardigan/jacket. It whispered to me it wanted to become wrist warmers. This was looking to be rather difficult as the yarn is normally knitted on 10mm needles.

This is when I did a stupid thing, I unplied the yarn to split it in two, along its length. The upside of this was I could use 4mm needles, and the two balls of yarn are pretty much identical. 

Looking back, it would have been better to move up to a 5mm needle, but they are done now, and I'm not undoing them.

Wrapped in Neptune

 

I am delighted to present my new cardigan/jacket. 

Yarn: King Cole Tints Super Chunky (discontinued)
Composition: 100% Acrylic
Colour: Neptune
Pattern: my own perfect creation
Size: maghouin beg sized
Needles: 10mm & 6mm
Amount used: 1,100g
Started: 
Finished: 28th October 2026

This cardigan/jacket was made by working the fronts and back together, up to the underarm. The sleeves were knitted, and then joined in. Raglan shaping was used, and the under arms grafted. 

It felt like there were too many stitches as I approached the neck, so I switched down to 6mm needles to knit the short row shaping. This worked beautifully. The neckline was cast off, and then the stitches for the collar were picked up. This stops the neckline from stretching out horribly. 

I love this cardigan/jacket. It's warm and snuggly, and the colours go with so many other items of clothing.

Root Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Ingredients

1 Tsp oil

1 large onion

3 carrots

3 parsnips

1 potato

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp medium curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1.5 litres vegetable stock

150g dried red lentils

salt and pepper to taste

Method

On a low heat, add the oil to a large saucepan. Chop the onion into chunks, add to the saucepan. Repeat with carrots, parsnips and potato. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the garlic, curry powder and cumin. Cook for another 3 minutes. 

Next, add the vegetable stock. Stir well, and then add the lentils. Stir well. 

Bring the soup up to a simmer, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool, then use a blender and make the soup smooth, but not a puree. Add additional water to reach your preferred thickness of soup. Adjust seasonings.

Notes

Serve with fresh herbs, a swirl of non-dairy cream, or a scattering of pumpkin seeds.

We like our soup in large quantities, and this makes 6 bowls. It is roughly around 225kCal per serving.

Shepherdess Pie

Ingredients

1 Tsp oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 leek

500ml cider

Knorr Stockpot

400g can chopped tomatoes

70g tomato puree

400g green lentils

200g dried red lentils

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 and a half Tsp wholegrain mustard

30ml BBQ sauce

850g mashed potato

100g vegan cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Chop the onions, carrots and leeks into a fine dice. Saute in a skillet with a little oil for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. 

The mixture should be firm enough to bear the weight of the mashed potatoes, but it should also not be too dry. Add water if it is too dry, or simmer to reduce the water content if too runny.

Transfer the mixture into a 20x30cm baking dish. Top with mashed potato. If you would like, sprinkle some cheese over the top. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

This recipe is very heavily based on this recipe from Vegan Larder. There were a number of alterations made.

Chicken and Paprika Stew

 

Ingredients

1 Tsp oil

2 medium onions

500g chicken fillets, cubed

2 large potatoes

2 medium onions

2 large carrots

4 garlic cloves

400g can chopped tomatoes

400ml chicken stock

2Tsp paprika

1tsp curry powder

1 Tsp cornflour

fresh parsley

Method

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and then add in the diced onion. Cook the onion for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken, and cook for 5 more minutes, allowing the onions and chicken to start caramelising.

Into the skillet, add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the parsley. Stir well, and bring to a rolling simmer. Cover. Lower the heat to a very gentle simmer and cook for one and a half hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes and chopped, fresh parsley.

Notes

This has been inspired by the flavours of Hungarian Goulash. 

Pecan Chewies

Ingredients

225g butter, melted
200g brown sugar

200g white sugar

2 large eggs

15ml vanilla extract

250g SR flour (I use Dove Farm's Freee)

170g pecans, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 175C, and prepare a 20x30cm baking pan.

Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.

Stir in the flour, and fold in the chopped nuts.

Spread the mixture evenly in the baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes. The top should be crackled, the edges set, but the centre still slightly soft. The chewie will firm up as they cool. 

----

Notes

The first time I made Chewies I used 400g of dark brown sugar. This produced squares with a distinctly brownie look. Photographs of the Chewies show them as being lighter in colour. To reflect this, I've swapped out 200g of the brown sugar for white.

We had no pecans, but we did have pistachios. They made an excellent substitution.

"Pecan Chewies are dense, butter, brown sugar and pecan cookie bars. They are rooted in the culinary traditions of the Gullah Geechee community along the South Carolina and Georgia coast."

Menu 2026.07.06

These meals have a higher than likely chance of being served for dinner this week. That's not to say they will be made, or even served in that form, but it was from these meals the shopping list was created. I know I have the ingredients to make them.

Mon: baked potatoes

Tue: fish and vegetable pie

Wed: sweet and sour tofu balls

Thu: prosciutto chicken

Fri: cooked breakfast

Sat: roasted vegetables with feta and pesto

Sun: Spanish chicken