I love winter days. It is a time for making soup, knitting, reading, rugging up and going for long walks.

I am cooking: Soup

I've recently made a couple of batches of Minestrone from Mangia, Mangia by Teresa Oates & Angela Villella. My only variation to the recipe is that I use a ham hock but otherwise, I make the Minestrone exactly as in Teresa and Angela's recipe - and it is delicious! This is a wonderful family cookbook with fantastic recipes for home cooks. The recipes are written in a clear, straight forward manner and the results are amazing. Lots of great winter comfort food.

I am knitting: Socks

I'm using Paton's Lady Classic Sock pattern and Schoppel Admiral 4 ply superwash yarn. I just love the brightness of the blues in this beautiful self-striping wool. I need to work on updating my Ravelry page and linking it to this blog.

I am walking: North Fitzroy

This is my last day in Melbourne before moving back to Cowra. It was a treat to walk in the sunshine from Northcote to North Fitzroy. I love this part of inner city Melbourne. I am taking back many ideas and inspiration from my experiences here in Melbourne for my new chapter in Cowra. I'm glad I still have many Melbourne connections to keep me coming back.

I am loving: Blogs

I discovered blogs back in the day when Julie Powell was writing her blog Julie/Julia Project (in 2002) which became compelling reading for me as she cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I remember printing out so many of her posts to keep and was then delighted when she had her book Julie & Julia published in 2005. When I read her blog, it was a revelation to me that someone could write about her cooking exploits and in doing so, compel you to come along for the ride. It was also how I discovered Julia Child. I now have my own second hand, dog-eared copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking which I have read more like a novel rather than as a cookbook. I have often found the world of blogging to be a thing of beauty in an otherwise bleak and stressful day. Blogs have provided moments of delight, inspiration and motivation as well as being an incredibly generous source of information on cooking, crafting, gardening, reading and the list goes on! I'm working on adding a list of my favourite blogs in the sidebar so watch this space!