NY Sheep and Wool 2012

Well, it's been almost a month since we were there, so I guess I should get around to posting about the NY Sheep and Wool festival, eh?

The drive down was gorgeous as usual, and uneventful after I once again over prepared. The Llama was an awesome passenger and sang along with the songs and looked at the sights. We didn't have the spare cash to buy anything fiber-y but we still had a great time wandering through the animal barns and checking out all the sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats.

But the real fun began when we got to the petting zoo. For the last several months the Llama has been obsessed with Lemurs and has seen tons of videos with the Llama Papa on You Tube, so we were all a bit excited to see them. But first there was a full grown turtle and it's size matched bunny friend:

And then the petting goats:

And a really neat kangaroo:

(And a baby alligator, which The Llama also really liked, but we couldn't get a good photo of.)

And finally, the Lemurs!

(We were quite fond of the one sunning itself.)

After a brief break to play in the leaves and have lunch, The Llama insisted that we make the rounds through the barns and then we headed home.

All in all we had a great day, and I'm so glad that we live so near by and can spend the day having so much fun with all the animals. The Lama seemed interested by the few spinners we passed along the way, and I think as he grows he will become more and more interested in the fiber side of things as well, which makes me all sorts of giddy.

Ginger scones

It's getting towards that time of year for treats and holiday spice.

So here is my recipe gift to you:

Ginger Scones

2 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 C chopped crystallized ginger
5 Tbsp cold butter
1 C Heavy cream
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp raw sugar

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in butter (or use a food processor) until it resembles a fine crumb.

Stir in the heavy cream with a fork until it just starts to come together. Turn everything out onto the counter top and gently knead until you have a rough, sticky ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough or the scones will be tough.

Pat the dough into a greased 9" spring form pan, cover with cling film, and refrigerate over night. (if you don’t have a spring form pan, you can form the dough on a 9” plate; also if you absolutely have to have scones now, simply put the dough in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm everything up before slicing)

Preheat the oven to 400º F, remove the sides of the pan and cut the round into 8 equal wedges. Place the wedges on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving plenty of room between each wedge; lightly brush with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 15- 18 minutes, or until just golden around the edges.