Unknown's avatar

About Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Park ranger turned fiber artist, out to change the world, one felt hat at a time.

My Favorite Asparagus Recipe

I’ve been waiting for our garden to produce the first asparagus of the spring so I could share my very favorite asparagus recipe with you.

Asparagus spears emerge.

The 1st asparagus spears of the season are always cause for great celebration!

But, spring comes late to northern New England, and your asparagus season might be long gone by the end of April, when I expect our season to begin.

Asparagus just past prime picking

Once asparagus unfurls it's branches, it's past its prime for harvest.

So, without further ado, I present:

Easy Roasted Asparagus

Roasted asparagus spears line a baking sheet, fresh from the oven.

A simple recipe to showcase the complex flavors of fresh asparagus.

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

Place washed & trimmed asparagus spears on baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with salt.

Roast 8-10 minutes, turning once.

Remove from oven (and purely optional: sprinkle with a bit of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar).

Serve immediately.

Caramelized Asparagus Spear Tips - macro

To ensure even roasting, choose spears of similar thickness, or remove thinner spears first. Asparagus will brown & caramelize during roasting, adding a rich, wonderful flavor.

The fresher the asparagus, the better this recipe!

Do you have a favorite way to serve asparagus? I’d love if you’d share it below…

CCM Felt Hats… Now with 100% More Archives!

For your reading pleasure, I’ve added an Archives page to this site. Just click on the tab above to check out all my posts in one handy spot.

I’m so tickled with this new-to-me feature! And it was simple to set up. If you have a WordPress.com site, you can learn how to set up an Archives page quickly for yourself.

Thank you WordPress.com. You rock!

Latest Freehand Embroidery: Red-Hot Denim Blues Mandala

Recently, I was contacted by Gayle in Portland, Oregon, who’s ready for a new hat.

She loved the original Red-Hot Blues French-knot Mandala I embroidered last summer. But that hat found a new home with Gwen at the 2011 League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair:

Gwen's New Felt Hat

Although not generally a “hat person”, Gwen’s blue eyes perfectly match her new felt hat.

I strive to create felt hats as unique as the wearer, so I didn’t want to re-create the exact same hat. Instead, Gayle selected several yarn colors she liked, and gave me her head-size measurements.

As luck would have it, I had a suitable hat, felted & ready for embroidering just waiting in my studio. And in between games at my 1st-ever coed hockey tournament this weekend, I was able to embroider it:

Red-Hot Denim Blues French-knot Mandala Felt Hat

Red-Hot Denim Blues French-knot Mandala Felt Hat (#114 of 2011).

Freehand French-knot Mandala Embroidery Detail

Macro detail of the 100+ french-knots in my new freehand mandala embroidery.

I’m so pleased with how this latest embroidery turned out. Now just cross your fingers that it fits Gayle, since she helped design it!