just one of yesterday's finest gifts What is the price of distraction? Have you ever passed by the same place thousands of times and because you were single-mindedly focused on finishing a task or just plain thinking about something else, you passed by something that has the potential to turn out to be the highlight of your day? Yesterday, I had the most fun photographing a small flock of sheep about a mile away from my house. I have … [Read more...]
Classic Cookie Recipes, Kicked Up a Notch – Bittersweet Peppermint Snowballs
Christmas Cookie favorites are really a very personal thing. In every home, you are likely to find a combination of nostalgic favorites and those which appeal and you can choose from the panoply of offerings found all around you at this time of year. Some are simple to make and some are more involved. Every year I find the list of offerings to experiment with to be an ever-growing encyclopedic collection, which I try to assemble on my Facebook … [Read more...]
How to Compose a December to Remember and, One Christmas Wish
ready for hanging How does one make a December to Remember? I mean, in a good way. If I had one wish to be granted for Christmas, (aside from having my Mom back, my daily wish) it would be to have my paternal Grandmother's recipes hand-delivered from heaven to me on Christmas morning. Now, that would be incredibly powerful and serve to end the decades-long effort to recreate her specialties - those that I remember with such devotion and … [Read more...]
Just Pressed: So Into Cider – (It’s “Go-time”), Have a Cocktail!
these days, it's my favorite place to visit (photo courtesy Melick's Town Farm) BTW - Happy Thanksgiving to Winston and Joanie, my favorite porcine friends! (giving thanks that they're not turkeys!) Tick-Tock! Time's Up! Here we go…… If you are still relaxed enough to consider recipe ideas, here are just a few more last-minute tantalizers to send out wafting aromas and little lovely undertones to your table … [Read more...]
Slowly Succumbing to the Season – My Gingerbread Scones
waiting for: Ok, so I'm not that far along yet….. I'm somewhere between straddling and succumbing. But, I'm not totally succumbing yet. Last week I got to still pretend it was almost-Summer. In November, when life gives you a few days when you can work outside in shirtsleeves and shorts, well you just dive right in there, don't you? I do. This week, I'm going to try to eek my way into a bonafide Autumnal mode. Each and every … [Read more...]
When Is It Dangerous to Walk the Dog? Banana-Corn Scones with Pecans
It is no secret in our house, that whoever is on "dog walk duty" each morning gets the stare-down and followed around incessantly until she gets her way. This can begin right after she watches us out of the corner of her eye as we sip our coffee and try to get to some palpable level of cognitive function, especially lagging these days - as the sun isn't peaking its head over the tree line until well after 7:30. who can resist this kind of … [Read more...]
If At First You Don’t Succeed….. The Banana, Pear and Walnut Cake
Apples and Pears I'm obsessed with pears right now. I suppose it began in Paris……. beautiful pear tarts at Patisserie Gerald Mulot (oh, to be back there now…….) I know that apples tend to hold sway with most people at this time of year, and I do love lots of different apples. But, I adore the all-around delicacy and allure of a lovely ripe pear - not to mention their gorgeous autumnal hues and shades. While I was in France and … [Read more...]
Did Someone Say “Frost on the Pumpkin”? Always-Inspirational-Alice Waters and Pumpkin-Cider Scones with Toasted Pecans
I awoke to 30F this am! Yikes, scary! At first I was afraid to look, preferring not to see the end of my beloved morning glories, should they have been finished. But, here is a shot I took, barely at dawn - wow, snuck through that one! Not sure how that happened, but I'll take it! Yesterday was just a banner Autumn day, wasn't it? I spent the day traipsing downtown and up, seeing Alice Waters, first at the Farmer's Market signing … [Read more...]
It’s a Beautiful Day for: Apple-Cranberry Hazelnut Cake
You know what time it is! Here is a lovely little cake to make for snacking or dessert on a beautiful crisp Fall day such as this: wafting aromas, perfect for a Fall Day APPLE-CRANBERRY HAZELNUT CAKE 13 tblsp unsalted butter at room temp 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 ex lg eggs, room temp 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tblsp stone ground corn meal 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp … [Read more...]
T-Minus Two Days – The All-Nut Crust and the Last Peaches
Countdown to Autumnal Equinox T-Minus 2 days On one hand I feel particularly lucky that we have 2 extra days of Summer this year - the Equinox being on the 23rd. But, on the other, somehow, I think I can actually feel the earth and the sun moving away from each other anyway. I'll tell you every night when I have all the lights on by 7:30 I keep saying to myself, why is it so dark already? Why does this happen to me every year? I guess, I … [Read more...]
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