The subject of eggnog came up the other day when my friend Leni had dropped by – I’m a fan, but my better half is not. She suggested I seek out a recipe that doesn’t call for much sugar, because the premade stuff is loaded with sugar and in her opinion, not very good. So while I said I’d get right on that, I thought hmm, maybe another year, as I knew better than to tack anything else on my to do list for the week. So low and behold, when I woke up to find an email the very next morning from my dear college friend Will with an eggnog recipe attached, I felt like I had just witnessed a Festivus miracle. Continue reading
Making Merry.
This past weekend was devoted to that holiday activity of procuring and decorating the Christmas tree. We have a small house, but refuse to limit ourselves to a small tree, so furniture gets moved and access to the kitchen from the living room becomes somewhat limited in the name of holiday cheer. Continue reading
Off the needles
We are knee deep in the holiday rush here – working the making, baking and celebrating of the season into our regularly scheduled busy. I’ve got a few projects in the works, but nothing I can share in this space for fear of ruining anyone’s surprises come Christmas morning.
A bridal shower.
I co-hosted a bridal shower for my cousin Molly over the holiday weekend. When Aunt Jenny proposed the idea, she suggested a brunch, then after I agreed, followed up by asking for a proposed menu. It wasn’t until she asked for a shopping list that it sort of dawned on me that by co-hosting, I would be catering the whole she-bang. Why yes, I’m fully capable and yes, I do happen to actually do that particular activity from time to time for people I’m not related to, but always in the role of the very capable assistant, never do I actually assemble the menu and recipes and shopping list myself. I’ll admit, I had a moment where I wondered WTF I was doing, with a wavering in confidence before I got over myself and just went with it.
Adventures and ponderings.
A good bit of our adventures throughout the year tend to fall into two categories – events my husband has to attend for work that Edie and I tag along to or things we do with our dear friends the Smileys. Occasionally, the two merge, like this past weekend’s adventures – Pat’s employer, James River Association, hosted an oyster roast down in Lynchburg at Kegney Brothers featuring Will’s Christchurch School oysters.
The scene
UNO!
The grub – trout, kale, oysters, potatoes. YUM.
Sunset over the James.
Smiley men at work.
OYSTERS!
Apple Bread Pudding.
I find nothing more comforting than bread pudding. I have fond memories of my Granny’s bread pudding – it wasn’t something I remember her making often and it was certainly one of the few things I remember her making that wasn’t a recipe on the back of a package, which is probably why it ranks so high on my comfort food meter. Whenever I have a sizable amount of stale bread laying about, particularly home baked loaves, I am inspired to make a bread pudding. Over the years, I’ve come up with my own recipes for chocolate bread pudding (sweet) and vegetable bread pudding (savory), but the other night I wanted to make an apple bread pudding to help use up the remains of a bushel of apples sitting around the house.
Pink Pickled Turnips
In a recent conversation with my friend Aaron, the subject quickly moved to the subject of pickles – specifically these pickled turnips he and his wife Dahlia seemed to only find in Jerusalem and did I think I could recreate them. He briefly described them to me and after a quick google search, I realized not only would they be fairly easy to make, but I had a recipe on hand for them already. (Joy of Pickling of course.)
The Year Will was Captain.
2015: The Year of the Captain. Continue reading
A new vest.
Way back last winter, I started a new project for myself – an Elizabeth Zimmerman Lloie’s Jerkin, which appeared to be a ridiculously easy pattern to wrap my head around – exactly one sketch and three short paragraphs in her Knitting Workshop. Done entirely in garter stitch – which is nothing but knit stitches back and forth – in one piece from the rear bottom. Totally my kind of project. Continue reading
Inbetween Holiday Meals.
We are at that time of year where there is something festive planned for every weekend between now and the end of January. With two mid-January birthdays in this house wrapping up the season and my birthday the week before Halloween kicking it off, we extend our holiday season for months. To offset the abundance of cakes, pie, candy, celebratory drinks and rich foods of all sorts (I’m looking at you Oysterfest), I try to keep our weekly meals inbetween all the festivities fairly healthy, veering towards vegan more often than not.
Chicken Wire & Paper Flowers 