Grandma’s Brown Sugar Drops

It's that time of year! Treasured memories flood my mind when December rolls around and this year, well, this year is a bit different. You see, it's my first year as an orphan. To be orphaned at 57 years of age is a blessing, but still, those wistful feelings can't be ignored. I remember it like yesterday, Mom would teach all day and come home to bake cookies, dozens and dozens of cookies and some peanut brittle, fudge and divinity. I remember laying in bed, watching the sparkle of the Christmas tree lights, listening to the Christmas albums playing on the record player and smelling Mom's creations. It just doesn't get any better than that.

As a child I was a picky eater, but I loved almost all of my mother's Christmas baking. The exception was a brown sugar drop cookie filled with pecans and fruit. I didn't keep the recipe. Thank goodness my 89 year old aunt still has it, because my tastes have changed. Aunt Lea can't bake anymore, so a dear friend and I went yesterday and did some baking for her. Now she has some of her favorite Christmas cookies to give out as in years past. It was a special day creating new memories for this old orphaned girl.

I'd like to share Mom's 'almost lost' cookie recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Grandma’s Brown Sugar Drops

Mix thoroughly:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar 
2 eggs

Stir in:

½ cup sour milk, buttermilk

or water

Sift together:

3 1/2 to 4 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Chill at least one hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet  Bake until set -- 8-10 minutes.

Holiday Fruit

Add in:

1 ½ cups broken pecans

2 cups candied cherries (red and green)

2 cups dates

Place one pecan half on top of each. Make these smaller.

Jeweled Cookies

Add in:

4 cups cut up gum drops

One half gum drop on top of each.

Jeweled Cookies

Perfect Peanut Brittle

Peanut Blossoms

May your holiday season be filled with precious memories of time spent with loved ones. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Linda <><

Soup Weather

Seattle Japanese Garden

It's full on fall here and I love it! We had an especially hot summer, so the cool, crisp days are a welcome change. Quite honestly I could eat soup all year, even on the hottest days, but there is something comforting about soup simmering on the stove filling the air with the bounty of the harvest. 

Beautiful Savoy Cabbage

In searching for a recipe with bok choy and sweet potatoes I found this Chinese Nine Vegetable Hot and Sour Soup. Not something I would normally make, but so, so tasty! I had never cooked with savoy cabbage before and I thought it was really lovely when I cut into it. 

Adding the bok choy

The recipe filled my Dutch oven. 

Making enough for several meals at home and some to give away. 

As you could imagine prepping nine vegetable is pretty time consuming, but well worth it for a giant pot of simmering, savory soup!

Just some of my over used prep gadgets

Do you have any favorite, overused kitchen gadgets?

A colorful soup to enjoy on these colorful autumn days. 

Sunset from my front yard

My hope it that you, too, are taking time to enjoy autumn and the harvest.

Linda <><

March On

The month of February slipped by in my house and, quite honestly, I'm glad it's gone! Don't get me wrong, here, in the Pacific Northwest it was a beautiful, unseasonably warm, dry month. But there was that painful Seahawk loss and then flu hit our home and hit it hard. Might have had something to do with sharing those sticky Skittles at our Superbowl party. In fact, the whole neighborhood has been sick.

On the bright side, we celebrated my better half's birthday(and Valentines day) between bouts of flu with our sweet children and a great home-cooked meal, including an incredible chocolate blood orange tart made by my daughter. I also got to make my Cabbage Burgers which I make every year for my aunt on her birthday. Since we can only buy traditional 'Nebraska' cabbage burgers in Nebraska they are a real treat for her. They are a labor intensive treat!

Cabbage Burgers or Runza

I am grateful to have accomplished anything when, for the most part, I just wanted to sit and sleep! The 'tidying up' continues and I've begun listing my de-stash.

Crobots: 20 Amigurumi Robots to Make  in Cage Free Fibers

Yesterday, feeling rested and refreshed, we took a walk through the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Washington and discovered more blooms than usual for this time of year! 

Pacific Bonsai Museum

I'm grateful God is with us through the tough seasons. Really, if we didn't have hard times, how would we truly understand the wonder and depth of simple, joyful times?

Philippians 4:11B by GodsWordandWorld on etsy

Here's to a productive, joy-filled March!

Linda <><

Honey Ginger Cream Soda

I took one of those online quizzes a friend had posted on Facebook. Supposedly, it would tell me my secret obsession and all I had to do was pick pictures. Simple, right? I just knew, like most of the online quizzes it would be way off. You'll never guess what my secret (not so secret) obsession is. My results concluded that my secret obsession is food! Not, as I might have hoped, love or faith or even nature.

The truth is, those who know me well know how I love food. As a normally reserved, quiet soul I can talk all day about food!

Today I want to share my own latest concoction. If you like ginger you will love it. My ginger loving friends all agree, it's a tasty, satisfying drink.

Ginger is not only tasty, it's got a long list of health benefits

Honey Ginger Cream Soda

About 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger,

 pealed and chopped

1 cup coconut milk (or half and half)

1 tablespoon honey

club soda or sparkling water

ice

Place the first three ingredients in a blender (I like the Magic Bullet for this) and blend until good and smooth, about 2 minutes.

Pour through a fine strainer. Put 1/4 cup in a tall glass, add ice and carefully top with the club soda, as it will foam up. Makes about 4 servings.

Adjust the amount of ginger to your liking

I'm a big fan of local raw honey

Straining it makes your drink nice and smooth

Store the remainder in the refrigerator 

As we enter the hectic holiday season don't forget to take time to eat healthy, relax and enjoy the true meaning of the season! I'll leave you with some photos from our weekend hike. A lovely walk on the boardwalks of Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Twin Barns

Boardwalk on the delta

The landscape changes dramatically with the seasons

Jonathon Livingston

Linda <><

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Pumpkin Pie Spice and Everything Nice Autumn

Pumpkin field in the Puyallup River valley with Mount Rainier in the distance

It's pumpkin pie spice everything season. I'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie, but that special combination of spices--yum! And I do love a pumpkin pie spice latte, but after reading an article about what goes into the typical Starbucks variety I decided to figure out a way to make my own, healthier version. For my occasional 'cup of joe' I normally go decaf or half caff and make it in my French press. I didn't have to look far, I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte(vegan, gluten free) and used my favorite, coconut milk. It even has real pumpkin in it! My pumpkin cozy, coaster makes a fun container for it.

Jack of Lantern Mason Jar cozy coaster by CageFreeFibers

I'm not sure if autumn is my favorite season, or if I even have a favorite season, but I know when it is autumn I love it. Especially now as the colors get more and more brilliant and the sky stays blue and the temps are in the 70's. 

Fall Art Printable by TheHoneyBeePaperie

Today my daughter and I went to the local pumpkin patch and corn maze. Two hours and 5 miles after we started we found every checkpoint in the maze.  What line did we hear most from folks we passed in the maze? "Are you lost?" And, yes, I was just following the daughter whose inner GPS is more fine tuned than my own. 

Corn maze fun at Spooner Farms

Then we picked out some pumpkins and gourds for decorating. I'm so grateful for times like these when I'm left completely exhausted and just glad I have feet to carry me on.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins

This has been a busy, spectacular autumn here. My garden had a bumper crop of tomatoes. My brother taught me how to dehydrate the tomatoes and that is now my favorite way to put them up. Last night we ate our first ever Brussels sprouts from the garden pan seared with apples (I used honey crisp because it's what I had and it was great). 

I know our rainy season is just around the corner and I'm okay with that. God has blessed us with beauty in every season and every place here on this planet.

One last set of pumpkin beauties.

Halloween Pumpkin Earrings by InspiredTheory

What is your favorite thing about autumn?

Autumn Typography Quote Art by IslaysTerrace

Happy autumn to you!

Linda <><

Hatch Casserole

Vintage Cookout Invitation from NeatoKeen on etsy

It's that time of year! Neighborhood cookouts and for a few short weeks fresh Hatch chile peppers are available. When I pointed this out to my better half his creative juices began to flow and the recipe that follows is the result. 

Hatch Chile Peppers

Ingredients:

8 - 10 Hatch Peppers

8 - 10 Jalapeno Peppers

4 Crisp Corn Tostada Shells

4 Corn Tortillas

1 Pound Chorizo, Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1 Medium Container of Crumbled Feta Cheese

2 Cups of cooked Quinoa

1 Large Can Enchilada Sauce

1 Large Container Pico De Gallo Salsa

1 Large Can Refried Beans

1 Pkg Shredded Mexican or Pepper Jack Cheese

sour cream or Greek yogurt

Grill Roast Peppers, let cool and peel the skins, half lengthwise and clean out seeds. You may want to wear kitchen gloves while handling the peppers.

Brown the Chorizo, Ground Beef or Ground Turkey,  season to taste with cumin and/or taco seasoning if using just Ground Beef or Turkey. Cool and mix with Feta Cheese and Quinoa.

Spread Layer of Refried Beans on 4 Crisp Corn Tostada Shells

Place each shell in bottom of 9 inch baking pan forming 1st layer(Bean side down).

Place Layer of Roasted Hatch Peppers on top of Shells

Layer Half of Chorizo, Beef or Turkey mixture

Layer Half of Enchilada Sauce

Layer Half of Pico De Gallo Salsa

Spread all evenly in the pan.

Spread Layer of Refried Beans on 4 Corn Tortillas,  

Place Tortillas on top of last Pico De Gallo Salsa layer.(Bean side down)

Repeat with layer of mixed Hatch Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers

Repeat layer of Chorizo, Beef or Turkey Mixture

Repeat layer of Enchilada Sauce

Repeat layer of Pico De Gallo Salsa

Spread all evenly in the pan

Bake in oven for 30 Minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes. Let set and cool for 5 minutes and serve with a dollop of Sour Cream or Greek yogurt. 

Warms up great in the microwave

It was delectable and everyone at the cookout loved it! Other great seasonal dishes at the cookout included fried green tomatoes, blackberry cobbler and blackberry mojitos. All of the goodies, grilled chicken, a candlelit game of LRC and great company made for an unforgettable evening!

Oh, and, I gotta let the hubby in the kitchen more often!

Kiss the Cook Wall Decal by Stephen Edward Graphics on etsy

Linda <><