Sweetness and Light

Ripples in the Sand Dishcoth ** UPDATED **

I am awaiting some yarn for my Xander sweater (yes, frogged it and ordered more Lark to go with my Snap Pea), so decided to whip up some dishcloths and created a new pattern and wanted to share it with you!

 

Violet aptly named it Ripples in the Sand 'cause she said it looks like the sand on the beach when the waves are just retreating :)

It's a very simple pattern and feel free to alter your size by adding or subtracting your count. I used a 4 + 4 pattern repeat.

Use any cotton or organic yarn, like hemp (I heard it doesn't smell as cotton may after many uses).  Most Lily Sugar-n-Cream will afford 2-3 cloths depending on your size. I used Rowan All Seasons Cotton  for the ones pictured above.

Cast on 40 stitches. (I like the "Knitted" Cast on). 

Knit 4 rows in Garter stitch (knit both RS & WS rows)

Row 5* (and all WS rows) Knit 4, Purl to last 4 stitches, Knit 4

{Row 6, begin pattern: Knit 4, *Purl 4, Knit 4* repeat between **across to last four stitches, Knit 4

*Repeat Row 5

Row 7 Knit

*Repeat Row 5

Row 8 Knit 4 *Knit 4, Purl 4* repeat between ** across to last four sts., Knit 4}

Continue pattern repeat between { } Rows 6-8, six times, then knit in garter stitch for 4-5 rows and bind off.

Weave in ends and begin using!

UPDATED** Download Ripples in the Sand Dishcloth Pattern -2!

Enjoy and please let me know if you make one and share it here :) If there is any errata that you discover, do email me so I can update the pattern.

Many blessings and Happy Monday!

Easy Winter Tortellini Soup

We eat soup alot around here, especially in winter when the root vegetables are plentiful and tummies are wanting to be filled with warmth and goodness of a homemade pot of deliciousness.

 
Here is a simple recipe consisting mostly of vegetables and pasta, but you can add chicken or ground beef if desired to make it a little heartier.

Assortment of vegetables that I used ~

• onions (chopped) 
• garlic (minced)
• carrots (chopped about 1/2 inch pieces)
• celery (diced, same as carrots_ 
• green beans (fresh frozen)
• parsnips (chopped about 1/2 inch)
• zuchinni (quartered and sliced)
• rainbow chard (roughly chopped)

About 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (broth) or more depending on your family size

Fresh or dried cheese tortellini

Diced boneless/skinless chicken breast or browned ground beef or turkey (optional)

Salt & Freshly ground pepper to taste

Grated Parmesean Cheese

To prepare the soup ~ Saute oinions until translucent, add carrots and celery and continue to soften for about 5 minutes, add garlic and briefly saute (do not burn). Add the parsnips then the broth (and diced chicken breasts or browned ground beef or turkey if using) the tortellini and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until carrots and parsnips are just fork tender and the chicken and pasta is cooked through. Add the frozen beans, zuchinni and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. Just before serving add in the chard (fresh baby spinach would be a super yummy alternative), stir and serve with parmesean and a yummy homemade bread or crusty rolls and a salad if desired!

 (Walnut Fougasse Bread)

Love to hear if you try this one :) Enjoy!

What are you all cooking up these days to keep tummies warm???

Pretty Over the Kitchen Sink Party

Okay, so my kitchen sink and window did not look like this earlier, but thanks to Leila and a little inspiration from her "Pretty Over the Kitchen Sink" party, I decided it was time to clean it up and re-group! Doesn't it look nice...join the party and spiff up your kitchen sink area and share the love at Leila's.

I also want to wish a Blessed Feast of the Holy House of Loreto to all my visitors today. Such a perfect day to celebrate Jesus, Mary and Joseph's humble abode and the miraculous transformation that took place as a result of it's translation!!

Happy weekend!

Stirring it Up

 
Our White Fruitcake ready to stir...

 
An anxious boy, ready to stir...

 
Four beautiful children adding a sprinkle of love each time they stir...

 
Three delicious cakes, ready to bake...

 
Three perfect cakes, one to eat, one to give, and one to save...

***Updated the Fruitcake Recipe Link! Click through above for the post. Thanks!!

Hoping your Advent is off to a peaceful beginning!

Passing October Days

    Our October is seemingly passing before our eyes. I keep marveling at the fact that it actually is October, and it will all too quickly be gone, sigh. We've had a mostly dry Autumn so far, at least the October part of it, thankfully, as daylight savings will overtake us soon enough and then we'll all just be in the dark again...not my favorite time of year at all....I am a summertime girl, what can I say?

 
(Matthias taking a dip, into the bladin' bowl -Birthday select skateboard locale Numero Uno)

    There have been so many blessings traversing our lives these days in this Month of the Holy Rosary. We have been praying the 54 Day Novena for some very special intentions, and it is clear to me that Our Lord truly is merciful and good. Not that I ever doubted Him for an instant, but his Word never fails...never!

 (Lady Apples  by Violet for Our Lady's Maternity on Oct. 11th)

    The month has been filled to the brim, without intending to do so, but life happens anyway :) Matthias is truly and unequivicably twelve, as much as I'd rather not admit it, he's a tweener, but without the attitude, thank heavens ;-) (I have enough of that myself to last a lifetime and then some). He's my mild, easy-going guy, ever the funny one, quick to forgive his little brothers and loves like a big lion, the best of the best!

 
(See what I mean).

    We've enjoyed many beautiful autumn sunsets and outdoor time amidst our busyness, which has truly been good for the soul. We are blessed in this new house that our outdoor opportunities are much greater than when we lived in the city, even though there were parks everywhere and we truly took advantage of them, but where we are situated now, we have a little more breathing space between neighbors and we can let go a little whilst outside and not feel like the walls are closing in around us as we relax in our own yard. (And yes, I still pine for my 10 acres in Idaho....achingly so sometimes.)

 

    Violet and I whipped up this delectable specialty for Matthias' birthday celebration. He loved it to say the least, right down to the miniature sheet music of the Canon in D that he's been playing with Seamus as a piano/cello duet for some time now. They have several different versions and think they've settle on the version in G to perform at a recital soon :)

 

    Our daily routines are working out so nicely this year. I am so proud of how well the children are all taking to task each week and really trying their best. It's not to say that we don't have our melt-down days, there will always be those kind of days, but I still feel like maybe we're in a good groove. 

    Sean-Paul is gaining confidence and patience by watching his brothers in their daily work and starting to take  charge of his own work without having to be told all the time, this is a nice by-product of having siblings :)

 
(Matthias prepared this building project for Sean-Paul one morning for them to work on together).

(Celebratory birthday pose after the game)

    I imagine we'll be getting in to some pumpkin-y kind of activities later this week, not sure if we'll make it to our favorite Pumkin Patch or not, but we'll see.

 
(Autumn gold)

    Still on the agenda this month is Candy Apples and Popcorn Balls...wishing you peace and happiness in your Autumn days still to come :)

Recipes Request

Here are the next installments of recipes requested:

Download Bacon or Sausage Egg Bake

Download Bread Machine Naan

Is anyone else having difficulty opening any of the files??? I can convert them all to PDFs if need be, but hopefully they are opening for you as is....Please don't hesitate to let me know though, as I put these all together for you to be able to use, so I want to make sure you can access them :) Also, I created them in Excel and Word docs so that once you save them to your computer, you should be able to tweak them to your own family's tastes and schedules. I did not copyright them, as so many of the recipes are not mine, just adjusted for my family, but please be prudent and only use them for personal use, thank you very much!

Many blessings and let me know what you bake!!! Happy Feast of St. Matthew, we are celebrating big here (two Matthews in the house)!!

St. Matthew, pray for us!

Menues Made Easy

Thank you all for your sweet comments on our Day in the Life at Sweetness and Light! It's fun to see how the day all pans out when it's in the works :)

Many of you have asked for some recipes, so I thought I'd share what has worked as we launched back into our schooling mode for Late Summer/Early Autumn.

First off, the Brown Sugar Chicken is from Make it Fast, Cook it Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. She claims in her book that after making this for her family, they coined it "Candy Chicken" and yes it was very sweet! Everybody liked this one, even my one who isn't truly fond of chicken unless it's oven baked with lots of garlic ;-) *Recipe Note: my chicken fell apart and did not look like the chicken in the recipe link, but more shreddy (is that a word?) and we had lots of yummy sauce to spoon over the brown basmati rice. Rated 5 stars by my crew!

Violet made the Bacon, Cheese & Egg Bake previously pictured and it was so good, they were no leftovers (not that there ever are). She has discovered some really fun cookbooks called Teens Cook and Teens Cook Dessert, and this easy overnight recipe was included in the former.

By having a set of four weeks Menues mapped out in advance was a life saver for me at the beginning of this new term. All of my menues were planned around what we receive in our weekly Organic Bin delivery and our main monthly shopping at the very large and economical Costco. With this system (and our weekly Smith Bros. Organic Milk Delivery) I rarely have to go the the store each week. If need be, a few things can be easily picked up during the week.

Here are the four Menues we have used thus far:

Download Late Summer Menu Rotations Week 1 - 2010

Download Late Summer Menu Rotations Week 2 - 2010

Download Late Summer Menu Rotations Week 3 - 2010

Download Late Summer Menu Rotations Week 4 - 2010

Please feel free to download these to use with your family :)

On occaision I may switch a few things around or substitute if I have run out of a particular item and is unavailable to make the meal or snack, but so far it has been minimal subbing, which means little, to no scrambling!! The best part is that if I become ill or we have an off day for whatever reason and someone else needs to take over the menu for the day, it's all right there available for everyone to see and the recipes are all in my cupboard or are so easy to prepare, anyone can fix them :) Well, except for maybe Sean-Paul, but not for his wanting to help out ;-)

I have really been pleased with how my crockpot meals have been turning out as well. So far only one has bombed, the crockpot baked potatoes. My crock cooked either too hot, or I cooked too long with too few potatoes (I did 6) and they were just bad.

Here are the kids favorites from the month (yes, we voted):

Chicken Stroganoff (Week 1) ~ from Saving Dinner

Skillet Granola Parfaits (Week 1) ~ Download Skillet Granola Parfaits

Shanti's Chicken (Week 2) ~ adapted from Suzanne Somer's Get Skinny on Fabulous Food ~ Download Shanti's Chicken

Crock Pork Chops (Week 2) ~ varied a bit from the Make it Fast, Cook it Slow recipe linked. (I used hoisin, rather than ketchup and didn't have the 5 Chinese Spice) It was still delicious!

MaryEllen's Easy Chicken Salad w/Dark Rolls (Week 2)

Sleepover Roman Apple Coffee Cake (Week 2) Violet prepared this one from Teens Cook

Overnight French Toast w/Cinnamon-Apple Compote (Week 3)  *Recipe Note: This one is delectable and perfect for Monday morning as all one has to do is pop it in the oven and prepare the compote (you could actually make this ahead as well and reheat, but it's really no biggie in the morning as the toast is baking). ~ Download Overnight French Toast Bake

Stuffed Shells (Week 3) ~ the classic recipe from the back of the pasta box ;-) I also cheated and used an organic jarred sauce, it was delish!

Crock Chile Verde (Week 3) ~ Make it Fast, Cook it Slow  ***This was a HUGE hit and tons of leftovers!!! So yummy.

Apple-Pecan Muffins w/Yogurt and Fruit (Week 3) ~ Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

Blueberry Drop Scones w/Honey yogurt (Week 4) I wish I'd made a double batch of these!

Grilled Tuna Naan Sandwiches (Week 4) *Recipe Note: I make my Naan dough in my bread machine in the morning then quickly bake and they are ready to grill, so yummy and filling. Also, we like provolone with tuna, but Tillamook sliced cheddar is a good second :)

Chicken and Dumpling Soup ~ Make it Fast, Cook it Slow *Recipe Note: Rather than add the dumplings in the crock I made fluffy buttermilk biscuits instead. Some had theirs on top of the biscuits, some had theirs on the side. This is like a super creamy chicken pot pie, very good. 

Whew, if you're still reading, you love to cook, LOL!! Sorry this got so long and wordy. I hope you'll be able to fit some of these ideas and recipes in to your repertoire! If there are any that I didn't link and you'd still like them, let me know and I'll hunt them up ;-)

Many blessings in your week ahead, we're preparing for the Ember Days on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and zipping along in Week 5!

What's Cookin' ?

Autumn is upon us in full swing and Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but for now I thought I'd share some of our favorite meals and snacks that have sustained and kept our home humming along these past several months.

I have many recipes and Menu plans located at Sweetness in the Kitchen, but I wanted to share here on the main blog as it is the true hub of our Sweetness. Please click around over there if you feel like it, we've enjoyed all of those goodies, many times.

Here are some favorites that we are enjoying right now and what has kept me sane and able to manage on busy activity days as well as not having to think through the It's 4 O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is?? dilemma. 

Favorite Weeknight Meals ~

Meatballs and pasta (Marcella Hazan's Italian Cooking)

For the Meatballs:

a slice of good-quality white bread, crusts removed
1 pound ground beef, preferably chuck
1 tbsp onion chopped very fine
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp freshly grated parmigianno-reggiano cheese
Whole nutmeg, about 1/8 tsp grated
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1-28 oz. can stewed or crushed tomatoes 

Directions: Heat the milk in a small saucepan until just before scalding, add the bread and let it soak up all the milk. Mash it up and then put all the ingredients in a bowl and gently mix it together wtih your hands. But don’t mix it up too much or the meatballs will be tough.  Marcella says “Gently knead the mixture with your hands without squeezing it”. Roll them into about 1 1/2 inch balls. Meanwhile heat a large skillet with about 1/4 inch of olive oil reachng up the sides. Roll the meatballs in dry breadcrumbs and fry them in the heated olive oil until nicely browned. Drain them on paper towels and pour off all but about one tablespoon of the oil. Degalzed the pan with the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Now add all of the meatballs back into the simmering tomato sauce, turning to coat and continue to simmer them together with a lid on for about 30 minutes. Serve with grated parmesean over your favorite pasta or they are even delicious alone with good hunk of crusty bread!

Lettuce Wraps (Ellie Krueger, Food Network) Note :: I leave off the chilli-garlic sauce and serve with red chilli pepper flakes at the table for those who like it spicy :) I have made this dish repeatedly with either ground beef or ground turkey and it is gobbled up every time, no pun intended ;-)

Chicken Piccata or Parmesean Chicken (Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa cookbooks) Note :: I usually always serve either of these with a simple green or arugula salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil with parmesean shaved on top :)

Greek Salad (with or without grilled chicken or salami added)
1 head romaine lettuce chopped
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese
1 sliced red or green bell pepper
1 english cucumber halved and sliced
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
sliced red onion (optional)
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
1/4 cup pepperocini thinly sliced

For the dressing: salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp chopped garlic (about 1 small clove), 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil - whisk all until emulsified, dress and toss just before serving!

Shanti Chicken and Couscous (Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food) (Yeah, I know, just email me for the recipe, it'll be worth it ;-)

Marinated Flank Steak (with brown rice, couscous, jasmine rice or orzo)

Two Marinades to try: #1 - Freshly squeezed lemon juice (about two lemons) chopped garlic (about two cloves) salt and pepper (directly on the meat, both sides). Marinate about 30 minutes and then grill to medium or medium rare. Serve with lemony couscous. #2 - Asian style: 1/4 c low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 c olive oil, 1 Tablespoon sesame oil, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic chopped, salt and pepper directly on the steak. Marinate overnight or about two hours ahead of cooking. We like to grill this one too and serve with your favorite rice and steamed edamame beans on the side :)

Make-Your-Own Pizza's Kids usually like cheese and pepperoni or canadian bacon, Violet likes roasted red peppers and olives with a little cheese, and for my dh and I "Pissaladiere" the BEST pizza dough recipe and I make mine in the bread machine, so easy!! (Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten)

Crock BBQ Beef Sandwiches (Saving Dinner) Note: This is a pretty standard Crock pot roast or beef brisket style recipe, add whatever spices/seasonings you prefer, but the best part is serving them with french rolls or hoagies smothered in your favorite BBQ sauce!

Tamale Round-About (from the infamous Suzanne :) This was a HIT! Serve with a green salad and dinner's done :)

Favorite Weekend Staples ~

Breakfast/Lunch ~

Blender Pancakes (scroll down past the yummy looking whole wheat dough recipe that looks like something I need to try ;-) Note: These are by far the BEST pancakes ever!! It's perfect if you happen to have a Bosch Mixer/Blender combo as you need the high speed grind (like for grinding grains) on the blender function. (I have the old model pre-2008 and it's still awesome).

Poached Eggs, Bacon and Toast (lovingly known as the "3 things") and best eaten all mixed together :)

Baguette Sandwiches Simply created to taste with ham and cheese or loaded with salami, pepperocinis, arugula, provolone, balsamic and olive oil, heaven :)

Weekend Dinner ~

Crouton Lemon Roasted Chicken (Barefoot in Paris, Ina Garten) Note :: You will thank me for this one, trust me, it's amazing!!!

Ina's Company Pot Roast (Back to Basics, Barefoot Style by Ina Garten)

Favorite Sides ~

Roasted Vegetables including - carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, red or yukon gold potatoes, acorn squash, red onions. Any combination of these or as a separate item are delicious tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper just before roasting. I usually toss the butternut squash in melted butter and brown sugar.

Favorite Homemade Breads ~

Five Minute Artisan Bread Note :: It really works and it really IS amazing bread, even if you like your bread machine bread everyday, this is worth the five minutes for "bakery" or truly artisan style loaves. You must befriend your oven and a steam pan on the broiler rack!! Bon Chance :)

Naan (The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger) Note :: dough made in bread machine, then shaped and baked in the oven)

Maple Oatmeal Bread (bread machine) (Also from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook, this is my all-time favorite bread machine cookbook)

Sticky Buns Note :: using Kimberlee's Cheat Sheet Buttery Rolls recipe, these are perfect every time

For the Sticky part: combine about 1/4 stick butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons corn syrup in a sauce pan to melt and combine. Add about 1/2 cup chopped pecans and heat through. Pour this mixture into the bottom of a bundt pan or 13 x 9 inch rectangular pan and bake off the buns in this yummy sauce for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. YUMMO!!

I hope you'll let me know if you are hankering to try some of these recipes or if you have some of your favorites to share, I'd love something new to add to the queue!! Many blessings and have a great rest of week before Thanksgiving!! I am so thankful for YOU :)

Take a Look at These!!!

 

Okay, so here's my lovely loaves that I baked up using the recipe and method from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day!! It was so easy and shall we say, a "no brainer" that I wish I'd discovered it sooner!!  I would have, except for I waited about two months for it to come up in my library queue :)))

Another look...

 

The crust was amazing and the flavor, well let's just say, it was very tasty.  My dh exclaimed upon first bite, wow, this is amazing!!!

Allrighty, success meter tipping the scale!!  Hope your weekend was grand!

Snow Day

 

We're having a delightful snow day today!  A few relaxing activities, plus a Nutcracker performance for our dancing girl!  We're hoping she doesn't have to go again tonight!

I'm knitting this Juliet Scarf from Knitting Little Luxuries!  I keep checking this one out at the library, so needless-to-say, it's on my Christmas list!  I also really like all the projects in Bag Style by Pam Allen and Ann Budd.

I sure hope you're all staying warm and safe in this wintery weather!  And for those of you not having any snow, send us some sunshine soon please!!!

 

Wishing you more days of Advent Yum and Fun with your sweeties!

In Case You're Wondering...

...what happens to bread dough starter that you place in the fridge in what you thought was a large enough and tightly sealed Tupperware container....

Slight explosion, yeah.

Sigh...Guess it was a good day to clean the fridge anyhoo :)

Wishing you a brighter days!

It's a Start...

Well, it's not quite like Cheryl's, but it's a start!!  Don't ya love the cover, it sure makes me smile :)  Have a good night!

Menu Planning Galore!!

Well apparently last January I was on a huge Menu Planning kick, and there are several wonderful posts on Meal Planning, complete with other's excellent recipes and menu planning suggestions to try! 

Here are all of them in one place for you!!  Enjoy and let me know if you try any of these delicious recipes!

Carnival of Meal Planning First Edition

Carnival of Meal Planning Second Edition

It's 4 O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is? Week One Menus

It's 4 O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is? Week Two Menus

It's 4 O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is? Week Three Menus

It's 4 O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is? Week Four Menus

That should just about cover anyone for January and February!!  If you're in a menu rut, this is a great place to start! 

Thanks again to all the lovely ladies who shared their meal plans and recipes!  If anyone is interested in doing a Meal Planning Carnival let me know and we'll plan one for February, just in time for Lent!! 

Many blessings in your day!

Thankfully Good!!!

Here is the Walnut and Clay Placecard Violet created for our Thanksgiving table this year!  She delights in making new and different ones every year and this one was especially cute!  We had a lovely Thanksgiving and I sure hope you all did as well.  So what to do with all those leftovers???  Trit-trot on over to Sweetness in the Kitchen for a super easy and yummy recipe!!  Have a great day!

Our Week of Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving week, already, as if I haven't been inundated with enough Christmas frenzy already, we still have our Thankful Week to rush through, I mean enjoy, before we head in to one of the most beautiful times of our Liturgical year, the season of Advent, of waiting, and preparation for the Birth of Our Lord.

This of course isn't the only week of the year that we are truly thankful for all the blessings in our lives, there are so many levels of gratefulness here at Sweetness and Light, it would take a year of blog posts to list them all, but for this week, we are focusing on our Family Life and Love and what it means to Supplicate and Praise God for all his goodness in our lives.  Hearth and Home of course will be at the forefront as we prepare all of our delectable eats for Thanksgiving Day!

Our Thankful Tree is beginning to blossom, here's a picture of what it looked like last year at this time,

...and if you haven't seen all the lovely Thankful Tree pictures that Karen Edmisten put together last year, it's a nice visit for your week, and it's not too late to whip one of these up!!  We will be watercolor painting more leaves today and filling up our tree all week!!

Picture Book Spotlight for this Week:

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin (see resources at Homeschool Share)

Chester Chipmunk's Thanksgiving by Barbara Williams

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott

The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dagliesh

A Turkey for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Poems selections by Myra Cohn Livingston

The Landing of the Pilgrims, Landmark Book

We made a lapbbok for Cranberry Thanksgiving several years ago, so I think this might be the week for a new one!!  Our Stitches and Stories read-aloud this week will be An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving and listening to The Children's Book of America, The Pilgrims First Landing.

We are enjoying all of the afternoon handicraft projects, especially our new knitting delights, I hope to post progress on my Tasha Tudor Shawl this week!

Another thing we will enjoy Wednesday in honor of The Presentation of the Child Mary is a scrumptious Carmel Apple Cider Teatime reminiscent of Dawn's yummy recipe!  This is a must have treat and especially yummy to the littlest ones!

I hope you are having an especially calm week of Thanksgiving with your sweet families!

A Food Stylist in Our Future???

Tuna Salad anyone?  Violet's daddy asked her to help him make a Tuna Salad for lunch and THIS is how Violet presented his meal to him.  I'm thinking Food Stylist for sure!!  He rather enjoyed his meal and mentioned how he might need to check in on the learning room more often, especially around lunchtime!!

Blessings in your day!

Martinmas, A Feast!

We had a lovely and low-key Feast of St. Martin of Tours on Sunday.  Here is a super easy and yummy recipe I created Lemony Roast Herb and Garlic Organic Chicken.  This was as close as we could come to Roast Goose! 

During our scrumptious meal we enjoyed, recounting the story of St. Martin and his call to become the Bishop of Tours.  We are so grateful to the many men and women who have sacrificed themselves for our safety and will continue to do so for our Nation, thank you Veterans!!  God Bless You!

All Creations Great and Small: Handmade is Best!

Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight has graciously offered to host The Loveliness of Handmade Gifts.  This should be a very special offering of so many wonderful and talented ladies.  Please be sure to get a nice hot cup of tea before you visit so you'll be ready to indulge in all the Homemade ideas!

Here is a post from last year at Sweetness and Light, we had fun with these little surprises!

I have several books in my library that I refer to from year to year to draw inspiration for homemade gifts:

• Handmade Christmas  by Martha Stewart
• Martha Stewart's Christmas
• The Herbal Pantry by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead
• The Perfect Basket by Diane Phillips
• The Christmas Kitchen by Lorraine Bodger

From The Perfect Basket, this makes a luscious and very inexpensive gift.  I sent this to my brother one year and I think he ate the whole jar himself:

Chocolate Praline Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecan halves

In a heavy saucepan, cook the sugar over moderate heat unitl it begins to melt.  Cook, stirring with a fork until it is fully melted, then cook, while swirling the pan, until it is golden caramel.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the cream, then simmer until the caramel is dissolved.  Add the chocolate and cook over low heat, whisking until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth.  Whisk in the vanilla and stir in the pecans.  Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature over Vanilla Ice Cream.

One of the most fun gifts to put together with my dear ones has been homemade Hot Chocolate Mix in a special Mug!  Here is a fun recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate Mix, also from The Perfect Basket:

1/3 cup light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa (my favorite is Hersheys unsweetned cocoa)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk

Combine and blend the ingredients in a small bowl.  Store in an airtight container, or for gift purposes:  place contents in a ziptop bag and decorate with a pretty ribbon and then place inside a festive mug or "bowl" style coffee cup and give to a dear friend!!

I truly delight in making homemade gifts from the kitchen, and as I am not real adept at preserving jams and jellies, I have taken to making other preserved foods, including herbal vinegars, spicy jellies, mustards, butters, pickles and preserving in oil.  Here are two delightful and easy ones to try from The Herbal Pantry:

Olives in Oil

After draining and rinsing your olives of choice, select from these variations for flavorings:

Thyme & Garlic

Orange & Cardamom

Lemon & Fennel

Garlic, Thyme, Oregano, crushed Bay leaf, lemon slices & Allspice

Add your desired ingredients and some Black or White Peppercorns, then cover in good Olive Oil and seal in an airtight container or jar! Decorate as desired!  This makes a fun gift to give guests as a favor before you send them home.  Including a recipe for a yummy focaccia bread would be a lovely gift addition as well!!

Herbed Butters Basic Recipe:

1/2 pound unsalted butter
5 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, herb flowers, of 2 1/2 teaspoons herb seeds
1 teaspoon lemon juice or a few gratings of lemon zest
Salt and white pepper to taste, or dry mustard, cumin, or paprika (optional)

These are a beautiful addition to any holiday table and make a lovely hostess gift, especially if you know what is being served, then you can pair your flavorings to the hostesses main dish vegetables or breads.

Other delightful flavorings to add to the Basic Recipe above: 

• Dill, Mustard seed, parsley, and a touch of lemon rind or a few mustard seeds for fish and potatoes. 
• Thyme, garlic, chives, oregano, and parsley for tomatoes, zucchuni, eggplant or beef. 
• Sage, parsley, and chives for chicken, veal, rice and pasta.
• Tarragon or fennel, lemon zest, and parsley for fish, chicken or eggs.
• Chives, mint, and chervil for fish, tomatoes, carrots and peas.

Don't they all sound delicious!!

The kids and especially Violet and I will be creating many little treasures for gifts from our recent adventures at Threads of Love, please visit and let us know what you think!  I gave sweet Violet an early cold weather gift, 'cause I just finished it!!

Many Blessings and Happy creative days to you in this wonderful time of making special things to tuck away for another special day!

Baking Bread with Love, and a Buddy!

Violet has been wanting to do some activities with Seamus now that he's really getting to be such a big boy :) This is part of the Buddy System I wrote about the other day!  So her idea was to teach him step-by-step how to Make Bread by Hand.  Isn't that just the ultimate for a big sister to do??? 

Well, it just so happens that I have some lovely Montessori style Cards for Making Bread, thanks to Lori at Montessori for Everyone, these are also FREE!

So off they go, following the simple directions on the cards:  Gathering ingredients above and beginning to measure.

Looking to sissy for approval on tasting the dough???

Seamus going for it, kneading and...

...punching, notice the little dough stealer, he's a sneaky one that's for sure :)

In the pans for the second rising...

The beautiful risen loaves all ready for the oven...

During the rising times they read Harvest Home by Jane Yolen together.  I'm pretty sure they read a myriad of other ones too, as they were on the couch together for quite a long time :)

And Ta-DA...fresh-baked, right out of the oven, too bad there's no smell-a-blog, it was heavenly!!!

They were so proud of their work and boy was it tasty!!!  Oh and there's that little sneaker again :) He could hardly stand having to watch, thankfully he napped part of the time...

Do you bake your own bread?  This is one activity that is always a favorite for ALL of our family members! I'm so pleased and proud of them myself for accomplishing a task beautifully done, and without my help!!  Well...maybe just a little :)

"And then we sing and dance and praise,
Bringing the harvest home.
To God the Sower prayers we raise,
Bringing the Harvest home.
The golden crop is gathered in,
To store up summer in a bin.
Full thanks to all our friends and kin
For bringing the harvest home." (last page, Harvest Home)

And "Full thanks to all of you", my special friends and kin!!  Thanks for visiting us today!

Update:  Click here for the wonderfully easy Bread recipe!!

Crepes Please!!!

Well, ya'll raved over our Crepes for St. Therese (and thank you so much for all your super sweet comments on our day:))

Here's the VERY simple and no fail recipe:

• 4 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil (or any veg oil, just not Olive oil)
• 3/4c. to 1 cup flour (depending upon how thin or thick you prefer)
• 1-2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 tespoon salt (kosher)

Blend first three ingredients until frothy, add last three ingredients and  blend until you have a nice smooth pourable batter.  Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a med-high heat griddle or very large non-stick saute pan.  (You need room around your crepe to get your spatula under it to flip)  Use a spoon to lightly swirl your crepe into a large disc, be careful not to tear the batter, if you happen to, just spoon a little batter into that spot :)  Cook for about 30 seconds on each side until lightly golden, and then stack 'em up on a platter for serving at the table. 

Of note:  you may have a crepe pan at home and if you like that give it a whirl, personally my favorite cooking surface for these is my stove top griddle ;)

This recipe works for either sweet or savory crepes, I would just omit the sugar if your fixing for a dinner crepe! 

Fill with any of your favorite *pancake* type items, like maple syrup, powdered sugar, applesauce, yogurt, peanut butter, jams, honey, strawberries and whip cream :)

Enjoy and please share your results if you try them, they are a mainstay in our family celebrations!!