Merry Christmas Eve

Just a few photos of our decorations. The tree is in our bedroom. This is the one that goes up every year in that room. It really would be out of place in the rest of the house, but this is the tree for us as Stephen Andrew Jones would say--"Do you decorate for yourself?" and the answer is "Yes"

 I made this wreath from shiney bright ornaments stored in a box in the basement. It was a piece of cake to put together with a hot glue gun and a greed foam form.

I really like this Santa, but my niece's husband thinks the reindeer looks like a chipmunk. He is right, but I still thought it was adorable.

More Santas. I really enjoy decorating the mantle with them. However, I have stopped collecting because we need to downsize. Or at least stop collecting in general. After cleaning out my MIL's condo of her personal items, it really hit home how difficult it can be to have to do such a clean out after someone dies. She was a collector and never tossed things. A couple weeks ago I packed up 28 medium moving boxes, 24 were just kitchen items. We had been going through her things over the past few years while she was ill. I calculated we tossed between 400- 500 13 gallon hefty bags over those years. What a chore. I thought, oh this is too much stuff.  However, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

By the way--One of my favorite Sanats I found at TJ Maxx a few years ago.

We are having family over for dinner this evening for ham, scalloped potatoes with Swiss cheese on top, fresh green beans and toasted almonds, and biscuits. Plus an assortment of candies and cookies--all homemade. Hope you have a wonderful evening.

Christmas Baking

I am on a roll with Christmas baking and candy making. Recently I took a Christmas cookie baking class and one of the favorites from the class is a ginger . It involves a lot of chopping of pecans and candied ginger, grating of ginger, but it is worth it.

I also mixed dough for gingersnaps. I love this recipe that comes from a Williams Sonoma cookbook that I bought years ago.

The final adventure was a chocolate bark that I make every year. Only use really good chocolate. otherwise it just is not worth it. I add toasted nuts and dried fruit and then a little sea salt.

Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.

Christmas Prep: Amaryllis Bulbs

Some may say it is a bit early to be preparing for Christmas, but not when it comes to Amaryllis bulbs. I have a collection of Red Lion and I put them outdoors around May and repot in September. For the next 4 weeks they will get very little water and in October I will bring them indoors to a cool dark place to settle in to start to rebloom. Hopefully around the Christmas season I will have beautiful flowers. We shall see.

More Basil with Great Garlic, Makes Bunches of Pesto

Well this may not be the best photo of pesto that I just made and placed in the freezer, but it gives you an idea of what is going on. I had a bumper crop of basil this year. The garlic was the best crop ever. So I made more pesto. I have lost track of how many packets I have frozen, but I believe it is over 20.

I was lucky because where we live basil sometimes does not do well. I still have more in the raised beds that I could process into pesto. It is so wonderful to have this in the Winter over pasta or mixed in with vegetable soups. I cannot imagine how much this would cost fresh in the stores , but my guess is over $100. What a deal making your own from the garden.  I need to place my order for garlic soon to plant. It is the easiest crop ever.

Basil, Garlic, and .......?

What do you do when you have lots of basil? Make pesto. I just finished putting the food processor away. I cannot imagine making pesto without it. A couple of years ago our 30 year old food processor gave out while making pesto. What a chore to finish up the batch. I ran over to Costco and bought a Cuisinart. Fabulous piece of equipment when I have to make batches of pesto.

I have 7 large packets in the freezer now. This is the best pesto I have ever made. The basil and garlic have been terrific this year. So I planted more basil today. I should have basil by mid September for probably 12 batches of pesto. That should be enough to last until next summer. Yum!

Garlic--The Best Ever Harvest

The thing about garlic, it can be a bit of a guessing game when it comes to harvesting. So I dug up a couple of bulbs and was amazed at how large they were. I planted Music garlic last fall. It always does well for me in our zone. But this year's garlic was test harvested 2 weeks earlier than usual and they are the biggest bulbs I have ever seen. These are true beauties. Twice as big as usual. So hopefully the rest of the harvest will be at least this impressive. 

Also my winter squash so far is doing great. I decided to plant it far away from my raised beds. I have had trouble with squash vine borers. This year, planting in a different location may have made the difference.

The harvest for the week will be Swiss chard.

First Harvest - Kale.

There is only one thing that I will make with kale from the garden and that is soup.
The below is a wonderful recipe from BonAppetie magazine. I did make revisions however. The pancetta was replaced with 12 ounces of mild Italian sausage. I did not drain the tomatoes, but used a cup of the juice and eliminated a cup of water. I also eliminated the bay leaves, leeks,  and the Pistou.

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 8 

Minestrone

• 3 sprigs oregano
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1 Parmesan rind (about 2 ounces; optional)
• 3 cups cooked cannellini beans, cooking liquid reserved if desired, or two 15-oz. cans, rinsed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 ounces baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into ½” pieces
• ½ bunch Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into 1” pieces

Pistou And Assembly

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt

• Preparation

  Minestrone

  • Tie oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves together with kitchen twine.
  • Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium. Add pancetta, if using, and cook, stirring often, until browned around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add onion, leek, carrots, celery, garlic, and red pepper flakes; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent and carrots are tender, 10–12 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat, until slightly darkened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you go, then herb bundle, Parmesan rind, if using, and 6 cups water or reserved bean cooking liquid, or a combination. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender and flavors have melded, 20–25 minutes. Add kale and beans; cook until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind and herb bundle.
  • Do Ahead: Soup can be made 2 days ahead (or 2 months if frozen). Let cool; transfer to airtight containers and chill.

  Pistou And Assembly

  • Pulse garlic and basil in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in oil, Parmesan, and lemon zest; season with salt. Serve soup topped with pistou.