Christmas

It looms on the horizon like a cloud - for some people it's a big fluffy white cloud filled with streaks of sunshine.

They love love love the idea of finding and buying the perfect gift for all the people on their list.  Hopefully at 40% off.

For others it's a time of anxiety and stress.  More like a storm cloud on the edge of their vision.

Sometimes it's because of past holidays that didn't work out as planned and other times it's caused by something as simple as lack of money or time to find that "perfect" gift.

Have we thought of what we can do ourselves to make Christmas more meaningful?  How about the things we can make or do ourselves that our family and friends would really love to have.

Back in the day when money was incredibly tight I used to fall back on the things I learned in 4-H of all places!  I could make an apron (yeah, ok, no one wears them any more but this was a long time ago) out of a piece of leftover material, I could make a pomander out of an orange and some clove buds.

 In a pinch I could always make jam or jelly or cranberry relish.

Or pickles from things out of my garden (or even vegetables bought at the local farmer's market).

I still make the jam, jellies, relishes and pickles and there is truly rejoicing from the favored ones on that list!

If we can't do all of this sort of thing, there is always the gift of time.  This is not an original idea I admit - but an IOU for a few hours of babysitting, or one for "I will help you clean up your house cause I know you've been sick and sore" would almost without doubt bring a smile (and a sense of relief) to the person who opens that card!

How about a pledge to take a friend who can no longer drive to the store on a regular basis - it's not as if you're not going anyhow, right?  Or even a promise to go DO that dreaded shopping (especially if they can give you pictures of exactly what they need).

Personally at my stage in life I avoid giving gifts for the sake of giving "something" so I can check that person off my list.  And on the receiving end?  I'd rather receive something that is disposable (like into my stomach) than something I feel obligated to display, use and even worse - DUST!

So before you throw money at the situation, think what you might give that is meaningful, thoughtful and, BTW, does not have to be dusted!

New stuff & other things

Ever notice how we (I at least) get in a rut of cooking the same things over and over?  They are usually good, they are easy and they are "known".  No kitchen surprises here!

That can be either comforting or boring, depending on how you look at it.

Lately I've been taking a walk on the wild side - sort of.

Facebook (heaven help us) is a never ending resource of recipes - both ones to make your mouth water and some to widen your hips just looking at them!

Anyhow, here are a couple of dishes that I have tried and one that is still looming on my culinary horizon:

                                                          Black Pepper Chicken

My first thought on this one was it must be steak/beef - can't be chicken.  But it is and it is beef looking from the marinade.  It actually was easy to make and, depending on how much pepper you use, easy on the stomach.  I loved it!  And who would have thought a marinade of 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 white vinegar along w/a little honey could be so good!

                                                       Garlic Butter Mushrooms

I love mushrooms and what's not to like about garlic?  Win/win!  Mine didn't come out as browned as the picture but still tasty.

                                                                      Garlic Shrimp

This one is still on the future plan - love shrimp, love garlic - gotta be good!

Tried some new jams this fall also - some I'm going to give away, some I'm going to throw away!  That happens sometimes and you never succeed if you don't try.

                                                          Pineapple Habenaro Jam

The recipe said it might take a while to "set" - I don't think I'm going to live long enough to see that happen but still very tasty.  Put a little over some cream cheese on a cracker and you're in a spicy nirvana.

Way too many hot peppers this summer/fall

- so I tried a few vinegar experiments and hot sauces - all guaranteed at the very least to take the enamel off your teeth!

                                                                Tabasco vinegar

                                                                Cayenne Hot Sauce

I still have a considerable number of peppers ripening in the greenhouse - who knew you could cut the plants and bring them in before a frost and they would continue to ripen!

I will probably dry most of them and grind them into pepper flakes.

It's been a fall of experimenting and staying close to home and hearth (well, I have no hearth but you get the idea) and trying to put a positive spin on a world that sometimes just seems like it's spinning with no particular idea where it's going.  Some days I swear I wonder if it's all random.

On a totally different subject, our Rally Obedience instructor's daughter made a wonderful collage of our class and we all got a picture of the whole class along with one of our individual dog.  What a fun and wonderful gift - maybe the world is spinning ok after all!

 A perfect representation of my dog's attitude.    They do say a dog and it's owner grow more and more alike as time goes by - just sayin!