Tag archive for Christmas

There is nothing quite like a little road trip to bring on the holiday feeling. Tucked up snug in the car with Christmas tunes and plenty of snacks for the drive, things start feeling festive. Recently, we did just that and headed for the hills to the west in hopes of holiday lights and snow in Leavenworth. The timing wasn’t meant to be with the snow, but we did see our fair share of holiday lights. Here are a few sights from the weekend.

It was our first time visiting Leavenworth and the weekend of the Christkindlmarkt seemed like as good a time as any to visit. I’m not going to lie, visions of warm mugs of glühwein were dancing in my head. The holiday lights were festively glowing when we arrived and made for a perfect little stroll through downtown.

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What’s more, I also found the Bavarian Bakery, just on the edge of town, with multiple stollen options and thick slices of striezel dipped in chocolate. Just the inspiration I needed to head home and start some baking of my own!

I hope the festive season has found you and yours. It’s hard to not feel festive with one of these gems sitting up amongst the glassware these days! I’m looking forward to being back in this space a little more frequently and sharing the season with you.

This Sunday I had the pleasure of spending the better part of the day hanging out with the very talented Joann from Slice of Pai (don’t forget to check her out on Instagram). For a month or so Joann and I have been talking about doing a collaboration. On Sunday the planets or perhaps more accurately, our agendas finally aligned and we carved out a bit of free time in-between babyshowers and other such obligation to share some time baking and taking photographs. I have been really excited about this collaboration because Joann has an such an amazing eye for food styling and photography. The majority of the photographs you see here today are Joann’s handy work!

Our morning started nice and early (for a Sunday) with me arriving on Joann’s doorstep with a giant box of props and a bottle of whiskey. The whiskey was one of the props of course! Our plan was to bake shortbread two ways, savoury and sweet. I have always loved baking that mixes sweet and salty so when we came across a recipe for a delicate sweet and salty pre-dinner cocktail shortbread (enter the Whiskey) I was all in. For our sweet selection we chose an amazing buttery and crisp almond shortbread sandwich. The almond shortbread maybe one of the best shortbreads I have had in years; so good that I have since made a second batch. See below for recipes.

Sweet and Salty Herbed Shortbread
Recipe Adapted from Food52 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sal
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1 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, thyme and lavender
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack positioned in the centre. In a medium bowl sift together flour and salt. In a small bowl, combined 2 tablespoons of sugar and the chopped herbs. Using your fingers gently rub the sugar and the chopped herbs together, this will release the oils from the herbs. Stir the herb mixture into the flour.

Add butter chunks to the flour, mix using a fork until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough into a 9-inch round or square baking pan; gently pat the dough down. Using a fork prick the dough and sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar evenly over the dough.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the shortbread for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is golden and no longer looks at all wet. While the dough is still warm, score it into fingers using a very sharp knife. Allow it to cool completely in the pan before separating the pieces.

Almond Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Recipe adapted from FineCooking

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sal
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond meal
Strawberry jam
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a mixer combine butter, sugar and salt at low speed. Mix the ingredients on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes until the butter blends with the sugar but isn’t perfectly smooth. Continue mixing at low speed while adding the flour and almonds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue mixing until the dough begins to hold together. Be careful not to overmix.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, quickly rolling the dough to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Thinner cookies will make a more attractive sandwich.

Make an even number of cookies and cut a smaller shape into the middle of half of your cookies. This will become the top of the sandwich. The tops of the cookies can be fragile so make sure the border is fairly wide. Transfer the cookies onto baking sheets and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

While the cookies are cooling position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat to 300°F. Bake the cookies until golden, about 30 min. Halfway through the baking time switch the pan from top to bottom and rotate them 180 degrees, cook for the remaining time.

Allow the cookies to fully cool. Place a small teaspoon of jam in the centre of the cookie bottoms and spread the jam lightly over the cookie avoiding the edges. Using a sifter dust the cookie tops with confectioners’ sugar. Place the sandwiches tops on the jammed cookie bottoms and very gently press together.

In my world there are two thing that get me into a holiday state of mind: decorating the Christmas tree and baking holiday cookies. Let’s be honest, there really isn’t anything better than sitting beside a softly lit Christmas tree eating sweets and trying to guess what is in all of the gifts. I am rather new to having my own tree. I have only done it three times now and each time has been a bit of a learning experience. The first year I set up the tree on Remembrance Day, November 11th was a little early as it turns out. So the next year I waited until the second week on December, that was too late! This year the tree went up one week before December 1st. I think that we might be onto something with this tree schedule. As you may have guessed there is a fake tree in my house, apparently apartment buildings think that real trees are a hazard. Which I guess could be true if there are other fools like me out there putting their trees up in mid November.

When it comes to Christmas baking there are two main types of baking: the tried and true classics and the new and fantastic looking. Like Ginger, I too like to have cookies around for the month of December. This year holiday baking was kicked off with an old favorite. These treats have been on our families cookie plate for basically as long as I can remember. Kind of like the holiday jello salad, they might not be the most elegant or modern cookie but then again you don’t mess with tradition. These noodle cookie or pine cone cookies as my nephew likes to calls them are a snap to make. They don’t require baking, so they are an ideal family baking project.

Pine cone Cookies

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
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1 (16-ounce) Chinese noodles
1 cup Salted Peanuts
Fleur de Sel for garnish

In a double boiler combine both of the chips and melt. Once the chips are melted stir in peanuts and noodles. Adding the noodles in batches to ensure that no noodle is left uncovered. You can really play this part by ear, so to speak, adding noodles until you reach your desired consistency.

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment paper. Sprinkle each cookie with a little salt and refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

The holidays always make me think of traditions—the ones that have gone on for years in my family and the ones that I am trying to create for my own little family. And despite the short, dark days of winter, there is something comforting about those holiday traditions that make this time of year most special.

Now that December is here, it seems like the right time to start with a little Christmas baking. Holiday baking has always been a big part of our holiday celebrations through the years. We each have our favorite sweets that appear on the holiday treat tray year after year. But with busy schedules, a massive amount of baking just seems a little too daunting. So over the past few years, I’ve come up with a different approach—weekend baking. I have plenty of time to get something baked and we get to enjoy and share treats all month long. We might not have all of our treats on the tray together, but I think it works out OK in the end. And with a little helper in the kitchen, this special baking time has just gotten a whole lot more exciting. Every weekend, he asks whether we are going to do any baking. I like to comply!

Since baking with a toddler can be a little challenging, er, exciting, I’ve been thinking about what recipes might be best for him to help with. He likes to be hands-on, helping to measure and pour. I thought about gingerbread cookies with shapes to cut out and decorate. I knew that glitter and sprinkles would be right up his alley. But it seems like there are so many steps in that process, baking and then decorating later. It would be too much for his attention span to bear. So when I found this recipe, it seemed to combine the best of all activities in a short amount of time! Decorating before baking? Yes, please!

These cookies remind me a little of biscotti in that they are twice-baked for extra crunch. It also means that fiddling around with the dough to make them perfect is just not needed—great for helpers. Some variety will make for a nice display in the end. They are a perfect addition to any tray of treats and are sure to be a hit with everything from coffee to cocktails.

A few notes before you get started: This recipes calls for cayenne pepper. It makes the cookies spicy in a very good way. My little guy is OK with the amount in the recipe, but adjust to your tastes.  The sugars and sparkles used on these cookies really set a festive tone. Play around to find favorite combinations. Ours was the vanilla sugar—while not the most festive colors, the flavors were lovely.

Spicy Gingerbread Straws

From Nancy Baggett’s recipe in Better Homes and Gardens, December 2012

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1/4 coffee, cooled, or 1/4 water with 1 teaspoon instant coffee

Course sugar or turbinado sugar
Sprinkles or edible glitter

Preheat oven to 350º and position rack in the middle of the oven.

In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, allspice and cayenne pepper, if using. Mash the brown sugar so there are no lumps are left.

In a small bowl, combine the butter, molasses and coffee and whisk to combine. Pour the butter mixture into the flour and stir well to combine. Knead briefly to mix in all of the flour and make a smooth dough. If the dough is too dry to roll out, add a few drops of water as you kneed. If it is too moist, sprinkle in a little more flour. Divide the dough in half and form roughly into a log.

Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll into a rectangle, about 6 by 12 inches. Trim the dough if needed, but don’t worry about making a perfect rectangle. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and sprinkle with your choice of sugar and glitter. I used about 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of sprinkles. Place the parchment paper back on top of the dough and press the sugar gently into the dough. Remove the top layer of parchment.

Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to cut the dough into thin strips, about 1/4-inch by 6 inches wide. Slide the sliced rectangle of dough, still on the parchment paper, onto a baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for about 14 minutes, or until edges are slightly browned and the cookies are just barely firm when pressed. Using the parchment paper, slide the dough onto a cutting board and retrace the cuts between the cookies and separate them a little on the pan. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.

Once both sheets are baked and trimmed, reduce oven heat to 200º and place both trays back in the over for 10 to 12 more minutes. Remove from oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cook completely. Store in an airtight contained to help them stay crisp.

One of my favorite things about the holidays has to be snow. I’m not going to try and tell you that all of the usual things – family, food and traditions – aren’t high on my list. But when I get right down to it, snow is one of the traditions I don’t want to do without at Christmas. This realization came to me the other night while I was standing out in the driveway with my sister in the middle of a snow storm. Snow was falling fast and thick and we had a couple of inches we planned to clear before calling it a night. Count on a good Canadian upbringing to make you realize that there is just going to be more snow to shovel in the morning if you go to bed in a snow storm.

Layered up in cozy clothes with snow shovel in hand, I thought, “It wouldn’t be Christmas if we weren’t out here shovelling the driveway.” Turns out I have just a few holiday memories tied up in that whole snow shoveling ritual. I don’t know when exactly we were turned loose in the driveway with shovels. Maybe it was a punishment, maybe it was a treat. I don’t really remember. Perhaps we were sent out to burn through some after-dinner energy or maybe to give our parents a few minutes of peace and quiet.

I can tell you a few things though, like the fact that there is a right way to shovel snow in our family. It is very precise and when the shoveling is done, everything looks perfect. There are no wonky lines going here and there, everything is tidy and orderly. And one other thing, don’t walk all over the snow before you shovel – clear a path and walk in that.  Otherwise your footsteps will stick and then it won’t look nearly as perfect! Likely, all of this comes from many winters of experience. When you are expecting a winter full of snow, you have to shovel with some of this in mind. You know that the snow bank is going to be a few feet high and if you know what’s good for you, you shovel accordingly.

For the longest time, the main snow shovel at our house was one of my dad’s creations. A piece of plywood nailed onto some other wooden remnant to make a handle. It was not easy to lift, so for us girls, it was more of a snow pusher. Someone else would have to come along behind and lift the snow, flinging it onto the bank. That shovel was around for years, slowing wearing out at a distinct angle after years of grating against the pavement. Sometime in the last few years, it was retired and replaced with a fleet of more ergonomic options. 

And besides, you dash your viagra cheapest reputation to the rocks with spamming. Ripe bananas are ideal food women viagra australia for infants. The bottom line is, don’t take the medicine if you have problems like cardiac, hypertension, generic purchase viagra Continue diabetes Don’t increase the dosage for yourself as it may cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Also they would inform you after receiving payment and lowest cost levitra delivery of the product. When we’re not out shoveling it, it seems that we like to find activities to get us outdoors. The last couple of years have focused on snowshoeing. Happily, we can virtually strap on our shoes right at the house, so it makes getting out there pretty easy. There is something so peaceful about the snow. Tramping through the woods can be so quiet, sometimes almost too silent. But the towering trees and snowy pathways are always inviting in their quiet way. And although there was not too much snow, we made a couple of forays into the woods.

We’d all string out, single file along the path. And with a few errant picture-takers in the group, there always seemed to be someone running along, trying to catch up. Not to mention a little guy up front who insisted on being carried, no one was really able to set a very daunting pace.

As we made our way home, we came up a party of sledders, making their way into the woods to do some sledding in a clearing. First came the kids, giddy with delight, running up the hills with sleds in tow. But what amused me the most were the adults who came behind. Some carried chairs. Someone else was pushing a giant cooler on a sled.  They were going to have a party out there in the woods. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous of the idea of a winter picnic. Maybe I’ll have to think about that for next year! Can’t you just imagine Thermoses filled with tasty soups and hot chocolate? Trade out the chestnuts roasting on an open fire for a few marshmallows and you’d be set!

Snow will always be a part of my fondest Christmas memories. The giant flakes I’d see falling in the light of the street lamp at the end of the drive. The snowbank where we heaved our parents exercise bike for the sake of some goofy photos. The snow forts built on very snowy years. That’s why, in the midst of that snowy downfall, I bundled up my little guy, complete with scarf, hood and mittens, and took him out into the night. Dustpan in hand, he pushed snow with the rest of us. It’s all part of our tradition, after all.

Who would have thought I’d be tracking down a salad at this time of year? Here it is, the holiday season with all of the merry and bright business, and I’m seeking out a salad! I suppose it makes some sense, with all of the fancy meals and sweets that seem to take over at this time of year. A crisp salad might just be the ticket.

But I should note that I’m not talking about just any lettuce and tomato salad. Those are best saved for the appropriate seasons, which usually does not pair the two together in my little summer time. Lettuce is at its prime in the spring when small, delicate leaves are a chore to pick, but so worth it! I know that the baby lettuce salad mixes are available at any grocery store, in any season, but more on that later. And tomatoes, let’s just save those for late July or August. They are better that way. In the meantime, I’ll tell you about the salad.

One chilly evening, I sat down with a friend to share dinner. We’ll often share a few tapas to start and just happened upon a Turkish Salad on the menu. A few ingredients were listed – endive, pomegranate, parsley and hazelnut toffee. Could I really have been hooked after that brief description? Seems so…

The salad was so perfect, a balance of everything I could want in a salad. The greens are seasonally appropriate, for me anyway. Somehow the bitterness of endive and frisée speaks of cold weather. The pale greenish yellow is a color that somehow brightens up a winter day, but at the same time, reminds me that sunlight is not the most plentiful! And crunch, so much crunch! The tart pomegranate, the rich green flavor of the parsley, salty olives and my favorite part, toffee! Yes, I may have wanted to get away from the sweet, but a little sprinkle of toffee in my salad was amazing.

I left the restaurant wanting more. Knowing that I’d be tracking down ingredients and recreating that flavor in the weeks to come. But let’s be honest here, I live in a small town. Finding ingredients for something called Turkish Salad certainly wasn’t going to be so easy.

Belgian endive, sure, I can find that. Frisée? Who shops for frisée on a regular basis? I knew I’d seen it before but what were the chances that anyone would be stocking it when I was looking for it? Well, let’s put it this way, I went to every grocery store in town. Some of them multiple times. I talked to anyone working in the produce section, sometimes having to explain just what it was I was looking for. One guy suggested I buy a couple of bags of salad greens and pick the frisée out! It amused me, but it turns out he couldn’t find any bagged greens that included it! At another store, I had a lengthy discussion about the difference between curly endive and escarole. I am not an expert, but it turns out the produce guy might not have been either! In the end, frisée was substituted for the pale inside leaves of curly endive. I wish you more luck!

And don’t let me forget about the pomegranate molasses. It doesn’t really sound like an exotic ingredient, does it? I think anything with the word molasses in it just sounds warm, dark and cozy. But pomegranate molasses is not something in ready supply around here. Lucky for me, I shared my delicious tale of the salad with a friend traveling to Portland for the weekend. And happily, she was willing to go on a mission and came back with supplies for me.

Olives, pomegranates, flat-leaf parsley, homemade toffee, those were the easy ones. Although if I had a little bigger selection of olives, I’ve likely be a little happier. But I had gathered enough ingredients to take a shot at the salad. But before I did that, I wanted one more taste.

So off I went, out for lunch by myself. OK, I took my camera along because I really wanted to take a picture of how lovely it all looked, stacked up on a little plate. The restaurant was empty and I got a table by the window all to myself. Since it was early, the waiter was happy to help with my interest in the salad, answering questions about what type of olives they used, the vinegar and such.

And good thing I went, because I had forgotten a few little details, like the finely diced shallots that spiked the dressing or the fresh green flavor the liberal dashes of parsley left. And I wouldn’t have gotten to taste the golden beets with house made yogurt, citrus and the finest dusting of coriander. But we can talk about that some other time.

This salad might take a little shopping around to compile all of the ingredients depending on your location, but I think it could be just the thing to cure the winter grey. Fresh, crisp and bright, it might even find its way into a holiday meal and be perfectly at home. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.

Happy holidays!

Turkish Salad

Adapted from Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen with special thanks to Island and Chris
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Serves two

1 shallot, finely diced

4 Belgian endive, washed, trimmed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

Small bunch frisée or curly endive leaves, washed and chopped

2 tablespoons flat parsley, roughly chopped

1/3 cup chopped green olives, use a mix of moroccan olives, if you can find them

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing of olive oil, champagne vinegar and pomegranate molasses, to taste

2 tablespoons toffee, I used homemade almond toffee

Peel and finely dice shallot. Let sit for 15 minutes in cold water. Maybe a little red wine vinegar, if you are feeling generous. Drain and pat dry.

Combine the greens, parsley, olives and pomegranate seeds in a bowl. Toss to combine.

Whisk olive oil, champagne vinegar and pomegranate molasses together in a small bowl. Add shallots to the mixture. Adjust seasonings to taste. This will likely depend on your olives and how salty they are. Dress salad and combine well. Arrange salad onto serving plates.

Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of toffee per plate. Serve immediately.

I know, I know Christmas isn’t about competition or winning BLAH BLAH BLAH. I don’t care.

Every year I take part in a Secret Santa gift exchange and gift wrapping competition with friends and this year I decided I was going to win the gift wrapping competition. Now if you too need to win a gift wrapping competition this is a sure fire way to win! Make a gingerbread gift box for your Secret Santa gift. Here is how you do it:

1. Make some gingerbread cookie dough. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours until it is nice a firm. (recipe below)

2. While the dough is chilling construct yourself an appropriately sized base and decide how big you need to make your gift box. You will need to cut out four side pieces and one top. I cut out two 2″x9″ pieces two 2″x12″ pieces and one 9″x12″ piece. Actually you probably should have decided how big you need to make your box before you make the dough. So now you have your chilled dough, a base and some measurements.

3. Cut four side pieces and one top piece. Transfer them onto a cookie sheet and bake as per the directions below.

4. While the cookies are baking start making the icing. I made Royal Icing and it worked rather well for me. The recipe I followed was pretty simple, beat 3 egg white with enough icing sugar to make a nice stiff and glossing icing. This made more than enough icing to ice my gift box. Transfer your icing into a ziplock bag and cut the tip off of one corner when you are ready to start icing.

5. Once the cookies are baked and fully cooled start assembling your gift box, just like you would a gingerbread house using the icing to attaching the walls and finally adding the top last. Don’t forget to put your gift in the box before you put the lid on the box. My gift was a book so, I wrapped it in plastic wrap before I put it in the box to make sure it wouldn’t get icing on it.

6. When you have the walls and top in place decorate the box however you would like.

You will win for sure! I did 🙂
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Gingerbread
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing 

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

Directions
Make cookies: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until creamy, 3 minutes. Add egg and beat to combine. Add molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. With a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut dough into small 2-inch-wide triangles. Arrange triangles, 1 inch apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are firm and golden at edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

We had a frosty weekend, which is different than a snowy weekend. But it turns out, no less beautiful. Everything was coated in glorious ice crystals. The trees looked white and every surface took on new dimensions with the frost. While I would happily take snow on any winter day, I have to say that the frost gave the perfect winter look without the snow. Some people seem to appreciate that!

There is just a little bit of me that wants to be insistent about my son getting out in the cold. It bothers me just a little that his daycare doesn’t send the kids out in chilly weather. Months of my childhood were spent out in the cold and snow, playing until my pants were soaked through from hours of sledding and my fingers were nub. I’ll admit I wasn’t always happy to be sent outdoors to play, but likely, it did me good! The more temperate weather here won’t make for months of snowy weather, but I want to make sure he gets out to enjoy the crisp chill of winter and the thrill of seeing things in a new way. As it turns out, he is a pretty happy adventurer.

And while I just can’t stay inside all day during the cold frosty weather, there is little that makes me happier than coming back in after a trek. A brisk walk leaves me tingly cold and warm, all at once. Stepping back inside hits me with a wave of cozy warmth and a waft of whatever it is that might be cooking. And what better time of year to settle into a little bit of slow cooking in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to cook these days has been a pot of beans. Sounds glamourous, doesn’t it! Sometimes the whole process of cooking beans takes a little pre-planning. Don’t get me wrong, they take very little of my time, but there is that bit about thinking about cooking them a day or so in advance. The weekend seems like the best time to do that. So, it pretty common that Saturday afternoon will find me rummaging through my pantry, trying to decide what beans I will cook on Sunday.

I don’t really spend much effort figuring out what I am going to do with the beans. There is always a pot of soup simmering on the weekend, a perfect foil for a few cups of whatever beans I find. But for something a little more substantial, I found the perfect recipe a summer or two ago in Falling Cloudberries, a brilliant cookbook by Tessa Kiros. I was making a meal from various recipes in her book and stumbled upon this recipe for baked lima beans.

I must admit that I have not always looked at beans with much admiration. It might have been one too many pots of pinto beans from my younger years, cooked by the pound in a giant pressure cooker my mother used for industrial cooking projects. She excelled at making the most of any effort she put out in the kitchen. Giant pots of soups and beans filled the pressure cooker any time we were in need of something to plan on for dinner during the week ahead. Pressure cookers still are a bit frightening to me! And while nothing dramatic ever happened with the cooking, the hissing, steaming and sputtering of that pot signaled many a hearty meal to come.

Since then, I’ve learned a thing or two about beans. How they can be meltingly tender without falling apart in the pot. How a little seasoning can go a really long way with beans. And how easy it is to cook something that will serve up for a few warm and delicious meals. I’ve been lucky enough to discover the huge variety of unique and heirloom varieties of dried beans, including some from my local farmers market. I’m also pretty happy to have found these beans locally as well. And as the chill of the winter weather sets in, I’ve been baking up this recipe with a variety of beans and seasonings, all of them delicious.

I’ve diverged a little from the recipe, making it a little simpler and adapted to the ingrediants I have on hand. And the recipe seems pretty forgiving to a little adaptation. I switch out the beans depending on what I have on hand or want to try cooking. And I always play with the seasonings. Parsley, mint and thyme are all delicious, but so is a teaspoon or so of herbes de provence. I suspect you could also take this dish in a new direction with some black beans, jalapenos and cilantro. So many possibilities…
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Baked Lima Beans with Onions, Tomatoes and Parsley

Adapted from Falling Cloudberries, by Tessa Kiros

3 cups dried lima beans or other variety, soaked overnight

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large red onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped

1 1/2 14 oz. cans peeled and coursly chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or other herbs, use less of dried varieties

Set out the beans to soak overnight. Drain the beans and put them in the saucepan, covering generously with cold water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises and turn down to a medium heat. Cook until beans are very tender. Actual cooking time will vary depending on the beans used, so check them as you progress. Add salt to the beans toward the end of cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the beans, reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Put the beans in a large baking dish or dutch oven. The deeper the dish, the saucier the beans.

Heat about 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the onions and celery until they are softened, stirring so that they don’t stick. Remove from heat and mix in the tomatoes and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add this mixture into the beans, stirring in the remaining olive oil and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to keep the beans quite moist. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the covering and stir the beans. If they are drying out, add a little more water. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

The beans should be deliciously tender at this point, golden on top and with a little sauce. Serve them warm, with a little drizzle of olive oil or sprinkle of herbs.

While decorating my Christmas tree I got to thinking about how many Christmas memories I have that are tied to scent. All of the wonderful smells of Christmas like pine and a wood fire bring back memories of Christmas Eve camp outs in front of the fireplace, baking with Ginger and mom or putting up the tree.

But alas here I am putting up a fake tree in my apartment where real trees and wood fireplaces are both taboo. Lucky for me I have a creative brain that can conjure up Christmas memories from rather, shall we say, unusual scents.

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Take Tuesday for example, Tuesdays are running days. My usual run takes me up and over the Granville bridge, down past Granville Island, around the seawall, over the Cambie bridge, thru Yaletown and back home. As I crossed the bridge watching the setting sun my nose was assaulted by the fumes of an old beater barrelling down the road. The smell instantly reminded me of my grandpa and his skidoo. Every year after a good amount of snow had fallen my grandpa would head out to one of his 5 or 6 sheds and haul out the skidoo. I loved the skidoo. Grandpa would take me for rides up the mountain behind our house or down through the trees to uncle Pete’s house, we would go out to the wood pile to get a load of wood or sometimes we would just loop round and around the field below our house. Me sitting on the back of the skidoo holding on for dear life with the exception of the time where I didn’t hold on for dear life and I fell off of the back of the skidoo and was ran over by a sled we were pulling carrying Ginger and my grandma. So many memories brought back by one single little smell.

Although I will not be coming home to the smell of Christmas tree and a burning fire for now pine scented candles and Charlie cat under the tree will do. And hopefully one day soon that old beater will drive by me again.

I’ve been getting just a tad excited about the holidays. For me, the holidays are not necessarily about Christmas as a single day. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a wonderful day and there is not much that tops the stockings exchanged at our house on Christmas morning. For me, it is more about the season. It is a cold and grey time of year around here. The early falling darkness draws me into the kitchen where warmth and goodness seem to radiate. And if that’s not enough, there is a glowing tree just around the corner from the kitchen along with a tidy row of Christmas lights outside the window.

So there you have it, I love the holidays. I can’t help but think the addition of a small child to our household also boosts that feeling a little bit. His boundless enthusiasm for prolonged viewings of the Christmas tree or anticipation for our next cookie baking foray is contagious. It’s nice to have a partner in merriment. We bake cookies at the drop of a hat and we sit in the living room and just gaze at the tree. We started things out with Deb’s delicious gingersnaps, which seemed like the perfect blend of holiday coziness without jumping the gun too much. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I even went so far as to put together a special Christmas garland for him. It plays off of the idea of an Advent calendar, except it is a little more free form. The little gifts are wrapped and tied together with some red string. I found the idea in the November issue of Martha Stewart and couldn’t help but imagine the delight this would bring as we countdown to the holidays.

This is ideal for owners, as it removes the hassle of travelling, the need for sedation, stress in the animal, and cost; a full anatomical report costs about the same as a bad TV sitcom. levitra prescription http://cute-n-tiny.com/item-7696 Because it’s so competitive, cialis india online it is hard to many men and many men identify themselves with their penile. In men, this buy cheap levitra can result in penile erection. Shame is your barometer that things viagra viagra are not well in your relationship. And while we’re busy counting down the days with our little garland, I’ve been happily taking note of all of the amazing recipes out there. There will definitely be a lot of cooking happen this holiday season and here are a few of the things I am most excited about.

Doughnuts! They are everywhere! Here and here.

Ditto for meringues. These to go with hot cocoa and these for the buche de Noel I’m scheming up.

A trifle of a chocolate sort. Or maybe the peppermint sort.

I can’t get enough of the stollen, so I am making my first batch now.  It’s equally delicious at breakfast or with a little tea later in the day. I think I’ll have a little Russian Earl Grey with mine…