Hanging out at the Dairy

Hanging out at the Dairy
Darci(far left) & the Wrights at the Creamery

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas Friends, mon amis, mi amigos!

Our family Christmas 2011 picture
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you one and all! May you enjoy the warmth and  blessings of this day! We're lucky to have a day filled with food and family today-shocking, I know. Huevos Rancheros for our traditional Christmas Brunch and then dinner at the in-laws. I'm bringing a standing rib roast (pictures to follow in my next post).

Here's to family, friends, and, of course, holiday foods to remember our many blessings!

Chow for now my friends! Merry Christmas to you.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Bird is the word!

One of my 1st cookbooks
Okay, now I'm dating myself, but when I was a kid, Big Bird and Sesame Street were a REALLY big deal!  My little brothers and I would try to watch it daily. Such clever lessons delivered by interesting characters in an engaging format. So when my Mom bought my brothers and I a Sesame Street Busy Book, we were ALL in! She had us at Big Bird. The bird is the word!

Our tried and true Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe
This Sugar Cookie Recipe doesn't require adult supervision (technically) or any power tools. My brothers and I made TONS of these throughout our childhood; having fun doing a project together & decorating them together also.

Now, it is my turn to share THE Sugar Cookie Recipe and the experience with my son again this Christmas holiday season. We're a really social family, so we invited some friends from school to join us in decorating Christmas cookies! 

The cast of characters
It was our assignment to make the sugar cookies, so my son and I made them the night before to be cooled but still fresh.

My son rolling out dough
Squeezing everyone in each roll out
Someone taught me how to not overwork the dough. Get as many cut on each roll as physically possible! Overworking would cause a tougher cookie and we have enough of those in this world, huh?!

cooled and ready for decoration
The next morning my friend Lori came over with her kids and brought her arsenal of decorating gear. She began apologizing as to her "craziness" towards decorating, I was just stuck in wonder, taking it all in!

Icing ready to roll-check!

Sprinkles, and tips and icing-Oh, my!
She is taking our decorating knowledge to a whole new level! She is an adult decorator and I think my skills peaked out at a kid but I forge on. It's just fun to get in there and watch the kids work their magic.








"I know, let's eat something WITHOUT sugar in it?!" Oops that was an "out-loud" Mom thought huh?!
All this decorating was EXHAUSTING for the kids-LOL! They needed a little picnic break on my front porch.   It was a break for us all by then.

With the kids out of the kitchen, Lori and I got our creative juices flowing. Just GUESS which ones were hers and mine. HINT: I'm a kid in a big girl body.


My son called this "Lori's Target star"

Two sassy little snow divas
Yes, NOT mine. Again.

I loved this "spaghetti" tip for the tree she used

A few of MY silly masterpieces
We made trays and trays of these holiday cookies and wrapped them to deliver to the staff at our kids' school the next day.





I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids to show them off and share them or the adults to choose their decorated indulgences. What a fun way to start the day and the holiday week off with!

My cheery snowman
Here's to sharing your holiday traditions with friends and family! The warmth of the holidays is the smile on a person's face and the act of giving your thoughts and prayers to others.  I show my love in the creation of food I share but that's just me. Show your love however you want but you ALWAYS get more back from the act of giving than receiving.

Thanks for sharing your support of my blog this year! I'm deeply moved and grateful to you all who take the time to visit. Many blessings to you this season!

Chow for now!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year

The view from the deck after a snow at Hyak, WA
Love me some Holiday spirit!

~When we decorate our houses with sparkling lights inside and out.
~When we make special meals to share with friends and loved ones.
~When we choose to connect with those we hold dear to our us via a card, greeting, or a party to tell each other how much we value their friendship.
~When we sing along to our favorite Carols from our childhood and to the new fav's as well.
~When give or donate to the needy because we are fortunate enough to have enough to share.
~When we slow down to see this season through the eyes of a child and marvel at all the history, fun, creativity, tradition, food, song and camaraderie the Holidays can bring us each year.

The Saturday afternoon hike in the snow

Let's go back home, it's cold and snowing HARD!

I'm a TOTAL sap and Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year! It's so cheerful to drive home in the dark and see all the lights.  My spirit was ignited even before Thanksgiving when I went to my best friend's cabin on Snoqualmie Pass to spend some quality time with her friends, our dear friend who moved to Utah and her friends from Renton area. We had over 6 inches of snow between our drive up Friday night and it continued snowing off and on through early Sunday morning.

My friend Cheryl's gorgeous log cabin
I wanted to skip Thanksgiving entirely and move right into Christmas! We laughed, cooked and ate together, played games, put jig-saw puzzles together, got to know new friends and catch up with old friends. We stayed up into the wee hours solving the world's problems and then consuming buckets of coffee in the morning again.  I drank in EVERY moment together!

 What a gift this weekend is every year us all! Thanks Cheryl.

Let it snow!
I haven't written on my blog in awhile, lots of life changes, little drama but all for the best. The time away gave me time to think and rejuvenate. Thanks for your patience and checking in on me!  Lots of ideas for next year brewing in my big ol' head for next year already...

Here's to capturing YOUR holiday spirit and rejuvenating when needed! Be kind to yourself first, then you'll have lots of energy to share with others.

Chow for now my friends! We'll be together again soon, promise.