Holidays

It Starts with A Mug and A Plate

/ still a dreamer

ChristmasMugAndPlate2Or, in reality, 4 mugs and 4 plates. Christmas creeps into my home, ever so slowly, drawing from this cabinet, that closet, this box, that drawer. But it always seems to start with my dollar store Christmas plates and German made Christmas mugs. I feel like a child who has glimpsed a stack of unfamiliar boxes tucked way on top of mommy and daddy’s closet. Something exciting is coming.

These simple items that I’ve had for quite a few years put a smile on my face, and though I see beautiful Christmas dishes everywhere that I’d love to have, I pretty much know I’ll also be happy with these for years to come. They’re enough. And oftentimes, enough is good.

As I watched the TV commercials for Black Friday insanity, my newspapers packed with shiny paper catalogs filled with sales, I wondered how we got to this place of endless need for so much “stuff.” It’s not that I don’t treasure a new addition to my kitchen, book shelf, or whatever … I really do, but there’s also an enjoyment of things that have been around a while, and which have meaning. Especially at this time of year.

So the plates and mugs have now been joined by some festive place mats, candles and accessories. Slowly, the house will really start to feel like Christmas, warm and glow-y … well, like Home.

Mmmmmmmmmm … Pie

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Thanksgiving is a time that honors tradition … Grandma’s stuffing, Mom’s sweet potatoes, Aunt Betty’s pumpkin pie. But then there’s this, a frequent thought of mine …  so many recipes, so little time. So I tried another new dessert for Thanksgiving. In fact, I had spotted this recipe months ago, and knew I would make it.

The pie just out of the oven!

Happily, my host is of the same ilk, and four of the dishes served for our main meal were also first-timers, (but definitely not the stuffing – one of his  family recipes.)

So what could make pumpkin pie even yummier? How about a layer of cheesecake underneath? This recipe appeared in a terrific but now defunct magazine, General Store, the issue over 10 years old. It is not clear exactly where the recipe came from except it was recommended by a couple from central Jersey with a passion for early American living.

A portion of the pie cut for taking home.

Well, the pie turned out quite well, the pumpkin nicely spiced and the cream cheese layer appropriately creamy. As I have no place to link to, I thought to share this with you pumpkin pie lovers.

Paradise Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1- 9 inch unbaked pastry crust
1-8 oz. pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/4 sugar
1/2 tsp.vanilla
1 egg

1-1/4 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of salt
Maple syrup
Pecan halves

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed until well blended. Blend in egg. Spread onto bottom of pastry shell.

Combine remaining ingredients except maple syrup and pecans. Mix well. Pour carefully over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350˚ for 1 hour and 5 minutes. Cool. Brush with maple syrup and decorate with pecans, if desired.

Enjoy!

Shop Small on Small Business Saturday

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

It’s that time – to support and celebrate the many small businesses that make our country great.  Yup – this Saturday, November 24, is Small Business Saturday and you may still have time to sign up!

American Express founded this day to promote small businesses, and if you have an AmEx card, and spend $25 on your card at a participating small business – and believe me, this is growing! – they will credit the card you use with $25.00! Can’t beat that, can you? Check it out here and don’t wait – there are a limited number of registrations, and they just opened on the 18th. Want to go straight to the enrollment page?  Here it is.

Small Business Saturday is the sane person’s alternative to Black Friday with its crushing crowds and bargain driven mentality. The big box stores are now opening on Thanksgiving – yes, on Thanksgiving!! – to get your business. Really? UGH! Getting your Christmas and holiday shopping started is a great idea, but it shouldn’t have to be a fight to the finish and/or on a treasured holiday that celebrates family and friends.

So check out online which shops in your area will be participating, help them thrive in this economy, and earn $25.00 back from American Express. Everybody wins. Extra bonuses – you get to reconnect with your neighbors, enjoy human scale shopping, peruse goods and services that are often tailored to your own area’s preferences, and find cool stuff that isn’t repeated a thousand times over in big box stores all over the country.

Happy Small Shopping!

Coconut Lime Berry Cake

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

Berries are in season! So I decided to make my dessert for my friend’s and my Memorial Day get together utilizing some of nature’s bounty. I clipped a recipe for a Coconut Lime Berry Cake a while back from Martha Stewart, and this seemed the perfect time to make it.

I used three very full cups of berries, one each blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, and here it is ready to go in the oven.

It wasn’t a cake that browned very much except around the edges, but it did take a bit longer time than the recipe specified, which I checked twice with the standard toothpick in the middle test.

The cake turned out well, and was very moist. It’s all butter and includes buttermilk, so it’s hard to go wrong on that count, and the berries got soft and mushy, dropping through the batter. Although the grated lime and fresh lime juice gave it a nice tropical kind of kick, I am thinking now that I might like it even better with lemon instead of the lime. And there’s always more time to bake with berries in season.