Archive for December, 2011

Simple Christmas Decorations

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Every Christmas I am reminded of a very simple Christmas spent with my mother who had collected my sisters and myself and moved to Colorado from Wyoming. She had never had her children with her for Christmas and consequently did not have the trimmings and trappings to decorate with that most established families have. She didn’t have the money to just go to the store and purchase everything new either. No trim a tree in a bag decorations! lol As a 10 year old I was astounded at her cleverness and she laughs still when I tell her, her creations live on 43 years later, as her finest hour. So fine in fact I recently went to one of my favorite stores here in Costa Mesa, http://www.paper-source.com and re-created some for my daughter so she will remember my story. My treasures are as I said, simple. Take 2 pieces of pretty paper and glue them together. My mom used foil wrapping paper in all colors. When the glue is dry, trace different shapes onto the paper, 2 of each. Circles, squares, stars, Christmas tree, etc. Cut them out. Next, lay 2 shapes together and with your sewing machine, sew down the middle leaving a long tail for a hanger when you remove them. Tie the thread in a knot close to paper at both ends to keep it from unraveling. Trim one and tie a knot at the end of the remaining for hanging on the tree. Fold out layers to reveal a three dimensional ornament.

The year my mom made these our tree was close to a heat vent and the warm air blowing through it made the foil ornaments twirl and sparkle! We watched it by the hours mesmerized by it’s beauty.

This is a great project for making this year. Money is so tight for so many families and it is a fun thing to do with the kids. Their specialty is cutting and pasting right? Storage requires a large manilla envelope. How perfect is that?

 

 

 

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Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

My favorite winter vegetable has to be beets. Beets of all colors. Roasting beet roots is a preferred method because it brings out a creamy texture and flavor that is not accessible when the beet is raw.
I use to blanch them to take the peels off but now I simply peel them with a vegetable peeler. I then cut them in quarters.. I repeat this process with sweet potatoes and toss both, in separate bowls,  in olive oil, melted butter, (if you want to go really insane; bacon fat) fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake beets 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Add sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.

I sometimes add caramelized onions before serving. I don’t roast the onions with the delicately flavored beets and sweet potatoes because they like to steal the flavor show.

 

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