Birthday Roses

After several days admiring this year's bouquet of birthday roses, it dawned on me why I love it so much. The rich and heady color and full shape of the blooms are much like my favorite rose from our garden. So while Fragrant Cloud lies dormant under its blanket of Fall leaves and Winter snow, I have a bouquet to remind me of the garden's summer glory. Thank you, Dad!

A Walk After Snow

...from His holy dwelling

"Be still before the Lord, all mankind,

because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling."

Zechariah 2:13



Christmas is a Reminder...

"Grace and truth came through Jesus. How much the world lacks those two expressions. Christmas is a reminder that God sent his Son into a hostile world and with a handful of people, changed the world."

Ravi Zacharias, November 2015

 

 

"Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over His kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Isaiah 9:6-7

Cake Breakthrough

I must say that I had some qualms while mixing this cake. Not only were the ingredients out of the ordinary, but the consistency was more than a mite funky. With trepidation I served Hannah a cupcake made with left-over batter and tucked into one of my own to see if it would make the birthday cut. Surprise! We both loved it and wanted more. But that had to wait until the birthday, when the real cake was frosted and candles had been blown out. Hooray for a cake breakthrough!

- Cake At Last -

Combine (coconut oil will still be in little clumps):

1 c. unsweetened applesauce (Cook some up and can or freeze next apple season!)

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/3 c. honey (Hannah and I like our food not too sweet. If you prefer, stick with the original recipe which calls for 1/2 c. honey.)

Add and mix:

2/3 c. coconut flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Whisk in small bowl:

2 T. gelatin

2 T. lemon juice

Whisk into gelatin mixture:

2 T. boiling water

Add gelatin mixture to cake batter and mix.

Divide batter between two round, parchment lined, 6-inch cake pans. (I used 4 inch cake pans and had left-over batter for five small cupcakes.)

Bake at 350F until lightly browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean - 30 minutes. (I'm unsure of the time. The original recipe says one hour, but I know I baked mine for considerably less time.)

Cool completely in pans.

Freeze thoroughly until ready to frost.

- Frosting -

1 c. palm shortening

1/4 c. coconut butter (same as "coconut cream concentrate" and "coconut manna"), softened

1/2 c. coconut cream (either the specially canned stuff or the stiff top layer in a can of full fat coconut milk)

3 T. honey

2 T. cocoa

1/2 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

Mix thoroughly with a hand or stand mixer. Spread on frozen cake. There will be left over frosting. Save in the freezer for next time you bake a cake.

Sprinkle cake with allergy free chocolate chips.

*******

Now I dream of making a new version of this recipe - Chocolaty Red Velvet Cake. Red from pureed beets. Chocolate from, well, cocoa.

*Original recipe from here



Celebrating a New Decade...

...with family and cake.

 

Allergies added a couple extra cakes to the table.

 

My classic childhood (and beyond) birthday cake was chocolate angelfood... always with sprinkles. The gluten tolerant ate that one. The gluten sensitive ate Luxurious Almond Cake, in Chocolate. And the most-everything-sensitive ate this cake with some changes, of course. My next post will be on this new cake recipe which Hannah and I find quite good.

 

While pictures of cake are more plentiful than people, the people are what made the birthday special. I thank God for seeing me through another year with His kind eye upon me.

Squares Blanket, Again

Blocking complete! Now that I am done with that year-plus project, I'm sewing the knit squares together. This is proving to be a challenge, but I'm enjoying it thoroughly.

 

Christmas Tree

Another year. Another Christmas tree from our grove. With Maren and Jason's help last Saturday.

December 11th Stuffed Squash

 

- December 11th Stuffed Squash -

 

Fry turkey bacon in a large skillet. (Use olive oil in the pan to make it yummier.) Remove to a plate.

Add ground turkey and lots of chopped onion to skillet (again with olive oil). Season with salt. Fry until beginning to brown. Deglaze the pan with a little water at the end to get all the flavor into the turkey you can.

Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and thyme and cook until fragrant - less than a minute.

Add tomato without the juices - canned, frozen, or fresh. Keep the juices from canned or frozen to add flavor to another meal. Homemade tomato soup?

Tear turkey bacon into meat mixture.

Spoon into pre-cooked delicata squash halves (or any small, winter squash). Bake until warm.

Eat with coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer) and a sprinkling of salt.

 

The meat filling is also good in green peppers, as Hannah and I discovered today. No need to parboil the peppers if they are fresh from the freezer. (We had a bumper crop of peppers this summer. Our freezer stash may last until the next crop.)



Blooming

Succulent...

...and geranium. Both remain from summer past.

Reading Light

With the help of Dad and IKEA I now have a reading light by my bed! Several years ago we found the cage of what we assume is an old heating lamp from the days when our property was a farm with livestock. I fell in love and set the light fixture aside as a project for some year. This was the year.

A Swedish Star in the Window

Can a Norwegian have a Swedish star? Well this one does.

Amaryllis in Bloom



And What They Became

My First Knit Cables

While milling about a favorite yarn shop with gift money burning in my pocket, I came across patterns for my next two knitting projects. Both of them contained knit cables. Therefore, I dug out my big, fat book of needlework and set to.

Starching Snowflakes

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas can officially come in my book. Still there are some parts of Christmas that must come before Thanksgiving, like preparing homemade gifts. Hannah is making something amazingly beautiful out of these snowflakes for some special people. But that's a secret.

This Week's Snow

Falling snow.

Hoods up.

Hot chocolate in hand.

Wind chimes gently ringing.

Distant sound of wind in bare trees.

Lamppost light glowing on white.

Snow swirling off roof.

Breathing deeply.



More Than Can Be Told

"You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told."

Psalm 40:5 (ESV)

Evening with Family

After our annual Thanksgiving Friday Parade of Lights outing, we came home for a cozy evening of food and family. Now that Jason and his parents have been added, our family has grown to nine.

Mom came up with the idea of a little serving table in the middle of our living room. A nod to our Norwegian heritage.

December 1st Creamy Chicken & Broccoli

I created this recipe on December 1st because Hannah and I were in need of an allergy free meal. Otherwise it has nothing to do with the date.

 

- December 1st Creamy Chicken & Broccoli -

 

Bake 2 large chicken breasts that have been salted and peppered liberally. Cut into cubes (3 cups).

 

Saute 1/2 minced medium onion in olive oil with a pinch of salt until tender in a small saucepan. Add 1 clove minced garlic. Once fragrant (very little time) add 3/4 c. coconut cream and 3/4 c. chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile whisk 1/4 c. chicken broth with 2-3 tsp. arrowroot powder (or starch of your choice). Add to saucepan and boil until thickened. Season with a pinch of basil, two pinches oregano, and a small dash nutmeg.

 

Put 6 c. frozen broccoli in a casserole. Cover with cubed chicken and pour over cream mixture. Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly in center, 1/2 -3/4 hour.

 

Serve over rice or eat plain in a bowl.

 

Follow up with a bit of chocolate, hot or otherwise.

Last Week's Frost on the Roof

Dad's Giant Onion

Dad grew the onion.

Mom took the picture.

We all ate a small portion of the onion in tuna salad.

Who would have thunk that one onion would be enough for several meals in this onion-devouring family?

Two of Many Sunsets

This is one of many reasons I love Fall and Winter.

Apple Tree Aglow

 

A few weeks ago...

Exchange of Seasons

Snow on the ground. Single digit temperatures at night.

The vegetables move in from the garage, soon to make their way down to the well pit/cold room.

The Museum

On past trips along the Mississippi we have simply enjoyed the grounds of the museum of marine art. This time we took in the museum itself with all its masterpieces by famous and not so famous artists. Monet's sea landscapes were some of my favorites in the European collection.

 

Since we couldn't take any pictures of the indoors, I settled for a few pictures taken of the outdoors through the window.

The Apples

Our apple trees produced very poorly this year, so while we were along the Mississippi for doctors appointments and vacation we kept our eyes peeled for organic apples.

 

 

None were readily to be found, so we asked our doctor for a lead. The Polish Museum, she replied. And so we went.

 

There we found a self-serve picnic table of apples and pears. Rumor has it that a man with one arm picks the fruit from trees on public property.

 

 

Two dollars for a big box of apples - no grading or waxing. Just real fruit fresh from a tree... the way I like it.

 

Mom was excited to find Fireside apples. She remembers her daily country school lunch always had a homegrown Fireside apple from "Richard's and her tree." She wonders why she and her brother shared an apple tree. Was it because they shared October as their birthday month?

The View from the Bluff

The River

And now I account for my long absence from the blog world. First Maren and Jason's wedding, then a doctoring/vacation trip. Vacationing pictures here and following.