Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We don't have any snow yet and the weather has been reasonably mild, but houses around town are beginning to be decorated. Here are a few Christmas touches I have added to our house.

Merry Christmas

Tabbouleh

Pour 1 1/2 cup boiling water over 1 cup bulghur wheat.

Add in 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil

and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Mix and let stand for at least an hour.

Note: the camera settings were incorrect for the lighting conditions. Unfortunately I did not notice this until it was too late.

Add 1 cup chopped english cucumber.




I whole bunch green onion, chopped real fine.

1 bunch parsley, chopped

I bunch fresh mint, stems removed, chopped

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 large roasted chicken breasts

cut into bite size pieces

Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Toss well

This large bowl will provide a nice lunch for several days

after it sits in the refrigerator over night thus

greatly improving the flavor.

In the meantime I will have a small sample.

Baking Bread - Some Improvement

I want to perfect this basic white bread

before I move on to whole wheat,

sourdough, and pumpernickle.

The stand mixer really makes it easier.

I use the paddle to mix the yeast, flower, salt, and honey.

I switch to the dough hook

to incorporate more flour and

to do the heavy duty kneading.

I also did some kneading by hand on a floured board.

A warm spot in the furnace room

which is adjacent to the kitchen

worked perfectly for the rising.

The loaves are a little mishapened




but oh, it was delicious eaten warm
while the kitchen still had that wonderful aroma
of freshly baked bread.






I ate the first slice with
Kate's of Maine
homemade sweet butter with seasalt.

The second slice which followed immediately
with the same butter
and strawberry preserves.

I can hardly wait to toast a couple of slices
for breakfast tomorrow.

Stop Diabetes

Ed's son, David and Mary

Mary and Vernon

Ed and Mary

We were serenaded by a marching band

as we set off for a walk around the perimeter of

Boston Common

It was an absolutely gorgeous cool morning

and the Common looked great.

We walked three times

around the perimeter of

Boston Common.

Natural Light Color Photography

I am trying my hand at color photography with no artificial lighting, flash, or indoor lights.
If I walk into a room and see something illuminated with natural light, I grab my camera and shoot.

Gourmet Dinner for One

Normandy Chicken

Baked Chicken Drumsticks

with a sauce made with

apples and onions,

cider

and Calvados which is a very potent French apple brandy.

accompanied by a glass of fresh apple cider

and followed up with a dish of

double fudge chocolate ice cream.

A perfect day for Fall Planting

Bright sunshine, cloudless sky, and 70 degrees.

Perfect!


A new butterfly bush
"Buddleia"

A new small garden plot for

Lavender

Thyme

Boxwood Basil

Candytuft

2 Miniature Roses

A new bed for the various roses scattered about the property.

Tomorrow I will get some mulch, put them to bed for the winter and see what happens in the spring.

A little raking

Muddy knees!

Proof that I have been digging in the dirt.