Caramel Brulee Latte Syrup -- an easy DIY

 

 Here's another great recipe from Mad About Food -- a Caramel Brulee latte syrup.

I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm sure it will be just as delicious as the Gingerbread Latte Syrup and the Peppermint Mocha one that I blogged about last year.

It also has simple ingredients: brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and sea salt in addition to water.  The process is an easy stovetop one, and the syrup can be stored in your fridge for up to a month.  

Madeline gives directions for making a caramel brulee latte as well as a caramel brulee cold foam.  She notes that it can also be used as a syrup or sauce to drizzle over special desserts or even ice cream.

I'll be trying this recipe soon!

A visit to King Arthur

 

Last Saturday we met up with friends at King Arthur Cafe, Bakery, and Store in Norwich, VT.  It was so much fun!  

I was enamored of the outdoor trees, so Mr. T got several shots of them. 

To me it looked as if stars had fallen into the evergreen branches.  Just so pretty.

And the indoor decor was nice too -- not just the festive winter look, but also the beautiful collages of vintage kitchen implements and utensils.  I was especially taken with the look of the tall jar or vase at right in the photo below:  It's filled with copper cookie cutters and then topped off with greenery and white branches.  I would love to recreate this decor at home with a smaller vase, and would almost certainly add some red berries to the branches and greens.

I wish that the timing had been right to get coffee and a pastry, but it just didn't fit with our schedule and supper plans.  The Nutcracker Cocoa -- Steamed milk, Mocha, Hazelnut Syrup, homemade Marshmallow with a Marshmallow Whipped Cream -- sounded so good.  And I think I would've tried a Cardamom Bun.  The hometown bakery of my childhood was run by a family with Swedish roots and I instantly recognized (by the photo) the cardamom bun as something I loved as a child, though I'm pretty sure it had a different name.

I had specific gifts in mind that I wanted to shop for here, but most were not available.  Out of stock.  I found a few other things that would work, however, and I did get some cookie cutters I had hoped to, for me and for my daughter -- the classic "truck with tree" and a snow globe shape.  Also some nifty and very detailed snowflake cookie stamps. 

I also found some bakeable paper loaf pans I'd been eyeing in the catalog but wouldn't pay $17 for.    Now on sale for a much more reasonable price!  $6 sounded much better.  The ones I got weren't exactly like those below, but you get the idea:

I already used four of the ones that I got to bake my Little Apricot Fruitcakes in.  To be honest, I wasn't really sure how well I would like baking in these paper pans, but I do.  I like them a lot.  They were easy to work with and fill, nice and sturdy, and the cakes baked well in them.  When cooled, it was an easy matter to just wrap them in foil -- not plastic wrap and then foil, as I would do with cakes baked in ceramic or metal pans and removed to cool on racks.  I am glad I bought a package of 12, as I may make some chocolate chai tea bread if time allows.  If we get the opportunity to return to King Arthur anytime soon, I will probably purchase more.

An additional fun touch was that there was live music -- a Celtic duo with fiddle and guitar -- last Saturday during the time we were there,  so that made it even more festive.

And there you have it -- a winter afternoon at King Arthur!  So happy we got to do this.

A truly special Christmas card

 

We have a friend, really more of an acquaintance (we are close friends with his mom) who never fails to send us a Christmas card.  And it's always a special one.  

Some of these cards I have never seen in stores, though I assume perhaps he finds them in a Hallmark store.   The cards have always been wonderful, but this one may be my favorite, because it includes actual needlework.  

The saying "Faith is at the Heart of the Holidays" is machine-embroidered on felt in the center of this design.  It is then surrounded by stitched poinsettias (I think), holly and other greenery, and red and pink berries.  

The embroidered design is set off by an actual wood frame, albeit a very thin one.  

Have you ever seen a card like this?  I think it's just beautiful.

Poinsettias and Pines

 

 Last year I saw this sampler featured on an Instagram post.  I was smitten and simply had to get the chart.  One of my daughters had given me an Etsy gift card, so I headed over to Blue Ribbon Designs and promptly ordered it. 

Below you see a screenshot I took from the Etsy shop -- gives you a much clearer look at the design.

If you can't read it, the words say "The smell of pine/ The crackling fire/All the snow one could desire/Hot cocoa with marshmallows/Cookies in the kitchen/Treasure the gifts that winter has given."

I'm currently working on a smaller cross-stitch piece featuring a snow globe design, so I haven't started this yet.  Although fancier fabric and floss are called for, I am unashamedly a DMC, 14-count Aida type of stitcher.  I have my floss and this fabric in the "White Chocolate" color.  So thankful for 123Stitch, their great prices and flat rate shipping!

 Looking forward to working on this delightful piece throughout the winter!

More from the Christmas carol book

 

 Today I'm sharing the remaining pages from the 1978 vintage Christmas carol book I recently found.  

Very interesting to me is the fact that the Christmas story from the book of Luke is at the center of this little booklet.   Appropriately enough, for of course it is at the heart of most Christmas carols.

 Here are the pages for "What Child is This?" and "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen".

And there are three carols on the page below: "Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly"; "O Little Town of Bethlehem"; and "Joy to the World."

Below are the pages for "We Three Kings" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

I love how each carol has a related, full color illustration at the top, above the music.

And there are the remaining pages of this sweet Christmas carol booklet.  Hope you've enjoyed seeing them.

An easy yet festive looking main dish for a busy night

 

 If you are like me, you are always looking for quick and easy meals during December.  A quick, easy meal with a festive look is absolutely a plus.  

Back in July I told about reaching into the above envelope stuffed with random recipe clippings.  

 This looks so easy!  In case you can't read it, the recipe calls for a 9 to 10 ounce package of refrigerated cheese ravioli and 2 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli florets, cooked as directed on the pasta package.  Heat a jar of Alfredo sauce, adding 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and, if desired, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne. 

Serve sauce over the pasta and broccoli, topping with 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese when serving, if desired.  Serve with crusty bread and a mixed green salad.

 This recipe sounds delicious and so festive to me, with its red, white  and green colors.  What do you think? Does this sound like a good addition to your December menus?

Sunday Scripture

 

I've been posting Sunday Scriptures on both of my blogs this December, taken from an Advent study I did in 2013 with Good Morning Girls.  The study, Keeping Our Hearts Focused on Jesus, is still available as a free download; it's not too late to head on over there and get it.  Scroll down and click on the book-like image, and the pdf should open right up.  More than just a Bible study, this is an ebook that includes recipes, Advent activities, and more.  I think it will be a blessing to you.

I've mentioned before that I like to use the SOAP method of Bible study, and the studies from GMG use a very similar one.  I find this method a real blessing whether I am studying shorter passages or longer ones, so I hope you'll give it a try if you haven't ever done so. Just a reminder that the S is for Scripture -- just write it out -- and the O is for Observation, the A is for Application and the P is for prayer -- concerning how you'll apply this verse or passage,  or praise for what it means to you.

This third week's verses are focused on Joy.  If you downloaded the study and are following along with it, this is the one from December 18.

Today's Scripture is Psalm 16:11.

S= "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore."  (Psalm 16:11)

O= This psalm is titled by C.I. Scofield in the Scofield Study Bible "The path of life and joy."  Psalm 16 is considered to be a Messianic psalm, a prediction of the resurrection of the King.  It is one of the few passages in the Old Testament dealing with resurrection.

Believer's Bible Commentary explains concerning verse 11: "In the final verse, our blessed Lord has complete confidence that God will show Him the path of life -- the path from death back to life again.  This path would eventually lead Him back to heaven, to God's presence.  There He would experience fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore."

But in my view, I think we can see a message in this verse for believers as well: 

🌲 God will show us the path of life;

🌲 In God's presence there is fullness of joy;

🌲 At God's right hand there are pleasures forevermore. 

I was happy to read that Charles Spurgeon also found a message for believers in this indisputably Messianic psalm.  He wrote, in a sermon titled "Life and the Path to It":

"Yet we feel no hesitation, as believers, in taking [these words] to ourselves, at least to a very large extent, remembering that our Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Because I live, ye shall live also,” and that He prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.” This proves that we also shall tread the path of life which He has trodden, that the presence of His Father, in which He is glorified, is that same presence which will make our heaven, that the right hand of God, at which He sits, is the place to which He will also exalt us, and that the pleasures for evermore, in which He Himself rejoices, are the very pleasures with which He will indulge our souls, for it is His purpose that His joy shall abide in us that our joy may be full."

A= God promises to show me the path of life.  He will give me guidance and direction day by day, even moment by moment as I consistently look to Him.  Am I doing this?

In God's presence there is fullness of joy.  Even in very difficult times, His presence is always with me, and joy can also be my constant companion as I look to God and not my circumstances.  Am I doing this?

And I know that "pleasures evermore" await me in heaven.  I am so blessed, not only to have God's presence and guidance here in this life, but to have heaven to look forward to.  Am I living as befits a citizen of heaven?

If I'm honest, I will have to admit that I cannot answer a wholehearted "Yes!" to any of these questions.  My answer to each would be more like, "Yes, but not consistently."  Obviously, I need to pray about these things and make them part of the fabric of my everyday life.  I have work to do.

P= "Lord, I thank You so much for the clarity of Your Word!  I praise You that it so clearly teaches Your people how you would have them to live!  I find so much instruction for my life here in this verse today.

"How I thank You for the guidance and direction You promise to give for my life as I am faithful to look to You consistently.  I pray that You will help me to seek your wisdom daily -- even moment by moment as necessary.

"And I praise You for Your constant presence with me.  You will never leave me or forsake me.  Help me every day to look to You and not to my circumstances.  Many times, life doesn't look or feel very joyful, but I can have joy in my heart as I look beyond the circumstances to the fact that You have a good purpose in them.   And You are in full control.

"I thank You that my citizenship is in heaven.  I am just passing through -- just a pilgrim in this life.  Help me to conduct myself every day as a citizen of that better country.  I thank and praise You for all that You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

And there is my simple Scripture study for today!  I hope that some will find it a blessing.