American Chocolate Week in the Christmas kitchen

 

 So the third full week in March is American Chocolate Week every year.  Who knew?  Certainly not me.  Squeaking in under the wire (since today is the last day for it this year) I thought I'd just refer readers to a few chocolate recipes on both of my blogs.

On my Kitchen Table blog, check out the "Chocolate" label in the label cloud.  You'll find a multitude of wonderful recipes, from cakes and other desserts to candy and cookies.  I also learned that I need to apply the chocolate label to many more of my posts.  I evidently added it to my list of labels at some point and there are many older posts that don't have it.  But I'm sure you'll have fun with the recipes that you find there.

On this Christmas Kitchen blog, I'm just now creating a chocolate label, so I've only applied it to a few posts so far.  But it's snowing here in New Hampshire today, really a huge snow dump as over 20 inches is predicted.  If I was a) eating carbs or b) eating chocolate right now, I would be in my kitchen as we speak whipping up a cozy muffin recipe with plenty of chocolate.  Like one of these: Chocolate Gengerbread Muffins or these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins.  

I suspect Mr. T may be making some fudge later.  He seems to have reached the conclusion that fudge in the freezer is a year-round necessity.  Although I'm trying to stay away from it, I really can't disagree.

A very vintage paper plate

 

 Yes, this is one of two I found in a plastic bag at my childhood home.  My mother stored Christmas items in special attic storage areas.  In this particular one were things like holiday tablecloths, both paper and plastic, placemats, holiday napkins,  table runners, packaging for kitchen gifts, and more, in addition to festive paper plates.

Most of the items were newer, from the 1980s and 1990s when my parents hosted many a family get-together.  I brought many of these things home and added the usable ones to my own stash.

Fast-forward to December 2023 when my hubby went looking for a Christmasy paper plate to put some cookies on.  He brought me the plastic bag containing the two vintage paper plates, noting that I probably didn't want him to use these.  

He was so right!  I had forgotten all about them!

Isn't the wintry village scene with the horse and sleigh the sweetest thing ever?  I love the silvery rim that makes it resemble an actual china plate.  

I won't serve food on this plate, of course.  I'll display it, perhaps even with a real plate behind it for stability.  And I gifted the second plate to my daughter, for the same purpose.

Ah, vintage Christmas!  Positively swoon-worthy! 🌲💕

A few more delightful thrift store finds

 

 It's a special blessing that our local thrift stores have sections specifically dedicated to Christmas and that they maintain these rooms/areas year round!  The Christmas ornament above is but one example.  I bought a package of four, I think, for only $2 or so.  They are truly lovely.

I got the snowflake plate with the plan of gifting it to one of our daughters -- it will be filled with one of her favorite Christmas cookies, Sacher Tortes.  She also loves snowflake themed items.

I can always use another pie plate and I love unusual, decorative ones.  I don't have any that are specifically Christmas themed.  This is pretty, and was only a few dollars!

This snowman shaped plate is fun.  I'll fill it with someone's favorite cookies or treats and it will become part of the gift.

And look at this pretty Christmas tree plate with the cabin scene and the falling snow!  I'll keep this one and use it to bring cookies or fudge to holiday gatherings.  There's a very small chip at top right, but the price was right so that doesn't bother me.

Hope this look at some of my finds has been inspiring for you!  Does your local thrift shop offer Christmas items all year round?

Thrift store finds with Christmas and winter themes

 

I always love to visit after-Christmas sales at our local stores -- mostly places like Walmart, Marshalls, Rite Aid and CVS, and even the grocery stores.  I've found some great deals at these places and have written about them in the past.

But only recently have I considered our local thrift stores as a source for Christmas deals -- especially for things like decorations, lights, and dishes.  One has a room dedicated to seasonal dishes.  Another has entire Christmas section.  I bought the snowflake plate at top in 2022 and enjoyed decorating with it.  In 2023 I filled it with my daughter's favorite Sacher Torte cookies and gave it to her for Christmas.

The beautiful pitcher above, a Hallmark design, came from a thrift store.

Both plates in the photo above were found at a thrift store.

The log cabin plate is so sweet.  I found a second one this year and tucked it away to use for gifting cookies next year.

I found the vintage Christmas magazine above at a thrift store for $5!

The mug below is a recent find.  We're using it at our cottage.  It holds a generous amount of coffee or hot cocoa!

Hope you've been inspired by some of my Christmasy thrift store finds.  There are a few more, so stay tuned!

(Below, a closer look at that snowman plate. )

A challenging Christmas jigsaw

 

Back in December, feeling festive, Mr. T and I picked up two Christmas/winter jigsaw puzzles at our favorite thrift store.   At some point in the holiday season, we decided to start one of them.  Of course it is always a gamble of sorts buying a used jigsaw puzzle.  We realized it was certainly possible one or more pieces could be missing, but the scenes were beautiful, and this one called Christmas Cottage was only $3.

What we found upon opening the box was quite a surprise.  

The person who donated the puzzle to the store had included a thoughtful note.  He or she shared the information that the puzzle had a missing piece, but that this need not take away from the fun or the challenge of working the puzzle.  The donor had taken a photo of the puzzle showing just where the missing piece should be.  They even drew a blue arrow (visible in photo of their letter above) pointing out its location in the puzzle.

This was so helpful!  This puzzle was definitely a challenge, but it was so beautiful that we enjoyed every minute of working on it.

Such a fun thing to find in a thrift-store puzzle purchase.  We got much more than $3 of enjoyment out of this.  Now we are wondering what surprises might be in store in the second puzzle we bought that day!

A very unique Advent calendar

 

 Recently I found this amazing-looking tea at Ocean State Job Lot,  a discount store my hubby and I like to visit.   They always have some very nice teas so I usually check out the selection.  This tea Advent calendar by Clipper, with 24 "teas and infusions", was under $3.  There were two boxes left so I bought them both.  The "best by" date was the end of December 2023, but I've found those dates don't really matter when it comes to tea.

The 12 flavors of tea (there are two of each) include Happy Mondays, Berry Burst, Rise & Shine, Hibiscus & Raspberry, Calmer Cameleon, Orange & Lemon, Love Me Truly, Snore & Peace, Green Tea & Lemon, White Tea & Raspberry, Lemon & Ginger, and Nighty Night.    There are descriptions for the more unusual names -- for example, "Love Me Truly" is a cinnamon chai.

I've tasted Clipper teas before, and have enjoyed the ones I've tried.

This would make a fun gift for a good friend who enjoys tea.  You could pair it with a mug, like this one I recently found at the thrift store:

Or just keep it for yourself.  It's a fun idea, however you choose to use it.

A sweet handmade Christmas card

 

Here is a sweet handcrafted card I've saved from a few years ago, made by my Canadian friend Tania who is a crafter extraordinaire.  I just love it and have saved it not only because it's so creative but because of the heartfelt message inside.

It's so simple and if I can find a similar stamp, I just might make some for next year.  Tania started with plain white card stock and you can see she stamped this really fun saying on one side, and scalloped the edges of the card.  Next to the saying she placed a textured paper rectangle with rounded corners -- so nifty -- which resembles wood grain.  

Atop this is a piece of antique-looking cotton lace, a simple bow tied out of ordinary string, and a chipboard letter (in this case S, for the first letter of my first name).  She gilded the edges of the letter a little bit.

The finishing touch is a few sequins in complementary colors scattered about, and then of course a handwritten note inside the card.  Isn't it lovely?

And here's the actual kitchen gift list for 2023 ...

 

 Above you see the tentative kitchen gift list I made for Christmas 2023.

And, here's how things actually went in the Christmas kitchen gift department:

We made several batches of Chocolate Mint Crisps, 

 Eggnog Logs, 

and   Sacher Torte Cookies,  

 

  so we would have plenty to give to people who enjoy them.  Yes, these are all cookies on my cookie list, but I also place them on the kitchen gift list so that we can give certain people a tin or plate filled with their very favorite cookie.

One person adores Apricot Cakes, so I made a batch of those little loaves and gave her some for Christmas.  I have two in the freezer still and will give her those for her birthday later this month.

Unwrapped

Wrapped for gifting

Special Holiday Fudge is a favorite of my Nevada daughter, so a tin of that winged its way West.

 

And Christmas Granola is another must-make for gifts each year.

The only thing I didn't do on this list was "muffins in festive flavors".  A couple years ago I tried a new muffin recipe every month, with an eye to kitchen gifting.  I had thought I would choose a couple of those for kitchen gifts this year, but that didn't happen, nor did it seem necessary.  You can check "muffins" in the label cloud if you'd like to know more.

So, voila -- the actual kitchen gift list, complete with links for your perusal should you be interested!

Actual 2023 candy list

 

 So above you see the tentative candy list I made for 2023. 

And here's a quick recap of the candy we actually made this past December.

We made Heavenly Delight, that chocolate and peanut butter layered fudge that is such a hit with everyone who tastes it.  Many, many batches of it!  In fact, my hubby just made another batch this past weekend, to bring some to our volunteer job and have some for a church fellowship dinner this Sunday.

We made two batches of the Chocolate Dipped Orange Slices.  There's just something about chocolate and orange flavors together that just says Christmas to us! 🍊

We made one batch of Special Holiday Fudge, mostly to send to our Nevada daughter who very much enjoys its special flavors of chocolate with raisins, pecans, orange and almond.  I love it myself but would never make a batch just for me.  That would be dangerous!

I think we made 2 batches of the Salted Caramel Fudge.  That is fast becoming a must-make candy for us at Christmas.  Others enjoy it too.

And I did make one batch of the Date Confections (aka Casserole Cookies).  They are such an old-fashioned holiday favorite, loved by many.

We didn't make Arlene Easy Fudge at all this year.  We had planned on having the grandchildren make some, but ended up focusing on crafting!

And that's the 2023 Christmas candy wrapup!

The actual Christmas cookie list

 

 I like to make a note of how closely I stuck to baking the Christmas cookies I've planned at the beginning of  the season.  Recall, at the beginning of December,  Mr. T (who now does almost all of the cookie baking) had expressed the thought that he would like to add one or two new recipes to the mix this year.  

He also suggested that perhaps there might be cookies that I would like to make personally.   So I added on my old favorite Pepparkakor, which are cut-out cookies, which he has never tackled.  I added on for his benefit the Double-Drizzled Pecan Cookies, the Peppermint Snowballs, the Gingerbread Brownies (all recipes I've made in the past) and the Chocolate-Dipped Maple Logs (which I thought I had never baked, but apparently in 2007 I did).  None of these cookies were baked, however, except for the last-mentioned Maple Logs.  I baked them myself for an informal cookie swap early in December, and they were wonderful.  I also made the Christmas No-Bakes as he has never tried that technique.

For those who are wondering, here's the link to the Christmas no-bakes.  I have dressed these up in all kinds of ways.  This year I skipped the marshmallows, drizzled the cookies with white chocolate and sprinkled with red or green sugar.  Don't think I got a photo.

Mr. T baked two other varieties -- for one, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, a recipe shared with him by this year's cook at the camp where we volunteer.  Micah devised the recipe himself, and the cookies were a hit at the fall retreats.  After acquiring the recipe, Mr. T was determined to bake these for Christmas.  They are not a Christmas cookie in my book, but he did bake a double batch, I believe.  

The other recipe was Gingerbread Coffeecake Cookies, which I blogged about here.  Oh, were those ever scrumptious!  

I think that does it for the actual Christmas cookie list.  Candy and kitchen gift lists to follow ...

Happy New Year!

 

 Mr. T and I would like to wish all of my readers and friends a happy, healthy 2024.  

Every new year holds challenges, opportunities, blessings, and even heartaches for each one of us. There may have been difficult days in 2023, but God was there for every one of them, as He will be for every day that He allows in 2024.  I'm looking forward with hope and optimism to how He will work in the days ahead.  Like many of you, I'm praying hard for our country while moving forward prayerfully with plans, goals and dreams for the new year.  It will be interesting to watch God work.

 May this year be one of spiritual growth and encouragement for all of us!

Thinking about a new year

 

Here we are on the eve of a new year.  I'm not sure how 2023 flew past as it did, but it's gone.  In place of a Sunday Scripture for today, I thought I'd just share a little about spiritual goals for 2024.

New Year's is when we typically consider goals or resolutions for the coming year.  I prefer goals, personally.  It seems to me that resolutions can easily be broken (and discarded), but a goal is something you can keep working at even if you fall a little short of it at times.  Even if you don't fully realize a goal, you make progress toward it.  When I set goals for a new year, spiritual goals are always included, along with physical and relational ones. 

One important thought to keep in mind with goals for any new year is that, as Hannah Wilwerding so eloquently pointed out on her Instagram account Her Biblical Worldview, 2024 is not our year.  It's God's year.  As she wrote, "Just like every year is God's year.  He just allows you to be a part of it.  He holds our goals.  He guides our footsteps.  He establishes our plans.  He directs our lives.  May this be the year we serve God over serving ourselves."

Our former pastor of many years always taught us (and very accurately, too) that there is no standing still in the Christian life.  We're either moving forward or we're moving backward.  That has always stuck with me through the years and I have seen it proved true over and over.  

So aiming for ongoing spiritual growth is very, very important and I find the start of a new year to be the perfect time to make a plan for it.  As the old saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.  So in every area of life, I try to aim at something, no matter how small it may seem.

I haven't fully formulated my spiritual goals for the coming year, but a friend and I are working on memorizing the book of James,  so learning chapters 2 through 5 will be one.  I read through the Bible last year, but this year I am planning to work my way through Charles Swindoll's Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life.  So that's another.  And I've begun the Bible study Stand Firm, concerning the armor of God, so there's one more.

May I encourage you to aim for greater spiritual growth in the New Year?  You will not regret having done so.

(My dear friend Vee, now with the Lord she loved so well, added the following when I wrote a similar post on my Kitchen Table blog last year: 

"He is the vine, we are the branches.  He is our source.  We can no more gain spiritual growth without Him than we could will ourselves into life itself.   He Who began a good work in you is able to complete it. Philippians 1:6".

And she was absolutely right.  There is no way we can have spiritual growth -- no way we will even have a desire for it -- without a relationship with our Lord and Savior.)

Happy New Year, friends!

 

A festive dishcloth

 

 Well, really, why shouldn't one have a festive dishcloth or two?

This pattern, by Dori at The Red Feedsack, has become my new favorite.  If you follow the link to Dori's blog, you will see that her dishcloths are mostly in solid colors.  I really like that better -- it has a simplicity that I really love -- but I have made many with variegated yarn because I have odds and ends of that to use up.

I've also found that if I keep up with laundering dishcloths on a very regular basis, i.e. light colors with light laundry, darker colors with dark,  I don't need to use bleach to feel that they are clean and thus, the colors are not much diminished, although they do fade ever so slightly with each wash.

This Christmas season I wanted a simple project to have in my bag if I was stuck waiting somewhere or for quiet evening moments at our cottage.  I decided to work on dishcloths in red and green.  I had several partial skeins of the Christmas variegated yarn and decided to use that for the edging.

This red one is the only dishcloth I managed to finish, but I'm happy with how it turned out and have started a green one as well. 

Christmas Granola -- a favorite kitchen gift

  

Above, you see a pretty wooden tray I received in a gift swap earlier this month.  It made a perfect repository for some completed kitchen gifts -- in this case a canister and two jars of Christmas granola.  This is basically just my regular granola recipe with pistachio kernels and dried cranberries added in.  I have tweaked this recipe in a major way over the years.

CHRISTMAS  GRANOLA

4 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
2 tsp. vanilla
 

Pistachio kernels to taste
Dried cranberries to taste

Preheat oven to 300º. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, seeds, nuts, and spices.

In another bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the melted butter, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla and mix well. Pour over the dry mixture and stir to combine thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture to a greased 13x9-inch pan and bake at 300º for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven; stir in pistachio kernels and dried cranberries, and let cool before storing. 

For everyday use, I would store granola either in a plastic bag inside a recycled oatmeal canister, or in a large plastic container intended for cereal storage.

However for gifting at Christmas time, I would use either quart mason jars or a Christmasy canister or tin.  The adorable canister at top was a deal at Ocean State Job Lot for $2.50.  The quart jars were actually being returned to the recipient, who had given us maple syrup in them.

A creative gift wrapping idea

 

 I needed just one more small gift for our nine-year-old local granddaughter.  I got to thinking about a snack she loves -- Laughing Cow cheese.  I guess there's something about unwrapping those little individual wedges of cheese that she finds fascinating.  So that gave me the idea to get a few packages of Laughing Cow and a box of crackers for that one remaining gift that I needed.

 Unloading the grocery bags at home later, I was struck by something.  The round cheese packages and the rectangular cracker box gave me an idea for wrapping them together and making them look like ... maybe a little girl?  Maybe a snowman?

You know how sometimes an idea can sort of percolate in one's mind?  I found myself thinking about this one in my sleep, and the next morning mentioned it to my husband.  His wheels also began to turn, and you see the result:

A simple felt hat, scarf and mittens combined with a plaid-wrapped cracker box did the trick.  You can't see it, but there's a green jingle bell at the tip of the cap.  

 My hubby used a wooden paint stirrer,  held in place with red duct tape, on the back of the whole construction to stabilize it.  

Rounds of white card stock covered the ends of the cheese containers, and I drew a snowman face on the front one -- there are two packages of cheese here.  I had bought three, but it just wasn't going to fit right atop the cracker box.  So I wrapped the third in tissue paper and tucked into a sparkly tiny gift bag I had.  You can't really see this either, but I cut another green mitten from felt and glued it to the side of the box so it sort of looks like the snowman is "holding" the handles of the gift bag.

This simple gift went over far better than I could have hoped.  Ari had so much fun with it and it really kept her guessing.  (I had put a note on the tiny gift bag saying to open that part last, as it could have given the whole thing away.)  And she was as delighted with the contents of the gift as she was with the packaging.

I have no idea if this might be a wrapping idea anyone else might use, but thought I would share it just for fun!

A simple little craft

 

 Scripture verse cards on particular topics seem to be quite popular these days.  I own a couple of sets myself, one that I purchased and one that was gifted me.  You can see a collection of them here: verse cards.  

One set of cards that I was gifted came with a little wooden stand to display the individual cards in.  I could see that this would be especially helpful if one was trying to memorize a verse.  The ones from Daily Grace don't seem to offer a stand as an option.

I was planning to gift a set of the Stand Firm cards to friends to accompany the matching Bible studies.  I really wanted to include a simple little stand.

One day in my craft room I happened upon a bag of wood slices with a slot in each one ... my hubby had made these for me years ago to use in a VBS craft.  Inspiration struck.  I tested a card in the slot and yes, it fit.  

So I embellished the wood slice just a bit with some simple trims:

I'm so pleased with how this little project turned out!  I will be making more of these.

And now, for a gingerbread coffee syrup

 

The other day my hubby and I enjoyed a gingerbread coffee in the cafe at our local grocery store.   This is a flavor we tried there last Christmas season and we liked it so much, we made a note to go back this year -- hopefully more than once.  And we would love to sip a similar flavor at home, too!

After our peppermint mocha syrup was such a success, we decided to try a gingerbread syrup from the same site, Mad About Food.  

Mr. T made this up on Christmas morning and it really is delicious -- I'd say equally as good as the peppermint mocha one.  He thinks he likes the gingerbread even better.  Definitely worth a try if this is a flavor you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

 Yes, here in the T's Christmas kitchen, all is merry and bright.  Although we do not eat Christmas breakfast (intermittent fasting) we will have some type of festive meal for lunch and we are preparing some celebratory food for our Christmas dinner later at our daughter's home.

My hubby just tried out a recipe for a gingerbread coffee syrup with I plan to blog about tomorrow.  It's very good!

I have Ranch House Chicken in the crockpot to take along for dinner.  Our daughter is preparing a roast and mashed potatoes.  I'm also bringing this  Merry Berry Salad, so the cranberries are awaiting being blended into a gorgeous cranberry vinaigrette and I will assemble the salad in a few hours. 

 We'll also be bringing a cookie tray and are putting the finishing touches on some last-minute food gifts.  

Hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas so far as we celebrate the very greatest Gift ever given -- our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Sunday Scripture

 

As mentioned last Sunday, I'm doing special Christmas related Sunday Scripture posts throughout December again this year.  Back in 2020 I had worked through Peace, Be Still: A 31-Day Christmas prayer journal, from Women Living Well.  Last year, I used some of my simple study from this book as Scripture posts for December.  I have decided to do so again this year, using different posts on each of my blogs to keep it interesting for all of my readers.  I will take two from each week's study to use one each on my blogs, and maybe next December use more of them.

Also -- note that this simple study does not use the SOAP method as my studies usually do.  This one includes a verse for the day, a thought for the day,  a reflection question for the day and space to write a prayer for each day.  I tended to look at the verse a little bit in depth, and I tended to answer the reflection question in the prayer, but of course you can use these any way you want to. I hope perhaps some of you will want to study out these verses in more depth for yourselves.

Here goes with the study for Week 3, Day 17! 

Verses for the day:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."  (Revelation 1:8)

I chose to look at several other verses in Revelation as well.

 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write." (Revelation 1:10-11)

"And He said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."  (Revelation 21:6)

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and the first and the last."  (Revelation 22:13)

My study: 

God is the beginning and the ending. 
He is.
He has always been.
He is to come.
He is the Almighty, the Mighty God.
He is in sovereign control.  He has a plan, and His purposes are always for our good and for His glory.

Believer's Bible Commentary tells us:

"The Lord Jesus introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the Beginning and the End.  He spans time and eternity, and exhausts the vocabulary of excellence.  He is the source and goal of creation, and it is He who began and will end the divine program in the world.  He is and was and is to come, eternal in His being and the Almighty in power."

Reflection question:

Are you facing something difficult today?  How can you trust Him more, knowing that He is in control and He loves you?

My prayer:

"Dear God, I am so thankful that You are the mighty God who has always been and who always will be.  You are in sovereign control over the past, present, and future.  You have a plan and a purpose in all that You allow, and Your purposes are always, only good.  

"It;s very hard to grasp how the situations we are in as a country can possibly turn out for the best, but Your purpose is good and You are working all things after the counsel of Your own will.  We can trust You complete;ly -- and we do!  I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

That's the Sunday Scripture for the day.  Hope it was a blessing to you!