Monday, January 5, 2015

Holiday Scenes



It is a little astounding to us New Englanders that we never saw a White Christmas, nor a white New Year. It felt more like spring over the holidays with balmy temperatures up into the 40's.  But there is snow tonight, and snow angels begin tomorrow. 


I already miss the twinkle of the tree.  


This room is one of the warmest rooms in the house. Perhaps for that reason, or perhaps because of the Christmas tree and its magical presence, we spent most of our days in this room the past several weeks. 


The twinkle even carries to the outside. 

Such light. 


Aglow with coziness. 


The paperwhite bulbs have been growing...


And growing....


And growing. I have always loved watching bulbs grow in the stillness of winter, but even more so, with the children. They love to see the changes and notice each little detail of growth each day. 

Since before Thanksgiving, I have been eating a pomegranate a day. 


I have tried several approaches to removing the seeds but in the end, have returned to scoring the skin, cracking it open and then gently picking the seeds out and dropping them into the bowl. There is something about this task that is very zen and I love it. 


Already our Christmas mantle is taking on some spring hopefulness. 


We have a new favorite muffin recipe. These flax, date and banana muffins (no sugar added) are delicious! They are consumed with much enthusiasm by all. We enjoy them with butter but are also wonderful plain. 

Ingredients: 
1 cup ground flaxseeds
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or one child size container of applesauce
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (of your choice)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon basking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup whole pitted dates, chopped 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a food processor, combine pitted dates, applesauce, banana and eggs until smooth.  
3. In separate bowl,  combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients and add walnuts. 
5. Spoon into muffin tins. 
6. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until done. 


Ladybug cupcake liners are a must, of course. 

Another favorite new recipe, is Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna .

I wish for you joy, health, and happiness in 2015. 

Happy New Year! 

25 comments :

  1. Such a beautiful home. Hard to believe you didn't have snow for the holidays. There wasn't snow here in Ohio either. But we spend Christmas in Colorado and they did have snow. I think Mother Nature will start dumping on both of us soon.

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  2. Beautiful post- love everything about it.

    xoxo Brynne

    http://theblissfullysimpleblog.blogspot.com

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  3. The Christmas tree looks beautiful through the window!

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  4. The recipe doesn't say when to put in the dates... Did I miss a step?

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    Replies
    1. Oops! I just added it, after mixing wet ingredients. Thanks for letting me know. Best, Catherine

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    2. Beautiful photography...I just made the Banana/date muffins. I am an accomplished baker and followed the recipe to a T.
      Mine turned out so dry and I only baked for thirty mins @ 350 degrees. Is the recipe correct?

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    3. Oh no! I looked over our ingredients and realized I forgot to list 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda - there's 1/2 teaspoon of each baking soda and powder. But don't think that that omission would make them so dry. Our problem is that they're too moist, that is why we bake them in muffin tins now instead of a loaf pan. Also, the more banana that is added the moister it is, but the 1 cup is what we typically add. Best, Catherine

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    4. I just made them again today and I realized I had the baking time for the bread pan and not the muffin tins. So I've changed it - bake for only 15-20 minutes, not 45.
      Best, Catherine

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  5. Happy New Year to you and Mike and the little ones!!
    xxoj.

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  6. I love this post, images of Christmas, beautiful and serene. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  7. En arribar a aquest dia, no puc deixar de pensar en la infantesa, aquells moments plens de màgia, que tots hem viscut en la nostra infància

    Feliç Nit de Reis ♕ ♕ ♕

    ✿•*¨`*•. (¯`v´¯) (¯`v´¯) .•*¨`*•✿
    . . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . .
    ……...…♥ •.¸.•´♥……………
    Elracodeldetall.blogspot.com (^‿^)✿ petons

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  8. Nothing like Christmas twinkles through the window to evoke happy memories...
    An easy way to remove pomegranate seeds...cut fruit in half...hold cut side down in the palm of your hand and hit the outside skin with a rolling pin or heavy mallet....voila, the seeds will fall into your hand..

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  9. So beautiful. I love your door and the lights from outside from the tree within. Who wouldn't love to live there, so comforting and cozy and warm. Love it!
    Your touches are perfect!
    xoxo
    Lisa

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  10. We missed our white Christmas here too. We had such high hopes. Last night our temperatures plummeted from 7 (45) to -19 (-2). But at least we have some snow finally.

    I love the beautiful artwork, and the Paperwhites.

    Maria

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  11. En arribar a aquest dia, no puc deixar de pensar en la infantesa, aquells moments plens de màgia, que tots hem viscut en la nostra infància

    Feliç Nit de Reis ♕ ♕ ♕

    ✿•*¨`*•. (¯`v´¯) (¯`v´¯) .•*¨`*•✿
    . . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . .
    ……...…♥ •.¸.•´♥……………
    Elracodeldetall.blogspot.com (^‿^)✿ petons

    ReplyDelete
  12. How beautifully beautiful! Enjoy your snow angel making cherubs....and 2015!

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  13. We spent ages picking pomegranate seeds out until we found an easier way..... hold each half over a bowl, seeds facing down and tap the skin with a wooden spoon, squeezing a little to release the seeds. Hope it helps and love reading your blog x

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  14. I grew up in the South and California but I have been in NY for around 40 years, not counting 7 in Argentina. I had never seen a White Christmas until this past December when we had a dusting.
    It was very nice .. I am glad I was not alone for it too :)

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  15. Happy New Year to all of you too. Thank you for sharing with us all year. I love coming to this blog. It's like visiting a neighbor that is wiser than I am and learning so much . :) Pure joy!

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  16. Not having a white Christmas is not that unusual here, but 45 degrees is. Everyone was sitting on side porch while Grandchildren wrote with chalk on cement patio and walkway, no coats. I love the wreath on the old red door. Happy New Year from Rhode Island.

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  17. So warm and inviting...and I can almost smell those muffins baking! Thanks for the tour!

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  18. Thank you for the lovely photos, they make me homesick and remind me of Maine. Maybe I'll make it back to the East Coast this year but it's a long journey from Hawaii. We took our little tree down but I decided to keep the little white lights up for the winter. I love the glow of them in the evening and they make the room feel cozy in the dark mornings.
    Best wishes for a wonderful New Year and all good things to you in 2015.
    Aloha, Taylor

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  19. Oh, that red door against a white house with a simple green wreath -- stunning! Is this your rental home front door? Love the glow of lights from outside!! I have a secret: we haven't taken down our tree yet. We always wait until Epiphany (Jan 6) to do so, but since that landed on a busy weeknight this year, we figured we'd wait until Saturday to dismantle the tree. I love having it lit each evening and will be sad to see it go.
    Claudia

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    Replies
    1. Me too Claudia! If ours wasn't so dry, I would have kept it up a little longer, Yes, the red door photo is of our rental house. Happy New Year! Best, Catherine

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  20. I just discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago and I am completely mesmerized! This post, in particular, is lovely. I am a New England transplant--originally from Georgia. This is the kind of Christmas I've come to know and love! Thanks for sharing.
    Lori
    www.1765farm.com

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Thank you for leaving your thoughts. Kind regards, Catherine

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