Oh my dears, I can hardly believe we are ushering in another year. Thank you all so much for sticking with me for this first year of dizzy! I wish you all every joy and success in the year to come and hope that we continue to share laughs, loves, and much happiness! Bonne Année!… Continue reading
The Great Post-Holiday Snot
Nasty colds seem an unavoidable downside of the winter holidays. Perhaps it’s the proximity to so many bodies. Perhaps it’s picking up a random wine glass because, well, that empty one over there couldn’t possibly belong to you. And then again perhaps it’s just the cold. In our little community, this year is no different. No one quite knows who had it first, but we’ve been passing it around like a bad fruit cake. Evidence: the lovely and talented Rachel (one of my very favorite people in the world…and with whom I recently shared a candy cane…) just lauded the minty goodness of Vicks VapoRub on her blog.
My sister and I have both contracted this winter malady and are downing, in concert, the usual litany of home remedies. This morning finds me particularly grouchy, however, as we had a lovely dusting of snow last night (which, come to … Continue reading
Noël Chez Nous
Hello my dears! I hope you all had an absolutely wonderful Christmas weekend! If it was anything like ours, I’m certain you’ll need at least a week to recover. On that note, today I’d like to share a few of the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells that have filled the last few days.
Unorthodox as it might seem, on Christmas Eve my sister and I whipped up a huge sushi feast including both fish and veggie rolls, sashimi, inari, and the all important warm sake. It was delicious and, though we had every intention of beginning the holidays with a light meal, nearly everyone gorged themselves into sweet fishy oblivion.
On Christmas morning, after several bulging stockings had been pillaged, we all trooped out to give the animals their Christmas breakfast. As it turns out, rabbits really do love carrots.
There are few things more depressing than the end of … Continue reading
White Christmas Dreams
Every Christmas morning since I was knee high to a duck I’ve peeked out the window hoping to see a white wintery wonderland spread out before me. And, almost without fail, I am disappointed to find myself presented with a soggy, boggy expanse of brownish green.
But, white Christmas or not we can all enjoy these amazing photographs by the Japanese born, Yuji Obata. Inspired by the work of W.A. Bentley, who adapted his camera and a microscope to photograph a single snowflake for the first time in 1885, Obata has taken the documentation of snow crystals to new heights.
Using no digital or other manipulation technique, Obata successfully documented snow flakes in free fall, displaying the amazing relational patterns created by the individual crystals.
Another wintery dream is not so far away. These adorable minimalistic rolling huts are nestled in Washington’s Methow Valley. Designed by local Olson Kundig Architects, … Continue reading
Candied Orange Peel
The holidays chez nous generally transpire in and around the kitchen. As the family gathers from our various corners of the country, the cook-to-kitchen-space ratio becomes rather top heavy, the music becomes more raucous, and there is always, always more food than we know what to do with.
At the moment, we are still in the stage of creating goody bags and boxes for gifts. As my contribution, I recently made my first batch of candied citrus peel. Though the peeling process was rather tedious, this scrumptious treat came together with relatively little effort.
Winking and sparkling with Christmas spirit, these little morsels are perfect for gifts or as a zesty pick-me-up for the lagging cook.
Candied Citrus
Ingredients:
- 4-6 citrus fruits
- 3 cups granulated sugar + 1 cup for dredging
- 4 cups water
Method:
Working with one fruit at a time, score the peel into eighths and remove gently,
