However, that isn’t to say I haven’t seen some amazing food friends are making. So if I may, we will go peek in a few windows and savor all the food being served elsewhere. A progressive dinner of sorts. You know the kind you share with a group of friends, each choosing a course and preparing it. You travel through out the evening eating at different homes and enjoying the company of each other without all the work of doing it yourself. Yes, let’s do that. I also need to thank Barb of Creative Culinary for the use of her Thanksgiving Table photo. It made the post!

First stop? Barb’s house. I couldn’t resist this Crab and Mushroom Cheesecake appetizer! Come to find out she’s asked Nancy’s advice for a last minute sensation. And, boy I cannot think of anyone who might not like this appetizer.

Speaking of Nancy, let’s head on over and see what else we can spy on the holiday table. Oh perfect! A citrus salad. Citrus Salad with Mint Gremolata is a great second course choice. Citrus is so plentiful in December and the citrus combination compliments the appetizer so well.

So where are we headed for the main dish? Oh let’s get on a ship and head over to Katie’s, for her Christmas Beef Wellington. Katie is a food photographer who has kept such a fabulous food photography journal for all of us to enjoy. This post of hers features not only Beef Wellington, but every imaginable foodstuff to feast on during the holidays. Scroll to the bottom and she’s provided all of her recipes in a pdf!

Oh man, I’m stuffed. But we need dessert. Something not too heavy. I’d love to say a plate of cookies from Calleye’s, or a nice Maple Walnut Christmas Trifle from Tim at Lottie and Doof and a big plate of Orange, Cranberry and Pistachio Truffles from Sylvie. Each one of these is a perfect finish to a wonderful gathering. I’m going to grab a bite of each!

We’ll finish our evening with great conversation, laughter and a great feeling of camaraderie. To make this evening last through tomorrow and days beyond Kimmee has bagged up some of her crisp Three Ginger Gingersnaps for all to take home with us. Merry Christmas everyone!

On that last one. No. It has been a difficult year. One of many transitions. We finished March with the last of six months of unemployment. April brought a job in a new state. We were closer to our dreams of a home at the ranch, our forty acres in northern Arizona. By May we’d found a place to live while deciding how to begin building. Detour!

In June my husband’s 85 year old mother had to come live with us. Once again I’m babysitting. Problem is, when I was a teenager, I would take in laundry to earn money rather than babysit. I couldn’t stand it then, I’m not a fan now. What makes it more difficult is that she doesn’t like us. My husband was the families’ surprise! we’re pregnant son. She’s regretted it since. Her only other son, the perfect one, passed away due to complications from surgery years ago so she is left with us to care for her. Not a day goes by that complaints are heard and sighs are made. I’m glad I have twitter and a few friends to commiserate with for certain.

The ranch, while still a reality, has been set back once again. We are currently in the process of purchasing a home in our teeny tiny town so she can be in town as she says the ranch is too far out of the city for her liking. I actually think it’s more because the neighbors are too far away and she’ll be left with just us for company. So instead we’ll spend money for a home in town.

July was wonderful. I love being in the mountains during the hottest part of the year. It’s so beautiful up here and every day I awaken with a smile on my face for the opportunity to live here.

August was spent running back and forth to California. First for BlogHer, then to wrap up a few things in the old city, then to stay with a daughter while she had surgery. I love driving, so I drove each time. My little Cooper has accumulated miles but still plugs along like the day she was purchased.

September, October, November were spent waiting to hear about the new house. A little cottage right in the middle of town. In fact, we’re here in the middle of December and just found out that it is actually a go. We will be moving in January, about the end of the month into this little place. I can hardly wait. I’ve been dreaming of decorating it. And, guess what? I’ve never even been inside! My husband made an offer while I was away so to say I’ve been dreaming is an understatement. Soon, very soon, I’ll see if it was a good choice on his part. Either way we will make it a lovely little place to live. While we build the house on the ranch that is.

December re-acquainted us with snow. Snow we had buried in our memories since our college days. Not just a beautiful dusting of glimmery white puffs. No, this was a full on 30 inch woolen blanket of thick snow! We were in our driveway at 2:30 a.m. shoveling snow to clear a path for expected visitors. Visitors that only made it to the Walmart parking lot a few blocks away. They called it their Rexburg, Idaho curse from their experience living in the coldest two winters in Rexburg’s recent past. It snowed for two days straight and we decided snow might be on the short list of things we’d gladly wish only came in dreams. Alas, we’ll welcome it into our new lives with open arms just as we have the vastness of the wilderness a few minutes drive away from town. The scenery is just stunning, and we are impressed everyday with the beauty of this area.

Looking on to January brings me to thinking I just may begin this blogging thing again. It’s been far too long and there are so many things I’ve been thinking about writing…

I may begin now in fact.

This is a view from the very top of the property. We’ve been reading Joel Salatin’s book on small farms and it has us very inspired that we can make a go of a farm school and keep ourselves happily fed and busy in the next few years. So this first experiment with juniper berries will be fun. We’ll also be adding chickens, tomatoes, lavender, fruit trees and possibly a few more livestock. We’ve got our 40 acres, now all we need is a mule.

This is the largest of the trees on the ranch. There is a lot of pruning and removing of old dead trees to be done. It wold be nice to have a tractor to get that work done, but for now renting one on the weekends seems to be the word of the day. If you have a long lost or up close relative who is giving away a tractor let me know! I’ll come get it and buy them dinner. ;o)

After reading The Wild Table I became very interested in foraging edible foods. Juniper berries are everywhere and I knew only one thing about them. You make gin with juniper berries. Megan, over at Not Martha, in fact had some experiments this year making her own Gin. I am not a drinker but the idea of being in the bathtub Gin business made me smile; just a bit.

I began doing some research and found that a hundred years ago, and for many centuries before that I’m sure, juniper berries were used as a medicine. The have an antibiotic effect and can be used on all types of open wounds. It relieves the pain of a burn and also made into a tea it has been known to help with a hangover. The berries also help with abdominal problems and help to relieve water retention. Hmm, water retention is a problem at high altitudes. Juniper berries are all over up here. Coincidence? There is also a warning for Juniper berries that says they should not be eaten by women who are pregnant, by women with breast cancer or people with kidney disease. The is a caution also that children under the age of 12 should avoid them also. Well, for the rest of you, you can eat them or dink spirits enhanced by them. The species we have growing on the ranch is actually the Juniperus Californica.

Many online retailers sell dried juniper berries. These can be ground up and mixed with water to form a paste. It is especially good used with wild game, elk, deer, boar but is also used on geese, duck and pork.  Not more than a  teaspoonful is sufficient to add flavor when preparing to feed up to four people. It’s flavor is very strong so a little goes a long way. Marinades, pastes and teas are some of the ways people use Juniper berries. I’m thinking I may just have to pickle some and see how they turn out. I’ll let you know.

My brother, Mike and his oldest son Michael had been in an accident. The both died in the crash. My brother was 32, Michael was almost 8. They left behind my sister in law Lori and her other four children. Lori was 28. How? Why? The questions could haunt you for a life time. Mike was my right arm. He was my protector for most of my childhood. Three weeks prior to his death he called me, to just check up on me and tell me he loved me and would always be there for me. I feel cheated. But not nearly as much as Lori. Lori raised her daughters and son. They are fine people. There is not a day goes by that I don’t think of them and mourn their loss.

So Sunday evening when I read Jennifer’s tweet, I died a little inside again. The echo of the scream returned. It couldn’t be; shouldn’t be. Another young mother, with two darling little girls and a prince of a husband, was “smashed into a million pieces”. I quickly texted a friend, did she know anything at all? No. But I knew. It was like dread hanging in the air. Jennifer’s life had been altered permanently.The news of Jennifer’s husband, Mikey’s death, greeted some of us late that evening and the rest early the next morning. I was glad it was Monday. I had a long drive back to Arizona from California that day. I could cry all day if I wanted. And, the tears did come. I wept for Jennifer and her girls. For all the lost moments in the future that he will miss. I also prayed for Jennifer that the love and comfort of her friends and family will sustain her. May she be given strength now and in the coming years. She’ll see Mikey in her girls, in the little glimpses, giggles and nods. But for now she will need our strength and support. Food bloggers and others have banded together to show their support over the next few months.

How do you mend a broken heart? Jennifer has helped us find a path to help her along the way. You see, Mikey loved Peanut Butter Pie. Jennifer had not made it for him, yet had intended to in the near future. So with that intention she has asked all of us to make a pie for our loved ones. To share it with them, along with a few good hugs and statements of love. Because you know, time is short, and you never know when someone dear to you will die. Like the people who brought us food when my brother died, I’ll bake a pie. Well, tartlettes to share, with those I love, in memory of Mikey. It’s not much but it’s enough. In memory of all the Mike’s we’ve lost:

For Jennifer and Mikey

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tartlettes

• 1 recipe of Peanut butter cookies
• 4 ounces of dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 1 pint of heavy cream or whipping cream, divided. 4 ounces to be scalded just prior to use; the balance to be whipped
• 2 Tablespoons of creamy peanut butter, melted in the microwave 10-15 seconds

1 recipe of your favorite peanut butter cookie.  Instead of making the cookies, roll the dough into one half inch balls and chill. Press the dough firmly into tartlette tins and place on baking sheet. With oven at 350 bake the tartlettes for 10 minutes or until done. If they puff up while baking, once done take the end of a knife end and push down the centers. Allow to cool and remove from tins.

Chocolate ganache. 4 oz of dark chocolate. For this recipe I used Lindt’s Intense Dark Chocolate Almond Brittle Bar.  Pour the scalded and still hot whipping cream over the broken up chocolate bar. Stir until smooth and shiny. If your chocolate doesn’t melt all the way you can microwave it for 15 seconds to continue melting. Fill each tartlette with ganache. The easiest way to do this is to put the melted chocolate in a plastic storage bag. Snip a small corner of the bag open with scissors. Squeeze chocolate into tartlettes through opening in the bag.

Whip the balance of your heavy cream and add your favorite sweetener. While that is whipping, melt 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter in the microwave. Once your whipping cream is ready gently fold the peanut butter into the whipped cream and incorporate them together. Pipe on edges of tartlettes. Refrigerate until 30 minutes before serving.

It all started one day at the food plant I managed. I was un-boxing a bunch of labels in the label room. The labels were packed in boxes that had newspapers to keep the labels from sliding around and getting marred. I had some labels to print so I decided to take a look at the paper. It was the Orange County register. I noticed an ad for 40 acre parcels in Northern Arizona. After that we decided to take a trip to look at the land, vowing not to buy anything on a whim.

Well, you know how that goes. We were standing on a gently sloping parcel outside of Snowflake. There was silence. There were landscape views right out of Dances with Wolves. There were no neighbors! And, town just 30 minutes away. We were sold. We put down money on the spot and have had a five year plan for eight years. That was until April. April was the month the skies opened up and provided employment for my husband so we could make the move. Well, we’re sort of still moving. Our life has always been a work in process.

We’re not living on the land like we’d like as we have the husband’s mother living with us. At 84 she’s just not up to roughing it and we have to have a place for her to actually live before we get to the ranch. So we’ll live in town for a bit until we get things up and running at the ranch.

The plan is to bootstrap the entire operation. To live off the grid and be entirely self sufficient. It will be hard work, but hey, who’s afraid of hard work? Not me. We’ll be building a home, a steel building for equipment and a few cabins for friends and others to come enjoy. I’m excited for the workshop. We’ll have a place for artisan crafts, a black smithing section and a drying shed for the lavender and apricots we’ll grow. I’m looking forward to the farm school we’ve planned with chickens, and other livestock along the way. A great garden to can and eat from. Most of all, I look forward to being able to invite you all to visit. Hopefully soon.

I love rock music. I’m a child of the 60s, 70s and one of my idols is Annie Lebowitz, the photographer who has photographed every rock star known to mankind. Penny de los Santos is the food cultural equivalent of Annie Lebowitz. She has worked with National Geographic and most recently, with Saveur Magazine photographing the culture of food world wide. Who would miss the opportunity to learn from either of them? Not me. So even though we were also celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary this weekend, I was glued to my computer from 10 to 5 each day for three days. And, it was worth every minute.

From the moment Penny began, she did not waste a minute of our time. I love that she understood the importance of her subject. She has the same passion for sharing her knowledge almost as much or possibly more, than she has for her photography. She talked about her camera and lenses as her tools. No, actually as her second language, to communicate what she sees when making photographs around the world. Her photographs convey a sense of culture and community that bring you into the subject as if you are there yourself.

She began with the basics. Always ask yourself where is the light? Light makes the photo. Then ask yourself what kind of photo am I making? What story am I telling? Take your time, allow the subject to develop. Wait. The story is there, wait for it. It will come to you. Give a sense of place in your photos, don’t forget the details, make a portrait. Use color, but use it wisely.

Penny interviewed her editor at Saveur, James Oseland, for us. He spoke about what Saveur’s mission was. What they looked for in photographs. She also interviewed their designer, Larry Nighswander. Larry shared how to critique a photo. His, interview could be a week long class for any photographer. His information was almost as valuable as Penny’s techniques and tools.

What I enjoyed most about this class was Penny’s willingness to take us along on her journey as a food photographer. We saw a glimpse into her mindset when taking photos. She shared her thoughts as she chose the pictures to make. We heard her frustrations, and changes, and adjustments to a situation revolving around a “shoot”. She gave her knowledge to each of us. Would we listen? Would we learn? I know I did. I was well fed at that table this weekend. I will hear her voice whisper to me as I set up a shot: “what story are you going to tell”?

That’s clearly a miniscule portion of what she taught. She gave us a piece of herself. She shared intimate stories from her life. She only asks us to do one thing: Do what you love. If you’re not, why not? If you are interested in seeing the video recorded throughout the three days and participate in this same class, go to creativeLIVE’s website and purchase the seminar for $149.00. You’ll have the same experiences that I did. You may learn different things than me. But I guarantee you will be well fed for certain.

Disclaimer: creativeLIVE has no idea who I am. They did not pay me to add a link to this seminar. I feel it is of value to any photographer and that’s why I’m adding the link to my post.

Publisher’s Summary:

In the city where dining is a sport, a gourmand swears off restaurants (even takeout!) for two years, rediscovering the economical, gastronomical joy of home cooking

Gourmand-ista Cathy Erway’s timely memoir of quitting restaurants cold turkey speaks to a new era of conscientious eating. An underpaid, twenty-something executive assistant in New York City, she was struggling to make ends meet when she decided to embark on a Walden- esque retreat from the high-priced eateries that drained her wallet. Though she was living in the nation’s culinary capital, she decided to swear off all restaurant food. The Art of Eating In chronicles the delectable results of her twenty-four-month experiment, with thirty original recipes included.

What began as a way to save money left Erway with a new appreciation for the simple pleasure of sharing a meal with friends at home, the subtleties of home-cooked flavors, and whether her ingredients were ethically grown. She also explored the anti-restaurant underground of supper clubs and cook-offs, and immersed herself in an array of alternative eating lifestyles from freeganism and dumpster-diving to picking tasty greens on a wild edible tour in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Culminating in a binge that leaves her with a foodie hangover, The Art of Eating In is a journey to savor.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I saw Ms. Erway’s book being published. I am not a follower of her blog, but I must say I was intrigued. People in New York not eatin gout? Blasphemy! However, this young twenty something has written a coming of age in New York book that is sure to please most readers.

It begins as a lark. Sitting in a bar with friends, Cathy states what she’s been pondering for a while: “I think I’m going to stop eating out”, then adds, “I may blog about it.” Her friends are astonished yet supportive on the whole, albeit she does have one person in particular that has problems with it. Read to find out who. The Art of Eating In is not your typical blogger writes blog, attracts attention online, gets book deal and then prints blog style book. Cathy actually embraces the idea of cooking at home. I had to chuckle when I read her explanation of baking bread for the first time. I think I laughed out loud at the fact that she asked a friend where one goes to purchase yeast. I was surprised at the request, however, she goes on to bake bread and do very well baking bread.

Cathy also shares her sense of adventure. She not only embraces cooking at home, but explores other way of eating away from a restaurant of prepared meals. She explores foraging, freganism, cook offs and secret suppers. You’ll enjoy her view of food from her side of the table and she just may get you thinking of doing a little less eating out in the process. Her economic evaluation of cooking or having your food prepared for you is enough to give it a try, then she adds in a few of her favorite recipes and you’re set. Try it. You just may like it too.

Peguin recommends this book for readers over 18. I think the book could have an appeal for 15+ age readers as an exploration of eating and cooking for ones-self while trying to gain independence from parents or roommates in future college years.

Disclosure: Gotham provided me with a copy of this book for review.

Simply the recipe is 265 g of semi sweet chocolate, 240 ml (1 cup) of water, and optional tablespoon of sugar which I did not add, and spice if you so desired. Also, you will need three bowls. One for the chocolate mixture and one filled with ice and water, and another to chill over the ice water bath. It seemed like a pretty fool proof recipe. I like spicy chocolate. So I decided to add 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of adobe chili powder along with 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. That’s what I do when I make hot chocolate so it seemed the perfect amount for this quantity of mousse.

Now. Measure out your ingredients. Chop you chocolate into small enough pieces so that it will melt quickly. Add the water, chocolate and spices along with the sugar if you decide to add it to a small sauce pan. Stir it together until the chocolate has completely melted. Once it has melted, pour the chocolate into the bowl over the ice bath bowl. To quote Susan: “Take your whisk and start mixing until the mixture starts thickening and resembling softly whipped cream.

Continue whisking until it thickens more and can be scooped up by the whisk. At this stage it is very easy to over-whip the mousse, so watch the texture carefully or else it will end up grainy.” (please note Susan had a video to view for this, find it at her blog)

Well, this is where I ran into problems. It never got fluffy. It turned into ganache. Yep, sweet, wonderful ganache. I put it all in the fridge to ponder my next move. After we returned from lunch, I decided the only way we could it this mixture as a mousse was to whip some cream and add it to the ganache. I needed to melt the ganache in order to add the whipped cream, however. So I add some very hot water to a bowl, placed another bowl over it and stirred it until it was creamy again. It took about 5 minutes of intermittent stirring.

While I waited for the ganache to warm I put some heavy cream in the mixing bowl and whipped it up. I did add a bit of sugar to the cream to sweeten it. And a splash of vanilla. Once the cream was whipped the ganache was ready to go. I reserved enough cream for a dollop on the top of the mousse for decoration, then added the ganache to the cream. Begin folding carefully the ganache over the cream and about 25 turns of a silicon spatula should mix it together without losing a lot of the air. Spoon the mousse into bowls. Add your whipped cream to the top and chill. Voila! Spicy chocolate mousse for dessert, albeit different from Susan’s version, still very good!