LOOK WHAT I FOUND...

I was going to save this post for the weekend but this beautiful "silkie" jacket is flying off the shelf at Anthropologie. It will be GONE soon so better check it out... follow the links below.

"SILK" JACKET   Anthropologie  $118.00
NECKLACE   Nordstrom  $28.00
HANDBAG   Dillards  $248.00

AN IRISH FEAST...

Corned Beef and Cabbage (baked!)

Recipe from... http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/corned_beef_and_cabbage/

Corned Beef (baked)

• 3 lbs corned beef (in package)
• 10 whole cloves
• 1/4 cup hot sweet honey mustard
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Cabbage (sautéed)

• Olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large head of cabbage, sliced into 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch wide slices
• Salt

METHOD

 

Corned beef can be very salty, especially when baked. To remove some of the salt before cooking, cover with water, bring to a boil, discard the water, add fresh water and bring to a boil again, discard the water again. Then proceed with the directions.

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Drain the corned beef from the package and discard the spice packet. Lay corned beef, fat side up, on a large piece of heavy duty, wide, aluminum foil (you may have to get creative with the way you wrap the beef if your foil isn't wide enough). Insert the cloves into the top of the slab of corned beef, evenly spaced. Spread the top with the hot sweet honey mustard. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top.

2 Wrap the corned beef with foil in a way that allows for a little space on top between the corned beef and the foil, and creates a container to catch the juices. Place foil-wrapped corned beef in a shallow roasting pan and bake for 2 hours. 

3 Open the foil wrapping, spread a little more honey mustard over the top of the corned beef, and broil it for 2-3 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then place on cutting board and cut at a diagonal, across the grain of the meat, into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Serve immediately.

Cabbage Sauteed

 

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil on medium high to high heat in a large wide pot or saute pan. Chop the onion and cook for several minutes and add the garlic.

2. Add a third of the sliced cabbage, sprinkle with a little salt and stir to coat with the oil and mix with the onions.  Spread out the cabbage evenly over the bottom of the pan and do not stir until it starts to brown. When the bottom is nicely browned use a metal spatula to lift it up and flip it, scraping the browned bits as you go.

3.Once the cabbage in the pan has browned on a couple of flips, add another third, mix it in with a little more olive oil and follow the same process. Add the remaining third and repeat.

Serve with baked corned beef and fluffy mashed potatoes.

BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE...

Stopping By the Woods on A Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost
(one of my favorite poems)

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Those of you who live in warm climates might not be able to relate, but here in the Rocky Mountains it gets COLD... really, really cold. I have suffered through a lot of winters. My kids always had layers of down and boots and scarves and mittens because they had to go to school.  Not me... I'm a "home-body."  I stayed indoors by the fire, borrowed someone's parka to dash to the mailbox and counted the days until Spring. Now that I'm teaching again part of my job is  to "man the crosswalk" after school. I knew it was time to get the gear!  To my surprise I can now stand in subzero weather and be happy as a little clam on the beach. 

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GEAR!

The essentials ...

UGGS - They will keep your feet warm... end of story. They are expensive but you can't put a price on warm toes and they last forever!


HAT & GLOVES - I love mittens but for the really cold times I wear gore-tex-thinsulate gloves... bought them at Cosco for $10.00

The Olie Shearling Hat $89.95

Here is a link to hats that will actually keep your head warm and it comes in L and XL for those of us with big heads. 

http://www.furhatworld.com/shearling-sheepskin-olie-hat-black-p-1458.html

SILK THERMALS -They are, ounce for ounce warmer than wool, nice and flexible, and decidedly warmer than cotton thermals.

THE SCARF - I am honestly surprised at how much warmer I am with a scarf around my neck.  I wouldn't be caught without one. The bigger and chunkier the better.



THE COAT - I have been wearing Eddie Bauer down for years but when faced with spending 30 minutes in negative 10 degree weather I googled "warmest coat on the planet."  This is what popped up...


CANADA GOOSE MYSTIQUE. I have never read a bad review so I took the plunge only to find out it runs small and it was too tight across my shoulders. I had to send it back for a bigger size. The best place to buy this coat is on Amazon... you will save the tax and the shipping and that's a lot of money. This price tag is not for the faint of heart ($750.00)  Its worth it to be warm.

THE BEAUTY OF WINTER

With my creature comforts taken care of I can focus on the beauty of WINTER. It can hold its own against any season. I love being out in it. Maybe I should take up skiing... or just go for a walk.