Welcome to our 1864 farmhouse…life is good!


Monday, December 21

the countdown is on!


Ahhh...how about a little Frank Sinatra to begin the week? He's right there alongside all my favorites...Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Dean Martin...and this song, Christmas Memories, is just what I'm dreaming of this week. (Oh, and skip the ad...yuck.)

Frank Sinatra...Christmas Memories


Today is the official start of Christmas break for the kids...yay! We all look forward to this time, and our routine never varies much. Generally, the "rules" are...

~ sleep in
~ stay up late
~ watch all the classic holiday movies
~ bake cookies & roast s'mores
~ enjoy fires in the fireplace
~ camp out under the Christmas tree
~ watch movie marathons (Harry Potter, LOTR, Dr. Who, Merlin)

Not a bad way to spend two weeks off!

The packages are wrapped (and hidden!) the cards are out (as of today...okay, cutting that one close) and the menu is planned...life is good.  Our son says he has a "gift for my heart"  ~ oh my, that makes me weepy and I don't even know what it is yet.


Anyway, since most of us will be busy this week, I'm keeping it simple by posting recipes for
The 5 days of Cocoa.  We have some recipes we tinker with, and some recipes I've been wanting to try...so we'll try them together!


Here's our tried & true Old-fashioned Cocoa...

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. sugar
2 c. milk
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Combine sugar and cocoa powder; set aside.  Heat milk until scalding; stir cocoa mixture into warm milk; whisk to blend well.  Add vanilla.

(Now I tinker with this a bit...a little more cocoa, a little less sugar, just take a sip and change what you like.) And I usually pour the cocoa through a strainer then into a mug...dry cocoa never really likes to dissolve completely!

Add homemade marshmallows (oh-so easy!) or a dash of cinnamon...yum!

Wishing you all a wonderful week filled with the blessings of the season.




photo from: those fabulous folks at: http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/




 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!

 
01 09 10