About this Blog: Bread making recipes, knit and crochet projects, wood working, gardening, digital imaging, travel, cruise ships, Labrador Retrievers, and more....

About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Friday, December 31, 2021

New Year's Eve Drinks - Make Mine a Double!

 Good morning,

We'll be home on New Year's Eve this year as we are every other year.  And, of course we will be drinking!

 We'll go all out and have a double!  Hot Chocolate, of course.  ;)  

 We hope all of our family and friends have a safe and happy New Year's Eve and wonderful year ahead!

All the very best from the South Coast of Ohio!

Lois

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Holiday Kalanchoe

 Good morning,

Just before Christmas this beautiful Kalanchoe jumped into my cart at Meijer.  Yes, that has happened before with other plants.  They seem to know they will be loved and well cared for here so they make the leap into my cart.

So pretty!

:),

Lois

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Jule Ribbe Preparation

 Good morning,

Yesterday I featured Stehlin's Meat Market where we purchased a pork belly with skin on for Kjell to make Jule Ribbe for the holidays.

Above you see the pork belly, skin side up, on a cutting board where Kjell has sliced through the skin before baking until the skin is crispy.

 Yes, that's bacon.  Much of that fat will melt away during the baking process.

 Kjell rubs the meat with spices before baking.

 Here is the result.  The Jule Ribbe is at the bottom right of the plate.  The Medisterkaker (Norwegian pork meat balls) are at the top left of the plate.  

Also on the plate are sour kraut, baked potato with sour cream, and my home make cranberry sauce.  Ah, yes, foodie heaven!

Yum!


Lois

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Stehlin's Meat Market

 

 Good morning,

We make an annual journey to Stehlin's Meat Market to purchase a pork belly with the skin on. Since this isn't a commonly purchased cut of meat, we call ahead and order the cut we need. Kjell makes a tasty Norwegian Christmas treat, Jule Ribbe.  There will be more on that in another post soon.

 Stehlin's is a family owned business in a neighborhood where we lived for eleven years while the kids were little.  Our kids went to school with Stehlin kids so a visit to the old stomping grounds is an added treat when we drive out there to shop for meat.

 Stehlin's processes their own meat so it is always fresh.

In addition to the pork belly, we purchased some ground pork that Kjell used to make another Norwegian Christmas treat, Medisterkaker (pork meat balls with Norwegian spices). 

The trip to Stehlins is always so much fun each year. 

The meat is fresh and good and the people are friendly and helpful.

As we left, I took a picture of the little Christmas tree near the front door.

 
Of course, the concrete piggy bench was dressed for the holidays, too.  :)
 
Such fun!
 
Lois

Monday, December 27, 2021

Another Breakfast Bread

 Good morning,

The breakfast bread a few days ago was so good that I made another.  This time I made it in a loaf pan instead of a round baking dish.

The filling this time is blueberries and white chocolate.  The frosting is made with cherry brandy.

Yes, this one hit the spot, too!  It didn't last long either.

:),

Lois

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Red Christmas Cactus - Perfect Timing!

 Good morning,

Our Red Christmas Cactus bloomed just in time this week.  

So pretty, so delicate!

:),

Lois

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!

Elsa and all the rest of us here in the Evensen Household wish you a 

Blessed Happy Merry Christmas!

 

 


 

Friday, December 24, 2021

It was the Night Before Christmas

 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of doggie cookies danc'd in their heads...

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Breakfast Bread

 

 Good morning,

While making bread recently, I made enough extra dough to make a special breakfast bread. This particular batch featured cream cheese that gave the bread a very smooth texture.  Above you see my breakfast bread after the first rise.  I have kneaded it once again and pressed it back into the bowl so that I could place dried cranberries in the center.

 

I then folded the edges in and pressed them together before...

 

...placing the loaf into a medium size oven proof dish.

 

 After I let it rise again for about 30 minutes, I placed it in the oven and baked at 350F for 35 minutes.

 

 Here it is on the cooling rack before I made the frosting with...

 

 ...some really GOOD stuff!

 

 I placed about 3/4 cup powdered sugar in a bowl and added enough cognac to get the consistency I wanted for the frosting.  I stirred with the whisk until it was smooth.

 

 I then "drizzled" the frosting over the breakfast bread.

 And we enjoyed it!  It disappeared quite quickly!

Cognac for breakfast!  ;) 

I also made some traditional loaves out of the same batch of bread:  


Yum!

Lois

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Office Gifts

 Good morning,

Catherine is so very clever with her gifts for business clients of her CPA practice.  This year she put together a cutting board, cheeses, meats, crackers, and fruit.  She puts it all together and I make and add the bows.  

We have made these nearly every day for a week and she delivers them as we finish them so that the items are fresh when received.  

This is another Christmas tradition here that is fun and so very special each year. 

 Merry Christmas!

Lois

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

'Tis the Season

 Good morning,

It is the season ... for Peppermint Icecream!

Oh, yes, very good!

;),

Lois

Monday, December 20, 2021

Frozen - First Snow

 Good morning,

This was fun to find.  We've disconnected our garden hoses before the first freeze.  We had a very short freeze with a dusting of snow.  It was just cold enough for this icicle to form.  I took the picture when I closed the gate as we were going out for a short trip.  The icicle was gone when we returned.

The painting is finished on the white part of this side of the house.  We have just been getting the vines removed from the blue part at the at the bottom.  Eventually, it will all be finished on this side and it'll be time to start over on the other side of the house.  Such is life.  ;)

 All the best,

Lois

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Sunset at the Casino

 Good morning,

We have been celebrating my birthday all month.  I snapped this picture of the sunset as we arrived at a local casino that has an excellent steak and seafood restaurant.

We celebrated three birthdays at the same time:  Aunt Carol's, friend Bill's, and mine.  Of course we donated a couple of dollars to the slots before we left, too.

It was a delightful evening.  

Thanks, everyone!

Lois

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Out Cold

 Good morning,

It's a good thing we kept our old recliner and chair when we bought new recliners.

Wendy has taken ownership of this one and it fits her perfectly.

:)

Lois

Friday, December 17, 2021

Blueberry Bread French Toast

 Good morning,

No good bread goes to waste (although it DOES go to waist) around here.

I made blueberry bread with cream cheese a few days ago.  As we so often do, we had breakfast for dinner so I made french toast with it.

Oh, my goodness, this was great.

 Yum!

What is your favorite breakfast specialty?

Lois

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Did the Deer Do It?

 Good morning,

There is a huge section of bark missing from the base of an old Honeysuckle bush in the corner of our back yard.  I'm convinced it was neighborhood deer who did this.

It's interesting to see the dogs tracking when they go outside after we suspect critters have been on our property.  We didn't see the deer this time, but I'm pretty sure they were here.

Lois

Edited to add:  Please see comment from Steve Willson.  It seems it is more likely that the bark damage is from Gray Squirrels.  We certainly have plenty of those around here!  Thank you, Steve. 

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Hawk

 Good morning,

If you look carefully just above the center of this image, you'll be able to see one of our neighborhood hawks.

These beautiful graceful creatures are a joy to watch as they swoop through the sky.  

Now that many of the leaves are gone from the trees, we are able to see these birds more easily.

Cold weather isn't all that bad....

:),

Lois

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

New Addition African Violet

 Good morning,

I'm a sucker for pretty flowers.  I saw this one when shopping at Meijer recently and it jumped into my cart all by itself.  

This lovely African Violet has joined the indoor table garden in my dining room.  Since purchasing it has already produced even more flowers.  What a lovely sight each morning when I go downstairs.  

;),

Lois

Monday, December 13, 2021

Our Handsome Erik

 Good morning,

Here's our handsome Erik in his bathrobe after his bath.  He looks good in red, doesn't he.  ;)

 Of course, Wendy is the photo bomber....  ;)

 Erik seems to enjoy wearing his robe.  He took a long nap while he still had it on.

What a handsome fellow!

;),

Lois

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Christmas Centerpiece

 Good morning,

It's looking more and more like Christmas around here!

Our friend, Erica, brought us this lovely centerpiece.  How sweet!

Thank you, Erica!

Lois

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Blueberry Pancakes for Dinner - Sans Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

 Good morning,

This time we enjoyed the blueberry pancakes without the ice cream and whipped cream. They were delicious.  But, then, so was that ice cream and whipped cream.

These are our diet pancakes.  

;),

Lois

Friday, December 10, 2021

Giant Yellow Mums

 Good morning,

It is fun to have more than one variety of Fall flowers so that the blooming periods are staggered.

 We now have these beautiful bright yellow blossoms blooming on our front porch.  They return year after year.  Lovely!  These are the beautiful flowers that inspired me to make this afghan:

All the best,

Lois

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Catherine the Turkey Meister

 Good morning,

We celebrated Thanksgiving shortly after the actual holiday.  Here's Catherine feeding some hard ale to the bird in the pan as Wendy looks on.  Of course, everything prepared in our kitchen is Lab supervised and Lab tested.

 Ah, yes, a little hard ale and you won't feel a thing....

 OK, a little more....

 And, now, ready to go on the grill.

 Catherine prepared the turkey to perfection outside on the grill.

Yes, it was delicious!  Yum!  

Lois