A few days ago, Matilda’s calf was born – it was a beautiful all-Jersey bull calf, leaving no doubt that the Jersey bull Sampson did his job while our Devon/Jersey bull Explorer was off visiting another farm. I have missed the rhythmic, grounding routine of milking. Each day I walk up to the pasture,…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
A Guide For Powerfully Envisioning Your New Year
It’s wonderful to have a fresh starting place every year where you can pause and reflect before taking the next step forward. Sometimes the new year begins with everything neatly and predictably laid out, but sometimes it’s the kind of beginning that feels like stepping off into the unknown. However it presents itself, this new,…
BOEUF BOUILLI AU LARD ET AUX POMMES DE TERRE: Boiled Beef With Bacon And Potatoes
If you have tried making serious broth, or have left-overs from a Pot-au-feu, you will likely find yourself with a cold boiled beef roast. It really doesn’t sound very appealing, but there many French recipes that incorporate cold boiled beef. This one could pass for a rich breakfast, a hearty lunch, or a satisfying dinner….
FILET SAUTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS: Steak With Mushrooms
This is a killer steak recipe – as if steak needed anything to make it any more delicious! There are two parts to this recipe, as it requires a ladleful of Spanish sauce, or Sauce Espagnole to finish off the sauce. Have a pot of broth bubbling on hand to make this recipe super easy…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #10. Caroling
Years ago when we were reading Dylan Thomas’s lovely book A Child’s Christmas in Wales one December, it occurred to me that I had read about caroling in stories, and occasionally saw it in movies and on TV, but I had never actually met with a band of real, live carolers. I thought it was…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #9. Baking Cookies
Not only does baking cookies warm up your kitchen and make your house smell delicious, they are also fun to make and good to eat. We don’t eat a lot of sweet things, so baking cookies is a real treat for us. I made this recipe last night just from what I had on hand…
Grain-Free Gingerbread Christmas Cookies
This recipe is a perfect grain-free, naturally sweetened and Paleo-legal alternative to the traditional wheat-based gingerbread cookies. Made with almond flour and sweetened with honey and coconut sugar, these cookies turned out deliciously crunchy, chewy, and fragrant with holiday spices. 3 cups almond flour (and extra for rolling out dough) 3/4 cup coconut sugar 1/2…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #8. A Christmas Play
The tradition of plays at Christmas time is ancient, and goes far beyond the old Medieval custom of mummering and janneying. Shakespeare himself drew inspiration from these old dramatic customs. Until quite recently, family Christmas plays were common holiday fun – replaced, I believe, by television. I have found Christmas plays featured in some of…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #7. Family Game Night
It’s cozy to curl up with a book on dark winter evenings, but for more lively entertainment, a family game night is the perfect way to spend time together. If you don’t have to have a full game shelf! there are many games that require only a deck of cards. Speed, Rummy, Crazy Eights, Spoons,…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #6. Making A Festive Wreath
A real, home-made wreath is a rarity in these days of plastic, store-bought wreaths. Technology has tried its best to replace them with garishly plastic, perfumed ones, but it simply can’t replicate the real thing – fresh, heavy with holly, and smelling of the fragrant forest. Making a Christmas wreath is not at all difficult…
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #5. Scratch Paper Snow Flakes, Christmas Origami, and Wycinanki
We don’t usually get to experience snow here in the Deep South, but it is still fun to make paper snowflakes. I love the way a snowflake surprises you with what it looks like once it’s unfolded. Snowflakes – Here is a short tutorial on how to fold a snowflake with scratch paper: …
10 Ways To Celebrate A Destitute Christmas: #4. Elving
(Shhh….because of course we won’t really have absolutely no presents this year!) Despite what anyone who is selling something says, you don’t have to buy something to make a present for someone. Thrift, a virtue I have come to appreciate more and more, is the near-magical talent of seeing what you already have, adding a…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 