super-simple Christmas treats

it’s happening!

Santa’s coming to town!!

Christmas and winter, i love this time of year.

rain is blowing sideways here in the valley, flooding low points of parking lots and sidewalks just enough to go over one’s shoes if one doesn’t watch where one steps. an empty parking space downtown has become a myth, and the office breakroom is brimming with christmas cookies and homemade treats. (so it doesnt help that most of my coworkers are already on vacation! i find it so difficult to turn down peppermint bark.) tonight, my sister flies in from New York, and my baby brother (who turned 19 this week!) arrives from the city he lives in, about an hour’s drive away.

i’m so excited!

this year, things are a little different. yes, we wrestled another 12-foot tree into our loft; i still attended an amazing cookie swap as well as our friend’s sparkly, dress-up cocktail party; but this year we decided in my immediate family not to exchange gifts. i can’t imagine possibly having more than i already do!… i am so blessed and provided for, and i don’t need anything. (but Nathan and i couldnt help but buy a few small treats for everyone anyway!) 

but mostly because last Friday, during my office Christmas party, Nathan left me a voicemail letting me know he had unexpectedly been laid off. and i couldnt call him back, since his phone belonged to the company. we got him a new phone, yes, but things feel very different than a week ago. but we are so thankful for the Lord’s timing and hand in our lives. my new job is stable and wonderful and covers both of us with medical insurance, and for now i have a House Husband who helps with groceries, errand-running, cleaning and……. well, let’s be honest, i still do the cooking (it’s my favorite)! a definite highlight is that Nathan is no longer working on-call this Christmas, or for any Christmas, or holiday or weekend or birthday ever again. i’m thrilled!! i’ve cooked a nice Valentine’s Day dinner for one for the last time; awoken to work calls in the middle of the night for the last time. 

so much to be thankful for!

i want to celebrate every day, and of course that means i want to eat! here are some of our dinnersforwinners favorites that we rounded up to inspire your holiday kitchen…………

if you want a peek into a delicious Hawley tradition, these peppery, spiced gingerbread cookies are as tasty as they are adorable. they are super-simple to make, fun to decorate, and fill the house with a wonderful gingerbread smell!

still my most popular recipe on this blog to-date, salted butter carmels are a great way to try your hand at candymaking, if you haven’t before. they are so delicious, and so much better than anything you could purchase! wrapped in some parchment or colored cellophane, they are the perfect last-minute gift… just make sure to save some for yourself! i love the creamy caramels and flecks of salt on top.

if you need a last-minute idea for contributing to a party, this mushroom tart is one of my top favorites! it serves well at room-temperature, so, great for traveling. prep is so easy with frozen puff pastry, and i think the tart is pretty presentation. i love the flakey pastry, melty Gruyere cheese and roasted mushrooms together!

i also adore these SPAM latkes — i know, so un-Kosher, but seriously so delicious! crispy potato cakes laced with salty shredded SPAM are amazing alongside a little pickled cabbage. you could swap leftover Christmas ham for the SPAM or even skip the meat and go all veggie. i could eat potato pancakes for every meal!

i hope the season is bringing you contentment and family and champagne punch and mistletoe.

and if you’re up for it, consider a little something to raise support for those affected around Sandy Hook Elementary in a run and ride in January! this is something we can do together, no matter how far apart we may be from each other geographically. participants commit to running or cycling 26 miles in the week, in whatever manner they choose, and registration fees benefit the victim’s families and first-responders. i hope you’ll decide to meet the challenge with me! i’m a slow runner, but steady, and with each step i can pray for healing in the Newtown community.

peace on earth. yes? and goodwill toward men.

spring pasta with snap peas, spinach and mushrooms

i get really stoked on spring peas! there is nothing in the world like the snappy, crisp sweetness they have going on right now. i buy sugar snap peas from the grocery store year-round, but they are kind of disappointing. i’m saying “kind of”, because they may be the only fresh peas you can get your hands on, and some peas are better than no peas — but honestly they don’t hold a candle to fresh sugar snap peas from my mom’s garden (or your local farmer’s market). i’m buying these babies by the pound at my local markets! they are insanely delicious and i can’t get enough. plus, aren’t they beautiful?…

sugar snap peas can be shelled (for making a pea puree, for example, or for tossing into fried rice or risotto), or eaten whole, in their pods, like in this lovely, springy pasta. my girl martha inspired this dish, but i added mushrooms for protein (my trainer would be so proud) and general awesomeness. (mushrooms are such a super-food of nature, right? fiber, protein, vitamins C and D, all kinds of other goods to possibly help prevent cancer and improve hearing and eyesight. but also they are so tasty!) i’ve been positively shocked by the price of meat these days, so i’m trying to fuel us at home with legume/vegetable proteins. beans! lentils! mushrooms!

this pasta comes together in a single pot and won’t heat up your kitchen too much on a warm June evening. visit your local farmer’s market for fresh peas and spinach and enjoy every bright, flavorful bite of late Spring. (here’s a handy online tool: enter your zip code for a market near you!)

inspired by Martha Stewart

serves 3 – 4

• 1/2 pound short pasta, such as farfalle
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, halved
• 1 TBSP olive oil or butter
• 1 lb mushrooms of any variety, cleaned, stemmed and sliced
• 1/3 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• a few handfuls fresh spinach
• about 2 oz Parmesan, grated (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta about 1 minute less than package instructions, then add snap peas and cook 30 more seconds. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.

In same pot, heat olive oil or butter over medium-high heat. Sautee mushrooms until beginning to brown. Add cream and wine and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add  Parmesan and spinach, stirring, until spinach wilts, then return pasta and peas to pot. Stir until warmed through, adding 1/4 – 1/2 cup pasta water to make a light sauce, if necessary. Lastly stir in basil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.