Weird Weather of '09 #14 Baby it's Cold Outside....

Not at all - just wish you were coming to my place. It sounds perfect!

Now that i think about it, the crab/scallop/kumpquat ceviche that I adore might work too. I'm trying to strike a balance between comfort food & refreshing dishes. The ceviche would be good in the radicchio leaves, probably.

Katie, I will come cook for you anytime! Or come visit me. I love food, at least for parties -- I'm resentful if you force me to put 3 meals on the table every day.

It's so true. Doing for inspiration is great, but once it becomes a chore . . .

Don't get me excited about the cooking thing. I am an uninspired cook, but a truly inspired eater. I am so impressed by people who are creative in the kitchen!

I am thinking of doing a Portland-Seattle-Wenatchee-Goldendale circuit between Christmas & New Year's. That would allow me to see the Crniches, my dear friend Roland in Seattle, my dad, and my favorite aunt & cousins in one big swoop -- PLUS any DGers on the way. I'll bring food!

I will be around after Christmas. Would love to meet you.

Cool! Maybe I'll start a separate thread on the whole thing. Could be a fun "progressive dinner" kind of thing. Can you cope with my dog shadow?

Hee hee. Spent a few seconds trying to figure out what a dog shadow was.

I was thinking that we could meet somewhere. Wherever you're staying? I'll be off that week and if it's not snowing, I'll be up for a visit in Seattle. I don't know that you'd want to come all the way out here.

I'm always up for dog energy - I'd love to meet Shadow!!

"Shadow" is actually named Osita. She is my Costa Rican mutt, the one I flew BACK there to rescue. Best $2,010 I ever spent.

At some point it doesn't matter how much, right? You skip a few meals/pairs of shoes and you find a way

I saw so many dogs in Mexico that I wanted to bring home. They would have made awesome pets.

I'm not even a dog person; Osita is my first dog, and she is my touchstone.

I always say to people who say they don't like cats that they haven't met the right cat. Maybe that applies to you, too. You just hadn't met the right dog until you'd met Osita. So have you written the story of how you and Osita came to be? I'll bet that there are pet sites out there who'd love to post an article like that . . .

Doubt it, it's a very weird story that involves timber-framing & misleading workshops & Canadians & scorpions & toothless people.

I am deathly allergic to cats. No cat is my friend. Dogs are my heros.

The weather is pouring rain, how am I to smoke ribs? Sigh. 2 hours to go.

Rob, need I say it? I'll dive in anyway - you just haven't met the right cat . . .

SK, I beg to differ. Your bullets provide just the opposite - now I really want to hear this story.

Do tell - scorpions and toothless people???

No way no cats near me. None. Do you want to see my face turn to a bowling ball size? Yecch, I will take dogs.

Rob, I definitely don't want to see you with a bowling-ball face. Or anybody else for that matter. Some cats don't provoke nearly the allergic reaction that others do. It's generally pretty specific, though I'm not encouraging you to find out. :-)

You don't have to have them near you to like them. Some cats are more like dogs and aren't cuddly anyway.

SK, I won't rest until I hear this story . . .

A brother of mine and I are super allergic to cats. Say no more.

I'm allergic to venomous snakes, but I still like them. Just don't want to pet them. :-p

I'm allergic to shrimp but eat it anyway. Figure that, with enough shrimp eaten, I'll eventually build up an immunity.

Good luck with that. I know that sometimes it works. But when it doesn't . . . did you see the movie Hitch with Will Smith. It was pretty funny.

I need a little computer camera so I can Skype with my Dad.

Made the browned butter rice krispies today, those are soooo good!

Well, Jeff dug us out from under about 18" of snow. It surely is pretty. Church services today were cancelled and the cantata rescheduled for Christmas Eve.

Here's a link to another quick and easy treat - good for winter gatherings. It's wet wet wet here but not cold. The photos of Wash DC covered in snow are beautiful.

http://busycooks.about.com/od/candyandsnackmixes/r/cpsugarnuts.htm

Gosh, Jan, I've been watching you all on the news. Hope that you're able to be hunkered down for a few days where you are. Last year we were socked in with a foot of snow at about this time. Today it'll get up in the high 40's.

Thanks for the link, Judi. I'm wondering if we don't need a good recipes thread. What do you think?

Thanks. Yep, all hunkered down until Friday when DH and I fly to Houston to be with our youngest (29 yr old) for a week. Supposed to get another storm Friday, but it will be rain, I think. I hope. I really don't want to be delayed.

MMMMM... sounded good. sugared nuts

So, NOW it is 52 degrees when I have way too much still to do indoors!

Qiute some storm on the East coast! Glad to hear that you are not having a lot of problems, Jan.

Off to pick up GMA so I can finish my cookie baking---Russian teacakes are the end of several recipes. Second favorite only to corn flake-marshmallow wreaths.

Corn-flake marshmallow wreaths! Can you share the recipe? I can get gluten-free corn flakes!

What a nice warm day to be out.

Maybe we do need a recipe thread!

However.......here it is. Simple but messy, and it is nice to have kids around to put the cinnamon decors on as you go:

30 marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups cornflakes

Melt butter and marshmallows in microwave, (my original recipe says "double boiler")
Add green food coloring and vanilla. Pour over the cornflakes.
Drop on buttered wax paper, butter your hands and form into wreaths. Decorate and let stand overnight.

They are definitely a favorite and add such a nice touch to the cookie tray. Cabindweller said she had tosend her DH out for more marshmallows because one recipe just wasn't enough.

Happy Solstice all!

Ditto that. Now it's all uphill?

My daughter turned 49 yesterday. I never liked the nine years.

Have lots of bulbs showing and things are growing.

Thank goodness it is finally here!

Took a walk through town, and up through the ravine back home, no real birds around, and it was cold! The front last night really did a whammy on us!

It's been pleasant here the last few days, a real teaser. Now the cold is coming back, thankfully not as bad as before. I can see bulbs starting to peek through, so at least some of my late daffodils are still alive. In case I get busy again and am not around. Merry Christmas Everyone!! I hope you enjoy your holidays with family and friends.

Forgot to say thank you for the recipes!!

The weather here is cool but clear with no rain expected after a few drizzles this morning. Very nice for all those shops hoping for a little business. The lights downtown are so pretty and people seem to be in high spirits. A few of my blue berry bushes are looking more like Charley Brown twigs than bushes. Maybe if I sweet-talk them they will revive in the spring.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

28* and a heavy, heavy fog.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas !
And to all a Good Night.