News from Weed.........

We have had a good week............
continuing to open more boxes and find either treasures
we cannot live without or stuff we need to give away!
Meanwhile, the weather continues to entertain us with
a variety of winds and snowfall combined with some
sunshine here and there. Next week the weather is supposed
to get warmer and sunnier.
All the while we marvel over how lucky we were when we moved.
We had two solid weeks of warm sunny days which made it
so much easier for the movers and us!
Soon we will be able to start working outdoors on our
vegetable garden and changing the landscaping a bit.
Over time I would like to replace the lawn with woolythyme
and start putting in lavender, rosemary and Russian sage.
Supposedly the deer and bunny rabbits don't like these herbs.
We shall see!

During the last snowstorm I found this "bunny" shaped snow clump .

The trees have snow stuck to them like a snake skin.
As the sun comes up they will shed this snow.....

I'm still making cookies-this time Ewana's Molasses Gingersnaps....yummy

and of course we are enjoying our dinners with
fresh bread, wine and each other.
Bon appetit everyone!

U is for Unbelievably Easy Cookies......... and V is for Vegan

(Above is a photo of the shortcake cookies)

Our good friends Bill and Ewana are both superb cooks.
Here is one of the latest recipes they shared with me:

Molasses Ginger Cookies

2/3 cup canola oil

4 T Molasses

1 tsp ground ginger

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

Mix ingredients together. Add 2 cups flour

Mix with spoon or hands and knead.

Roll into balls and dip in sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes or longer.

YUM

and as a bonus here's another easy cookie recipe:

Cranberry Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen

1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted ( I didn't)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour sifted ( I didn't)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries ( I didn't)

1/2 cup chopped finely walnuts ( I DID!)

1. beat butter,powdered sugar and vanilla with wooden spoon til smooth

Add flour and salt, sti til just combined. Stir in cranberrries and nuts.

Divide dough into quarters.

2. On parchment paper or waxed paper, shape each portion into a log

and wrap. Chill 30 minutes or up to one day.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. With a sharp knife slice dough in 1/4" slices.

4. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet ( I reused paper I used for chilling)

and bake 20-22 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets and transfer to wire racks.

Store in an airtight cookie tin. ( Yeah right as if they'll last a day...burp)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now...onto vegan .....it really isnt that difficult.

Baked potato and steamed broccoli with a nice green salad on the side=Vegan just leave off the bacon bits, butter and sour cream on the potato :-) Substitute chopped green onions and diced avocado on your potato

Garlic Spagetti is a perfect vegan dish=saute in olive oil til almost carmelized garlic, crimini mushrooms and onions while cooking your egg free pasta of choice drain pasta and immediately stir in sauteed veggies. Spice it up with red pepper flakes and enjoy.

Serve with a grain rich bread and a salad. Yummy