There are lots of little natural touches you can add to your home to "bring in the green" this Winter Solstice, Yule and Christmas Season!  Here's a few quick and easy ideas:

• Orange and clove pomanders
• Trim the corners of your doors with sprigs of holly
• Make a wreath starting with a wicker frame and add branches from your Christmas tree, some holly, winter berries, pine cones and anything else you can find in your garden or nature walks; add ribbon or bells
• Fill a crystal or glass bowl with pine cones, bundles of cinnamon sticks and fancy ornaments

Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2019

Running short of money a couple of days before payday or trying to stick to a budget? Don't have time (or the energy) to run out to the store? If you've got a can of salmon, and a healthy spice cupboard, you might just have dinner.

This recipe is inspired by "Salmon Chops" from Patricia R. Wagner's "Depression Era Recipes" and I altered it a little bit to suit my taste ... and with what was available in my cupboard!  I often turn to her recipes as they are easy, use few or low cost ingredients, and make a good meal in a pinch. 

The beauty of this recipe is that you likely have most of these items already ... and the ones you don't have are easy to stock up on, and don't spoil by storing.  It pays to keep your pantry stocked up on basic items such as the ones used in this "Salmon Cakes" recipe.  The Depression was a time when people had to make do with what they had, and also what was available.  I like to apply that to today by just living simply ... which usually saves money to boot!

Preparing the salad:
In a large mixing bowl create bed of torn spinach and iceberg lettuce.  Add 1/2 cup of red pepper, chopped to desired size, and halved cherry tomatoes. Chop up deli meats and cheese and thinly slice boiled eggs.  Add on top of mixture.
 
Preparing the dressing:
In a small mixing bowl add grape seed oil and slowly combine vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and extremely finely chopped garlic.  Then add dry ingredients (paprika, salt, crushed red pepper and dry mustard).  Use a fork or small whisk and blend well.  Drizzle over salad and toss lightly.

Interested in Cinderella's transformation story?  You can read the first 6 chapters here which follow her Arrival at the Grove until now:

Chapter 1:
creepy-cinderella-creepydolls-collectordolls-vintagedolls.html
​Chapter 2:
creepy-cinderella-creepydolls-collectordolls-vintagedolls7928443.html
Chapter 3:
chapter-3-creepy-cinderella-cinderellas-cleaning-commences.html
Chapter 4:
chapter-4-creepy-cinderella-gets-a-shoe-shine-cinderella-creepydolls-vintagerestoration-vintagedolls.html
​Chapter 5:
chapter-5-creepy-cinderella-saving-a-lost-soul.html
Chapter 6:
​chapter-6-creepy-cinderella-the-dark-side-of-the-year.html

​Okay, now that I have just said something so radical that some of you are literally falling off your chairs; something that goes against seemingly all current and popular way of thinking ... allow me to qualify!
​
But first, a moment of apology to those sputtering these, and other protests; "But I feel better when there is no clutter around!"  "My parents/grandparents stuff is so out-dated .. and I don't want it!" "I have more time to go have fun without having stuff to dust!"  And so on and so forth.  In fact, I do hear this and more, all the time ... ad nauseam.  It is pounded into my head constantly by posts on social media, magazine articles and well-meaning individuals.  And I think these reasons resonate with people because there is indeed value in clearing out useless clutter.  But grant me the opportunity to offer another viewpoint ...  ​

Value in heirlooms

An heirloom is "a valuable object that has been owned by a family for many generations".  Value is determined by you.  And many generations can start with you too!  This really comes home when you have a child.  I take great joy in mixing up ingredients in my Mom's old robin's egg blue Pyrex bowl - but what greater joy is there to watch my daughter do the same thing? ​

Value in keeping hard copies of books, photos, music & film

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE being able to take digital photos and have access to them immediately, without the need for processing or printing them.  And I love scanning old photos, having the ability to restore them and thus prolong their survival.  But printed photos in themselves, have a story to tell and are still necessary to safeguard your special memories.  I have dozens of photos I need to print and I intend to do so.  Once they are printed, I can view them ... all by myself!  It is dangerous to solely rely on a device, that requires power and a provider, in order to view your photos or documents.  The important ones really do need to be backed up on paper.  And a lifetime collection of favourite books, films and music is expensive to reassemble on your devices.  The old joke is that every time the medium changes, we all have to buy "The White Album" again!  But it really is no joke.  At 99¢ a song, that can really add up if you are a serious music lover.  And I had gotten so used to hearing The Beatles on digital recreations that when my husband ran one of my old albums on the turntable; it literally felt like John, Paul, George and Ringo were singing right in the living room!  I had simply forgotten the fantastic and superior sound of vinyl records and all the feelings evoked by hearing these chappies again, properly, ... and re-examining the much worn and loved covers of my 35-40 year old record collection - the best!

Not to mention the sheer pleasure of holding a real book in your hands, late at night, without the added distraction of "firing up" that electronic technology.  Or cooking recipes from your Mom's, Grandma's or even Great-Grandma's recipe books!  Sure, you can look up new recipes on-line and that's great (though I encourage you to compile these new-found recipes into a book of your own) - but what a joy and feeling of connection to see the scribbles, notes, clippings and long-ago food splotches in your Grandma's much utilized recipe book!  I guarantee you will learn something you didn't know about your family by following the path they took in their kitchen on some long ago day.  

Items that can be reused

This is huge for any one committed to "going green".  Old clothes, linens, containers, craft items, school supplies - this stuff adds up and adds to the clutter.  But what a savings to have these items on hand when a costume is needed for Hallowe'en, school plays or dress-up days!  Old clothes that are in good shape should be donated but worn out clothes can be made over into a variety of items - like doll blankets, hankies, catnip bags or potpourri pouches!  The rest can be cut into rags and used for all kind of tasks from polishing furniture to cleaning bike chains.  School supplies and craft items can be sorted through and compared against next year's school list - often saving a fortune in buying all new school supplies each and every year.  ​

I hate to throw out food. It has just gotten too dear to fool around with!

Before Christmas and New Year's we purchase all kinds of groceries and goodies.  We bake and cook - sometimes a little too much in anticipation of guests, and just in the spirit of abundance that Christmas represents.  Hopefully, you have been freezing all your left-overs along the way - especially the best cuts of turkey!

I recommend taking a good look inside your fridge ... and now! Because that food is going to spoil if you don't get to it very soon.  It's too easy to forget about something you bought and didn't use and that is now buried in the fridge, which is overly-stuffed with bits and pieces and left-overs.  So do a proper clean-out to make sure you are saving as much of that food as possible.

Step 1:
What's in your fridge?
Do take a good look on each and every shelf.  Push everything aside so you know what is really in there.  Remove all spoiled food and compost it, wrap up for the "green bin" (if your city provides that kind of recycling service) or toss out.  Don't forget to recycle all those plastic, glass or metal containers .... if you haven't been using your very own covered dishes that is!

Step 2:
What's left?
Now take a look at what is left and prioritize.  Do you have extra cheeses, vegetables and sauces?  Make them part of the next few nights dinner plans so they don't go to waste, with these ideas.

Various kinds of cheeses from cheese platters, sour cream left-over from home-made dips =
"Put-It-All-Together" Macaroni & Cheese
Try recipe here:  february-when-theres-snow-on-the-snowdrops.html

Cherry tomatoes from finger food veg platters =
Use in salads or spaghetti sauce.  Or preserve to use as a tomato sauce later on in the year.
Instructions here: january-make-even-more-of-the-food-you-buy-by-reincarnating-it.html

Left-over root vegetables like turnips, carrots and potatoes =
Roast and serve as a side dish with meatloaf or other meat dish.

Left-over vegetables like brussel sprouts, carrots, celery and peppers =
Make stir fries, soups, omelets or cut up for snacking with hummus.

Left-over tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and cheeses =
Nachos!

Set the bag of frozen cranberries on the counter to thaw. Peel and coarsely chop the apples and lemon. Try and chop the raisins a little bit too!  Then put apples, lemon and cranberries into food processor / chopper, a few at a time, until coarsely chopped. Remove and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the chopped raisins. Then add all the sugar and mix thoroughly until completely mixed. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, mix water, brandy and pectin. Bring to a boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over the fruit and sugar. Continue stirring for another 3 minutes until well mixed but don't worry if a few fruit pectin crystals remain.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal tightly. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Will store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or freeze to keep longer.

It's Christmas Eve and I know you have lots to do ... but since you are probably in the kitchen anyway, you might have just enough time to whip up a batch of fresh Cranberry Apple Chutney to accompany the Christmas turkey this year .. and impress the heck out of folks!