New Years Eve Breakfast Scones

New Year’s Eve begins with a homemade breakfast, this year I’m trying out a White Chocolate Raspberry scone mix from Rabbit Creek Gourmet Food Products.  The packaging included a small whisk to combine the scone ingredients and water. The amount of product, according to the instructions yields about 16-18 scones. I made 6 rather large scones with this batch. In doing so, I increased the length of time recommended to cook the scones; from 14 minutes to 20 minutes.  Oh did these taste heavenly, you can see the dense amount of raspberry and white chocolate chips in the raw mix.  A tasty twist on an old tradition.
In the photo below, I’ve mixed the white chocolate raspberry scone ingredients and ready to place on cookie sheet:

In the oven – nice and hot:

Finished product served with Strawberry, Apricot preserves and Cranberry applesauce.

Philadelphia Snowmageddon 2010

On this last week of the year 2010, I’m pleased to have taken time off from work reflecting on events of this year and enjoying the foot of snow blanketing Philly.

Buster, my not-so-little love bug pet, is in his favorite element – snow! He and I spent time this morning traipsing through snowy woodlands across the street from my house. I love his smile when we walk together.

I’ve never encountered such an expressive dog – he communicates so much just through facial gestures. He rarely barks, just uses various expressions to get his humans to comply to his wishes. Simply amazing.

In case you are wondering, Buster is a Pomeranian and American Eskimo mix. I rescued him two years ago and can’t imagine him not in my life.

The snow necessitated changes in plans for this week, but it opened avenues of other joys.  I hope all are taking a moment or two to enjoy this snowmageddon. I’m glad I did.

Christmas 2010

Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves. ~Eric Sevareid

May all my readers have a Merry Christmas full of peace and love, surrounded by family and friends.

Yule Lore

Winter Solstice or Yule – the longest night of the year brings a mythic tradition that sees the replacement of the Holly King with the Oak King.

Note To Self – Do Not Munch On The Rosemary Tree

Picked up this delicious and fragrant twist on the traditional evergreen Christmas tree at Trader Joe’s. Every time I walk into the kitchen I catch the scent of rosemary. What a great way to celebrate the season and season your cooking 🙂

When I’m Not Gardening…I’m Running

What a fun run had by all this past Saturday! I recorded a personal best in the 5K (31:54) coming off of a knee injury this just rocks my world. An 8 am start at a brisk 31 degree temperature was a new challenge for me. In addition, the last time I did street running was the MCM 10K. Despite the cold, the early start time and unfamiliar course; I owned this run, instead of the trail owning me.  Lansdowne is about 45 minutes away from where I live; with an 8am start time, I was on the road at 6:00 am.

 

Many thanks to my good photo buddy, Neocon,  for taking time to photograph this fun run.  You can view the rest of his photos HERE.