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     We did a One Night in Bethlehem activity at our chapel prior to Christmas.   We tried to serve all biblical or middle eastern foods . . .  finger foods, foods that would make great nibbles for the New Year's Eve Buffet table.    I made this lovely feta dip, which was really delicious and tangy and so simple to make.  It is basically just feta cheese, olive oil, thyme and lemon zest and juice blitzed until smooth in the food processor or blender.   Very simple really.      It was absolutely wonderful!   It was nice served with vegetables for dipping and crackers for spreading.  You want something crisp to go with the smooth richeness of this dip.   It went down a real treat.   *Creamy Feta Dip* Makes about 2 cups Printable Recipe   Creamy, sharp and herby.   Goes well with toasted pita chips, raw vegetables, crackers.   Quick and easy to make....

I just love using mincemeat during the Christmas season.   It's one of my favourite ingredients and I am sure I go through several jars.  Each year I try to do something different with it if I can.  There has been a photo circulating on the net and Pinterest over the past couple of months of a nutella bread which is layered and twisted and I got to thinking that the same thing done with mincemeat would be really nice. I decided early on though that I would use puff pastry instead of bread dough however, because I wanted these to be like mince pies.   I also decided that if they were going to work properly I would have to puree the mincemeat a bit so that it wasn't too lumpy. As you can see they turned out really pretty.   Golden on the edges . . . lovely to look at . . . flakey and sweet and spiced just nicely.  I created a thin icing, lightly flavoured with cinnamon (if you want) to drizzle over top once baked and I sprinkled them with some white sp...

Divorce is a funny thing.   You not only lose your spouse but in most cases you lose an entire branch of people that have been your family for a very long time, as if by still associating with you they are being disloyal or some such.  Fair dues.  I completely understand.   This is my ex sister in law's recipe that she shared with me eons ago it seems.  It's the best bean salad you could ever eat.   I love it around the holidays because it goes great on the buffet table, lasts forever and tastes better with each day that passes.  Oh, and it serves a lot of people!  The lime juice is my addition to the recipe.  I like the extra tang it gives. I dug it out and made it recently for a party we were having at church for the ladies.   Each had been asked to bring a salad to share and I thought this would be the perfect one to bring as it makes a lot and everyone always loves it. I was completely wrong.   I was the only one who ...

One thing that I like to make each Christmas is Peanut Brittle.  It's easy to make and makes a nice hostess gift if you are invited out.  I have never had anyone turn their nose up at a pretty little box of it yet! Making it in the microwave takes all the guess work out of it.  It goes together easily and always turns out.  I have never had it fail.   Just be sure to check it frequently and if you think it is getting too brown, stop.  It should never be more than a golden brown. It's made in less than 10 minutes, and that is 10 easy minutes where you aren't standing laborously over a stove, stirring and watching.  The microwave does all the work.  The only thing you need to be careful of is that you use a glass bowl that is truly microwaveable safe and that you use oven mits taking it out of the microwave.  Glass conducts heat very well and this is candy.  Candy is hot. Also be very sure to take great care in handling the sugar mixt...

  The Toddster and I had a pretty in depth conversation the other night about pumpkin.  He thought pumpkin was a very bland recipe.   I had made a delicious pumpkin pie for dessert when we had the missionary elders over and we were talking about pumpkin. He hadn't realized that the pumpkins which are normally used for pumpkin pies are the smaller sugar pumpkin variety.  I know some people use the larger ones and that's ok . . . but if you want a really great pumpkin pie you want to use a sugar pumpkin.  They are lovely and sweet, and I don't think you could call them bland at all! I have always found the larger pumpkins to be lacking in flavour in comparison and their texture is not quite the same.  I do like them roasted though . . . as with any of the autumn vegetables, roasting brings out a lot of the natural sweetness.  I just roast them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Anyhoo . . . this pie I am showing you here today went do...