Advent

Advent, Advent,
A little candle burns.
First one, then two,
Then three, then four–
Then stands the Christ child,
Before our door.

 

We began celebrating the advent when my family moved to Germany when I was a child. Each Sunday of the advent season we light a candle–adding one each week until Christmas. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to slow down during this busy time of year. It’s a way for us to feel the dark, and a way for us to look forward to the light which begins returning after the solstice. And to welcome the spiritual light we feel in celebrating the birth of Christ.

Upcycled Scarf Draft Stopper

A downside to living in an old house in the winter are drafts.  I can see daylight under my front door–when it is closed–so we need some serious draft protection.  I used an old hand-me-down scarf  and some flannel scraps to make a draft stopper.

 

I began by folding the scarf over on itself and sewing the two long edges together to make a long tube.

 

I used the flannel to make two little rice pouches to weight the ends.   I sewed one end of the tube closed, turned it right-side out, and inserted the first rice pouch.  I stuffed the tube full of batting (you could use fabric scraps or anything) to as long as my door is wide, then added the second rice sack, and sewed the other end of the tube shut, trimming the edges.

 

It works pretty well.  And if the baby hadn’t ripped down the insulation strip that I glued to the inside of the door frame–we could be even warmer.  Alas!

 

Pretty useful, and not too hard on the eyes for something made of things we already had.   Bring on the wind.

Zuppa Toscana

The way we discovered this recipe is a pretty entertaining story.  Jeremy was working on his masters thesis on edible landscapes.   When talking over wintertime possibilities with his instructor Jeremy said, “Kale grows in the winter.”

His adviser replied, “Yeah but no one actually eats kale Jeremy!”

He took that as a personal challenge and we discovered how to eat kale.  He ended up taking the soup to his next committee meeting and his adviser stood deliciously surprised and corrected!  This recipe has been a favorite seasonal winter recipe for us since then.

 

Zuppa Toscana Recipe:

1 lb Italian sausage

4 slices uncured bacon

1 onion, diced

4 cups chicken stock

4 med. potatoes, diced

1 small bunch kale, chopped into half-dollar-sized pieces (4 cups)

1 cup cream

 

In a soup pot cook the sausage. Meanwhile cook the bacon in another pan.  (I do this to save time–if you want to save dishes do it one after another in the same pan as the sausage.)Remove the sausage from the pot and all but about 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat (from the sausage or the bacon).   Saute the onions until translucent.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes and simmer 15-20 or until the potatoes are soft.  Add kale and cook three to five minutes until the kale is bright green and tender to your tastes.  Add the cream and stir to combine.

Serve with a crack of freshly ground pepper.

 

Snow Games

I’m so excited to have a contribution in this seasons issue of The Rhythm of the Home online magazine. It’s a really beautiful resource for seasonal and homemade living .

My contribution is an article about playing in the snow, and explaining an old winter snow game that my dad taught my siblings and me from his childhood in Southern Utah. Go check it out–along with all the other great articles!

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