And speaking of candy canes dancing . . . I was pretty thrilled to find these all natural organic ones, and the fact that they are PINK makes me want to dance! I hung them all over the Christmas tree, but they're disappearing fast. Can't blame it all on the kids either. Or elves. I've discovered they make pretty good peppermint cocoa. We found them at our local co-op market; more about them HERE. The December/January issue of MaryJanes Farm is full of sweet things too and nifty ideas for "upcycled" holiday crafting. I was happy to see over a dozen recipes for soup included. Because we are big on soup around here, especially this time of year.
I always make mine in an extra-large crockpot, starting first thing in the morning. That way I get the added benefit of smelling it simmering all day long and knowing that dinner is cooking itself while I am busy bouncing from one activity to another. Any left-overs get ladled into 16 oz. mason jars and stored in the fridge. It keeps well--for up to a week, even longer if you use freezer jars and freeze it. (Good idea to label with the date.) After a day or so, the flavors "marry" and the soup is even better the second time around. It is so nice to have the convenience of canned soup at hand, that is nutritiously homemade (and economical). Shown are a few jars of vegetable soup I made last week. Let soup cool a bit before screwing on the lid.
Like everyone else, I have been super busy these last few weeks, but I made time to slip away and visit my favorite thrift shops. I've got more pictures to show you of some of the neat things I came across. Here's an old chair covered in patchwork that I thought was brilliant. And get a load of that red aluminum tree!
