Merry Christmas, Mom

I'm always a little ambivalent at this time of the year, due to my mom's passing a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I miss her terribly, because she was such fun. She loved family gatherings, as she would have "new" people to beat at a game of "spades".  I love you, Mom.

This is the time of year that always brings to mind the story of "Stone Soup".  Gatherings, community, and generosity of spirit. There's good mixed with the spirit of christianity. Yes. I know I'm not being politically correct, but this is my blog and if you are offended...I will miss you.

As a child, I learned that all people are christian because the spirit of love and care didn't have to do with your religion. Christianity was love, care, color-blind, and non denominational. Christianity is the universal remote control of the world; it applies to all.

Stone Soup

Two traveling men, were carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. They walked to a village. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.

I tried to locate for you a picture of Stone soup, but still new to blogging and unfamiliar with coding, so I've had to do this manually. Here is a link to the story of Stone Soup for children. The Real Story of Stone Soup This is a nod to the classical Christmas:  The Night Before Christmas

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Chocolate Covered Bacon with Almonds

Michael Symon          

There's no doubt Michael is talented; an understatement, but this is inspired. Dark Chocolate all the way. I'm a firm believer in Belgium chocolate. Belgium so good I would be tempted to add it to my grits.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon
8 oz of chocolate (I used dark chocolate, but milk chocolate would be yummy too)
1/3 cup chopped almonds

Directions:
Cook the bacon until crispy. Set aside and let cool.
In a shallow bowl, carefully melt the chocolate in the microwave, heating for 30 seconds at a time and stirring. When the bacon has cooled and the chocolate is melted, dip each strip into the chocolate and place onto a plate lined with wax paper. Repeat with every bacon strip. If you have any chocolate leftover, freeze the bacon for 10 minutes, then dip each strip again. Sprinkle with almonds, freeze for 10 more minutes, and it's ready to eat!

This being Christmas eve I want to post a few Christmas goodies that I've recently discovered.

Chocolate Bacon Bark

About.com

Semi-sweet chocolate is studded with chunks of crispy bacon and cut into small squares to make Chocolate Bacon Bark. It is important that the bacon be fried until it is crispy, because the crispy texture greatly improves the taste and texture of the final candy--soggy strips of bacon are pretty unappealing!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

·         12 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

·         7 large strips of bacon, fried until crispy

Preparation:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and set aside for now.

2. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in one-minute increments until melted, stirring after every minute to prevent overheating.

3. While the chocolate is melting, chop the bacon strips into small bits. Set aside approximately one-third of the bacon to be used to top the bark.

4. Once the chocolate is melted and smooth, stir in the remaining two-thirds of the chopped bacon, and stir until the bacon bits are well-incorporated.

5. Pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet, and with an offset spatula or a knife, spread it into a thin layer about 1/4” high. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the top evenly with the reserved chopped bacon and press down gently to adhere it to the surface.

6. Refrigerate the bacon bark to set the chocolate, about 30 minutes. Once set, break it into small uneven pieces by hand, and serve immediately. Chocolate Bacon Bark can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Danielle Chole

 LESSON IN LIFE

A wise man sat in the audience

and cracked a joke.

Everybody laughs like crazy.

After a moment, he cracked

the same joke again.

This time, less people laughed.

He cracked the same joke again and again.

When there is no laughter in the crowd.

He smiled and said:

You can’t laugh at the same joke again and again,

But why do you keep crying over

the same thing over and over again?

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When doing all of the right things isn’t enough and it still hurts to breathe:
This is when you need to give yourself permission to Let Go of the Past.