It's a lack of time management that causes these things to happen.

Dear Secret Blogiary,

I haven’t been as attentive as I would have liked and truly – though I am sure you have heard this before – it isn’t you, it’s me. I have been, well, occupied with going crazy. November through January is always a rough time for me in terms of blogging.

First, of course, there is NaNoWriMo, which, by the way I won for the second year in a row. I hated the end result, but I finished and while I think the story has a good premise, I do not think I executed it well. Honestly, now that I have two months between us, I can tell you that the story was possibly some of the worst written drivel I have ever written. Which, although harsh, is true and good, because without being able to recognize the bad in what I write, how will I ever improve?

NaNo also lead Mister W and I on some very long and deep conversations about the meaning of my life and where I want it to go. Clearly, if you recall, I have been displeased… Hell, downright miserable with my job and Mister W has been nothing but encouraging me to follow my dream of writing full time. So I have been playing with story ideas and characters…we’ll see what happens in the coming months.

NaNoWriMo gave way to the holiday season when I am in my personal happy place. I love the holiday season. I take pleasure in everything: songs, food, gifts. And this year I threw myself into making quite a number of handmade gifts, namely crochet and food items. Between baking and wrapping, trimming and drinking my spiked eggnog, I didn’t have much time at all to think of you. I lurked on a few other sites like an innocent peeping Tom, but I didn’t have much to say, so I kept everything hush-hush.

December was also a time for family and I had a houseful. Again, I was in my element because I take great pleasure in entertaining and making people feel welcome, happy and pampered.

Big Sis and Little Sis took much of my time as well, not that I am complaining. Every moment spent with the Girls is good. Board games, Munchkin, new Wii games and scooters kept us busy.

Crafting has also been a big distracter! I got a loom for Christmas so I have been spending time learning how to weave! So fun! With the little taste I got from the table top loom I am eager to move on to a larger floor loom and then…Who knows!? Maybe a spinning wheel and a few alpacas!



My Beka Loom

My crochet has also brought in a bit of money. After a few of my colleagues saw a scarf and hat I made for myself, I received a few requests for scarves, hats and baby blankets. As in people want to give me money to make something for them. Give me money to do something I love to do!! What is that saying? You know, about doing something you love? Well, let me tell you, Mister W is keen on that idea. As much as he is encouraging me to write, he is also pushing me to sell my skills. He doesn’t even blink anymore when I bring home a new skein of yarn!

So that’s what I have been up to. Now it is a new year. My inkwell is full and I have a brand new sheet of ecru parchment, shiny and crisp just waiting to absorb my thoughts and experiences, my joy and my sadness.

Sunday Supper

Dear Secret Blogiary,

As envious as I am of other food blogs like The Pioneer Woman and Bakerella I thought I'd try my own hand at it. After spending far too much time in the kitchen for a simple meal, I've come to the conclusion that if I do this more, it will probably only happen on Sunday when I have the time to play with my food and the camera.

So here is my first ever Sunday Supper:

Sweet Potato and Ham Soup and Homemade Applesauce

First the sweet potatoes: three large ones will do



Bake at 400 for 45 minutes or until soft. Let them cool slightly and then strip peel them.

See how the skin just falls away?

See all that good caramelazation that took place in the oven?

In batches, puree sweet potatoes with 3 14.5 ounce cans of chicken stock (I use low sodium)

Pour into pan (I ended up using my crock pot because I was using my only large stock pot to make the applesauce)

Bring to a simmer and then add 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. Stir and simmer some more. Then add some ham cubes.

Simmer some more and then add about half a cup of heavy cream.

Don't measure.

Really don't. Do this part to taste.

I always end up adding more than a half cup.

Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.

Oh. Yum.

This is a perfect soup for autumn.

Creamy, filling, with just a touch of heat from the cayenne.

Perfect.

And then onto dessert.  

Although really, can applesauce really be considered dessert?

According to Big Sis and Little Sis, this is the best dessert ever!

I start with a mix of apples.

Today, I used Gala, Granny and Red Delicious

(sometimes, I get daring and add in pears, too!)

Peel 'em.

Core 'em.

Coarse chop 'em.

Mix 'em with cinnamon, sugar and 1/4 cup water

(nope, I didn't measure these out either)

Cover and cook 'em over medium heat until they start to bubble.

Stir then turn the heat to low, cover, and let simmer, occasionally stirring.

Until you end up with this:

Admittedly, these are not very complicated recipes. But they are oh so good.

The applesauce is particularly versatile. Mister W likes to eat his over vanilla ice cream - like apple pie ala mode with out the crust. Big Sis loves to dip graham crackers in hers. Little Sis eats it as is. I've also used it to replace oil in certain recipes and in a spice cake. You can also cook this down even further if you are opposed to chunky style.