I haven’t posted a yearly cookie tray since 2015. In the years since, I often made at least one type of cookie (usually a cut-out sugar cookie). This year, I will make cut-out sugar cookies with my niece. Last year my Mom wanted an assortment so I attended a cookie exchange. Mom asked me to make my own assortment of cookies this year since she prefers mine. It was my first time since I was married to make 5 different types and freeze. I hope that my family enjoys!
Cream Cheese Spritz – I don’t like working with a cookie press – it always causes me trouble but I like the taste of these cookies.
Rum Balls – This was my first time making Rum balls. I rolled some in powered sugar, some in cocoa powder. We will see how my family likes them.
Peanut Butter Munchies – These cookies take a little bit of effort but it is worth it! I put the cookie dough and filling on separate sheets of waxed paper to divide each into the 32 portions.
Candy Cane Cookie – These take a long time to shape but they are very cute and tasty.
This year because I was busy on a special project at work, I was unable to make gingerbread in time for the Eastman Museum (they need it in the beginning of November) but I was able to make a small easy creation for myself in December.
My friend Deborah and I celebrated our 5 year friendiversary with a dinner at my home. I made the tart and salad. I would make both again! The small tarts were fun and delicious and the Almond Lime dressing was Wow! Deborah made the attractive and delicious cake. It was a fun evening.
Vegan Honey Nut Winter Squash Cake with maple syrup and pumpkin pie spices topped with a cream made of cashew butter, maple syrup, dates, vanilla, and coconut milk. Decorated with the last flower from Deborah’s garden.
My Mom and I prepared a Vegetarian Thanksgiving this year in Delmar, NY. My friend Carol and I drove the 3.5 hours to the Albany, NY area on the morning of Thanksgiving. My brother and his wife were supposed to join us Thursday evening but my Dad’s 91 year old Aunt died so all of our plans changed. Carol and I only spent one night and my brother didn’t come since my parents had to leave early on Friday to drive out of town for the wake and funeral. Our menus changed but I still had a nice Thanksgiving with Carol and my parents.
As usual, my Mom set a beautiful table. She spray painted artificial pears and added names at each place setting. She made the floral arrangement in a antique family ceramic turkey that my Mom’s grandpa gave her Mom.
Breakfast: Pumpkin French Toast (recipe at end of this post) with Turkey shaped butter and maple syrup
Appetizers: Assorted cheese and Wegmans Entertaining crackers
Soup: Pumpkin soup (with vegetable broth) served in small pumpkins, Cheese bread with Turkey shaped butter
Vegetable Wellington (I used frozen Puffed Pastry with homemade pesto, goat cheese, roasted zucchini, red bell pepper and asparagus), served with Citrus Beurre Blanc sauce
While preparing my Thanksgiving collection to share next week, I noticed I had never made a rice turkey. The lack of a rice shaped turkeys inspired this meal I made for myself.
In my quest to try more vegetable forward meals, my parents and I tried roasted cabbage steaks for dinner. We served it with a lemon and maple ricotta. It was something different and we would have it again but the cabbage slices should be thinner so they cook faster.
Cabbage Steaks with Ricotta cheese mixed with a little fresh lemon zest and a drizzle of maple syrup.
I made this dinner when my parents visited in October. The salad went well with the gratin. The Butternut Squash Gratin was delicious and I expect to make this meal again.
In less than 2 years, I completed renovating / decorating all the rooms in my house. I am proud of the work my parents and I did. To celebrate I hosted a small open-house style housewarming. I never thought of myself as a decorator and I still don’t but I was able to decorate my house to fit me and make it my dream house. I am glad the renovations are over, I will have more time to focus on other things. When guests visit my home they are impressed with my organization and decorating. I get a lot of comments that my house should be on HGTV.
DRINKS
Orange Water – Water with ice and sliced orange
Mulled Apple Cider – Used apple cider instead of juice, didn’t use maple syrup or rum
SWEETS / SNACKS
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls – I used white chocolate with blue food coloring and a sandwich bag to pipe on little butterflies.
Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting – Funfetti cake mix with homemade frosting and a sprinkle of pink sanding sugar.
Mini Apple Pie Cheesecakes – I halved the sugar in the cheesecake, did not include the brown sugar in the filling, didn’t use the sugar in the topping, and didn’t use the caramel sauce.
My parents joined me this year for Halloween at my house. We each carved a pumpkin (in the photo above from left to right to right – Mom, Kathy, Dad). Dad made pizza with a face for dinner.
I put the trick-or-treat items in individual bags because it limits greedy kids taking two or three. Even with full-sized candy last year I had the issue last year of some kids grabbing multiples. I was not as prepared as usual this year so I only had full-sized candy for five — Nerds (put in the jack-o-lantern bags). All of the bags received candy rings, Utz Halloween pretzels, and Haribo Gummy Bears. I bought a Halloween book for my 2 year old next door neighbor. We wrapped it in tissue and added a pack of pretzels on top.
I had 27 treats prepared. The first kids arrived at 6:30 pm and by around 7:30 pm I was out of treats but it seemed like just stragglers at that point. Last year I only received around 30 kids. I was impressed at how polite the kids were. It was cold, around 39 F, but it was fun.
I made this dinner for my parents and myself. It was an easy make ahead dinner. I prepared it the night before. When I wanted to serve it, I only had to reheat.
Twice Baked Potato Jack-O-Lantern – cut baked potatoes in half, scope out cooked potato (careful to leave some shell), mix the scoped potato with a little butter, shredded orange cheddar, salt, and pepper, fill shells with potato mixture, garnish with pumpkin seeds to look like a Jack-O-Lantern.
Tomato Soup – This was easy to make and delicious!
This is supposed to be a bat. I think it does not look like one because I have the eyes in the wrong place. I made this for a night I had Carol over for individual themed dinners.
Left Side: Bat – Mashed potatoes with Mexican cheese blend cut with a cookie cutter, Eyes – dried blueberries, cinnamon, 20 Minute Mole Sauce (modified to be mild)
Top Right: Bat – Reese’s peanut butter cup cut with a cookie cutter, peanuts
Bottom Right: Stars – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, blackberries
Left Side: Spiderweb – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Black beans and salsa mixed in a food processor and then piped with a zip lock bag, black beans, salsa
Top Right: Spider – Cheddar cheese rubbed with smoked paprika, roasted green beans
Bottom Right: Spider – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, rubbed with cinnamon, blackberries
Today I am revealing my renovated hallways. I am happy with the end results and am glad it is finally done. The last item was the carpet runner for the stairs.
Window Film: I bought it from Lowes. Elizabeth helped me to install. It was a 2 person job.
Stairs Runner: I bought this from a local store. It was a struggle to find something to match my floor. It actually looks better in-person than in the photo. It is not perfect but at least I have a fresh clean runner that is comfortable to walk on.
Corner Shelves: I can’t find this anymore but my Dad installed them for me shortly after I bought the house. I wanted a location for seasonal decor. I enjoy decorating for the holidays and this location is visible from my kitchen and is outside my bedroom. I have space between the 2 shelves since for Christmas and Easter I put trees on the bottom shelf.
I made mole sauce with mashed potatoes on a night that I also made a themed meal for my friend Carol. Since Carol does not like spicy food, I made a mild version of mole. It was good and added variety to my normal menu of themed food. This was supposed to look like the Big Dipper.
Left Side: Fairy – Polenta cut with a cookie cutter, Eyes – cinnamon attached with a toothpick, Mouth – red food coloring marker, Wand – pretzel stick with Star – cheese cut with a mini cutter, peas
Top Right: Rainbow – Red, yellow, green bell pepper
Bottom Right: Butterflies – Carrot cut with a mini cutter, fresh mozzarella balls
I made this because of my goal this year to explore flavor. It was something different to try but I don’t expect a lot of onion marmalade to be in my future.
Ciabatta
Onion Marmalade – I used red onion, reduced the portion and sugar.
This is my basement storage room. I did not plan to reveal it here but I had several requests from people who knew I worked on it. From July to August, I spent a lot of time working in this room (and complaining). The old carpet was glued to the concrete floor. It was a lot of work to remove the carpet, and adhesive and prepare the floor for painting. My parents helped me at the end of the project to sand and paint the floor.
Floor: Concrete Floor Paint Epoxy in Rio Rust
Switch Plates and Outlet Covers: I decoupaged scrapbook paper onto the covers.
Curtains: I removed the doors and added 2 shower curtains. Because the ceiling is low near the closet, I couldn’t have doors that opened out. It was difficult to access the full closet. Now with the curtains, it is easy to access my holiday decorations stored in this closet.
Wire Shelves: I already had these.
Small Table: Folding table from Target. This table makes it convenient to look through my holiday decorations.
White Cabinet: I had this cabinet in my apartment.
Bottom Right: Acorns – cut flour tortilla with a cookie cutter, place on cookie sheet with parchment, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle caps with paprika and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.
Left Side: Apple Tree – Cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Top of Tree – homemade pesto with dried cranberries, spinach leaves, Trunk – soy sauce brushed on top
Right Side: Diced apple, toasted walnuts, cinnamon, plain Greek yogurt
Today is my Dad’s birthday. Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated my Dad’s birthday at my parent’s Lake House. My brother and sister-in-law celebrated with us. Our celebration included the birthday breakfast he requested (part of my traditional Christmas breakfast) and a multi-course Italian dinner. My brother and sister-in-law made the birthday banner at my request since Amazon lost the one I ordered.
Grandma’s Salad – Iceberg, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt
Garlic Bread – Italian bread with butter and garlic powder, wrapped in foil and baked for 25 minues.
Eggplant and Zucchini Rollatini – We loosely used this recipe but did not use spinach or egg and made a zucchini option. My Mom made the sauce.
4 Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce – I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in the freezer), boiled just before serving, served with my Mom’s homemade tomato sauce. Locatelli cheese garnish. I made 4 cheese filling instead of my normal 2 or 3 cheese to make it special. The family requested that I make 4 cheese all the time now.
Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Butter Sage Sauce – I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, Spinach leaves chopped in a food processor, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in the freezer), boiled just before serving, served with butter melted with fresh sage leaves.
Italian Cheeses, Grapes, Chocolate Covered Figs, Asian Apple-Pear
Mini Cannoli with Chocolate Chips – I bought the mini cannoli shells online, and used this filling but reduced the sugar.
Pignoli Cookies – My Mom made these. I had to tell many people not to eat them before dessert. They kept disappearing.
DINNER
BREAKFAST
When I asked my Dad what food he wanted to celebrate his birthday, he requested my traditional potatoes with dijon dip, and citrus with mint sugar that I make for Christmas. We also served scrambled eggs.
When my paternal Grandma was 94, she said that she wished should could be 80 again. My Dad smiled when I told him what she said. Happy Birthday Dad!
Here is my blue and white themed home library. My parents and I did a lot of work in this room. It took longer to complete than other rooms since I needed to wait for the carpenter to build the shelves (took a year from when I ordered them) and I had to wait for the new French Doors (6 months from when I ordered them). As you can see in the “before” photos, I completed transformed this room. I love it!
Lake Como Art: This is from my maternal Grandparents. I remember it hanging in their homes. My Grandpa bought it in Italy.
End Tables: My maternal grandparents had these in their first apartment. My Mom painted them to coordinate with my home library. I love that they have blue glass.
Lamps: I had these in my apartment. I bought them at Marshalls.
My parents and I had this lunch at their lake house. My Mom made the Tomato Gratin, she based it on this recipe but assembled it on large tomatoes and added mozzarella cheese. They were delicious! We served with mixed nuts and crunchy green grapes.
When my parents were here, one night I made Dirty Martini Pasta. My maternal Grandpa drank martinis so I thought it would be a fun meal to make and explore flavor. I miss him sometimes. I used Lemon Vodka. I added too many green olives but it was nice to make something different. I served it with a simple Caprese Salad of fresh mozzeralla balls, tomato, basil, salt and pepper.
As part of my yearly goal to explore flavor, I made the vegan version of BLT’s. In 2019, I ate coconut, tomato, and lettuce sandwiches at a restaurant. I loved it, especially the coconut bacon. The restaurant where I had the sandwich is no longer open so I finally decided to make my own coconut bacon and serve the sandwiches to my parents when they visited. We all enjoyed!
I have been a vegetarian since I was 2, I don’t know if I ever ate bacon but I have always enjoyed smoky food. As a child my Grandpa let my sister and I pick out candy at the store after church when he bought a newspaper. I always got smoked nuts instead of candy. I often put smoked paprika in recipes. I used Hickory smoke with this coconut bacon but I wonder if I will like any of the other liquid smoke flavors. It is an interesting flavor to explore.
Coconut Bacon (I used Hickory liquid smoke – it is wonderful to keep the coconut bacon in the freezer and use as desired)
Iceberg Lettuce
Wegmans Multi-Grain bread toasted
Tomato Slices
Mayonnaise (I was going to make vegan garlic aioli but I got lazy and knew that my parents like mayonnaise)
This year for my birthday I decided to host a dessert party with my parents and friends. 6 of us were available to gather for the occasion. I enjoyed making 4 different individual desserts. I expect that there will be more dessert parties in my future. They are easier to host than a tea or dinner party. The food was mostly make ahead. We all enjoyed this fun, attractive, and delicious party!
I made this lunch for my Mom when at my parents Lake House. We enjoy watching the many hummingbirds that use the feeders and flowers on the front deck.
Left Side: Tornado – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, Black beans and salsa mixed in a food processor and then piped with a zip lock bag, green peas
When I asked my friend Yuko what theme lunch she wanted she said, “Summer Festival“. I represented goldfish, fireworks, and the characters for “Summer Festival”.
Container: Cloud box from Japan (set of 3)
Top Box: NatsuMatsuri – Summer Festival – carrots cut with a Hiragana cookie cutter, peanut butter, celery, peanuts, Goldfish – grape tomatoes, cheese cut with a straw, food coloring marker detail
Bottom Box: Fireworks – Nishiki rice pressed in a round rice mold, soy sauce, spinach slightly wilted a few seconds in the microwave, cheese and food coloring marker details, blueberries, romaine
After spending the weekend at the Lake House with Yuko and Takeshi, I was happy to host them overnight at my house. I made us a simple make ahead ravioli dinner. Of course I wanted to make it cute. Yuko likes dogs, so I made a dog themed meal.
Dog Ravioli: I used my favorite pasta dough, filling – Ricotta, Asiago, salt and pepper, (I made and put them in my freezer 2 weeks ahead), boiled just before serving, served with homemade tomato sauce I made and put in my freezer.
Roasted Broccoli: Broccoli florets with a little salt and olive oil, roasted at 400 for 25 minutes.
Chocolate Dog Cookie: I used this recipe and baked the cookies 2 weeks ahead and put in my freezer.
Top: Train – Nishiki rice shaped in a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, salsa, black beans and salsa (blended in a food processor), Cheddar cheese, Easy Edamame Salad (I didn’t use the snap peas, scallion, or sesame seeds)
Left Side: Train Track – melted chocolate piped from a zip lock bag over apple, blackberries
Right Side: Rail Road Crossing Sign – Cheese with food marker details, peanuts
Left Side: Elephants – Havarti Dill with smoked paprika details, bell pepper, blue potato cut with a cookie cutter, roasted, zucchini cut with a cookie cutter, hummus
Top Right: Macadamia nuts
Bottom Right: Elephant – Apple cut with a cookie cutter, cinnamon details, blackberries
Eclectic Lamb 
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