Weekend Snapshot: Number 17

My weekend snapshot(s) will be Christmas week at my house (Monday the 24th through Saturday the 29th), inside as well as outside.
The shot of my daughter above was taken a few days after Christmas. Her making it home safely was the best present I could have gotten. She had minor travel delays but got to my house around midnight on the 22nd. The sky shot was also taken a few days after Christmas. The sky has been fabulous.Speaking of fabulous, our Christmas dinner turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
The nandina berries above are getting more plentiful on the nandina domestica bushes, every day. The berries are not edible but they brighten up the winter landscape.The mixed lettuce in the salad course, of Christmas dinner, was out of my garden boxes. We've had days when the bird dishes were a solid block of ice but by covering the garden boxes early to trap the sun and leaving them shut during the coldest days, I managed to keep the crop going for my Christmas salad. We're having an unseasonably warm spell at the moment and my protected winter garden continues to do well.When my daughter and I were discussing the menu, in advance of Christmas, she mentioned that my stuffed mushrooms were always good. Therefore, stuffed mushrooms it was.
The squirrel above made me laugh. Actually there were 3 squirrels up to their antics on my deck this Friday but the others scattered, and I only managed to photograph the one.My daughter made an apricot compote which was delicious. The photograph above was taken Christmas eve since she had to chill it over night in the refrigerator.
Above is a closeup of the apricots and other ingredients simmering. Below is a shot of my daughter taking a break from cooking to play Christmas carols.
I love bare limbs in the winter when you can see individual branches. When they leaf out it's harder to see the structure of the tree.
I made up a recipe which turned out so well I'll have to do it again. My daughter is a vegetarian so aside from some delicious Christmas ham which Bill and I had, the rest of the meal was meatless. I found a recipe for pearl onions that looked good but it involved a chicken broth which wouldn't work for my daughter. So I decided to cook pearl onions, garlic, tiny potatoes, and rosemary, in white cooking wine. YUMMY.
The piece de resistance of our Christmas dinner was the dessert which my daughter made. It was sabayon with black raspberries in the bottom.
So that's it for 2007 at my house and on to the New Year. Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and safe 2008 with some adventures that make life interesting.

Weekend Snapshot

Weekend Snapshot