Best of Yule: Holiday Favourites

So two months is too long to not have popped in here to say hi.  Let's just say October and November were off the charts busy, but now I'm finding a quiet moment on a Mid-December afternoon to say hi.  I've got a little Baileys in my coffee (because it's December), and a gingerbread cookie (or two)  keeping the coffee company.  My old grey cat is curled up in a ball by my feet and when the furnace cuts out I can hear her purring.  It's cozy, to say the least.  The last few days have been particularly awesome around here.  I received my first royalty cheque in the mail (!!!) - and it was a pretty darn good feeling to tuck it away into my savings account.  Huge thanks to everyone who has purchased my cookbooks far this year.  I wish I could hug you all!  And!  I found out that All the Sweet Things won a Gourmand World Cookbook Award!  My cookbook won the national competition in the Best First Book category and will go on to represent Canada at the Gourmand Awards Ceremony in China May 2018.  Exciting stuff!  No, I won't be going to China to cheer it on - but my heart and spirit will definitely be there.  What a wonderful early Christmas present!

Watermelon, Pomegranate and Feta Salad with Mint

This is a sponsored post.  I was compensated financially by the National Watermelon Promotion Board.  As always, I wouldn't tell you about a product unless I really really love it.  And I love watermelon.  

So, we're in the thick of it, aren't we?  Hustling to and fro, going to holiday parties and Christmas concerts, and doing our best to make the season bright.  If you're like me, and busy busy busy, you're behind on your baking and unsure if those Christmas cards will be sent out before the Big Day.  Don't fret.  Do the best you can.  And if in doubt, hum along to Good King Wenceslas.  It works!  I swear!  And, of course, the Plan B is always a shot of something boozy into a hot beverage.  Baileys in hot chocolate is a fave around here!

A Winter's Salad of Dates, Pomegranate & Fresh Mozzarella

Oh me, oh my.  You guys.  I've just returned from one of the best weeks of my life.  For real.  No joke.  I'm serious.  Phoenix was all kinds of over-the-top fun.  So many moments seized; so many times I had to pinch myself it was real.  I'll tell you all about it...in good time.  I'm a total meanie, I know!  There are photos that need to be tinkered with and a million thoughts running through my brain, but hopefully by the weekend you'll hear all about it.  In the meantime I have a lovely, lovely salad to share with you.  See, I'm not a total meanie, after all.  

A Little Balance: Persimmon & Pomegranate Salad

 

Full disclosure:  I wasn't going to tell you about this salad.  A light, simple supper of fruit does not shout from the roof tops "killer blog post idea!", but here it is and for good reason.  This salad is kind of awesome.  I know you've seen persimmons in the grocery store and not known what to do with them.  I've been there.  You pick some up and let them hang out on the counter, glancing at them daily just to make sure they're still there.  A week goes by and you do a google search to find out if yours are ripe yet.  They are.  Now what?  Sure you could bake with them, or eat them with yogurt and granola, or dip them in chocolate, but they are also quite wonderful when paired with the other seasonal fruit - the bodacious pomegranate.  The ruby-like arils complement the persimmon's sweetness perfectly.  And heck, don't they just look so pretty side by side?  I've heard of people whacking the pomegranate to death to get at the fruit.  Such violence is not my style.  I like to remove the nubby top with a pairing knife, score the sides and pull the pomegranate in half.  There's something incredibly meticulous and pleasurable about peeling the membranes off the arils - one by one.  Time consuming, yes, but taking the time to enjoy the beauty of fruit - well call me crazy, but I call that fun - especially with a little Christmas music in the background and slippers on the feet and snow falling outside.  Sunday afternoon bliss. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Pears & Blue Cheese

Inspiration for these pages seems to strike at the oddest times.  A couple of weeks back I found myself, yet again, in the chair of my dentist.  She's a great woman.  Wants me to call her Eunice.  She knows her way around a root canal like no body's business.  Yet, no matter how nice my dentist is, when it comes time for the massive needle to inject freezing fluid into my face, I'd rather be anywhere but there.  After what seemed liked an eternity, I was left alone with the latest issue of Fine Cooking to tide me over while the freezing did its thing.  Dentists aren't keen on drilling into your teeth unless they are positive you can't feel such torture.  Sweethearts, aren't they? Good thing I had such enjoyable reading material.  Just as my nose began to freeze, and then my eyebrow (so not joking about that - it was trippy) I spotted the salad.