A Cold Winter's Night Comfort Meal

We've worshipped, visited, feasted and given and received gifts. Now our focus turns toward the New Year and resolving to make changes which will better ourselves, our family and community.  I pray that this includes keeping Jesus and the spirit of this giving season in your life, even as we put away our decorations.


 In my family, we've already put away our decorations (usually not done until New Year's Day) and have the house back into some sort of 'order'. 

We had a lovely family Christmas - starting with a couple wonderful worship services on Christmas Eve.




I live in Texas and for us it was a rare White Christmas!  The snow started mid-day after several hours of much needed rain.  It was so beautiful to watch but wasn't without incident.  This is our daughter's car. 

 

We did venture out the day after Christmas and I was able to get a few photos of God's wintery gift. That evening, the moon was so big and bright, and the night was the coldest so far this year.  We made a standard comfort meal for dinner.  It's so easy that I thought you might like the recipe.

 

 Easy Comfort Stew

Put a generous pound of lean stew beef in a baggie with a scant 1/4 cup of flour, and a bit of salt/pepper.  Use a slotted spoon to allow excess flour to fall back into the baggie as you place the floured beef into your pot which has a couple tablespoons of hot vegetable oil.  Turn the heat to medium low.  Once the beef is browned, add a (187 ml) bottle of merlot. 

Scrape all the good bits of browned beef and when it starts to thicken add: a bag of petit carrots, 4-5 stalks chopped celery, a medium chopped onion, 4 medium cubed potatoes, a can of green beans (with juice), a can of crushed tomatos, a Knorr beef Homestyle Stock Concentrate tub, a couple tablespoons dried thyme, a large dried bay leaf (don't forget to remove before serving), and salt/pepper to taste. Add 2-4 cups of water, to gain the consistency you like. Turn the heat to low and let simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.  Just before you are ready to eat, make up your favorite corn bread.  The merlot consistently enhances the flavor, making this a favorite easy, comfort meal.

(Home)Made in America

It was late spring when I decided what I was going to do for the ladies in my family for their Christmas gifts.  It all started with the heartbreaking death of my niece, Amy, who lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis on Easter Sunday.  It was only weeks before her 23rd birthday.  Wanting to do something to bring a bit of comfort to her Mom, I knitted this pink shawl as a "hug" for her to wrap up in and remind her of being loved.  There is a lot of symbolism worked into the shawl.  Once I had completed it, it seemed only natural to knit a shawl for each of the ladies in my family.  Shawls were gifted as I had the time to deliver them, so I didn't think to get a photo of all these creations together. 

This red one is a gift for my husband's doctor, a special family friend.  It is the "I Heart Lace" pattern.

My mom and mother-in-law got the same pattern but in differing colors.  This is the Lilac Leaves pattern by Felicia Lo, knit in Madtosh Merino Light.





 These next shawls are gifts to my sisters. 

                                                    
The blue "Twigs" shawl is for Jan.

The Snowflake shawl is in purple, Sharon's favorite color.




This Scalloped Shell Shawl in two shades of green/blue was knit for Jenny. 


The previous three wraps were knit with merino wool fibers.

This multi-colored Azzu's Shawl was knit for Brandy in a discontinued Noro blend with cotton and silk.



I did get a shawl knit for my daughter.  She requested one knit in "denim" type fiber.  I found this lovely blue to fit the bill and knit up this Helen Bingham shawl for her to wear with her jeans. 

Unfortunately, the only shawl I didn't get finished in time to gift for the holidays is the one she found when we went to the Texas State Fair.  I lack about a third of the motifs, an edging and the blocking.  Still, I think the colors on this Sagrintino Shawl are working out beautifully.  I need another couple days knitting and it will be ready for her to receive.    

     

It wasn't only knitting for gifts.  This year I completed two shawls for myself - the grey Kaw Valley Shawl and the bluebonnet inspired Color Affection Shawl.                                                                                                                                                                                               
  I was blessed to be able to do a bit of knitting for others who enjoy shawls as much as I enjoy knitting them.

It's obvious that I enjoy knitting and to share my work with others brings me great delight.  I hope that you see some lovely items which inspire your creativity.  Since I pray for the recepient as I knit, it is my prayer that each shawl brings comfort and joy to each one of them.

Caramels: Golden Goodness

I finally did something I've been wanting to do for some time. Make caramels. I'm going to take you into my confidence and tell you a secret: I have a minor love affair with this wonderful concoction, especially when it has sea salt included.  Please, please - don't let chocolate know about this, though!










Having never before made this treat, I found two promising recipes on-line.  But being a bit indecisive and entering into the unknown, I couldn't choose - so I made both!  I figured they could have a bit of a competition and my family could judge.

First thing I learned - have a working candy thermometer.  I have three different options but alas, only the cheapest one wanted to participate in this challenge.

Second - use bigger cooking pots than the recipe calls for.  This allows you to cook this gooey goodness over the required medium heat and not have it boil over onto the newly cleaned cooktop.  And it is a shame to waste even one drop of this stuff!

Third - stock up on celephane treat bags when they go on sale after a holiday.  I used ones I had left over, cutting them up into strips to use as wrappers for individual pieces.

Well, my family is certainly enjoying both of these recipes.  When asked to judge, they offered several great points about each recipe, but they ultimately were no help as they each liked a different one!

Each recipe did include heavy cream, white and brown sugars and vanilla.



One recipe has butter and corn syrup. This one has wonderful flavor much like butterscotch. It came out of the pan easier and holds it shape better. It doesn't call for salt in the recipe so I added it to the pan before pouring in the hot molten mix and again immediately after. I was going for a taste of sea salt but must admit that my husband noted the lessor taste of salt as one of his highlight points of this recipe.

The other recipe has no butter, no corn syrup but does have what seems to be an extreme amount of salt included.  Naturally, I used much less salt in the final process to offset this.  My daughter judged this recipe her favorite, in part because of the balanced taste of salt! The thing I noted about this recipe is that it makes about half as much as the other and if we are going to go through the process of messing up the kitchen, we might as well have more at the conclusion! So you might want to make this a double!

Since my husband's and daughter's votes ruled each other out, I have to make a decision. But I don't think I can.  Both have great taste and texture.  Both exceeded my tastebuds hopes.  Both have their pros and honestly, I can't think of any cons.  So the decision is that next time - and, yes, there will be a next time - I may try to combine the best of each of these recipes and come up with something distinctly Krone. 

 

 

JOY Comes in the Morning

Welcome to my blog. I decided that this is a better way of connecting with friends about my favorite things.

People Will Talk is the name I decided on.  Rather than offering opportunities to promote gossip, I will focus on giving people positive things to share and talk about. It is my hope that you will find this a blog of encouragement - for your family, your crafting, and your faith.

So let's jump right in...

There is no doubt that there is much to discourage us happening within our lives and country but this is a time of anticipation. 


Sunday, we light the candle of JOY on our Advent wreaths. 



What is JOY?  Well, it is more than just a feeling of being happy.  It is an overwhelming sense of hope, peace and love -
I believe brought from a relationship with Christ - and all together combine to fulfill the circle of our Advent celebrations.

I have great faith that we continue to have much in our lives which brings us JOY.  If you are reading this, you woke up this morning - and that's a starting point. Technology, shelter, food, friends, family and opportunities add to our blessings. What brings you JOY?

I find great JOY in seeing God in the world around me.  We just have to seek Him and we certainly will find His touch everywhere. 

  In the midst of seasons of cold and ice,

                                                                              when the rain falls,

 and when we welcome spring blossoms.

In future blogs I will share more of my photography. You will read reviews of my latest crafting projects, experience a taste of what's baking, and become participants in my life and daily activities. 

Welcome!