Hot Pots

hort, dark days of January and February bring cravings for a bowl of tasty, warming food. Somewhere between soups and stews, there are wholesome one-pot dishes of Winter vegetables and beans..............quite easy to prepare, and no mountains of dishes to do afterward, lovely!

This vegetarian hot pot includes Winter squash, rutabaga, carrots, white beans................warming and healthy on a cold evening. So get out your sharp knife and chopping block, tie on an apron and let's cook!

~~~ White Bean & Winter Squash Hot Pot~~~

To serve 4
2 cans of Cannellini beans (or use white Northern Beans)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium-sized onion, finely sliced

2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced

2 sticks of celery, finely sliced

1 small rutabaga (swede to the Brits), peeled and cut into small chunks

1-2 small fresh jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and finely chopped

1-1/2 pints vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

3" piece of cinnamon stick

6 stalks of fresh cilantro (coriander) with root if possible

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small acorn or butternut Winter squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into small chunks

1/4 pint heavy cream

1-2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook onions, carrots, rutabaga and celery for 5 mins. Do not allow to brown. Add half the peppers and cook 2 mins. longer. Add the stock, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Cut the stalks and any roots from the cilantro and chop, add to the pan, reserving leaves for later.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for 15 mins. Add the squash, stir and cook 10 mins., then add beans and cook another 5 mins. If still very liquid reduce it by boiling briskly for a few more minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Taste and add more chili pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Add cream, stir and cook for a few minutes over low heat. Chop remaining cilantro leaves and add along with the mint and stir. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Follow a dish such as this with a salad, cheese or fresh fruit...........and of course a piece of deep, dark chocolate.

My dishes but not my dining room unfortunately ~ perhaps the perfect Italian dining room to enjoy a meal on a grey Winter's day.

Bound......and Boundless Books

In the grand scheme of things, old leather bound books catch our eye and cause a gasp...................but remain on shelves, peppered with dust, unreadable, just resting in their glorious beauty, tempting but unattainable.

Beautiful books seen at a shop recently.
This is what I feel like doing today ~ I would be happy curled up on a sunny window seat, surrounded by my new gift books, a cup of warm herbal tea at hand.

Books in Winter ~ Jessie Willcox Smith.

What shall I read first? There are so many to choose from. A little book on Porches from my daughter - you all know about my love of the porch, that great American icon.

The dustcover notes state ~ "The porch is a bridge between the interior life of the home and the world outside - a place to quietly reflect on the day, sit with neighbors and catch up on their news, linger with friends, or be alone with your loved ones and your dreams." Perfect.

Provence Style. Mostly lovely photos to sigh over ~ houses, landscapes, interiors, details. I hope to return to Provence later this year - I want to take photos as lovely as these.

Two special books, tempting tomes - wished for over the past few months. Much too expensive, worth waiting for those discount coupons - Santa used them and left these wished for books in my stocking - guess I was nice after all!





"Freeing your life with words" ~ POEMCRAZY ~ this has to be the perfect book for bloggers, after all we love words even more than photographs, don't we?

"Jubilant . . . More than an instruction book for tapping the creative and beginning to write, Poemcrazy is also about being alertly alive. It is a field guide to imagination. Inspiring, short meditations on scenes or events . . . spark new ways of seeing." (Chico News & Review).


So...............to me this little book, and a great camera, should get one through this often complicated life.



If you've never read Marlena De Blasi's books you are really missing amazing stories of travel, cooking, romance and love. A Thousand Days in Venice and A Thousand Days in Tuscany are so enchanting - books I will return to again and again for their stories, and her earthy writing.

Her new book, a gift to myself, The Lady in the Palazzo, promises even more delicious reading as she, and her Italian husband, move on to Umbria, still searching for their true home.



And, last but by no means least, this tiny little book slipped from crumpled tissue in a large gift bag.........and changed my life! What a special gift from my special friend Su. Excerpted from the bestselling The World According to Mr. Rogers ~ yes, that Mr. Rogers, of "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" ~ this is a book everyone should read, it's amazing. Fred Rogers has left an enduring legacy, be sure to read either version....and this tiny one will only take a little time if you are really, really busy.

Hope you are enjoying whatever you're reading these wintry days. Do you have a window seat? Perhaps you cozy up to the fireplace wrapped in a chenille throw..........or tuck yourself under the duvet and read before turning off the light at night. A book is a special friend at any time.

Transferware tidbits

See that blue bowl? Doesn't it look like English transferware?

Playing Mother ~ Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935)

From A Very Little Child's Book of Stories

Many of you are already collecting 'transferware' and probably know much more about its history than I do. A recent article in Country Living found me running to check my few pieces and in doing so I realized I want more.

In the mid-1700s, a new English transfer-printing process meant that patterns could be reproduced inexpensively compared to hand-painted goods coming from China. (Can you believe the stuff that came from China even that far back). Blue was the first color - still the most popular - followed by brown, black, purple,green, red, pink and yellow (the rarest). I like green and now have started collecting some red and pink pieces.

I was recently asked about my green Torquay patterned transferware below. This is a reproduction of an 1820 English pattern on earthenware, trimmed with matte gold. Made in England and available at retail, it's expensive, so I have just a few pieces that have been gifts from my husband. Why do I love this pattern? Torquay is my home town in England. The pattern depicts seashells and seaweeds found along the South Devon coast where I was born. I spent much of my childhood on the beaches hunting for shells and swimming through tangles of seaweeds.

Do I use it? Of course - in fact I'm off to make a cup of tea right now as it's teatime.

Edited: - For Sherry in answer to her comment. Here is the mark on the back of the dinner plate. This is the green version, it also comes in blue. Here is the link to Replacements Ltd. who carry quite a large stock of both colors.

Below are my red and pink pieces, a mix of styles and makers, and modern reproductions not antiques. These are what I will be hunting down at flea markets and yard sales, and of course I have the great gals at SuzAnna's Antiques looking out for me too.

I don't put sugar in my tea so find this the perfect quote ~

Downtown....the old and the new

Sunday afternoon...............visit to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.......the very interesting Dinosaur Exhibit showing recent new discoveries. Will now add 'Jurassic Park' to my Netflix Queue. This exhibit, viewed alongside a granddaughter, has tweaked more interest - I want to learn more about these long extinct creatures.

On leaving the museum, we walked through downtown. Surrounded by cranes and scaffolding hoisting steel and concrete, new skyscraper tall buildings rise from the pavements and squares. We searched for the old buildings, the brick walls, wood window frames, and lovingly painted trims. They are there, the ones that survived the wreckers ball.
Briggs Hardware Building - c. 1814

Fayetteville Street, Raleigh - 2008

We found a little restaurant inside the old, now extinct - like the dinosaurs, Raleigh Times newspaper building. The tin ceilings, mottled plaster walls and peeling wood remains - the character and history draws us in................we love the old.

Jasmin Against Old Walls - Raleigh Times Bldg. Raleigh 2008

Color Change Photo of chair taken by Jasmin in the restaurant.

Old or new?

January in the Garden

No, this is not me doing the laundry - it's too pretty a day for mundane chores and I've come down with cold - so instead I took a walk in the garden for an extra dose of vitamin D.

You can't even see it, but this was the five minute snow flurry one morning last week! I rushed to the front porch, the tiny flakes whirled in the wind and then were gone ~ was it really a dream, a wish.......no, it snowed just long enough to taunt and tease here in the South.

Today bright sunshine and temperatures in the 70's brings back our Carolina Blue sky making a walk through the Winter garden pleasant. This squirrel's nest high in an oak tree hangs on for dear life - they look so flimsy but will soon hold a new generation of those pesky, but cute, little devils who invade the garden year round.

The ice has melted in the fountain which has become a favorite bird bath ~ this female finch enjoyed a drink and a warm rest in the sun.

Color can be rare in the January garden.................unless you have berry bearing shrubs such as hollies and Pyracantha, at their loveliest when the sun shines, and before the hungry birds devour them.

The Jasmine keeps its green leaves and continues to climb slowly in the sunshine on the front porch.

Light Up Your Life

These candlesticks are faux mercury glass. They are beautiful and inexpensive right now in the sales ~ I found mine at Kohl's and Pottery Barn.

Candles in front of a mirror are lovely, on a chilly Winter night their light is multiplied in a dark corner of the room. I try to burn unscented candles most of the time, however if using scented my preference is Illuminations 'Fresh Air' ~ even fabulous when not burning as it perfumes a room with such a clean smell.

This pair of tapers I found on sale this week ~ I just love them for the dining room table. They appear as being made of wood ~ white birch comes to mind ~ and complement the woven natural straw balls in the urn. I like the contrast of the natural elements with the cloudy vintage crystals dangling from the candlesticks.

This marbleized ball candle is burning down slowly and neatly. Today I picked a single camellia from the garden ~ such an amazing flower opening it's ruffled petals despite below freezing temperatures. But then again........................Nature is full of wonderful surprises.

The mantel always seems somewhat bare once the Christmas decorations have been removed. We are waiting for more snow, not a lot but enough to make a snowball, perhaps a snow person ~ only had a very brief flurry one morning last week. Those of you still digging out, please send some South, although with temperatures expected in the sixties this coming week I guess it wouldn't last long!

~~The clock ticks, the message is clear~~

To all friends on the West Coast, our thoughts are with you during the terrible storms ~ we pray you and your loved ones are safe, and that you will soon have power restored to your homes. This also goes to friends in SE Australia where there is major flooding at this time ~ and to parts of England and other European countries where the Winter weather is severe.

The Forgotten

s I sat dreaming over my new journal entry, I looked up and noticed......................

.....................these!!

Don't you always find some holiday decorations you forgot to pack away? These simple balls are so pretty though - Martha (yes, that Martha!) did have some lovely colors/textures at good old K-Mart this season. In fact......................I went back this week and found a box of the little textured ones on sale ~ they will be packed away for next year.

I decided to look around to see what else I may have forgotten, and of course found these - the last lonely Belgian chocolates languishing in my carnival glass sweet dish. When nobody was looking, I quietly opened the small one and enjoyed - that huge one is still waiting to be picked but I promise it won't be by me!

On the other hand, don't they say a piece of dark chocolate each day is a health benefit?

Oh sweet sleeping putti, I cannot bring myself to pack you away, especially as your bird friend is still resting on your hip. I did remove your Christmas finery and am allowing you to snooze a bit longer in the dining room. Perhaps you can stay here until Spring when I'll move you to the front porch - maybe you'll awaken as the trees turn green again - just a few more months.

~~~~~~~~~~~