I came home from work, ditched my office clothes and put on my outdoor gear and boots, cause it’s sort of wet outside right now . . . and cold! I’m going for a walk and am going to trim pine boughs from our own trees for decoration. I love this part of decorating. Picking up pine cones and trimming pine trees, all the while listening to the birds and watching the squirrels scatter. This is the royal part!!
I think I’ll make a big batch of chili tonight. It’s cold and this is a perfect time to have some warm soup in your belly. Hmmmm, what should I have with it though . . . cornbread? I’ve downloaded a new recipe I found recently called Herb Coeur a La Crème but it is supposed to sit overnight so I can’t do that today. I might make it this week-end though. It sounds luscious. Maybe I’ll just make one of my quick cheese balls, throw some crackers on the table and come up with some kind of dessert. Nope, I know, instead of a dessert, I’ll make some Lemon Balm Jumbo Raspberry Muffins, that way we'll have some muffins for breakfast too. (Keep your fingers crossed that there’s still some lemon balm in my garden)!! I’ll make up some regular black tea and put some raspberry juice in it and then decorate with a spearmint leaf. That’ll take ordinary up a notch and it will be tasty too.
I’ve got so many frozen red raspberries in my freezer I haven’t even bothered to count. I search for raspberry recipes that can be made from frozen!! I’ve made raspberry sorbet, jam and jelly but it’s only the two of us and you can just make and give so much of it away, so I freeze the raspberries and wait for inspiration. A few summers ago I made shortcake for some guests with home-canned sliced peaches, then tossed in some semi-frozen red raspberries and of course topped it with whip cream and that was a major hit. Simple, cooling and fruity!! We were sitting out after dark around the plant circle by my gazebo. It is a circle made from bricks and in the center is an urn that I like to fill with a huge fern then around that I put various plants. On the bricks I had set 8-10 citronella candles and lighted them. It was a hot and steamy night but the candles kept the mosquitoes away. They served us well. We sat in our chairs, laughed, talked and stared up at the moon and stars and I served the shortcake to them. The smallest of things are sometimes the most breathtaking experiences in life if we but "seize the moment".