Corned Beef & Cabbage
- 4 lbs corned beef brisket
- 4 medium onions, chopped
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 1 12 oz beer
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cubes beef bouillon
- 4 whole black peppercorns or 1/8 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf and some parsley stalks, tied together
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
- packet of seasonings that come with corned beef
- 1 cabbage

Put everything but the cabbage into a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring gently to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut into quarters, then thirds, and add to the pot. Cook for a further 1 to 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf and parsley stalks before serving.

Colcannon
- 3 lbs russet or other floury potatoes, peeled
- 8 tbsp butter
- 3 lightly packed cups chopped kale
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 5 scallions, green part only, minced
- salt and pepper

Put potatoes in a large pot, with the larger ones on the bottom, and add water to come halfway up the potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water begins to boil, carefully drain off about half of it, then return the pot to the heat, cover it again, reduce the heat to low, and let the potatoes steam for about 40 minutes. Melt 4 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kale and cook until just wilted, about 5 minutes. Combine the milk, scallions, and remaining butter in a medium pot, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the kale and stir in well. Drain and cut the potatoes. Add the greens and their liquid and mash until smooth, leaving a few small lumps in the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Irish Soda Bread
- 4 cups flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 2 eggs (optional: reserve 1 tbsp to brush on before baking)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs and buttermilk. Mix together dry ingredients separately. Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix only until flour is wet. Do not over mix. Knead dough 10 strokes, no more. Form into ball and place in a greased 2 qt casserole. Cut an X 1/4″ deep in top and brush with reserved egg if desired. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 10 minutes and remove from casserole.

Irish Potatoes
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar
- 7 oz coconut
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 8 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- cinnamon

Cream together butter, cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Mix in coconut. Slowly add confectioners sugar. Mix in vanilla. Chill for a couple of hours. Form into small balls and roll in cinnamon. Continue to refrigerate until serving.

Did you know that you can get an annual pass to the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands for only $80? It’s a great idea if you happen to be going on a long road trip, where the $10-20 fees at the popular parks can add up. Even if you don’t plan on going to that many parks in a year, it’s still a great way to support them. The pass is good for a whole vehicle full of people at per-car fee areas, or the pass holder plus three adults at per-person fee areas, so you only need one per family / travel group too.

One great souvenir from the parks I found out about after my last trip is the Passport to Your National Parks. It’s a little guidebook where you can add commemorative stickers with even more information that come out every year, and most importantly you can get dated stamped cancellations at each national park or historic site you visit. I wish I had gotten one when I was little because I have been to so many places. Now I’ll just have to go back to all of them and more to get stamped. I thought it was a great keepsake idea and I got one for every member of my family this past Christmas.

Total books read – 105
Average per month – 8.75
Most in one month – 15
Least in one month – 4

Fiction – 80
Nonfiction – 25

Bought new – 31
Bought used – 20
Received as gift – 14
Borrowed – 24
Free – 16

Interesting but now I’m done, no more tracking.

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Pesto Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups (2 oz) firmly packed fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons walnuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup (4 oz) grated Parmesan-Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temp)
- pinch of salt

In a food processor, combine the basil, nuts, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Process until very finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream and process until smooth. Turn off, add the cheese and butter, and pulse a few times until the ingredients are blended.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers
- 1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro or parsley leaves
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
- salt and ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until smooth.

Butternut Squash Soup
- 6 tablespoons chopped onion
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
- 3 cups water
- 4 cubes chicken bouillon
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

Cut squash in half and roast in oven before peeling and cubing it. In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram and black pepper. Bring to boil; cook 10 minutes, or until squash is tender. Puree mixture and cream cheese in a food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Grandma Delma’s Fresh Cranberry Relish
- 1 bag cranberries
- 2 red apples – cored and sliced but not peeled
- 2 oranges – peeled and with seeds taken out
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grind all ingredients together in a food processor. Chill until served.

Just had to share this great reading!

I decided to get a fake tree this year so why wait? I’ve always had a real tree before but they need to get watered every day and I’m traveling too much right now to ask a friend to come do it that often. I actually was still going to wait a little longer to decorate but Target had some deals going on and I couldn’t buy one and not put it up. I’m going to have to find a candle or something to give me the real tree smell though.

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