Today has been the perfect kitchen day. It’s been snowing since yesterday, and a bit too chilly for me to want to venture outdoors (single digits). And so I happily fill my warm kitchen with the smells of comfort. I’m glad to have a window by my kitchen sink so that I can take in the wintery view. I started a batch of marmalade yesterday using the remainder of the Seville oranges we ordered last week. Marmalade is certainly a labor of love, being a three day process, but the rewarding bright flavor is worth it. Plus, the jewel-like jars make beautiful, thoughtful gifts. There’s nothing like homemade! Before you begin a long recipe such as this, read through it a few times to get an understanding of the steps. [...]

We are getting some snow in the mountains today and it is falling down in the most beautiful, fluffy flakes. I wish my camera took pictures fast enough to capture the snowfall. My brother was visiting this past weekend and with the warmer temperatures last week, there was a lot of snow melting. It felt like Spring! So it’s nice to see some new snow today. I’ve made this bread twice in the last week. Every time I bake fresh bread, I wonder why I don’t do it more often. The process of making bread is such a soothing one to me. I like knowing that a few simple ingredients were formed into bread with my own hands. Of course nothing compares to the flavor of fresh baked, preservative-free bread [...]

Well, my house is in dire need of cleaning but I’m going to procrastinate by uploading this new blog post first. Yesterday the beloved Christmas tree came down, and was put to rest back in the mountains where we cut it. Of course it left its mark everywhere in the form of a zillion pine needles. May it rest in peace. January has been kind of chilly for us. I do appreciate the warm Colorado sunshine on days that I venture outdoors. As you can see below, we’ve had a decent snowfall so far this winter, and plenty of ‘powder’. These mini corn breads come to us courtesy of the new Williams-Sonoma catalog. Thanks to the rosemary and fontina cheese, they are a bit more sophisticated than your typical cornbread [...]