Embrace the LIght

2017 Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere is Thursday. For thousands of years, the winter solstice has played a significant role in religion, spirituality and celebratory festivities. While it's certainly the day with the least amount of sunlight, let as look forward to the the weeks ahead that become brighter. These lyrics embrace the dance of life. Enjoy every step as we sing and dance toward spring.

"Lord of the Dance" is a hymn with words written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1963. He borrowed the tune from the American Shaker song "Simple Gifts." The hymn is widely performed in English-speaking congregations and assemblies.

It follows the idea of a traditional English carol, "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day," which tells the gospel story in the first person voice of Jesus of Nazareth with the device of portraying Jesus' life and mission as a dance.

Lord Of The Dance

by Sydney Carter

I danced in the morning when the world was young

I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun

I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth

At Bethlehem I had my birth 

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

I am the lord of the dance, said he

And I lead you all, wherever you may be

And I lead you all in the dance, said he 

I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees

They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me

I danced for the fishermen James and John

They came with me so the dance went on 

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

I am the lord of the dance, said he

And I lead you all, wherever you may be

And I lead you all in the dance, said he 

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame

The holy people said it was a shame

They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high

Left me there on the cross to die 

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

I am the lord of the dance, said he

And I lead you all, wherever you may be

And I lead you all in the dance, said he 

I danced on a Friday when the world turned black

It's hard to dance with the devil on your back

They buried my body, they thought I was gone

But I am the dance, and the dance goes on 

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

I am the lord of the dance, said he

And I lead you all, wherever you may be

And I lead you all in the dance, said he 

They cut me down and I leapt up high

I am the life that will never, never die

I'll live in you if you'll live in me

I am the Lord of the dance, said he 

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

I am the lord of the dance, said he

And I lead you all, wherever you may be

And I lead you all in the dance, said he

_____________________________________________________________

Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

Cook's notes:  Time left for some last minute baking? This definitely is company worthy. It's creamy, so easy to put together and just plain delicious. I made a gingersnap cookie crust as an alternative to a graham cracker crust and added crumbled almonds over the top. I really liked the gingersnap crust, a nice contrast to the eggnog cheesecake flavor.  

Recipe comes from Midwest Living Magazine November/December 2013. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs or gingersnap cookie crumbs, reserve 1/4 cup
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp.  ground nutmeg
• 3 TB. unsalted butter, melted
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup eggnog
• 1 tablespoon bourbon or rum (optional)
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds, crumbled

Directions:

For the crust:

• Combine the 2 cups graham cracker or cookie crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter with a fork until evenly combined. A food processor or blender can be used for this step.
• Transfer the crumb mixture to an 8 x 8 glass baking pan. 
• Press crumb mixture down flat in an even layer. Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. 

For the filling: 

• Beat cream cheese on high for about 1 minute, adding in sugar, eggnog, egg and bourbon or rum. Beat until the mixture is light and no lumps remain.
• Pour filling over baked crust.  Sprinkle with remaining cookie or graham cracker crumbs. 
• Bake for 28 minutes or until the center is just set. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 hour.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Sprinkle with toasted almonds right before serving.  

The World According to Bella

Another Excellent Up North Adventure 
I mailed my letter to Santa weeks ago.  The unexpected happened and I need to take something off my list. Mrs. S doesn't think it's necessary but really why do I need rawhide bones when I can come up with this treasure practically right in my own backyard. 
Mrs. S was waiting for me with her camera. We were on our usual morning walk and Mr. C called to let her know I was way ahead of him and she should be ready with a really good trade.  
My jaws got tired carrying this monstrous thing for over a mile. I was proud of what I found and wanted Mrs. S to see it. 

But when I saw Mrs. S I was not about to give it up. There was no trading for me as she chased me around the yard. 

When I started to gnaw, chew and there was a crunching sound Mrs S lost it. 

Finally Mr. C caught up with me. I gave it up for a large piece of sausage.  It was a decent enough trade.

In case you can't tell it was an entire deer leg, hoof and all.

Mr. C measured and I heard something about 3 feet. I can tell you it was HEAVY, HEAVY to carry for so long.   

What a way to end my 2017 up north adventures. I am now back to city life, on a leash to the the dog park. Not nearly as much fun as running and exploring the deep north woods.

Still counting down and only 5 more days left

Mrs. S and I are checking out Santa’s twitter account.We can get updated information on Santa's journey. Did you know you can even retweet his tweets and he has 172 K followers?

https://twitter.com/noradsanta

Love,

Bella

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Grinch and Reindeer Rerun

Some past popular Grinch and Reindeer posts
Grinch Party Ideas
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-grinch-stole-christmas.html

Healthy Holiday Options
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/12/healthy-options-to-holiday-eating.html

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/12/return-of-reindeer-food-bar.html

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2014/11/reindeer-fun-and-william-blake.html

Remember the Little Golden Book Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Perhaps you have read the book to your own children or had it read to you as a child and watched the TV special. The TV version of Rudolph was first broadcast in 1964 and has been on every December since. It has the distinction of being the longest running Christmas special ever.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an enduring Christmas classic. It began as an advertising gimmick, but soon took on a life of its own with a holiday song and later a Christmas special. Rudolph teaches an important lesson about acceptance and loving yourself for who you are.
Rudolph was originally created as an advertising campaign for Montgomery Wards Department store. Robert Mays was an advertising copy writer and created the story as a free pamphlet in 1939. It was given away at stores during the holiday season. Mays drew upon his own childhood experiences and the classic children's story "Ugly Duckling."
After 10 years as a freebie May's brother-in-law Johnny Marks decided to turn the story into a holiday song. And today it is played over and over and over during the holiday season.
All this brings me to Magic Reindeer Mix. Rudolph is sure to stop Santa'a sleigh at your house to snack on this magical mix.

Magic Reindeer Mix
Cook's notes: Cut a piece 10 x 7 of Christmas scrapbooking paper or cardstock. Fold in half. Fill a sandwich size plastic bag with equal parts of dry oatmeal and glitter. Staple sandwich bag to inside of the the paper near the fold. Type the following directions below and glue onto the front of the paper. Staple both sheets together with plastic bag in the inside and directions on the outside. 

On Christmas Eve sprinkle this
magic reindeer mix on your lawn to guide
Santa's reindeer to your rooftop. 
While Santa makes his delivery inside, Rudolph
and his friends can have a snack.

The Quintessential Dish-Chili

Snow Toward Evening

by Melville Cane

Suddenly the sky turned gray,

The day,

Which had been bitter and chill,

Grew soft and still.

Quietly

from some invisible blossoming tree

Millions of petals cool and white

Drifted and blew,

Lifted and flew,

Fell with the falling night.

Chili

Cook’s Notes: Ever Ready has updated an original recipe from several years ago. The recipe serves 8-10 and tastes better made a day or two ahead for flavors to meld. The addition of espresso powder deepens the flavor. Great for holiday company to warm up on those chilly evenings.
The recipe can easily be halved for a smaller group. It also freezes well to save for holiday or game day gatherings.  

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. hamburger or Italian sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled 
• 4 cups diced celery 
• 4 cups diced sweet onions 
• 1 TB. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 (24 oz.) jars of spicy tomato basil sauce or Marinara sauce
• 3 cans (14.5) diced tomatoes basil, garlic, oregano 
• 1-cup ketchup  
• 2 cups water 
• 4 TB. fresh lemon juice 
• 2 TB. brown sugar 
• 2 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tsp. cider vinegar 
• 1 tsp. dry mustard 
• 1 tsp.espresso powder
• 3 cans light or dark red red kidney beans or a combination of both, rinsed and drained. 
• 3-4 TB. chili powder 

Directions:

• In a soup pot add olive oil and heat. Add in meat with onions, celery, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and on a medium low heat, cook about 10 minutes. Crumble meat, drain and set aside. 
• Add to soup pot rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add meat, onions and celery back to soup pot. 
• Simmer on low heat covered 1-2 hours stirring occasionally.
  

Grinch Rerun

Weekend Round-Up

Imagine getting a holiday cupcake with no calories!
Sock Cupcake

See how festive this looks- too bad it's inedible. I was recently at a brunch where the guests all received their own cute cupcake. You too can recreate this treat with the following simple directions to deconstruct.
You will need the following Ingredients (most found at Michaels or Dollar Tree). 
Clear plastic bag
ribbon
1 large sturdy cupcake holder
electrical tape (belt and buckle)
1 pair of ankle socks
1 lip gloss with a red top

Directions:

The bottom of the cupcake holder was cut out though I have seen others where the bottom was kept intact. 

The Santa belt and buckle were made with electrical tape. 
Roll the socks together and fit snugly into the cup.
Add lip gloss in the middle.
Place sock cupcake in a plastic bag and tie with a ribbon.
Other holiday options include: 
Valentine's Day using a glittery red cupcake holder, glue hearts on the cupcake holder.  
St. Patrick's Day using glittery green cupcake holder, glue shamrocks on cupcake holder.
Shower prizes 

An Edible Holiday Appetizer 

Shrimp, Avocado and Tomato Crostini
Garlicky shrimp mixed with diced avocados and tomatoes make for flavorful, yummy and colorful appetizer.  Make these bites ahead of time. Simply toast your baguette and prepare the shrimp mixture right before serving!

Cook's Notes: 
The recipe called for toasted baguette slices which I did not use since I only had on hand sourdough bread slices. Baguette slices would have made for smaller appetizers but this worked fine.  The larger ones made for a nice supper with fruit salad. 
The following ingredients using baguette slices make 8-10 or 6 larger ones. 
Recipe inspiration from damndelicious.net
Ingredients:

• 1 French baguette, ends trimmed and cut into 1/3-inch slices
• 2-3 TB. butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, diced or 3 TB, diced sweet onion
• 1/3 -1/2 cup diced red pepper
• 1 pound medium cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 avocado, halved, peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 TB.chopped fresh parsley leaves or 1 TB. sired parsley flakes  
• 1 TB. freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
• Place baguette slices in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until lightly toasted, about 4 minutes a side. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and shallot or onion and pepper, saute stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes, avocado, parsley and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Top each baguette slice with shrimp mixture.
• Serve immediately.
  
  

Remember last holiday season I had these appetizers posted? Give them a second look.  
Cornbread Crostini- Thai Chicken Salad Cups-Pesto Cheese Cups  

 http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2016/11/let-holiday-planning-begin.html

Walnut Cranberry Crostini 

http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2013/11/appetizers-and-food-craft.html

I Can Be

by Felicia Lee and illustrated by Bryan Tagalogon

Here's a fun book aimed for ages 4-9. With a simple concept I can be on each page the reader explores all sorts of possibilities to answer the timeless question;What do you want to be when you grow up?  The phrase I Can Be is stated multiple times so kids will gain more confidence as they read each sentence.  

I was fortunate to catch up with the author via email for input on this review. 
The author intentionally displays an array of careers, not just ones that require a college degree. Lee wants children to be proud of whatever profession they choose to be in while respecting the careers of others.  The book promotes discussion between teacher and students or parent/grandparent and the child. The author insets a message page that remind kids that they can be whatever they want to be in life if they do good in school and never give up on their dreams.

The illustrations are stellar, colorful and eye catching. Lee was very fortunate to have full creative control over each illustration which is not always the case when authors are developing a book. Tagalogon brought Lee's detailed notes to life. One of the things that drew me to this book are the pictures of different types of children so any kid reading the book can see a character who looks like them. Many shades of skin color add to the diversity of the illustrations.  

Another detail I liked was the book explored occupations you don't always see in books 

take for instance this page,  

I even noted hair styles were diverse. 

There are several things on this page that caught my attention- the boy is in a wheelchair and he wants to write comic books which most kids love to read and not write a traditional story book. I love the happy expressions each of the characters depicted throughout the book display.   

Lee's main goal for writing "I Can Be" is to remind children that they can be whatever they want to be regardless of skin tone or gender. She wanted a book that would be diverse and inclusive. In addition to that, she wanted to give the reader guidance on how to do it and that guidance  is illustrated on the last two pages.  

Lee has a second children's book to be released next summer. It is her hope children will readily connect with the stories she creates. It is important for children to be exposed to positive and diverse images which helps them become more accepting of others that may not look like them.

Connect with Lee at www.facebook.com/readthenlead you can also follow her on Instagram @flee920
This upcoming week "I Can Be" will be had delivered to my daughter's kindergarten class. I will post a photo on Ever Ready.

A Word from The Grinch

"Enough, enough sweets," said the Grinch. "move on to something else."
But I said. "Wait! I have just a few more to share." 
"Well hurry along," he said. "and be quick!"

So quick I will be-
The following recipes are perfect for homemade gift giving. 

Chocolate Chow Mein Noodle Cookies

Cooking tip: Measure out and have all ingredients ready for assembly. Recipe makes 15-18 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter or butterscotch chips
• 3 cups chow mein noodles
•  1 cup salted peanuts or cashews

Directions:

• Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
• Melt chips in a large sauce pan on a medium low heat. Stir to melt completely.  Quickly add in chow mein noodles and nuts. Coat the noodles and nuts completely with the chocolate.  
• Spoon out by a heaping tablespoon on to waxed paper. 
• Place tray in the refrigerator for cookies to set, about 2 hours.  

Pistachio Chocolate Pretzel Bark

Cook's notes: I thought the unusual combination of ingredients was a real winner-it was hard to stop at just one. This bark would be perfect for gift giving in a tin or a seasonal plastic bag. You will need a bag of 

You might have to ask where in the store to find these pretzels as I found them on their own kiosk not on shelf with regular pretzels. 

The recipe makes about 25-30 pieces. It was adapted from carlsbadcravings.com 

Since the recipe has so few ingredients it is important to use high quality chocolate e.g. Ghirardelli 60% cocao

A food processor works well, pulse the pistachios a few times. 

Cooking tip-Have all ingredients measured ahead and ready to go. 

Ingredients:

• 2- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate baking bars or 1- 4 oz. semi sweet and 1- 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate bar
• 1 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup (raw) pistachios, chopped
• 45 Pretzel Crisps pieces  
• Sea salt

Directions:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the paper with cooking spray. Line pretzels in a single layer. 
• In a microwave safe bowl add chopped chocolate and oil. Microwave at 50% power at 30 second intervals, until completely melted, stirring every 30 seconds. 
• Pour chocolate over pretzels and use a spatula to smooth out evenly. 
• Sprinkle pistachios and press down over the chocolate.

• Sprinkle with sea salt. Place tray in freezer for 10 minutes to set.  
• Break bark into pieces. Store in an airtight container with layers separated with parchment paper.   

Candy Craftivity 

For specific directions on how to create follow the link 


http://www.ourunschoolingjourney.com/2015/12/candy-craftivity.html#comment-form