Winter Wonders

“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”

--Henry David Thoreau          We had a snowstorm last week that left us with 8 inches of snow.  Since then we have had more snow and the temperatures have been well below zero at night.  Variety is the spice of life.  I have always loved looking out the window and seeing a beautiful, pristine blanket of white snow covering the entire landscape.  Besides, it's perfect weather for quilting and reading.      I read this book when I was a teenager and really enjoyed it.  It's about a girl from Boston who marries a Canadian Mountie. They go and live in the wilds of Canada.   It's a poignant story of their joys and sorrows and mostly their adventures.           It's still soup weather, more now than ever.  This soup recipe is hearty and satisfying.  I added a bay leaf for extra flavor.     Beef Barley Soup 1 cup chopped carrot                         1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained ½ cup chopped celery                         1 cup quick-cooking barley ½ cup chopped onion                                      1 ½ tsp. salt 1 T butter                                                        ½ tsp. pepper 4 cups beef broth                                            ½ tsp. dried basil 4 cups water                                                    ½ tsp. dried oregano 2 cups chopped cooked roast beef                  ½ cup frozen peas In a large soup-pan, sauté carrot, celery and onion in butter until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, water, beef, tomatoes, barley, salt, pepper, basil and oregano; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add peas.  Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Makes 8 servings.          This is the perfect bread to go with any kind of soup. It's so moist and flavorful.  It rises a lot so split it in half and put it in two different loaf pans.  I also just put all ingredients in my bread machine to make the dough.   Dill Bread 1 Tbspn. yeast                                     1 unbeaten egg ¼ cup warm water                              1 Tbspn. minced onion 1 cup cottage cheese                           1 Tbspn. dill seed 2 Tbspn. sugar                                     ¼ tsp. soda 1 Tbspn. butter                                    3 cups flour 1 tsp. salt Soften yeast in warm water.  Heat cottage cheese to lukewarm.  Combine with sugar.  Combine balance of ingredients.  Add flour to form soft dough.  Beat well.  Cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.  Stir down and mold into well-greased bread pan.  Let rise 30 minutes.  Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes.                    Here are more mini quilts made from Art to Heart patterns.  They are just too fun.  The little wool pillow was made by my friend, Sam.  She gave it to me for Christmas last year.   And here is yet another table topper that I made last year.