Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Our Mexican Christmas



I believe I mentioned that this year we were going a little non-traditional for our Christmas dinner. No turkey, no goose. No rib roast, no tenderloin. No, this year we were going MEXICAN!!
Feliz Navidad!!

Of course, it seems that in Mexico, turkey is actually very popular for Christmas, but we were going a different way!

We started with some excellent guacamole make by the Sil, with Trader Joe's tortilla chips. She makes the BEST!

Then on to the main dishes. I made black beans, with some onions and garlic and chilies and some rice with a tomato, pepper, onion and garlic puree as half the needed liquid and chicken stock for the rest. Delicious.

I made tamales, green chili chicken tamales, which I think turned out quite well and were not as intimidating as I expected. Very moist, very tender. Will be making more tamales in the future.

The Niece made Chicken Enchiladas, again, excellent.
Cheesy goodness and very creamy. Maybe she will give us the recipe

There were Salsa Verde, a mango salsa and a regular salsa.

And an interesting corn salad, Esquites, made with charred corn, lime juice, cotija cheese..some jalapeño and cilantro. Maybe I will make that again and give you the recipe, since it seems I forgot to take a photo.

But my favorite dish was the Slow Cooked Pork.
It was tender and tasty, perfect to wrap up in a nice warm tortilla, with some salsa and topped with some Queso Fresco.

I made the recipe up, taking a few ideas from here, a few from there..

Mexican Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

You start with a pork shoulder, about 5 pounds or so.
Cut it into big chunks, about 4 inches, removing any large pieces of fat and bones.
Cut small slits in each piece and add slivers of garlic to each slit, using maybe 5-6 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers, in total.
Dust pieces generously with Adobe spice mix, put in a gallon zip lock bag and let sit in the frig overnight or several hours.

When the meat has marinated, preheat a couple of tbs. spoons of oil in a heavy pan and brown the pieces of meat, until well browned, about 5 minutes per side.
When they are all browned, deglaze the browning pan with 1 cup of chicken stock and add the brown bits and stock to the slow cooker.
Add 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (to taste. they are spicy) and one 4 oz. can of diced green chilies to the slow cooker and then, as you brown each piece, add it on top of the peppers.

Cook on high for about 1/2 hour an then lower to low and cook a total of 8 hours. When done, remove from slower cooker and let cool a bit. When cool, shred the pork, removing and fat that remains.
Take the liquid in the slow cooker and defat. But the shredded meant in an over proof pan, about 9x13, pour on 1 cup of the defatted cooking liquid and put into a 400 degree oven until the top of the meant get brown and crispy and most of the liquid is absorbed.

OH MY, SO tender!!  Juicy, yet crispy.
You could take the basic method and add some changes. Use different spices, some cumin or chili powder, a different liquid to deglaze, like orange juice of wine. You could add diced tomatoes and/or onions...although it was delicious just as it was.
But the basic slow cooking and especially, I think,  the browning, with the liquid to keep it moist, to finish it off is the key.

Delicious in a tortilla, a taco or a sandwich...or just over some rice. 


 


This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday...The Nativity

Merry Christmas...
and here are a few seasonal works of art from Rome and Florence, 
Venice and the Amafi Coast. 

 

 

 

 



...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, 
check these out.



Monday, December 24, 2012

No Musing Happy Christmas Eve!

There is no Musing question today..
seems MizB at Should Be Reading is taking a well deserved holiday break this week and I am too busy (or lazy) to come up with a question,
so I will just pass along

a Happy Christmas Eve post from the Boys!


 
Smile Benny, 
Smile Bandit,
Smile Donner and Blitzen!!
Santa is on his way!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Pate Maison

OK, this one will have the vegans and vegetarians around here running.
Today I am making Pate Maison...or Chicken Liver Pate.
I will admit, I am not a fan of liver per se.
In fact, I have never eaten plain liver, liver and onions and such.

I blame it on an early childhood experience. I was just a wee Caite, staying at my grandparents apartment in Atlantic City. My dear grandfather, jokester that he was, gave wee Caite a bit of liver (he was a fan) and told the sweet child that it was steak.
I took one bite, spit it out, threw it at him and yelled "Bad steak!!"

Or so I am told.

Still, I do like chicken liver pate.
And it is so reasonable priced to make. Look at that. Less than a dollar for a pound of livers, twice what I need!
There used to be a store nearby that sold a very nice one, but while the store is there, no lovely pate anymore.

But years ago, I was in Ireland, at my cousin Anne's house in Dublin having dinner and as an appetizer she served a homemade Pate Maison. Excellent!

Or so I was told.

See, her husband Pat took it upon himself to educate me in the venerable beverage of Port...he had a large number of bottles on hand...and the whole evening is just a little blurry in my mind. But I did get the recipe.
And it is here...somewhere...I think.

OK, I lost it.

So, I went on line and found this one, which is now my go-to recipe. It is from Ballymaloe House, a lovely country house hotel and restaurant in the southwest of Ireland. Ballymaloe is the home of Myrtle Allen, the author of a number of cookbooks and her daughter in law Darina Allen, also the author of many cookbooks and sort of the cooking Martha Stewart of Irish food

Ballymaloe Chicken Liver Pate 
Serves 10-12 depending on how it is served.

This recipe has certainly stood the test of time; it has been our pâté maison at Ballymaloe since the opening of the restaurant in 1965.  It is served in many different ways: its success depends upon being generous with good Irish butter.
  • 225g (8oz) fresh organic chicken livers
  • 1 large clove garlic,crushed 
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons sherry or brandy 
  • 200-300g (8-10 oz) butter (depending on how strong the chicken livers are) 
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 
  • freshly ground pepper 
  • clarified butter to seal the top

Wash the livers and remove any membrane or green tinged bits. Melt a little butter in a frying pan; when the butter foams, add in the onions and arlic and cook a minute, then add in the livers and cook over a gentle heat about 3-4 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook them or the outsides will get crusty; all trace of pink should be gone.   Put the livers through a sieve or into a food processor.  De-glaze the pan with brandy, allow to flame, add the crushed garlic and thyme leaves and then scrape off with a spatula and add to the livers.  Puree for a few seconds.  Allow to cool.
Add 225g (8oz) butter and fresh thyme leaves. Puree until smooth.  Season carefully, taste and add more butter, cut into cubes if necessary.

This pate should taste fairly mild and be quite smooth in texture. Put into pots or into one large terrine. Knock out any air bubbles.
Clarify some butter and run a little over the top of the pate to seal.
Serve with hot toast or crusty bread.   This pate will keep for 4 or 5 days in a refrigerator. It is essential to cover chicken liver pate with a layer of clarified or even just melted butter, otherwise the pate will oxidize and become bitter in taste and grey in colour.
 

Grey food, not so good. No.
Now, as usual, my changes.
I did not have the Irish butter, although we can get it in the supermarkets here, so I use regular butter. And I used less butter than she did, more like 6 Tbs. But that is a matter of taste. I was also not going to clarify any butter, so again I just used regular melted butter.
I added the onions. And 2 cloves of garlic instead of her one.
And I add sherry, instead of the brandy she uses. I personally like the little sweetness the sweet sherry adds.
Perhaps not to everyone taste, but me and mine , or at least me and my sister-in-law, will be enjoying it this holiday season!


This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Weekend Cooking..It's Almost Christmas!!

Did you miss me last week?
It was, I believe, the first time I did not post a Weekend Cooking post.
Ever.
But things just got away from me. Even though I had several days off on vacation, what with the buying and wrapping and changing lightbulbs in the outdoor decorations, I ran out of time. And then there was the fact that I cooked nothing. Not a thing.

 
And this week is not much better.
At least I finally got the Christmas cake started. Lots of fruit, fresh and dried.
A drop of rum...that bottle started full. 

 

 

It sits now, not looking too attractive..aging.
Then It will get it's marzipan and royal icing finish and lovely it will look.

Before...

..and after. Ok, this one was a few years ago...
I should be baking cookies. But I have not. Instead, I bought several pounds of 'cemetery' cookies. Why do I call them that? Well, you see, my parents and my Sil's father and grandparents are buried in the same cemetery in North Jersey, in the town of East Hanover. So every year, I fill my car with evergreen grave blankets and make the trek north. That can be chilly work, but years ago we found this nice Italian bakery not too far away.

 

A beverage...a snack...

 

..and several boxes of delicious treats to bring home.

 

And look, a stollen! 
Bandit loves stollen! 

 

But I will probably still make a few cookies. If only to use these cute little cutters I bought the same day at IKEA. Look, there are little elves and a reindeer, a sled and a big elf shoe. 
Gingerbread or sugar?

 

And then one last stop.
At Trader Joe's.
Sadly, we do not have one down here. And I heard they have this really good frozen roasted corn that I am going to use to make a Mexican corn salad.

  
See, we are having a Mexican Food Christmas. No turkey for us, no rib roast. Not a goose in sight. Nope, it will be enchiladas and tamales and black beans and a slow roasted pork roast served with tortillas and all the fixing. 
And don't forget the guacamole!


This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Weekend Cooking...A Gingerbread Pentagon

I believe I mentioned that I am away this holiday weekend.
Yes, I know I just came back from Italy, but this time I am closer to home, just a few hours away in Washington D.C. with the Bro, the SIL, the Niece and the Niece's boyfriend.

Seeing the sights..walking and walking..doing a little shopping...eating at a few great places including at Fyre, the restaurant here at the hotel where we had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner and Rosa Mexicana, a favorite. I am sure a few photos will turn up in the future of the monuments, of our tour of the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the Air and Space and the Native American museums to name just a few stops.

But Friday started off with a festive holiday touch, the unveiling of a fabulous gingerbread replica of the Pentagon...and I can see the real one from my window.

Take a break from your holiday shopping with The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon-City, as Chef David Collier unveils his gingerbread Pentagon, a replica of the United States Pentagon for guests and the community to enjoy. This will be the first time that the Pentagon will be replicated with gingerbread. Guests are invited to opening day festivities, on Friday, November 23rd at 10am, which will include hot spiced cider, hot chocolate, and other holiday treats provided by the talented Pastry Team.

Now, I have made gingerbread men, but never so much as a gingerbread house, and I was impressed. Look, it has tiny battery run LED lights! How cute.
But I think I will stick with the cookies again this year. That looks just a little stressful, doesn't it, and unlike the Chef, I do not have a pasty team to assist me.
So here is my recipe.. which I think is quite good.
It makes a cookie that is not too hard and dry and very tasty and just a little spicy, as a good gingerbread should be.

Gingerbread Cookies 
  • 3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature, softened) 
  • 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed 
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
  • 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves 
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  • 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses 
  • Optional raisins, chocolate chips, candy pieces, frosting 
Royal Icing
  • 1 egg white 
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 
  • 1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) 
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

 2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Gradually add the flour mixture; combine on low speed. (You may need to work it with your hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.) Divide dough in thirds; wrap each third in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Before rolling out, let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. If after refrigerating the dough feels too soft to roll-out, work in a little more flour.

3. Heat oven to 350°. Place a dough third on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper or wax paper. Using a rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate again for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to cut out the cookies. Use either a cookie cutter or place a stencil over the dough and use a knife to cut into desired shapes. Press raisins, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in the center of each cookie if desired for "buttons".

4. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Bake until crisp but not darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let sit a few minutes and then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired. Makes 16 5-inch long cookies.

Royal Icing
The traditional way to make Royal Icing is to beat egg whites and lemon juice together, adding the powdered sugar until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

With modern concerns about salmonella from raw eggs, you can either use powdered egg whites or heat the egg whites first to kill any bacteria. With the heating method, mix the egg white and lemon juice with a third of the sugar, heat in a microwave until the mixture's temperature is 160°F. Then remove from microwave, and beat in the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form.
Using the powdered egg whites method, combine 1 Tbsp egg white powder with 2 Tbsp water. Proceed as you would otherwise.

If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Fill a piping bag with the icing to pipe out into different shapes. (Or use a plastic sandwich bag, with the tip of one corner of the bag cut off.) Keep the icing covered while you work with it or it will dry out.

 


This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Weekend Cooking...Grand Marnier French Toast

Yes, sadly, Christmas is behind us. The days of excess are over...but if you have it in you for one more great breakfast, maybe on a weekend, I have a recipe for you!


I have written before about our traditional Christmas morning breakfast at the Bro's and Sil's house.
First, there are Pillsbury Orange Rolls, a holdover from my youth.
Then, some years ago we added my Sausage Hash Brown Casserole, which I thought I had share with you. But, if my search of my blog is to be believed, I may not have. But that will have to be for another day, because today we are going over to the sweet side, with the Niece's contribution.
One that I think is a keeper.

Christmas Morning Grande Marnier French Toast

8 large eggs
1 1/3 cup half and half
2/3 cup Grand Marnier
4 tbs. Sugar
2 tbs. Orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp. Vanilla bean paste (optional)
1 loaf challah bread torn into bite size pieces


Mix all the ingredients and pour over the torn bread in a 9X13 baking dish. 
Mix well and let sit, covered, in the frig overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 40 minutes, covered with foil, uncovering to brown last 10 minutes.

Easy, you can make it ahead of time except for the sticking in the oven part and pretty simple.
Serve with some warmed maple, ideally REAL maple syrup.
Delicious.

Ok, wow, I do not even have a photograph of this dish, because when the Niece put it on the table, we descended on it like starving wolves..
No time to find the camera or someone might steal mine!
So the Niece found this photo online and sent it to me to use on this post.
It looked just like this actually.
If this is your photo, someone out there in BlogLand, I apologize for the lack of credit. :-)




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Saturday, December 24, 2011

Wishing You a Happy and Holy Christmas





And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, 
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, 
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, 
"Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 
for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: 
you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host 
praising God and saying, 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"


Luke2:8-15


Weekend Cooking...Christmas Eve

Contrary to the recipes you see here, I am not a huge fan of desserts.

Except cookies.

I love cookies. Not store bought cookies which I don't buy, but homemade cookies and the king of cookies are Christmas cookies. So many cookies..

So, what is my favorite cookie?
Well, it might have to be a chocolate chip..with nuts. But somehow I don't think of that as a Christmas cookie. What is another favorite and the perfect Christmas cookie?
Pignoli Nut Cookies!

Why? Well first, they are delicious. If you like almond flavor, and I do, they are perhaps the most almond-ish of cookies. They are chewy and topped with those creamy delicious pignoli nuts.
And they are rather expensive. The almond paste is not cheap and the nuts are not cheap, so they are the special perfect occasion cookie.
And they freeze perfectly.

Just four ingredients, five with the nuts...

Pignoli Cookies

Ingredients:

12 ounces almond paste
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups pine nuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with foil; lightly grease foil.
2. Mix almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and 2 egg whites; process until smooth.
3. Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in small bowl. Place pine nuts on shallow plate. With lightly floured hands roll dough into 1 inch balls. Coat balls in egg whites, shaking off excess, then roll in pine nuts, pressing lightly to stick. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly to form a 1 1/2 inch round.
4. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

The Christmas cake is decorated and ready to go. 
The presents are wrapped.
The cookies are baked.
The tree is decorated.

I will be at my brother's for Christmas Eve. Last year we did a Seven Fish Dinner, but this year we are going a little easier, with baked ziti and meatballs and sausage and a substantial variety of other delicious things.

And of course, a cute doggie or two will be in attendance, wearing their Christmas bells.




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Sunday, December 18, 2011

Santa Sammy Sunday




Have you been Naughty or Nice?

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Weekend Cooking...Yes, Christmas Cookies.


Ok, talk about being late to the party! Today I am going to write about Christmas cookies!

I do bake on occasion, but my Christmas baking tends toward my Christmas cake (it was wonderful, the best ever, thanks for asking) and an ocassional Yule log, when I feel up to a challenge.

I am not a big cookie baker. However, when the niece wanted to have a Christmas cookie baking day, I was up for it. I would make my favorite gingerbread men and try out a new recipe, for ricotta cookies.

The niece arrived with a number of recipes in hand..none of which she had ever made before. Which we discovered may not be the best idea, especially when you plan to give the resulting cookies as gifts. We had a couple of failures...(the doggies boys, Bandit and Sammy loved them)... but a couple of great successes! One of them was for Russian Tea Cakes, the powered sugar ones pictured in the box above. So easy...so good.


Russian Tea Cakes 
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3.Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. 


My other favorite cookie was the Lemon Ricotta Cookie, based on a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network.
I never made a ricotta cookie before but a Christmas does not go by when someone does not bring some of these cookies, which seem to be an Italian Christmas staple,  into work. But Giada's, with the  lemon addition, is by far the best I have tasted. Light, cakelike and oh so lemony.
The picture is not mine, so you have to take my word on it that I added multi-colored sprinkles on top, as many of the Ricotta Cookies I have had in the past did. It makes them look quite festive!

photo from FoodNetwork.com
Giada's Lemon Ricotta Cookies
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, zested
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cookies:
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.

Hey, better late than never!
And who says cookies are just for Christmas!
Let's make January Cookies! Did I mention my birthday is just around the corner?




This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.


Sunday, December 26, 2010

Wishing You All a Happy Christmas



And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

Luke2:8-15



Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Wordless Wednesday...Christmas at a Magical Place










...as always, for more Wordless Wednesday, check these out.