Christmas !

Wow - hard to believe that Christmas is less than a week away ! I thought that once I retired all the holiday preparations would be SO easy because I would have SO much more free time - HAH!   Now I wonder how I ever got anything accomplished when I was working.  Each year there are new things I want to try or events I want to host - and before I know it the time gets away from me.  But some things are constant...cookies, decorating, entertaining family and friends, and quiet times enjoying the lights on the tree.   Here are some things I have enjoyed this Christmas season...

Our tree...we put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving.   It is a slim line artificial tree and we love the way it looks in our new place.   Seems to have been made for that corner.  This year we added the red ribbon as garland and I think it really makes the tree pop!   Under the tree is my dear Aunt Mamie's "Queen Louise" doll that she received from Santa in 1906 or so.   We had her refurbished and decorate her so she can enjoy sitting under the tree.

Before we downsized and moved to an apartment home we had several wreaths for various doors.  All but this one were donated to charities...this is our favorite.  Dear friends gifted us the Cat's Meow "It's A Wonderful Life" houses several years ago as it is my dear husband's favorite movie.   He worked in banking and always fancied himself to be George Bailey!   Once we had no windowsill that was perfect for the houses I wired them to a wreath, added a bell (for Clarence) and put a rose and some of Zuzu's petals on there, too.   Everyone comments on this wreath - and I love that it is not exposed to the weather so it should last for years.

St. Nicholas watches for visitors in our hall...

The foyer welcomes guests with our photos with Santa from when we were very young...as well as John's certificate that the bells of Bedford Falls rang for him on his 60th birthday.

I gave up on a live poinsettia years ago...this silk one has held up...and I am loving my Mary Poppin's umbrella as we get ready for the new movie!

The powder room door greets visitors...

and our angel keeps watch as well.

I switch out my wine bottle lamp to a holiday version and add some little touches in the kitchen...

And the champagne is ready to pop for guests!

An elf guards the stocking of the mouse in the grandfather clock...

And the Eagles snowmen are asking Santa for another Super Bowl win!

A simple coffee table wreath adds a candle glow...

And my Uncle Joe's cane adds a touch of "Miracle on 34th Street" to our home.

The reason for the season....John's mother's beautiful Nativity set is on display, but the Baby Jesus does not come out until Christmas Eve.

Table is set for a family brunch with cousins...

with a little ornament favor for everyone to take home.

In previous years I would remove everything from the china closet and fill it with Christmas dishes...now I just add a few pieces to make it special!

No "elf on the shelf" in our home...but there are elves watching out all over the place!

Our decorations will stay out until New Years...then we take them down the day after and get ready for a cozy January.

When do you decorate your home ?  How long do you leave the decorations out ?   Whatever your traditions - wishing you a wonderful Merry Christmas !

Thanks for stopping by Our New Vista...please leave a message and God bless !

Banana Cake

 Banana Cake

Love getting together with friends and at our last occasion I brought the dessert. I had not made a banana cake in a long time...and I had some over ripe bananas!

I made the recipe I have been making for years from this cookbook.   My mother bought this for me when soon after I married and I love reading the recipes and trying old traditional dishes (halushky, kolacky, pirohy, etc.)  - and the wonderful cakes.

2 cups cake flour                                2 eggs, well beaten

2 teaspoons baking powder                1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda                      1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt                                 3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup margarine                              1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup sugar                                         

                                                       Mrs. Tony Brenkus, 

                                                       Whiting, Indiana

OK...I just love that each recipe has the name of the person who submitted it to the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association.  The first cookbook was published in 1952...I received my copy in 1977 and I don't believe it was updated much from the original.

I just love that the book is "Dedicated to our mothers and grandmothers in grateful remembrance"!   

That dedication always brings a tear to my eye as I remember the wonderful dishes my mother made in our kitchen.  And, the sifter pictured here belonged to my fraternal grandmother.  I never met her...she died before my parents even met.   But my mother moved into the family home and this sifter was there...my mother used it for years and I am lucky enough to have it today.  Each time I use it I think of them and how their story goes on....and say a prayer for them both!

Sift the dry ingredients, cream the margarine, add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. 

 Add eggs and vanilla, beat again  Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, blend, and add bananas.

The recipe calls to add the walnuts at this time...but I save them for the top of the cake.

Pour into two 8 or 9 inch pans ( note, these are my NEW cake pans!   I had my other pans for years - they were showing wear and cakes were sticking, so I treated myself to new ones!) Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

And they worked great !  The recipe calls to frost the cake with regular white frosting...I decided to make a cream cheese frosting - 

Since I was going to only use one layer today I used a half stick of butter and half of a package of cream cheese.  

Beat well, then add enough powdered sugar to make frosting...add a little vanilla, too.

Then, before I frost the cake, I put strips of waxed paper under the edges to I don't mess up the plate it sits on...

One it is frosted I top the cake with walnuts and dried banana chips.  Then pull out the wax paper and...

There you have it !   I picked up this holiday plate in one of my shopping trips and then used it as my gift to our hostess.   The cake was great...it is a rich, dense cake ( that is why I only use one layer at a time - last time I made it I made it a layer cake with two layers and it was almost too rich to enjoy) and the perfect way to use up those bananas that are over-ripe! I put the other layer in the freezer...well wrapped in plastic and foil - and it is all set for another occasion - just needs frosting !

Do you have a favorite cookbook ?  Or a favorite cake you like to make ?  Please leave a comment below - and thank you for stopping by Our New Vista!

Fairy Tale Cooking

 There is a wonderful cookbook out there - still available from private sellers on Amazon and available at my local library, so check yours - called The Fairy Tale Cookbook, by Carol MacGregor, c1982

I purchased this book when I was working as a elementary school librarian and was enthralled with the recipes..."Jack's Favorite Bean Casserole", "Cinderella's Wedding Cake", and many others.   My favorite - and often made recipe as you can see from the tattered card that I copied the recipe on to - is Strega Nona's Magic Pasta.

Strega Nona, written and illustrated by Tomie De Paola in 1975, is the story of a "Grandmother Witch" in Italy. Strega Nona's meddling assistant Big Anthony is determined to prove to the townspeople his knowledge of the magic secrets contained in the pasta pot of Strega Nona. In so doing, he unleashes a torrent of pasta which threatens to engulf their little Italian town.

This is a great pasta dish and is a great way to use up leftover ham from a holiday dinner or even sliced ham from the deli counter.  This dish is filling, easy to make, and delicious.   I have altered the recipe over the years... here is how I make it:

 Chop enough onion to equal 2 tablespoons...or more if you like a lot of onion.  

Then chop about 1/4 pound of ham...once again - ham chunks leftover from a ham dinner, deli ham, etc.

Brown the ham and onion in butter until the onion is golden brown.

Add the salt, pepper, and frozen peas.   Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

I will post the entire original recipe below....but over the years I have stopped using butter and use Smart Balance to make it a little healthy.   The same with the heavy cream....I use Half&Half.

Add 1/2 cup of cream ( or half&half) to pan and cover and cook for about 5 minutes more, until the cream is slightly thick. 

OK...this is where the recipe says to set aside - so you can boil and drain the fettucini.  I NEVER do that.  I always use whatever kind of leftover pasta I have on hand...and usually it is what I had leftover and frozen in a container in the freezer.  If I am hungry for this and don't have a stash of frozen pasta I have used the new "ready made" pasta available from Barilla....any shape.

Here is my leftover spaghetti that I put into a dish and popped in the microwave to defrost.   This is too much pasta, but I was cleaning out the freezer and thought "what the heck!"

Add the pasta, the other 1/2 cup of cream, and 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese to the pan....mix well and heat through.

Top with extra cheese and enjoy.   We usually have this meal without bread and a salad because it is filling...

It is fabulous with a glass of white wine - enjoy!  

I have posted the recipe below...it says it serves 4.  Not really...maybe they meant 4 children.  

If you have little children in your home ( and even if you don't) it is fun to read the Strega Nona book before or after dinner!

Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista - please leave a message and share your favorite pasta recipe!

Strega Nona's Magic Pasta

2 Tablespoons chopped onion

1/4 pound ham, chopped

4 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1/2 of 9oz pkg. of frozen peas

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz fettuccini

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Brown onion and ham in butter until onion is golden.  Add salt, pepper, peas and cook for 5 min.  Add 1/2  cup of cream and cook for 5 more minutes.  Set aside, boil and drain pasta.  Add the pasta to the ham and peas mixture, stir.   Stir in butter, the rest of the cream, and cheese...toss until blended and heated through.   Serve hot. 

 Serves 4???

Boo-tiful October

Boo - tiful October !

Fall weather has finally come to Pennsylvania.  The mornings are crisp and cool, the leaves are starting to turn, and life is cozy.   The ghost wreath on our door is one I made several years ago and I still love it!  While I know that decorating for Halloween is a big thing these days I am NOT purchasing or making any new items.  Using what I have...and thinking of editing some things this year as I put them away.  I put out Fall/Sunflower items right after Labor Day - then just tuck in some Halloween items for the month of October.

Our foyer greets guests with "Aunt Mamie's Ghost".  My dear Aunt Mamie made this ghost in her ceramics class and she was in her 90's at the time.  She even learned how to wire it so it lights up.  Every year I enjoy bringing it out and thinking of her.

Love this display on top of our wine rack....just took some old books, spray painted them black, then added the stick on silver letters.

Just added a Happy Halloween sign to the Fall coffee table display...

And tucked in a Jack-O-Lantern and ghost ( also made by Aunt Mamie) into the mantel display.

This is a "vintage" Jack-O-Lantern...I made this in ceramics class the first year we were married - 1977.  

Love this pillow...."and your little dog, too"!

Ghost for the dining room was made in 1977, also.

And, if you were not already creeped out enough  - here is Aunt Mamie's doll. It is an antique Queen Louise doll that we had restored a few years ago.  Aunt Mamie received it for her birthday around 1907...and it is so nice to see it restored to a good condition. 

Do you decorate for Halloween ? 

Please leave a comment...and thank you for stopping by Our New Vista !