In My Kitchen January 2025, looking back on December 2024!

Let me just start out by saying, it is so hard to believe that January 2025 is here! Interestingly, for many of us, we remember when the year 2000 was the year to be worried over because all the computers were programmed with 199? and would anything work, when the world turned over to 2000 at the strike of midnight? And now in what seems like a blink of any eye, it is 25 years later...

Again this month we are joining Sherry for In My Kitchen! And I have to say, December was a busy month, with a first cruise, cooking, celebrating and digging Devil's Claw Fungi from the garden beds...Life I tell you, it will keep you hopping!

Yep we took a cruise, my very first one! 

Yes, my first cruise as a matter of fact, and I learned a couple of things about cruising. First I loved it! I had told my husband that this one would essentially be "cruise school" for us, and we would learn if it was going to be on our list of repeats or not. But I quickly learned it is a lovely way to travel, and while we have not booked another cruise, we have put a payment down as a placeholder! We would love to cruise hte inside passage to Alaska...

This cruise was a family cruise, for Christmas. We limited our gifts at home to stocking stuffers only for the adults, and gifts for our grandson. The cruise was our Christmas gift to each other. We got to see and smell the ocean (my favorite smell in the world, I am originally, a coastal born woman!), eat delicious food, and spend leisure time with the family. Unfortunately not all on the cruise had a good time. Grandson got a little seasick, fortunately it was easily soothed with a toddler seasick patch. But our SIL had more of a difficult time, they are hoping something can be done about that for the future, but at this time have no plans to cruise in the near future. 

And yes, another change in the kitchen this month...

I have been looking around my kitchen to remove and replace items with any off gassing (non-stick bakeware & silicone coated anything) as well as anything causing plastic microchip particles (individual grinders for spices and our faithful pepper grinder). Regarding plastic cutting boards, they have been gone from my kitchen for many years now. I had purchased stainless steel bakeware last month for the first offender on the list last month. 

And for the second offender, this Salt and Pepper Pinch Bowl set. Now I have to be honest, I love a pinch bowl for salt, but pepper? So I made a little sprinkling spoon from one of my tiny measuring spoons, to keep pepper where it belongs. In the bowl or on the food, but not on my fingers, LOL! Plus I like how this little set of bowls fits right in, on our little dining table. 

And for use at the stove I have my original bamboo pinch bowl and a amber jar of ground pepper, including a measuring spoon to sprinkle it over the food.

 

Even gone for five days, it was a busy time in the kitchen!

One thing I have noticed here recently is that, even in the winter there is a lot to do on the property! Maybe more so than in the summer largely because it is not as hot. Which offers no built in excuse to stay inside! And in some ways there is actually more to do. Winter is our stormy season like many other areas, and we have lots of limbs to pick up after every rain/wind storm. Along with lots of weeds, because they grow the year round! And with no competition from planted crops, the garden beds fill with weeds!  

Also noticed was that with the shorter days, often I'm really not in the mood to cook dinner, once inside for the night. So I have been working on recipes that are ready (just heat and eat!) right out of the freezer. Because it certainly holds true around here, hunger never stops...

 

While we had a lovely family Christmas dinner once home from the cruise, we no longer bake batch after batch of cookies. I did many years ago living in a larger community, as it was fun to take plates of cookies to all my neighbors. So none of the busy time in the kitchen was for cookies, LOL.

After eating so richly on the cruise we enjoyed a homestyle pot roast dinner, with Yorkshire pudding to make sure we had reason to eat as much gravy as possible! We also enjoy homemade Peppermint Ice Cream and a baked Sour Cream Pie with Montmorency Cherry Sauce and Whipped Cream. 

While the new recipes for the month are a bit on the slim side, I have more in the works, simply not posted as yet...but I always enjoy this look back. Sometimes thinking I did not get much done, and other times thinking I did a pretty fair job of it after all! Here are the new recipes and informational posts. 

Mushroom Potato Soup, the perfect "go with" mug of soup that will take leftovers to full meal status! Or simply enjoyed on it's own. Just load the IP, cook and puree.

What's In Your Crisper Drawer? Let's talk carrots...personally we use a lot of carrots in this kitchen! But the last idea for carrot use, has become my new favorite!

Rough and Ready Laundry Soap. Yep it was time to upgrade my laundry soap. Homestead living makes for a lot of dirty clothes...especially when you live with red clay soil. 

How to Retire an American Flag. For my series on Homestead living. I knew there was a proper and respectful process, and this turned into a pleasant afternoon to show respect to flag and country.

 

And of course I wanted to show off our Tiny House all decked out for Christmas! A Caravan Christmas, our tiny home tour 2024.

And you simply cannot end a year without there being personal favorites, leading to My Personal Favorites from 2024.

But this one is always as surprise...Top 10 Reader's Edition, 2024. And when I look at the numbers, it is heart warming to say the least. Some appear year after year. 

And in my ongoing desire to develop and improve my blogging skills, I updated 20 additional posts. Some with updated photos, others with correction or improvement to the information and for some, both were updated as needed. 

And that my friends is what went on In My Kitchen for December 2024.

PS, here are the dreaded Devil's Claw Fungi...

 #wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily

#DIYHomemadeHousehold

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