March. Coming in like a lion- dropping temperatures-
forecasts for up to 10+ inches of snow. BRR!
But in my kitchen- all is pretty warm and bright.
In my kitchen…
Lunch! Ham sandwich with a couple of slices of cinnamon bread,
lettuce, prickly pear cactus jelly and black olive mustard and
minestrone soup. Mmm- really delicious! and comforting.
and WARM!
In my kitchen…
Bread with just cinnamon swirl- no sugar- it 
made the best flavor!
In my kitchen…
a cover for my Kindle Fire- specially made for me by my d-i-l Willow!
Notice the hand embroidered butterfly!
In my kitchen…
a hand blown glass ball! A gift from Meredith- she got it for me
in Chincoteague but I hadn’t mounted it until now! And LOOK-
at the glow! It makes my kitchen shine with warm golden
light!
Spectacular! Now I can watch the glow and ignore the snow!
Welcome March!
Go to http://figjamandlimecordial.com/ and see Celia’s other In my kitchen bloggers for March- it is a great way to welcome the month and see some fun posts!
I will indeed watch the glow and ignore the snow! That’s a great poem! And good advice! We, don’t laugh, have a little bit of frost this morning and puffy clouds and golden sunlight and it all looks very pretty. I love your swirly bread and am very curious about how catus fruit jelly tastes, is it prickly? Or does it have a memory of prickles about it? I am off to visit a community fruit garden today, being brave and thinking about some sort of volunteering after a long dark winter both in my head and out – sending you lots of love and joy xx Jo
HI Joanna- not prickly but not much like a pear either. It has more of a vegetable like flavor- and not too sweet.
We haven’t had our winter storm scenario quite yet- coming tonight and tomorrow according to reports- but I am quickly becoming addicted to the glow of my witching ball all yellow and delightful!
Community gardens are a great place to volunteer- my d-i-l usually heads one up where ever they live. 🙂
Heidi, there is joy in your kitchen this month, I can feel it in your post! 🙂 Love the gifts from Willow and Meredith, gorgeous women both looking after you so well, and your ham sandwich looks just perfect for lunch! Have a wonderful March! xxx
I have survived another winter, Celia. I have gotten over the doldrums and am indulging in small joys daily.
Yeah- my girls are pretty special and loving! They are the real treasures!
Thanks for stopping by- always love visiting with you!
Hi Heidi. Your glass ball is delightful, it looks like it brings sunshine into your living room even though it is cold outside.
Thanks, Glenda- it looks that way here to me, as well! I love the golden swirly lights it reflects. It has glass stretched across the center inside- the glassblower pushes the hot glass through the ball and touches the opposite side and attaches a string of hot glass that makes branches of color throughout the ball.
I really love it!
Hello Heidi,
Your kitchen always has the best aromas, tastes and things to enjoy. I’m happy you’re feeling better and enjoying life again. Love you!
Thank you, Cynthia. Yesterday I baked a loaf of sourdough that had the entire house smelling delicious. Bread is a multi sensory sensation!
Cinnamon swirl bread! Delicious – and as you say, no need for sugar, which is a lovely advantage of making things from scratch. I love your hand blown glass bowl too. Beautiful 🙂
Kari- that is the fun of home made bread- it suits MY tastes, perfectly. I had the ball sitting in a window- but it didn’t display it to advantage. This way is spills light around for everyone to enjoy!
Love the idea of the cinnamon loaf with no sugar. I am sure it paired beautifully with the ham. That ball is stunning.
Hi Tania!
I love the addition of cardamom to bread and had been reading about the advantages of cinnamon to a diabetic diet. I DON’T need the sugar- but you’re right pairing the cinnamon in the bread with the ham was really good.
Heidi, hi there, hope all is well in your part of the world… I love the warmth of this post… we are coming into chilly weather here too and your delicious things are warming me up! Happy cooking.
Hi Lizzy- Things here are pretty much still winter. But I am not letting that take permanence in my kitchen or my heart. I like snow in November, December, even in January and February I can cope with the snow. But from March onwards it does NOT make me happy.
I’m glad it’s cooling down in Canberra- my niece says it is much more comfortable now- I wish we could somehow share the excess and enjoy temperate heat and cold!
Thanks for stopping by!
I love the glass ball. It looks so warm and inviting. We don’t get snow where I live, but that ball makes me think of roaring fires, hot chocolate and maybe a fluffy puppy keeping my lap warm. Your kitchen is lovely!
You know, Lisa- this ball is totally cheering me up right now. I get very down by the end of winter- we only got 2.5 inches of snow this weekend so the storm they were predicting with over 12 inches fell slightly south of us- but it just lasts too long. The snow season, that is. And when I’m in the kitchen and getting the influence of the light from the ball- well it is almost magical in how I feel like there is sunshine in my face. Thanks for stopping by!
Heidi, thanks again for the link for the wooden spoons. Sadly they don’t post all the way to South Africa.
Your sandwich looks fantastic. I love the idea of cinnamon bread, scrumptious.
Have a super week.
🙂 Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy- sorry about that- I wasn’t sure where they mailed to- my niece used to send me stuff she bought at a party in Hawaii.
I think these were a little larger than yours, anyway!
Hope the rest of your month is filled with bright days and great cooking!
10 inches of snow Heidi…how amazing is that. I really don’t think I would ever tire of it if I lived in a snowy place such as yours. Sometimes the boys and I pretend it’s snowing when it’s raining lightly. Sure we are in tshirts and barefeet, but we can pretend.
Brydie- it is so good for you to share your positive enthusiasm for snow. Ten inches of snow is wonderful for making snowmen and building forts- it is great for sledding down hills and often beautiful for sitting by the fire and watching it fall. It is also a time when the electric lines go down and your house is dark and freezing, when the roads are impassable and the grocery stores get a run on all the fresh foods and there is nothing in stock. It means isolation when you live in the country and difficulty getting to and doing your work. It means heart attacks after shoveling out the driveway and huge mountains of plowed snow causing visibility problems afterwards.
And in March and April- it is just plain unwelcome. Period.
(But thankfully, the storm passed slightly south of us- so we only got and inch or so. )
That black olive mustard looks very interesting!
It is very good and with a sourdough bread and turkey breast- it is fantastic!
Thanks for stopping by Tandy.
G’day Heidi! I LOVE blown glass and have seen it made worldwide, true!
YUM with your soup…just think as you are sending winter away, it will be here too soon here…
Thank you for this month’s kitchen view!
Cheers! Joanne
I love your glass ball though I’m glad I’m not sharing the snow with you.
Your cinnamon bread looks good – must give this a go.
Hi Anne- thanks for stopping by. Thankfully, the snow just missed up and we only got a couple of inches. Still no sign of anything like Spring, however! 🙁
Hello, Joanne! Always love hearing from you!
After your long hot summer- I would think a mild winter would be good for you in OZ?!
There is a little resort town down the coast from Chincoteague where they teach you how to blow your own glass ornaments in a class you can take right before Christmas. I’ve been trying to get my family to try it for years!
Love your handmade cover and ball. Both will brighten up any gloomy day. Your sandwich sounds delicious with a lot of flavors going on.
Hi Karen, Welcome to my kitchen!
My kitchen – where Winter is no longer welcome.
I do love the flavors in that sandwich. Sometimes all it takes is a great loaf of bread-
but then again what is inside counts an awful lot.
I just looked at your blog- I like to take the back roads and see what is going on and getting
eaten off the main roads, too.
Oh the joy of a warm kitchen to comfort us when the snow is blowing outside. Your cinnamon bread looks delicious, I’d never thought of using it for sandwiches as I can hardly get past toasting it with a generous schmear of butter. Lovely glass ball too!
Judy- warm kitchens are the best. Especially if they contain fresh bread and good soup!
Thanks for stopping by- and that golden glass ball reflects more than just light! I keep getting a reflection of love and joy!
Hello Heidi – so nice to meet you and see your array of delights in your kitchen! The mustard looks fabulous and I absolutely adore the blown glass ball. The kindle cover is so pretty too!
Hi, Selma- isn’t this a lovely way to meet? Bless Celia’s heart- she is so good to post all of these!
Thanks for visiting IMK- I enjoyed your post as well!
There is nothing better than a warm kitchen when winter is outside, your bread looks great. Don’t think I have come across prickly pear relish, something to keep my eye open for. That glass ball is totally unique.
Thanks for stopping by- my winter kitchen is always filled with baked goods- it is the best way to counteract the cold outside!
Your cinnamon bread looks so comforting…it was what we often would have as kids. It was just the best toasted with a little butter.
That was my comfort food as a child, as well.
And rice pudding. I can’t even think of rice pudding without feeling like all will be well.
Thanks for stopping by Laila!
The glass ball looks amazing. I’m glad you have it to bring some warmth into the cold and gloomy. We are starting to get colder weather here. The ham sandwhich looked really good as well. I’m having lasagna for lunch…
thanks,Meredith.
Love the golden rays inside the ball!
Lasagna- you made it? YUM!
Heidi, your glass ball is gorgeous — what a beautiful gift! I also like your idea to make cinnamon swirl bread without sugar. (Bet that ham sandwich was tasty!) Have you tried the black olive mustard? Made me swoon…
Hi Kim- yes I mixed the black olive mustard with a small scrape of the prickly pear cactus jelly and it was fantastic. In fact, I have made another ham just so I could recreate this sandwich. It is definitely a keeper!Thanks for stopping by!