Old man winter gets a bad rap sometimes.  Cold weather is often blamed for aches and pains, and depressed moods, especially on rainy, gloomy days.  There is conflicting research about whether weather actually does anything to alter moods, worsen depression or cause arthritis pains.  I think everyone can agree that a cold, rainy, gray day makes one want to curl up inside under a warm blanket for a nap.

So what can we do to reverse the cold-weather coma that tends to settle over us?  Here are a few ideas for cold weather fun to enjoy with your family and friends:

1)  Old fashioned hot chocolate.  I’m not talking about packets of powdery stuff and hot water.  If it’s cold out, take the time to get out the old saucepan, heat up some milk, dissolve cocoa powder and sugar and sprinkle little marshmallows over the top.  Sure, the old fashioned way takes a little extra time, but you can’t beat the taste and richness that warm you through and through.  Here’s a recipe:  http://www.southernplate.com/2009/12/old-fashioned-stovetop-hot-chocolate.html

2)  Chili!  Hearty, warm chili is the perfect cold night supper.  Popular with kids and adults alike, chili tends to bring everyone together around the table.  The varieties of chili are endless:  over a bowl of Fritos and topped with cheese, with cornbread on the side, over a hot dog, and so on.  Chili is such a simple dish to make, easy for kids or the kitchen-challenged!  You can add extra meat or tomatoes as your tastes prefer. Our family loves to eat chili on cold winter nights, and recently I shared my simple, easy recipe with St. Francis Villa’s kitchen and the residents loved this hearty style of chili:

(Made for a family of 5)

2 lb ground beef, browned and drained.

4 cans dark red kidney beans

2 cans crushed tomatoes

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cups water

2 packets McCormick mild chili seasoning

Place beef in the bottom of a dutch oven, add all other ingredients.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.  While simmering, shred cheese or make cornbread to go with this delicious, heartwarming dinner.

3)  Quilts!  Many families have heirloom quilts, some even handmade by a mother or grandmother.  Blankets and quilts tend to carry stories, often given as wedding or baby gifts.  Cold, dreary days are perfect for getting out those heavy quilts and sharing those family stories.

4)  Seed starting.  Cold days when most gardens can’t be in beautiful bloom are the perfect days to be busy planning for warmer, more garden friendly weather.  What a great way to fight cold-day gloomies!  All you need is some potting soil, a few small cups, and your desired seeds.  Plant the seeds, water them, and place them in front of a sunny window.  Spend the next few weeks of cold weather caring for your seedlings, then transplant them to your garden as the weather starts to warm, or even give them away to a friend.

5) Rest.  We so often forget the many natural patterns and rhythms that work together to bring about balance.  I recently read about a small farm that considers the months of December to February their “Sabbath” during which people, plants and animals rest from the work of growth and life. Sometimes cold weather and dreary days prevent us from getting out and doing things we want to do.  Consider taking advantage of slow days and use that time to catch up on reading, writing notes, and even taking some extra naps.  Though it’s currently in fashion to be as busy as humanly possible, it’s really OK, even beneficial, to slow down and rest.

Today, we are preparing for a rare occurrence of “wintry mix” weather in New Orleans.  We may even see some snow!  As the winter months go on, and more folks bemoan the gloomy weather, I hope you’ll take the cold temperatures as an opportunity to share flavors, memories, and good times with those you love.  Though it’s cold outside, make sure your heart stays warm!

Up early this morning to bake sweet potatoes for my casserole, I started thinking about Thanksgiving memories. I always get emotional around the holidays, especially since my family is far away. So I throw myself into making way too much of my Granny’s cornbread dressing, my mama’s sweet potato souffle’ and green bean casserole with beans from my daddy’s garden. My husband wants his childhood favorites too, so our table also holds oyster dressing, seafood stuffed merlitons, and creamed cauliflower. We always say we’re going to have a quiet day, but it always builds into a crowd of other people who don’t have family around and I like it because quiet days give me a little too much time to miss my mom and dad, my sister and my brother.

I remember my granny making such a huge pan of cornbread dressing that my dad had to stir it for her, and my husband remembers his grandpa shucking oysters all day for his grandma’s oyster dressing while he and his brother roller skated around the garage. I wonder what the fond memories will be for my kids when they are grown. I hope they’ll remember the good tastes I grew up with and keep making those things for their kids. But more than that, I hope they remember the love we have, the time spent together, and the people we share our table with this Thanksgiving.

I find myself caught between an ache for home and what used to be, and an enthusiasm for making happy memories for and with my own little ones. So this year, I’ve decided to fill my Thanksgiving with stories and hugs, songs and memories. I’ll tell stories to my little ones about things I did as a kid, about my Granny and her ways, about my cousins and our antics. We’ll talk about Granny’s big pan of dressing for the big family gathering in her Florida orange grove and about little Dwayne roller skating around as his Grandpa shucked oysters for a New Orleans Thanksgiving. We’ll talk about everything we have to thank God for, most of all each other.

I hope your Thanksgiving is happy, full of good food, family and friends. I hope you find time to talk about special memories of Thanksgivings past and make new memories for your family to treasure. Top of my list this year and always is the love of my friends, the residents and staff at St. Francis Villa Assisted Living. They truly are my home away from home, my family away from family. For their friendship and trust, and for the memories we make every day, I’m so grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Mrs. Maria Cangemi Ledet won our cookie contest.  Her original recipe, the product of years of trial and error, produced the most amazing chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.  Chef Frank Brigtsen agreed, and declared Maria the winner!  Best of all, we had a wonderful time sampling and sharing ALL the cookie submissions.  There were smiles on every face!

So… Cajun Cherry Bounce.  This concoction was brought up by some of our residents as they shared memories of childhood and young adulthood.  We’d never heard of cherry bounce and decided to do a little research.  To our delight, cherry bounce is relatively easy to make, just takes time and a little attention.  A few ladies gathered together, measured out cherries, sugar, and bourbon, and our kitchen staff helped to store and turn the jar as it aged.  We let ours age for a month, but some of the recipes we found call for three or even six months of storage in a cool, dark place before serving.

We served our cherry bounce over ice cream or over ice as a cocktail.  Residents LOVED the smooth taste and the memories brought up were evident as they shared stories and laughter.  Our cherry bounce recipe was as follows:

2 lb fresh cherries (we recommend pitting the cherries though no recipe we found instructed us to do so)

2 cups sugar

1 fifth of bourbon

Combine all ingredients in a glass container, store in a cool, dark place for one to three months, turning the jar upside down every other day or so to mix ingredients and help dissolve sugar.

On Tuesday, July 9th, the residents of St. Francis Villa were treated to Plum Street Snoballs!  Plum Street owner, Donna Black, brought a great setup to our front porch and made snoballs for any and everyone.

Mr. Pete said it had been 64 years since he’d had a Plum Street Snoball!  Mr. Gabe said he used to get a Plum Street snoball after he finished his paper route when he was a boy.

There’s nothing like a snoball to bring up great old memories and make great new ones.  Thanks, Donna and Plum Street Snoballs!!