Solstice cake…

Last night, I hosted a few friends, and we celebrated the winter solstice with ingredients that have been used for hundreds of years.

I didn’t even scratch the surface of ingredients that I could have used, but I used as many as I could that would have been available 200 + years ago.

If I could go back in time I would have gone to school to be a food anthropologist. I love learning about what and how people prepared their food for thousands of years.

In my solstice dinner I used carrots, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, walnuts, chestnuts, maple syrup, parsnips, onions, raisins, chicken, spinach, butter, cranberries, orange, rosemary, and cheese.

All very common ingredients that I use almost daily and I always have on hand.

I made a solstice cake and realized when I found the recipe, which is pretty much a festive carrot cake, that I saved the image of the cake a few years ago.

I used that image for an eggnog cake I made and brought to our neighbor’s White Elephant Christmas party.

I got the idea from that image to make the small rosemary trees. I used crumbs under the trees and to cover up the failed frosting job on the sides of the cake.

When I found the cake recipe I used and went back to that image, it was the same cake. It was begging for me to make it and I’m glad I did.

Here is the link to the solstice cake recipe. https://bromabakery.com/winter-solstice-cake/

I added some sugared cranberries, which by the way are shocking wonderful to snack on or put into a salad and they are super easy to make.

Here is the link to the sugared cranberries recipe I use each year. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sugared-cranberries/

The rest of our dinner included a chestnut and caramelized onion crostini topper with cranberries and rosemary.

The entree was a spinach and cheese stuffed chicken breast, parsnip purée, and maple glazed carrots. All came out very good.

We had a lovely evening celebrating the first day of winter. Only a year ago, Marty and I hated when winter was approaching for as long as I can remember.

During my transformation, I’ve learned to love all four of our seasons, to slow down, to look around at things, and to appreciate the little things in life.

This year, I looked forward to winter coming and I don’t mind the cold weather at all. Damn, things have really changed.

Embracing the four season has taken more negativity out of my life that has been there since adulthood.

As an adult, I never stopped to appreciate winter and how beautiful it is here in Vermont.

Dressing for winter is also a game changer making going outside refreshing and even pleasant when the sun or the stars are out.

Instead of joining bitching sessions about winter, now, I smile and say I like it and walk away from the conversation.

To those of you who dislike winter, I get it. Growing up in the overpopulated part of Jersey, I grew up where, unless you are a child, it’s harder to find beauty when the snow turns black after 5 minutes, and people do not know how to drive in it.

Happy Winter, guys! ❄️