Thank you to all who expressed concern in their comments on my last blog post over the wildfire that was burning in our local foothills. Thankfully, the brave firefighters made many firebreaks and there was a light snowfall that night which helped contain the fires until they could be extinguished. Later that week we received a long-awaited snow accumulation of 2 inches!
After the unusually warm autumn we had, it was a welcome sight to see snow instead of very dry tinder in our hills!
A herd of deer came running into my neighbor's yard during the storm and they made me smile as they looked confused by all the snow! It had been 232 days since they saw snowfall in our area, which broke a long weather record for late snowfall.
It was a winter wonderland for a day!
I have been busy decorating and doing Christmas preparations.
I was also fortunate to see Santa Claus come to our neighborhood ranch house where our oldest granddaughter was able to tell him her Christmas wishes!
It is Baccala--salted codfish. We send away a mail order for it from New York every year as we find it difficult to find it in Colorado. It is my husband's favorite and he looks forward to it every year! It is soaked in water for a few days to remove all the salt and I prepare it two ways. I cut pieces and make the thick portions of the fish floured and deep-fried and the thinner pieces I simmer in tomato sauce with peppers and olives. If you are curious as to the recipe for the second preparation you can find it in this older blog post--click here --in which I wrote about my favorite movie, Moonstruck, and included a recipe for Baccala Fiorentina.
For the next two weeks, I'll be extra busy baking for Christmas. I always make the same favorites every year. You can find the recipes in this older blog post--click here.
When I look back at these old posts I am amazed how long I've been blogging and wonder how I've had so much to say over the years. Thank you to all my readers for keeping an interest in Mille Fiori Favoriti along with me!
I'll be taking a blog break until after Christmas so I can devote all my time to last-minute holidays joys.
The true reason for the season.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!
I'll see you all back here in a few weeks!