Dave and I hope that you enjoyed the holidays!
I would like to start with some topics on recent header and footer photographs. In last month’s newsletter my header photo was not at our home. Because of all the construction going on in our house, we could not put up our Holiday tree until right before Christmas. That was well after I needed to send you the December newsletter. So, the photo is from my friend Carmen’s home here in Port Ludlow. Recently we were exploring another area of the Olympic Peninsula. Dave and I found a nice restaurant called the Kingston Ale House. I was taken with the large fork and spoon artwork on the wall and that is the backstory for this header photo. Finally, this footer photo was a beautiful rainbow the other day across the street over our neighbor’s home. Dave asked BJ if they had a pot of gold in their house!
Here is a little bit about where I got the recipe for this month. After I graduated from high school in Germany, I flew with my family to Oregon to start the next phase of my education at the University of Oregon. Locally, I had family but no stateside friends. I was lucky to be in a great dorm and made lifelong friends. Peggy Meneice (now Mandeville) is one of those people. Recently she sent me an email with a recipe for Hoppin’ John. This is a traditional dish made in the south that they eat on New Year’s Day to bring in good luck for the year. It is delicious.
One thing I learned the hard way when I was making this recipe is that my paprika had gone bad. My give away was that the paprika wasn’t red anymore but brown. So, I recommend tasting your spices before using them. Just dab a little on your finger and make sure the color and flavor is right.
After living in Washington state for nearly 5 months, we are heading out for our first get away. It will be on Thursday when we will take the Edmonds ferry to the east side of the Puget Sound and then drive to the beautiful Bavarian town of Leavenworth. They have plenty of snow in the mountains, so we plan to snowshoe in various places. I suspect the German food will be authentic. This will bring back many memories of Christmas in Bavaria along with other neighboring countries.
Happy New Year as we start 2023!
From my table to yours!
Your galley guide
