Do you like grits? With this cauliflower-based version, you can enjoy that creamy, cheesy goodness and still stay low carb!
Author: Carrie
Holiday Tipples: Brennan’s Caribbean Milk Punch
It’s Friday night, and just a few days before Christmas – time for some libations! And, in honor of the season (and the winter solstice, of course), we’re having a creamy, dreamy, very festive milk punch.
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Musings: What The Holidays Mean To Me
This is the time of year when we’re supposed to spend the holidays with families and be surrounded by the warmth and magic of the season, right? When people are kinder and full of good will…except that reality doesn’t match that vision. Maybe it’s aspirational. And some of us either either can’t or don’t want to spend the holidays with family. I maintain that there’s nothing weird about it, and suspect that many more people would choose not to subject themselves to the “traditional” holiday merrymaking if they were truly honest with themselves about what they would enjoy doing.
Bake This: Easy Keto Bagels
Diets come and go, and if you’ve ever been on one and followed it strictly, you understand why. I’ve dabbled in several and still enjoy making dishes that are low carb, gluten free, paleo, or vegetarian, for example. One of the more popular diets now is the Ketogenic diet, which is generally low carb and high fat. I wanted to try out the Chewy Keto bagel recipe I found (because who doesn’t love bagels?), and when I realized that I had all the ingredients needed already on hand, I had to try it!
Knit This: Round Loom “Purls” Of Wisdom (Or Lessons Learned)
So, I’ve made a few hats on my round looms…and I’ve “frogged” a few, too. You know – rip it, rip it. Actually, after exploring options for adding onto a too-short hat, deciding a slouchy one was just too slouchy, and giving the thumbs-down to the folded-over brims my first hats had (too puffy with the bulky yarn I used), I just unraveled the ones that didn’t make the cut. Re-do time!
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Haiku: The Simple Joy Of Dogs And Leaves
I suspect that our dogs may enjoy crisp fall-on-the-cusp-of-winter weather as much as we do. One is a puppy, so it’s all new to her: frost on the grass, crunchy leaves, the seed pods that have fallen from the tulip poplar (that she persistently attempts to eat). Since she’s just a youngster, she also has an astonishing amount of energy, and we try to help her burn some of it off by chasing a rope tug toy with her older “sister”. It lifts my spirits to see the dogs running through the leaves, hear the crackly swooshing sound the leaves make, and watch the leaves flying as the dogs skid to a stop when they’ve grabbed the toy.
Once grabbed, the dog with the rope runs off, hoping the other will give chase. Our older dog is really fast – when she turns on the “turbo”, you can almost feel the power: those muscular legs propel explosive sprints and agile turns. She runs like a greyhound, and for the sheer joy of it. I envy the dogs those flexible spines, too – they can turn on a dime and reverse direction in a split second, moves that only well-trained human athletes could safely attempt.
The dogs play rough, as dogs do: once, when our puppy was just a small fry (not that long ago), her sister barrelled into her and bounced her off a tree trunk (and she didn’t even whimper!). Aghast, we ran over to check on her and make sure there were no cracked ribs or other injuries; to our surprise, she was just fine and the game went on. I can only imagine how much convalescing I would have required after bouncing off a tree trunk – and the game would definitely have been over.
Hooray for this cold, crisp, dry weather that allows the dogs to go out and play in the leaves – and for the time to watch them, throw those toys, and hear the sounds of nature around me. These are the moments – fleeting and precious – for which I consciously try to be present. One day soon, our frisky puppy will be a mature (sedate?) dog, and these leafy antics will just be a fond memory…or maybe they’ll enjoy this kind of horseplay for years to come!
