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“ I am inclined to think bathing one of the necessaries of life.” Henry David Thoreau I come from a family that thinks every problem in life can be solved in a warm bath. That may be a little broad perhaps, but I do know that for myself almost anything is a little less daunting after I’ve had a good soak. My mother swore by a hot bath with her Shalimar bath oil first thing in the morning before she went off to work. I loved her Shalimar, I've written about it so many times. My father swore that it... Continue reading

I am trying like hell to channel my rage into action. It isn't easy when I have dear friends who are losing three out of four parents as I type this. This isn't about not trusting your friends and family members...this is about an enemy we cannot see. If your family members think that you don't love them because you insist upon wearing a mask in their presence? Ask them what their definition of love is? Does it include dying for them? Remember please. Stay Home. Stay physically distant. Wash your hands. Wear a mask and a face shield when you have to be inside, in a car together and in public. Continue reading

Fast forward into this century , my brother in law Peter is a quiet, very laid back research scientist. 362 days of the year he is a semi strict vegetarian, who hardly ever touches alcohol, let alone massive amounts of eggs and cream! However on Solstice Eve, Christmas day and New Years eve, he has been known to ask me for this eggnog and being the terrific guy that he is, I never refuse to make it for him! It's simply known in our family as Peter's eggnog and it's delicious! It's so easy to make and it's even better when served in a punchbowl surrounded by spicy yuletide greenery! Continue reading

A cocktail party can easily be transformed into the best holiday gathering (in my mind) of all, a grand dessert buffet that usually starts at around 10:00 pm. I love to meet my guests at the door with a champagne cocktail and I always serve just a few canapés, like a cheese puff or mushroom toast just in case that my guests haven’t had much dinner. The fun of a party like this is in the dramatic way that you present it! Have all of the candles lit in the room, but keep your guests as far away from the table as possible so that they can see the flickering flames of the candles but not the food. I'd pick a fabulous piece of music to be playing (Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy or something wonderful like that!) and at about 11:00 I'd throw open the doors and invite everyone to gather at the dessert table. Continue reading

Gougere are sexy hot little puffs of Pate' Choux , filled with gouda cheese and incredible flavor. The best part, is that they're really easy to make and are a perfect quick appetizer to be served with an impromptu glass of champagne! They're also my favorite comfort food, to be served piping hot with a bowl of tomato bisque that's been liberally laced with a tablespoon or two of fine Madeira! You can also split them open and stuff them with hot chicken or salmon salad or goat cheese. They're basically wee little magically cheesy cream puffs! Continue reading

I love milk punch! This relatively old recipe is one that never seems to lose its intrigue and in my mind is a too often overlooked staple of the holiday season. I'd had it many times, but had forgotten about it over the course of many years as delicious organic eggnog became so readily available in the stores. However my good friend Justin teased me one day with the promise of a homemade milk punch that would swear me off of eggnog forever. I waited and waited and then one day he waltzed into my Solstice party with two bottles of a wonderfully thick looking wintry white drink! Continue reading

I love Christmas trees...Well actually I love everything about Christmas and the holiday season as a rule. When I was a kid growing up, until I was about 6, we didn't have a tree. We really didn't celebrate much of anything because my parents were very reformed Jews, so I never grew up having much connection to Hanukkah either. We lived in Pepper Pike, Ohio, and we were one of only a few Jewish families living there at the time. I still remember the day my older brother and sister came home and told my parents that it was time to get a Christmas Tree..."for Beth so she didn't feel like she didn't belong", but I still remember their smiles as we strung the popcorn, oranges and cranberries to decorate it. Continue reading

I adore the Christmas season and for so many reasons it is so magical to me. There are always several constants like the annual reading of Clement C. Moore’s “The Night before Christmas”, white truffles, lots of chocolate, roasted chestnuts, smoked salmon, New York City and gallons of bourbon milk punch and Champagne. Of course my perfume of choice is Caron’s lovely Nuit de Noel, a fragrance that is completely saturated with the soul and scent of the holiday season. Continue reading

I've always said that if I weren't living in Cleveland and I had my choice of cities to live in, that besides New York, Montreal would be at the top of my list. It's close enough to the border and I could get home to see all my loves easily, but at the same time live someplace where English wasn't the first language. I'm personally of the opinion that every American needs a crash course in living internationally, because nothing expands your worldview like travel and that's a good thing. Right now with the borders closed, I have to dream of the day that I can get back to Montreal and simply recreate the flavors and fragrances here at home. It's not that difficult, because the entire city smells of 4 of the best things in life...Chocolate, freshly baked bread, garlic and white wine. Continue reading

It is once again hot boozy drink season and Wassail is one of my favorites hot mulled punches of the Yule Season. Often drunk from a wassailing bowl, the earliest versions of Wassail were made from warmed mead, ale or hard cider. Continue reading

I love the pre-made holiday coffee creamers that you can find in the store this time of year, but unfortunately they come with so many added ingredients, even the natural ones. After discovering more than a few added into my favorite blends, I decided to just make my own. It so easy, fun and you can create so many different flavors. Continue reading

Christmas is one of my truly favorite holidays because it’s so abundant, elegant and lush. It can also be contemporary, primitive country, hunting lodge rustic or childlike because it is a holiday that can be expressed in a million wonderful and unique ways. It’s a fabulous opportunity to bring fresh creativity to your table and have quite a lot of fun in the process. Continue reading

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you... we had a wonderful day and I hope that yours was lovely too...it was small in guests and large in laughter, magic and intimacy. Continue reading

Please join me everyday from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day as we have an old fashioned Countdown to Christmas Cheer on the Windesphere Witch Blog! Each day I'm going to write about something I'm doing...some aspect of the holidays that I love. This will be the story of my love for winter, for the Solstice, for the Yule log, the figgy pudding and the mistletoe. I'll probably have a couple of door prizes too...If you've got a blog or an instagram and you want to play along with me, just let me know and I'll share your links! I'll be using the hashtag #30daysofChristmasCheer on Instagram and Facebook if you want to share there as well. Continue reading

This was originally shared by John Forti, The Heirloom Gardener, but it really touched me, as several weeks ago I looked at my hands, and for the first moment saw the passage of time. Some of my favorite memories are of blackberries and blackberry picking...first with my Aunt Ida and then with my " Big Sister" Riet who was from Holland , both long gone. My sister and I have picked blackberries in the fields behind my parents home and when we bought our farm, you can imagine my delight when I saw the wild blackberries climbing the pasture fences.... Continue reading

Come little leaves, by George Cooper “Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day, “Come o'er the meadows with me and play; Put on your dresses of red and gold, For summer is gone and the days grow cold.” Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call, Down they came fluttering, one and all; Over the brown fields they danced and flew, singing the glad little songs they knew. “Cricket, goodbye, we’ve been friends so long; Little brook, sing us your farewell song; Say you are sorry to see us go; Ah, you will miss us, right well we... Continue reading

Tonights meal is real French comfort food...Jacque Pepins Maman's Cheese Souffle and a wonderful salad of simple green with a mustardy, garlicky vinaigrette. To start we're having a velvety sweet potato, cream and chestnut soup, which is more like a bisque actually and some delicious smoked scallops with a black truffle aioli. With all of that richness, I thought something sweet/tart was in order, so I took a cue from my sister Ellen who'd made the same souffle yesterday and served it with homemade applesauce. This may just be the fastest yet the best applesauce I've ever made! You can... Continue reading

It’s beginning to look like the holidays here at Windesphere.... #snowglobes #christmas #yule #solstice #holidays #safeathome #hygge #hyggehome #kitchenwitch #witch #magic #magical #blessed #gratitude #lifestyle #visualstoryteller #holidayentertaining #interiordesign #tablescapes #tablesetting Continue reading

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I think Susan Branch said this first, but I so agree. As hard as it is at times, this enforced solitary time is truly a blessing. It’s a time for introspection, for reading and writing, for creating and simply breathing. It’s the time to learn something new...you know that things you w been putting off for years. Maybe it’s time for a new career? Why wouldn’t you look at all of these things right now? My wish for all of us is that we come through this time remembering the good of it as well as the pain....of knowing that... Continue reading

Warning. This is a tad political. Turn back now if you’re politically faint of heart. 16. THE TOWER.-- Misery, distress, indigence, adversity, calamity, disgrace, deception, ruin. It is a card in particular of unforeseen catastrophe. As a friend of mine , Rochette said this morning.... this particular moment in time, is a “ Tower” moment and I agree. The way I see it is that Republican Party has built a fortress around themselves that has turned into a prison of their own making. The negative energy which they’ve called on over and over again , the energies of control, unbridled... Continue reading