Recipes – Page 2

Finding Success in the Mediterranean Diet.

Last week I spent a few days helping…

Last week I spent a couple of days helping a family member set up their kitchen for the Mediterranean diet. Having a history of excessive plaque in their arteries, this person, who eats fairly healthy now, decided to double down their efforts to improve their health, and asked for my assistance. Of course, I said yes. Organizing the kitchen, shopping for healthy food and helping people reach their goals?

It’s been said hundreds, if not thousands of times, that the Mediterranean Diet is the proven best diet for heart health and overall quality of life. It is simple to follow, you look forward to eating the fresh, healthy meals that you cook, and you can enjoy a glass or two of wine with friends. It’s very relaxed, no strict rules to follow, no guilt, just living your best life, for you. The purpose of food is to nourish, not punish. I can’t strive this enough. Many people truly believe that they can’t be healthy without some measure of self torture. I find this so depressing. Who wants to live that way? Not I. Eat the whole grain bread. Eat lots of healthy fats. Drink the red wine. Enjoy your meal times with family.

After helping said family member put their kitchen to rights, I was inspired to come home and reorder my own kitchen. For me, this was putting away all unnecessary appliances, and making sure the ones that are useful to me have a permanent place on my counters. I intend to use my crockpot a couple more days a week, to make life simpler. We have a lot of people coming and going around here, nobody is really eating together often, so the crockpot is a no-brainer. I put away my stand mixer for a while, because I don’t intend to do much baking from scratch at this time. I downsized the amount of dishes in my cupboards, and utensils in my drawers. The coffee pot stays where it is. That’s my lifeline. Keeping the kitchen minimalist, and tidy is part of a winning lifestyle, for me. Now the kitchen feels ready to work again.

Part of staying on program is keeping a well stocked, yet frugal kitchen, and we all know how easily that can get out of control. One of the biggest obstacles that I have to eating healthy, on a budget, is my love of weird, exotic ingredients that no one, except me, ever eats. I love to try to new things. I love to learn to cook with new ingredients. My family doesn’t love to try new things, for the most part, so it’s really a waste of the grocery budget. I’ve learned to limit these expenses, by only purchasing what we regularly eat, or if I just have to try it, I only purchase a tiny amount for myself. I’m going to give you a list of the most common frugal ingredients to stock up on to live your healthiest life, with minimal torture.

Frugal Must Haves:

Dried Legumes (White beans, Red Beans, Black Beans, Lentils)
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat Pasta
Pita Bread, or Naan
Organic Frozen Greens (Spinach, Kale)
Organic Frozen Fruit (For Smoothies)
Frozen Vegetables (Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli)
Olives (Kalamatas are our favorite.)
Lemons, or Lemon Juice
Pre-Cooked Rotisserie Chickens (Freeze Extras)
Chicken Tenderloins (Fresh or Frozen)
White Fish (Fresh or Frozen)
Canned Tuna
Turkey Bacon
Organic Tomatoes
Eggs
Potatoes
Organic Tomato Sauce
Feta Cheese
Onion
Garlic
Plain Yogurt
Cucumbers

Things to Splurge On: (Discretionary)

Good Olive Oil
Greek Yogurt
Quality Red Wine (for drinking and cooking)
Dark Chocolate
Green Tea
Greek Coffee
Raw Honey
Phyllo Dough
Dried Dates
Walnuts
Fresh Mint
Fresh Oregano

This list will get you started with the Mediterranean Diet, making simple meals like Chicken Gyros, made with chicken pulled from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, topped with tzatziki sauce, spinach and tomato. Naan pizzas are easy to throw together when made with olive oil and garlic, loaded with feta, vegetables and a little turkey bacon. Marinate some chicken tenderloin in lemon, olive oil, and oregano, and serve with pasta and vegetables. This Spanish tortilla is a go to meal in our house:

With 2-4 ingredients you can toss this meal together in under 10 minutes. Chip a few slices off a potato, scramble 2 eggs and you’ve got the basis for a Spanish tortilla. You can add some green onion, top with some feta and you’ve got an impressive breakfast, a light healthy lunch, or an easy weeknight dinner, adding a little Serrano ham and green olives.

Keep Greek Yogurt on hand, for a delicious, healthy snack of yogurt, honey and almonds. If you need something sweeter, look to recipes that come from regions like Israel, Turkey, and Greece. These are likely to be made with dates and nuts, making them a healthier choice than cookies or candy loaded with refined sugars. Baklava can also be enjoyed in moderation, with coffee, for a luxurious treat. Indulge in Greek/Turkish Coffee. Don’t have a Briki (Greek coffee pot)?

This set has everything you need to get you started.

Part of finding success in this lifestyle is to regularly indulge in daily, small luxuries. Simple, delicious food, an affordable (drinkable) red wine, bold coffee, dark chocolate. Meals with great friends and family, add meaning to your life. Plenty of long walks keep you young. Indulge in both, often. Add more movement into everyday. Pay attention to the small improvements. Celebrate every little success. Embrace this lifestyle, as a gift you are giving yourself, not a punishment for your past choices.

What is your lifestyle philosophy? Do you agree that life is meant to be lived, and loved? If you have any suggestions for building a lifestyle that you love, maintaining a healthy kitchen, or simplifying the Mediterranean Diet, please feel free to leave me a comment. I can be found on instagram@canigetaramen, and on FB & Pinterest @ canigetaramen.food.blog.

Road Trip Smoothies

The weather here has been unseasonably warm the past couple of weeks, which has put me in the mood to take inventory of our camping gear. Yes, I know it’s going to snow this weekend.

The weather here has been unseasonably warm the past couple of weeks, which has put me in the mood to take inventory of our camping gear. Yes, I know it’s going to snow this weekend. Buckets of snow. I’m staying positive though, and looking forward to spring, plus, I’m willing to drive a few hours south, to get some camping in; hopefully soon. Our philosophy when it comes to camping leans toward keep it simple, but there are some things you can’t live without. We usually take a couple larger tents, air mattresses for all, sleeping bags, cast iron cookware, and a coffee pot. Now that we are stable homeowners we seem to be acquiring more and more gear, but I prefer to travel light when possible. The one thing that I hate about camping is feeling like everything I eat, while camping, is convenience food. The kids tend to eat things like pop-tarts and cereal bars for breakfast, and then we grab meals on the fly the rest of the day, unless we are hiking, then we bring light, healthier meals with us. As you know, how you start your day affects your productivity for the entire day, so I try to start mine with green smoothies, every day possible. Unless of course, I’m camping. I try to eat fruit for breakfast, or something healthy, but it’s just not the same. Having just recently rediscovered my love of camping, I am not well versed in the latest gadgets available to make life easier when camping. I have spent a lot of time as of late researching all the cool things I have missed. There are much cooler camping gadgets than these personal smoothie blenders, I’m sure, but I can’t think of anything more useful to me, personally. A blender that I can take camping, or hiking, is about the greatest invention, for me, that has ever existed. You know I’m going to buy this. Which one though? They have differing features like cup size, number of cups, types of batteries, display screens and bases available, have varying levels of portability, a few you can run while charging, most can’t, and they come in every color you can think of. Choices, choices. Here’s my top picks:

This fun little blender also comes with an ice tray and funnel!

This little gem is great for tossing in your gym bag.

The next road block, then, is how to keep your fruit frozen, on the road. There are of course various coolers that can easily maintain a core temperature of 40 degrees, but that’s not going to keep it frozen for very long.

If you’re looking for a simple cooler, no brand is better than a YETI.

This one is a basic model, but is actually electric; it’ll cool down to 40 degrees and can keep things at a toasty 130 degrees as well, if that’s your thing.

Pricier than most, but this one is the ideal cooler for all situations.

This should cover everything you need to take your smoothie game on the road. I can’t wait to try this out on my next excursion, not sure I’ll be splurging on the Dometic cooler yet though. If you decide to, though, let me know if you love it. Likewise, if you have any tips for keeping camp food super healthy, please share them in the comments, or on insta@canigetaramen. Find us on FB or Pinterest @ canigetaramen.food.blog. Thanks for reading!

Mango-Berry Sorbet Smoothie

Well, it’s a week into the New Year. Perhaps, sticking to those healthy changes, that we all vowed to make, is starting to feel a little less appealing than it did seven days ago. Maybe

Well, it’s a week into the New Year. Perhaps, sticking to those healthy changes, that we all vowed to make, is starting to feel a little less appealing than it did seven days ago. Maybe less important, as well. It might be, that you are starting to question why you made this choice, and why you want to maintain it, when everybody else has gone back to pizza, burgers and beer. I want you to remind yourself of the goals you set for yourself. Find the self-love that brought you to your decision, and reaffirm it. And then partake in a tiny indulgence. Sometimes all it takes to find your commitment again is a really good treat.

The smoothie that I’m sharing is the ultimate healthy treat. It tastes like dessert, but is packed with vitamins, and minerals. Loaded with antioxidants(mango and berries), healthy fats (almond butter), and immune boosting ginger, it will keep you on track, help fight winter colds, cure your sweet tooth. You’ll be convinced that your slurping on a calorie laden concoction, straight from your local smoothie bar. But this is so much better!

There is nothing like a raw food smoothie to help you stay on track when you really want to quit. When you’ve beaten the sweet tooth with something satisfying yet insanely healthy, you will feel on top of the world, and ready to tackle all your healthy living challenges.

Here’s what you’ll need.

For Mango Smoothie Base:

1/2 banana
1 C. Mango
1 inch Knob of Ginger, peeled
1 Tbsp. Almond Butter
1/2 C. Coconut Milk
Tiny Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Add fruit and coconut milk to blender, mix well. Add in remaining ingredients, mix for 45 seconds. Pour into glass.

For Berry Sorbet Topping:

1/4 C. Blackberries
1/4 C. Blueberries
1/4 Coconut Milk

Blend together in blender for 30 seconds, or until and icy sorbet texture is formed. Scoop onto top of mango smoothie with an ice cream scoop. Add a straw. Enjoy!

I hope this little treat helps you revive your dedication to your healthy goals this week. Sometimes, it’s all about putting one foot in front of the other and taking it one day at a time. If you have a ‘save the diet’ smoothie recipe please feel free to share it in the comments, or share pics on instagram@canigetaramen. We can also be found on Pinterest and FB @canigetaramen.food.blog. Thanks so much for reading!

New Year’s Pre-Game Champagne Cocktail

I hope everyone is gearing up for a fantastic New Year’s Eve. I know we are. We are heading out to have dinner with my parents, and then hopefully out for a couple drinks, after. Weather dependent, course. I am just enjoying this little cocktail before we go. It’s not too sweet, a little bit tart, actually, and just a few ingredients. I am going to keep it short and sweet today, with just this quick holiday cocktail, and a brief reminder to stay safe tonight, and to wish you the merriest, and most prosperous of New Year’s.

Tbis simple champagne cocktail is easy to whip up in the blender with some frozen mango, fresh pineapple, and canned mango and guava juice, a sample sized bottle of Deep Eddy Orange, and Moscato Spumante. Our favorite is Barefoot.

Ingredients:

Bottle of Barefoot Bubbly Moscato Spumante Champagne
1/4 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 can mango juice
1/2 can guava juice
Sample sized-bottle of ‘Deep Eddy’ brand Orange flavored vodka

Combine all ingredients aside from vodka into a blender and blend for about a minute or until thoroughly combined. Pour into serving glass and top off with vodka. Garnish with fruit if desired. Enjoy!

If you have a favorite New Year’s cocktail, feel free to share in the comments, or on insta@canigetaramen. Find us on FB or Pinterest @canigetaramen.food.blog. Happy New Year!

Best-Self Smoothie Recipes for The New Year.

One of the more important goals that I have for the oncoming new year, is to find ways to help people eat more healthfully. Not in a latest diet fad- lose 40 lbs this month-kind of way, but in a self-loving-here for the future me, showing up for my best self-best life-long term kind of way. I know that the optimal way to do that is to lead by example. With that in mind, I am going to share two of my favorite morning smoothie recipes that help me feel on top of my game, everyday.

This is a time of year when improving is on everyone’s mind, whether that’s health, career, or maybe relationships, many are setting goals for improvement. Having come back to my roots, for the time being, I am often re-exposed to the patterns and mindsets, surrounding food, that helped to shape my early relationship to eating. The feast or famine relationship with food, exercise, weight. I am so thankful that I don’t struggle with this mindset anymore, but I see so many people who do, and I just want to help fix them all. Of course, that’s not possible, but if I can help even a few do better, I will feel that I’ve improved, too.

Everyone’s heard, again and again, that consistency is the key to weight loss. (Because it is.) I don’t need to say it. (If you feel that you would be healthier at a lower weight, or a higher weight, then go ahead and make that one of your goals.) What I will say though, is if you take the focus off of just losing weight, and put it on eating well, for your health, out of self love, right where you are at, right now, that you will find it’s easy to eat healthfully, because you are doing it for the right reasons. To feel great when you wake up in the morning. To be there for your family. To give life your everything. When you show up as your best self time and time again, you will find the confidence, over time, to tackle your scariest goals, both physical and mental, to face your fears, and do what you thought you never could. And it all starts with a little self care. What could be easier than that?

It makes sense that self care starts with nutrition, right? If you are properly nourished all the other little things just seem to fall in line, don’t they? You may find the energy to do a little yoga, or make it to the gym. What about mental wellness? You might read a book on starting that business, or healing childhood wounds. You may be inspired to set your finances in order, or Kondo your home? You just seem to have the energy to make things better. Or improve.

OK. On to the smoothies:

Smoothie #1:

Mango Oatmilk Smoothie

1 small banana
1 cup frozen mango
1/2 cucumber chopped
1 1/2 inch knob of ginger
1 tbsp. almond butter
1 tsp honey
1 scoop of greens and protein powder
3/4 cup of oatmilk

Place cucumber and oatmilk in blender, blend for 30 seconds. Add banana, blend again. Add frozen fruit, plus remaining ingredients, blend until smooth. Pour into glass, add re-usable straw, Matcha Pocky stick, and garnish with mango and cucumber.

Smoothie #2:

Triple Berry Pom Smoothie

1 small banana
1/2 cucumber
3/4 cup of coconut milk
1/2 tsp. honey
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1 scoop of greens and protein powder
1/2 inch knob of ginger

Add cucumber and coconut milk to blender, blend for 30 seconds. Add banana, blend again. Add frozen fruit, plus remaining ingredients, and blend until fully combined, and smooth. Pour into glass. Enjoy!

This is a great anytime smoothie. Or even dessert!

Here’s to hoping these smoothie recipes help you up your game, and present your best self, moving forward into 2020! Cheers!

If you have any smoothie recipes you think are fantastic and want to share, please feel free to leave them in the comments, or share on instagram@canigetaramen. Find us on FB and Pinterest @ canigetaramen.food.blog. Happy New Year!

A Blackberry-Eggnog Challenge

For a bit of backstory, every year my father asks me to make him blackberry truffles around the holiday. This is his favorite..

For a bit of backstory, every year my father asks me to make him blackberry truffles around the holiday. This is his favorite holiday treat. His second favorite is eggnog. He knows that I love to create new, elaborate desserts for Christmas dinner, so he challenged my to create something which combined both blackberries and eggnog. What can I say except:

While this is, by no means, elaborate, it’s certainly festive and definitely delicious. It is also very quick to throw together, looks beautiful, and makes a stunning dessert to take to all your holiday gatherings. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 pkg vanilla pudding mix
2 1/2 cups of eggnog
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 can of blackberry pie filling
1 carton of cool whip
1 angel food cake
mint leaves

There is not one single healthy aspect of this dessert; it is the easiest thing in the world to put together. Life is full of trade-offs. First start thawing the cool whip. Then, you’re going to dump the pudding mix into your stand mixer, add eggnog and milk. Mix on high until thick, pudding consistency is reached. Cube the angel food cake. Open blackberry pie filling, and get ready to assemble the trifle.

There is a rule of thumb for making a trifle like this one; first add the cubed angel cake, then layer in the pudding, next add fruit filling, repeat with cake, pudding, fruit, then pudding, top with cool whip, and finally garnish. Golly, that is a mouthful, metaphorically and literally.

Now, we will see if it passes muster with one of the pickiest eaters that I know. My father. If not, I’ll eat the whole thing myself. Life is full of trade-offs. 😀

If you have a picky eater at home as well, some version of trifle is sure to satisfy. Share your trifle recipes in the comments, and pics on insta @canigetaramen. Find us on FB and Pinterest@canigetaramen.food.blog.

Update: This recipe passed, in my opinion, the ultimate test. My extremely picky father, who only loves my mother’s cooking, devoured this trifle. Loved it. Everyone who has tried it has given it rave reviews. This trifle is a definite win, if you need an easy inexpensive dish to pass at holiday parties. Enjoy!

We Came, We Saw, We Ate Too Much.

As promised, we spent today at the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market. We were very excited to experience this market, as we are huge fans of handcrafted items. As I had mentioned in my previous post, when I was in my early (read: broke) twenties, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Europe to visit a friend. We spent a few days driving around Germany sight seeing. The two places that left the biggest impression on me were The Black Forest and Rothenburg. I found a Christmas pyramid that I fell in love with, but could not figure out the logistics of purchasing it and shipping it home with the sad (lack of) funds I was working with at the time. I have been haunted by this, each Christmas since. You may be haunted by three ghosts, but I am haunted by one Christmas pyramid. All kidding aside, this market took me back, with the cuckoo clocks, ornaments and pyramids. There were beautiful examples of both, but sadly, I did not find the Christmas pyramid of my dreams, yet, so I did not purchase one today, as I had hoped. Maybe next year. You won’t save money buying them here, but you can take it home right away, won’t have to ship it across the pond, and, an added advantage, there is no language barrier.

I think we’ve covered all the important words…

While I did not find my Christmas pyramid here, the town has two gorgeous pyramids which I took plenty of pics of, to tide me over, until I find “The One.”

You can purchase the one on the left for $3000, but you’re going to need a pretty big picture window to display it in;) The other is in the town square.

It pretty much rained the whole time we were here, but you know that didn’t ruin our fun. We spent a fair bit of time perusing the craft vendors, where we saw some fine examples of handmade pottery by Lukacs Pottery. Plus, many woodworkers, glassblowers, huts with jewelry, soaps, candles, maple, honey and much more. My favorite maker find, though, were these fantastic antique sleigh bells, which were lovingly restored by hand by the owners, of the brilliant little business, titled “Mike’s Antique Sleigh Bells. What a fantastic item to bring to a Christkindl market.

Aren’t they spectacular? Love the folk art!

We walked up to the Elias Performing Arts Center, where they were serving hot toddies, and had live entertainment, and found a very talented local artist, by the name of Valerie Moyer, who specializes in landscapes and Homestead Portraits. She has also just illustrated her first children’s book, which, naturally, I purchased, and she graciously signed for us.

The book was written by a local teacher, and illustrated by Valerie. Look for the hidden bunny pictures, too.

Here’s a few more examples of Valerie’s work:

Valerie is still in the process of creating social media accounts for her work. If you are interested in any of her pieces she can be contacted at vmoyerartist@verizon.net. Most of her paintings include an endearing little hidden bunny, which is her trademark. She also can be commissioned for personal, homesteads, residences, churches, historical buildings, family farms, etc.

We enjoyed wandering the market with the boys, snapping pics at every little photo op, which were plentiful, and watching the entertainment. There was a live nativity, and German dancing, puppet shows and live music in various spots throughout town.

The two older boys stayed home because they were not going to go through the posing again:D

This was all loads of fun, but if you know the Bridges, you know we came for the food!

If that picture of him eating doesn’t sum up our family, I don’t know what does!

We tried the brats and kraut, which were okay. We tried the pierogies, giant homemade candy canes, and the cinnamon sticks from The Strudel Factory, which were good, but the Strudel Factory’s hot strudel is what it’s all about. We tried cherry and apple both, [no, we’re not sorry,] and they were both fantastic. I can’t really decide which one is better. I would say it would depend on mood. They had an apricot/almond strudel that I will try next year, along with the cheese strudel, which I almost insisting on trying this year, but got outvoted. There was a ham and apple dumpling that I didn’t get to try [I’m not pouting], and I never even found the Nokerl, that I, sort of, went there for. But there’s always next year. Or Austria. Long story short if, next year you do get the chance to drive out to the Mifflinburg Christkindl market, you won’t regret it. If you’re just not that into Christmas, make the drive for the town’s history, German/Austrian culture, buggy museum, covered bridge or quirky little personality.

The top right sign is the sign hanging over the covered bridge that we drove through on our way into town.

What others types of Christmas markets do you attend? We would love to hear about them in the comments. Share pictures on insta@canigetaramen, or find us on FB and Pinterest@canigetaramen.food.blog.

The Oldest Christkindl Market in the U.S.

In Union County. Pennsylvania, there’s a little town called Mifflinburg, population 3500, which boasts the oldest Christkindl market in the United States. For 31 years, this little town, has hosted a traditional German Christmas market, starting with 20 little huts, and growing to over 100, which carry across two and a half blocks of this picturesque, little town. What sets this market apart from others, is a unique tradition of celebrating the old world culture and traditions of a different city each year. This year it is featuring Salzburg, Austria. The birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born there on January 27, 1756, and spent 25 years of his life there. It is also well known for its baroque architecture, and was the filming location for The Sound of Music. With it’s incredible views of the eastern Alps, and its pristine lakes, this city is one of the most beautiful places to visit in all of Austria. With that said, if a visit to Austria is not in the budget this Christmas, you can experience, this weekend, a small taste of it’s culinary delights, such as Strudel, Weinerschnitzel, Tafelspitz. Don’t forget to top it off with a bite of Nokerl, a powdered sugar laden souffle, sometimes drizzled with raspberry sauce.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Meant to resemble the Snow capped Alps, this dessert is a can’t miss.

The food alone is worth making the trip for, with vendors presenting German sausages, potato pancakes, roasted chestnuts and much, much more, but let’s not overlook the unique artisans that hawk their wares at this market each year. There are glass blowers, and jewelry makers, soapers and woodworkers. There’s knitters, and ornament makers, dollmakers, and candlers. There’s unique handmade Christmas decor, like sleigh bells, and traditional German Christmas Pyramids. (This is the one thing I regret not buying when I went to Rothenburg, and I’m hoping to find one I love at the Christkindl market.) There’s puppets and marionettes, and handmade instruments. Plus nesting dolls, handmade kitchen ware, hand painted eggs, plus, endless vendors of gourmet foods. The market will have events throughout town, starting on Thursday 12/12 at 5:00 when the opening ceremony begins, through 12/14, at the close of the market where the market will be closed with a parade from 7:45 to 8:00 p.m. The market’s website has a map of the market, and don’t forget to check the events schedule for entertainment and activities throughout.

Do you have a family tradition from another culture that makes Christmas special for you? If so, please share in the comments, or share photos @canigetaramen on insta. You can find us on FB and pinterest @canigetaramen.food.blog.

Delicious Golden Kolacky

One thing that I love is baking at the holidays. All through the month of December, you will find me trying out recipes, new versions of cookies that I make all year, new cookies that I have just heard of recently, but am dying to try my hand at, and of course, old versions of cookies that I only make this time of year. This is a Polish version of one of my favorite cookies. Kolacky. I really only make it between Thanksgiving and Christmas, though. It’s a must have at the holidays for me. There are various ways to make Kolacky. This version uses a cream cheese dough filled with a teaspoon of your choice of preserves. It is such an easy recipe, it can be filled with many different flavors, and in our house, it is one of the first to fly off the cookie platter. The original dough recipe is 3 simple ingredients: Butter, cream cheese and flour. As you may have already guessed, I am replacing the butter with avocado based plant butter. I am also subbing regular cream cheese with higher protein Greek cream cheese, and I am also adding 2 tbsp. of sugar to the dough, for sweetness. Just a little. If you would like to try this simple delicious Kolacky these are the ingredients you’ll need:

1 cup plant butter (preferably avocado)
8 oz. Greek cream cheese
2 cups of flour
2 tbsp. sugar
At least two flavors of your preferred preserves. I used blueberry, and apricot here.

Preheat oven to 350*. You may be astounded at how easily this dough comes together. It’s as easy as creaming butter, cheese and sugar in your stand mixer, then slowly adding the flour, until a firm dough forms. You may want to refrigerate for an hour before baking. Mine didn’t seem to need it this time, but it sometimes does. Once dough is ready to roll out, roll to around 1/8 inch thickness, then, use a 3 inch square cookie cutter, (or a butter knife, and ruler), to cut out squares.

Set on cookie sheet, then spoon a teaspoon of preserves in the center of each square, fold opposite corners in, and pinch closed.

Once all are filled and closed, bake for 12-15 minutes, or until bottoms of cookie are lightly golden brown. Sprinkle tops with a smattering of powdered sugar. Let cool completely before serving.

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie recipe that whips up in minutes? Or, one that you just can’t live without at Christmastime? If so, feel free to share in the comments. Share pics on insta @canigetaramen. You can also find us on FB and pinterest @canigetaramen.food.blog. Thanks for reading!

The Dickens of a Christmas Wellsboro, PA.

This weekend Wellsboro, PA is putting on their spectacular Christmas Festival: The 36th Annual Dickens of a Christmas. This is a don’t miss event for the Southern Tier of NY/PA. The festival runs Fri., Sat., and Sun. Events run throughout the weekend but the huge vendor market runs only on Saturday. The townspeople are very friendly and always willing to give you advice on where to find parking. It’s a festive place to get a few holiday photos of your family, friends, dog, etc.

They may be getting tired of posing for photos here…

During the Saturday market there are over 130 vendors, selling wares ranging from handmade alpaca products, to wood artists, primitives, soaps, candles, ornaments, maple goods, Christmas decor of every kind, wind chimes, to name a few.

Aside from the hundreds of Saturday street vendors, the town of Wellsboro, itself, has the most charming downtown, with unique shops, ranging from outfitters, to pop culture shops, to gifts, and candies. There are quite a few apparel shops, and even a traditional family owned department store. If you are afraid of missing out on larger city conveniences Dunham’s Department Store has a Starbucks inside, where we went to warm up after walking around in the 25* temps outside.

The Starbucks decor stays true to the style of the town, which I thought was brilliant!

As you walk around this amazing little town, you notice a wreath hung on every gas streetlamp, every tree in the square decorated, charming shop windows, dressed for the holiday, and smiles on so many faces. If you are not yet feeling the holiday spirit, an afternoon in this small town might just change your heart.

During the market the streets are filled with carolers, street performers, and townsfolk dressed in Dickens era costumes. Everything about this place is Christmas personified for this weekend.

If you are looking for something fun and family friendly to do around the Southern Tier this weekend head down to Wellsboro, and share in the festivities, with this town and the thousands of revelers who come to spread some holiday cheer. Feel free to bring Fido, as well, as it’s a very dog friendly event.

Freeman and I were starting to freeze here, and Luc, being Luc, needed sustenance. Again. ;]

Grab a snack, eat at one of the many restaurants in the town center, try the wine tasting at Oregon Hill’s winery store, or maybe finish your Christmas shopping in one the many interesting boutiques. Remember to dress warmly though, it gets chilly walking around outdoors after a bit. If you forget a layer or two, one of the vendors is sure to have a supply of gorgeous handmade hats, scarfs, and gloves for every taste and budget.

So, how are you spending this weekend? If you know of more festivals/celebrations in NY and PA, feel free to leave them in the comments, and share festival photos on insta @canigetaramen. Thanks for reading!