Raising a healthy Jane (or just being a healthy grown-up Jane) comes from good food and proper nutrition. Grab your aprons, I’m on kitchen duty with food to spare and recipes to share! When time allows, here’s where you’ll find one of my how-to-convert-to-an-organic-diet recipes.
Laurie Scott says: Merry Christmas Eve to all of you. The girls are so cute. Have a safe Christmas season.
Laurie
Some know it as the season of light. Others, the season of giving. But for many of you, it’s the season of citrus and fruitcake. You’re probably already compiling ingredient spreadsheets and collecting addresses for the lucky ducks who will get a family fruitcake, right? But what’s that you say? You’re not making the candied citrus peels from scratch? Well, why not?!
Okay, so you might be saying, MaryJane, I’ll be darned if I’m going to give myself one extra project when I can just buy them at the store. But have another look at that candied peel lining store shelves right around now. Doesn’t it look a little bright? Doesn’t it seem a little soggy? Doesn’t it taste a bit … fake? In a blindfolded test, I’ll bet you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish it from a gummy bear …
Winnie Nielsen says: My Mom used to make candied citrus peel and I remember it being delicious. Thanks for reminding me and providing a recipe. With my orange tree out front hanging to the ground with oranges, candied peel is a neat way to make something s sweet that is not a cookie.
Mary Beth Schwarz says: This sounds so tasty! My mother never put commercial candied peels in her fruitcakes because it tasted bitter and did not add to the flavor, so I must try this.
Since 1965 instead of fruitcakes we have made fruitcake cookies because it is easier (no brown paper to cut and fit to our rectangular pans and butter) and tastes as good or better. Our recipe uses candied red and green cherries (any idea how to make those, maybe similar to the candied peel?), red and green candied pineapple, chopped dates, and Meyers dark rum. They have the colors of Christmas and taste delicious with hot tea or coffee. Mary Beth
Our pup, Walker, leads the way with Daddy and me behind him and Mama and Mia bringing up the rear.
We may have thought the hill was a little steep to walk up, but it was a blast coming down!
Laurie Dimino says: Looks like you all had so much fun! Here on Long Island, NY we havent had any snow yet….my two kids are eagerly wishing for a Whitie Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy Sledding!
Terry Steinmetz says: Glad you had fun. My grandgirls will be here for Christmas & they are so looking forward to the snow. You see, they live in southern Indiana where there is often no snow in the winter. But here in the U.P. of Michigan we get snow. We are all planning of going sledding when they get here. By the way, did you get some snowman soup (hot chocolate with marshmallows) after the fun?
Megan says: Oh too cute to call it snowman soup! We did have hot apple cider and popcorn when we got home. Such fun!
Winnie Nielsen says: Ahhh, memories of sledding in the snow! Living in Florida makes me yearn for snow at Christmastime!!
In honor of Bake Cookies Day yesterday, the 18th of December, my Mom and sister and I celebrated!
We enjoyed them with a cold glass of milk fresh from Nanny Jane’s cows. MmmMmm!
P.S. The butter in the cookies was also from Nanny Jane’s cows. So delicious.
Terry Steinmetz says: I can smell them baking from here in the U.P. of Michigan. Yummy!
I thought for a minute you said the peanut butter came from the cow! Wow, I was gonna be super impressed by that cow! 🙂
MaryJane says: We do have a cow named Chocolate because she gives …
Winnie Nielsen says: Those cookies look so perfect! Here in the corporate world, we have been bombarded with vendor gifts in those pretty packages with terrible cookies or mediocre chocolates. I sure wish we had been given a delivery of real homemade cookies like the ones shown!
Now I am starving and want to take a bite out of all of those cookies! They look so delicious!
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.
They know that Santa’s on his way;
He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother’s child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.
And so I’m offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
Merry Christmas to you!
Elizabeth says: They look like gourmet chocolates, yum. You’ve given me another good idea for tasty gifts. May try your recipe with melted peanut butter too:-)
And I didn’t know we had a national, Chocolate Covered Anything Day; by all means, count me in! Thanks for the song, it helped set the scene. And a very Merry Christmas to you too.
Winnie Nielsen says: This recipe looks more promising for chestnuts than others. I always find them sort of crumbly and mealy once roasted producing an unpleasant texture to me. I keep trying to find recipes that use chestnuts because they are sort of iconic for the season. Perhaps this new one you share will do the trick!
Terry Steinmetz says: All I can say is yum, yUM, YUM!!!
Gerald says: I love chestnuts and chocolate but never thought together, they do it with other type of nuts. Thanks for a new idea, I bet we could even use white chocolate, waiting to use with coconut.
Dee says: Do you use semi-sweet, bitter-sweet, or mild chocolate chips?
MaryJane says: Here’s what my DIL Ashley, MaryJanesFarm food guru, had to say:
We used semi-sweet chocolate chips for this batch, but any type of chocolate chips would be great. 🙂
Winnie Nielsen says: Oh this looks so simple and delicious! Easy for company too which is super for upcoming holidays!
Eileen Widman says: I think on days when we have no company to feed I could do something similar for just hubby and me using 3 slices of bacon and two glass remekins! He would love it!
Denise says: Looks fabulous. And easy to boot. Am going to do this too. Thanks so much
MaryJane, the minute, no! the second I saw this picture I was drooling. I uttered out loud a long winded “Ummmm” as I read this post. I’m all alone at home (well, there is a cat snoring nearby so i’m technically not alone) working on my laptop prepping for my cousin’s “big” event at his garden center/nursery this weekend – he is Santa (looks just like him – no wig or fake beard needed!) and I’m Mrs. Claus and we are having any kids that want to, sit in his lap in a really neat vintage sleigh that is in amongst the fresh cut Christmas trees and homegrown poinsettias for sale. I’m taking the photos for the families to have as a memento and gift and giving each kid at small pine tree to grow. This will make the perfect breakfast for the Claus family.
MaryJane says: You get to be Mrs. Claus? Send pics!!!!
emailed Iris@MJF this afternoon with a picture of yours truly as Mrs. Claus with the Mister…
This is to die for…..actually it probably would speed that along. We’re going to make it anyway!!1
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
Love this picture. Love bird houses ❤