Keep the Kitchen Cozy

This winter has been more than cold in many parts of the country and keeping warm can be a challenge. Rosanne Tartaro of Sunrose Aromatics mentioned this link to the farmers almanac (www.almanac.com) which had suggestions for keeping warm. Number 5; "Keep the Kitchen Cozy" resonated with me and I wanted to expand upon it.
In many households the kitchen is the center of attention; people gather here to play, eat, and talk. Turning down the heat in other parts of the house might even encourage this, but its important to keep it cozy. Here are some of my suggestions for a cozy kitchen:

Keep a pot of water on the stove. This serves two purposes; it helps increase humidity which is dangerously low in the mountain west and you can use it as a simmering potpourri. Check your spice cabinet for cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, allspice, pieces of nutmeg too small to grate or experiment with other spices. Orange peel also works well in the potpourri. Check your tea cupboard too for mint, chamomile and other aromatic teas.

Drink lots of hot beverages; teas, coffee, hot cocoa. You can use this as an opportunity to experiment with different flavors. Add mint or orange peel to your tea or cocoa - hey, maybe even your coffee, but I've never tried that.

Make soup early in the day and let it simmer on the stove a long time.

Candles can give the kitchen a warm glow, but remember to blow them out.

And is there anything that makes a kitchen more cozy than home baked bread? Although yeast breads can take quite awhile there are many options for quick breads. I like to make this ginger bread:

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper (to taste)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup light molasses
3/4 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar (or slightly less)
1 egg

Cream butter and sugar together, mix in egg. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Pour into a greased 4x8inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. This bread can be made as spicy as you like it and is very warming!

What are your suggestions for keeping warm during these dark and cold winter days?

Gingerbread Recipe

Its been unseasonably cold here in Colorado so what better way to warm one up than by eating gingerbread by the fire. I made small loaves of gingerbread to give my neighbors for Christmas (but shhh, don’t tell them yet). Gingerbread is packed with spices too keep you warm and to regulate blood sugar. Here is the recipe I used; it has been adapted from our local newspaper.

Gingerbread Cake

1 ½ cups flour (can mix white and whole wheat)

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons powdered ginger

2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch cayenne pepper

½ cup cold butter (or slightly less), cut into small pieces

1 egg

3 tablespoons molasses

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

Combine flour, sugar, and spices in a large mixing bowl. Slice butter into the flour mixture and mix with a pastry blender until crumbly. Scoop out ¼ cup and set aside to sprinkle on top later.

Stir egg and molasses into flour mixture. Combine buttermilk, baking soda and salt, then add to flour mixture stirring well

Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square pan; sprinkle reserved flour/butter mixture evenly over the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Keep Warm

Merry Christmas