Thursday, December 22, 2022

The Christmas Simmer Pot

Food and Wine

 
Having just celebrated the winter solstice and with Christmas this weekend, the timing could not be more perfect to make a Christmas simmer pot. I like mine to be as beautiful to look at as it is to smell, so I like to use a sliced lemon, orange, apple, fresh cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fresh sprigs of rosemary.

You can also add fresh ginger, cedar, pine needles, bay leaves, star anise, nutmeg, or vanilla.

There are no rules - use what you have/love.

I love to use one of my beautiful Staub or Le Creuset pots. Add several cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer on low. Add more water as needed. You can simmer for hours - just check the water every 30 minutes. Your house will smell like holiday heaven.


My Le Creuset and Staub Cookware


It also adds moisture to the air which is great in winter. The moisture is not really needed here in Florida. But it makes my home feel more wintry and Christmassy. Speaking of Florida, I had several errands to do yesterday at University Town Center (UTC), the biggest mall around here. My previous frame of reference was Tysons Corner in Virginia at Christmastime which is a complete nightmare. 

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day in the seventies. At the mall, I found hundreds of available parking spaces, I was helped in each store immediately with no waiting, all the stores I love were so close to one another, and at the last store, someone even helped me to my car with all my packages. Things really are easier here. So stress free. I hope you are able to relax and enjoy this magical time of year.


UTC at the Holidays





12 comments:

  1. Love your sunny kitchen! It's cloudy and gloomy in Dallas as it's about to get very cold here for the holiday weekend. Cheers, Christina

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  2. I have that monkey!!!

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  3. I am going to try your simmer pot this weekend. BTW, I really like the way you paired 2 different rugs in your kitchen. Could you tell me where you found them? They look great.

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    1. The striped one in Annie Selke Catamaran Stripe - it's polypropylene but doesn't look it and you just hose it down. The other was HomeGoods. I love Annie Selke rugs.

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  4. That corner window is pretty special!

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  5. I love your kitchen, Beth. It looks so happy and welcoming. I barely ventured out this year for my Christmas shopping. Except for my tree and a few gourmet food items, I did most of it online. The Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, which used to be wonderful, is less than an hour's drive from me, but I have not been there in quite a while. I never go into San Francisco anymore. I just don't feel that safe. Sadly, there is so much criminal activity here in CA, that every time you turn around stores are being looted and robbed. It makes me sad to see this happening to my home. Many retail venues have installed bullet proof glass on their store front windows and display cases.

    It's very foggy here, so it does feel quite Christmasy. The UTC looks beautiful. I should probably move to Florida!

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    1. Yes, San Francisco has really changed. I feel so safe here everywhere. I too do most of my shopping online, just because then the world is my oyster.

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  6. Merry Christmas, Beth. Looking forward to spending 2023 reading all your wonderful posts. 🎄⛄️🎄

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