A few months ago — yes, this is how far behind I am on posting recipes — I was chatting with a friend who mentioned that he was planning on making a big batch of Asian chicken soup. After the conversation, I suddenly had the urge to make a pot of Asian chicken soup for myself. I wonder why?

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Alright, so I know that I should ban bacon from my diet. It has sugar and all those nasty nitrates, but I just can’t (or won’t) give it up because it’s just too tasty. If I knew that eating bacon would bring dire consequences, then maybe I’d consider giving it up, but for now I stick to using it sparingly in dishes where I feel the flavor is truly enhanced by its presence. And sometimes I just munch a whole piece or three.

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Cookies have been one of my biggest challenges since I started a gluten and sugar free diet. Cakey cookies are usually no problem, but crunchy, crispy, or chewy cookies? It just hasn’t been easy for me to replicate these textures with the ingredients that I use. I’m sure it’s down to chemical makeup and reaction or non-reaction, which I’m certainly finding out more about as I go along, but I’m no expert … yet. However, I am starting to get better cookie results, so I guess I must be learning something. Or it’s dumb luck. Either way, I’ll take it.

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This winter, so far, has been more than a little unusual. It’s been strange to be in New England looking at weather maps and watching everywhere from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., and even the deep south get inches upon inches of snow as we sit here looking at bare earth and brown trees. But I can’t complain too much, as the roads have been perfectly clear! And, hey, it’s still cold, so perfect beef stew weather.

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Hi, everyone! Yes, I’m still here. I’ve been in the midst of a huge new project for the past few months, and the long hours have meant little time left for posting here. But I want to let you know how grateful I am for all of the linkage and comments about crafts and recipes featured on this site over the past couple of months. It makes my day when someone tries something and lets me know about their results, and I’ve loved what so many of you have done with the ruffle wreath, especially. You gals and guys kick butt! I can’t get over how fast you are at cutting those circles, and thanks to those of you have shared your tips for making the process faster.

I’ve been meaning to post a little roundup of the crafts that I made over the holidays. Hey, it may almost be Valentine’s Day, but at least I know that no one on my gift list is going to have their Christmas surprise foiled by seeing what I made for them.

From top to bottom:

* Snow Babies project by Jenn Docherty, from  Holiday Crafts by Better Homes and Gardens. This special interest mag had a lot of great crafts this past holiday season, and as soon as I saw these snowpeople I knew I had to make them for my mum for Christmas. I turned them into ornaments so she can hang them on her tree. Next year, I definitely have to make some for myself. So cute!

* Peppermint Swirl Pincushion project, from Moda Bake Shop. I made these for all of the seamstresses in my life, and I think that they turned out really well, especially since I’m not a pro with the sewing machine. The result of my first attempt was not good, but after that I got the hang of it.

* I broke out the candle making supplies for the first time in a while and whipped up lots of candles and scent melts. Our apartment smelled fantastic, like a mix of Christmas trees, roasted chestnuts, and pumpkin bread. Yum!

I hope to be back with more recipes and crafts soon, and I’ll let you know when the new project launches!

I try to design a new set of holiday gift tags to use on my gifts every year, and this year I had a lot of fun with a wintry holiday theme. Icy blues, teal, pink, and red have been some of my favorites for the holidays over the past couple of years, and I made use of most of those in this set, which includes ten different tag designs. Print them onto cardstock and punch a hole for twine or thread, or print them onto sticker paper for festive holiday labels. Download the Wintry Holiday Tags (185Kb PDF).

You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to download and use this file. Download the reader for free here. These templates are for personal, non-commercial use only.