My New Year Began in Maine

As my fellow cafe members know, I got stuck in Maine when my car broke down. A friend said it sounded like the plot of a Hallmark movie. Alas, it was not so pleasant.

But there were some highlights, like getting to spend an extra week with my daughter. She and I made a collard greens and black-eyed peas recipe for New Year's Day. It was so simple that I wanted to share.
Note: this is adapted from a recipe she found online.

First we sautéed some red onion and garlic. To that we added vegetable stock (not too much - maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup). Once that had simmered a bit, I added a mix of greens - some julienned collard greens and one of those packaged mixes of greens including kale, spinach, beet greens, etc. Simmer for a few additional minutes, spritz with some lemon juice and serve. We served then with some warmed up black-eyes peas, but this was so tasty that it would make a great side for anything.

You can see we made my favorite sweet potatoes with maple syrup, pecans and pomegranate seeds.

I thought I'd share some of my pretty Maine photos.

The Christmas tree in downtown Portland.

I loved this house. It's hard to see from the photo, but each of the front windows had a gorgeous tree lit with golden white lights, and each window had a candle.

This was the storm that was supposed to give us 1 - 3 inches and then turn to rain. We ended up with over a foot. Treacherous driving, but it was so pretty.

And then there was this - the snow that greeted me on my first day back at work.

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope 2020 brings you bountiful blessings.


Today would have been my mother's birthday if she hadn't passed last March. I'd appreciate a prayer for Joan if you have a minute today.