Little Darlin', It's Been a Long, Cold Lonely Winter

It started snowing again on Sunday afternoon.  By the time we woke up on Monday morning, there was about seven inches of that stuff on the ground.  The kids already had the day off school since it was President's Day, and George cleared the driveway and went to work because he is apparently no longer the sensible Southern boy I fell in love with.  The little girl pictured above has a habit of standing at the window and moaning, "EMMA!!  EMMA!!" while watching her older sisters frolic and cavort in the Winter Wonderland that my front yard has become.

So on Monday morning I thought I would make Lili's dreams come true by bundling her up and letting her go out and play with those big girls in the snow.  My favorite weather guy assured us all that the snow was wetter and heavier and perfect for snowman-making, so we were all ready to show off our wintry artistic skills.

On went Lili's undershirt, trousers, sweatshirt, snow pants, double socks, boots, mittens and hat.  At this point I was exhausted and ready to call it a day, but we had winter work to do, so out the front door we all tromped.  Lili marched her little self all the way down to end of the driveway, had a look around and then marched straight back again.

Then she sat down in the snow and sobbed.  She had had enough, so in we went.  Off came the hat, the mittens, the coat, the boots, the snow pants, and the sweat shirt, and she resumed her usual spot at the window calling out, "EMMA!!"

Those other two girls stayed out there and tried to fashion a snowman out of the dry, powdery snow in our yard.  After about forty five minutes they had achieved what looked like a large snowy anthill.  Cold and frustrated they came in and had some hot chocolate and suggested that it might be a better day to watch a movie and do indoor crafts.  In other words, Winter, the romance seems to left this relationship.  I think we need a break.  Winter, I think it's time we see other people... er, seasons.  Unfortunately my Michigan friends assure me that we still have another good month of winter up here.  Ho hum.

I suppose if it's going to be winter a bit longer, I can enjoy another month of hot soups and chilies and other comfort foods.  I have been trying to redeem myself since I apparently made the "bitter" Irish oatmeal that Sophia wrote about in her school journal, and, by golly, I think I may have done it on Monday morning.  I made baked steel cut oats which I had pre-prepared and allowed to "marinate" in the fridge overnight.  Interested?

Baked Steel Cut Oats with Dried Fruit, Coconut and Spices*

• 1 TBS butter
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup mixed dried fruit (We used a berries and cherries mixture.)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt

 1. Lightly grease the baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.  Melt the 1 TBS butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the oats.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes or until the oats start smelling toasty. Add the water and milk and bring to a light simmer.  Remove from the heat.

2. Stir in the brown sugar, dried fruit, coconut, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Pour into a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.  If time allows, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

3.  When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F.  Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.  Bake for 35 minutes (or 25 minutes if the oatmeal was refrigerated overnight) until the oats have absorbed the liquid and are creamy.  (The oats will look soupy at first, but they will thicken after they have cooled for a few minutes.

This recipe made more than the four of us could eat in one morning, so we refrigerated the leftovers and had baked oatmeal for breakfast again this morning.  It was just as good today.

* This recipe came from one of my new favorite cookbooks Not Your Mother's Casseroles by Faith Durand.

Stay Warm Out There, Kids!