The Munchkin's Notebook

Capital Building at Botanic Gardens' Holiday Display Every year the National Botanical Gardens put on a holiday display made of all natural/organic materials. In the main area they have scale models of important Washington DC landmarks including the Capital building, the White House and the Washington Monument all surrounded by poinsettias.  Then they set up a model train display in one of the wings of the building. This year’s theme was the “World’s Fair” which showcased the many of the architectural achievements from each of the fairs such as the Eiffel Tower and the Space Needle.  My husband and I went to see the display last Sunday when it was snowing in DC. Actually one of the best times to go to some of the museums and exhibits is when it is snowing since locals don’t go out in the snow and the city seams almost deserted.  As little as an inch of snow seems to throw people around here into a panic. I'm from the north, so snow doesn't bother me, plus we have th...

Our little Christmas Tree On Saturday we hosted our annual holiday party. While this is a small party in size it still does not diminish the amount of work one must put into the preparations, since I do the cooking.  None of that catering for use everything is homemade from the ham to the cookies, except the chips (I have to draw the line somewhere).  This year we made ham soaked in orange rum (it was one drunken pig) with cloves and dried Valencia orange peel.  I also made Swedish meatballs with ground beef and pork sausage for the sauce I use the McCormick seasoning package in conjunction with the scratch recipe it makes for a more flavorful dish.   In addition to the two main dishes we had the traditional vegetable tray with ranch dip, a summer sausage with cheese tray which included a goat cheese wrapped in cranberries, pita chips, warm artichoke dip and cheese puff biscuits. I was surprised at the flavor and texture of the goat cheese, which was simil...