Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Butterscotch Icebox Cookies!

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Butterscotch Icebox Cookies! Here’s an old-time favorite from the North Pole. Imagine Mrs. Claus, with her crew of kitchen elves up to their elbows in flour as the aroma of bakery items fill the air. Repeat after me: “Never substitute the butter with another oil.” It will completely change the outcome. Think about it for a minute. If you remove the “butter” from butterscotch, what will that leave? Trust me, you don’t want to find out. Go for the gold instead and reap the reward. Catch the spirit and watch your little helpers share the excitement, too. 
BUTTERSCOTCH ICEBOX COOKIES 
Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions:

Melt the butter. Stir in brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. In a medium bowl combine baking powder, sea salt, and flour. Pour the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, stirring to form a solid dough. Fold in walnuts. Shape dough into two long rolls. Wrap each log in wax paper. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. To bake, preheat oven to 375°. Slice dough thinly. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. 

Romantic Hideaway or Artist’ Retreat 

Romantic Hideaway or Artist’ Retreat? Deep in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, nestled along the cerulean banks of Bow Lake, sits a rustic log cabin and stone lodge where cell phones have ceased functioning and television sets have gone missing. Travelers and tourists seek refuge at the red-roofed Num-ti-jah Lodge when the urge arises to “get away from it all”. (The staff has access to internet and phones in case of an emergency.) Step outside the front door to a glacier backdrop that captivates the inner poet and the novice photographer as well as the unbridled passions of writers, artists, or sculptors. But don’t stop there. Fishermen wile away the hours from dawn to dusk before returning to a warm fire. Hikers explore foot trails across the lake for a vantage point that spots the red roof as a way back home at the end of the day. Enliven the senses and embrace Alberta, Canada. 

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Crunch Compulsion!

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Crunch Compulsion! If you’ve always wanted to make toffee, but didn’t have the patience for standing at the stove waiting for the candy thermometer to reach its mark, think about an easy alternative. Crunch Compulsion has the rich buttery taste of toffee layered over a firm graham cracker base. With a finishing touch of pecans and walnuts, you can certainly see where the “crunch” comes in. 
CRUNCH COMPULSION 
Ingredients:

1 package graham crackers

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the graham crackers in a single layer, completely covering the bottom of the baking sheet. Sprinkle pecans and walnuts over crackers. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cream of tartar, and cinnamon. Stir constantly until mixture boils. Do not burn. Reduce heat to medium and let mixture boil for 3 minutes without stirring. Carefully pour mixture over graham crackers, allowing liquid to cover all. Bake 10 minutes. Cool completely. Break into pieces. 

Fly Through the Holidays Without These Items

Fly Through the Holidays Without These Items! If you are traveling by air during the holidays, take heed. As super-cute and fashionable as rhinestone studded jeans appear, airport security checkpoints hate them. There’s just too much metallic sparkle and embellishment that play havoc with the scanners. With four metal prongs on each bead, you can certainly understand what I mean. Then there’s the knee-high boots that are worn with the butter-soft leggings or flattering skinny jeans. Most boots have decorative buckled straps to dress it up. These too, alert security which can slow things down a bit. But probably the most surprising red flag of all, is the body lotion. Especially if you slather it on your hands before walking out the door on the way to the airport. I did that two hours before arriving at the terminal. As I passed through security, the guard pulled me aside. He instructed me to open my hands, with palms up. The TSA screener proceeded to run an alcohol swab over them. The meter reading went absolutely crazy! At this point the agent sternly accompanied me to another station as he put in a request for a female security officer. When she arrived, she gave me a light pat-down. My purse and carry-on bag were swabbed inside and out while the search for EXPLOSIVES continued. Apparently glycerin, an active ingredient in beauty products, is an explosive agent used to build bombs. It triggers a false positive which will cause delays at security checkpoints until it is cleared. Long story short, leave the moisturizer at home….at least on the day you are flying the friendly skies.  

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Peanut Butter Fudge!

Eating My Way Through the Holidays! Special Edition: Peanut Butter Fudge! Once a year, my mother would send me a batch of her homemade peanut butter fudge. And, truthfully, I seldom shared it. Not because I was selfish, because it was THAT good! Now that she is no longer able to give me that glorious care package, I have assumed her role for others. The baton has been passed so the family tradition continues. Every peanut butter-lover should try some for yourself. One bite of this melt-in-your-mouth creamy fudge may lead you start a tradition to “Pay it Forward”.
PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE
Ingredients:

3 cups sugar 

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup natural peanut butter, creamy

1 teaspoon vanilla

7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
Instructions:

Combine butter, sugar, and milk in a 2-quart pan. Bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling over medium heat for four minutes. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Be sure to scrape sides as well. Remove from heat. Work quickly stirring in peanut butter until completely melted. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into greased 9″x13″ pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares. 

Saskatchewan Crossing is Oasis in the Wilderness 

Saskatchewan Crossing is Oasis in the Wilderness! At the end of the day when the gas tank is getting low, and you need to stretch your legs, “The Crossing” is a welcome sight. That’s what fur traders and weary travelers must’ve thought, too. The Saskatchewan River is a “swift flowing river” that divides wide-open prairie and majestic mountains. Imagine horse drawn wagons loaded down with rich animal furs. Unsteady crossing points where the river was narrow enough for makeshift rafts hindered safety. Horses were forced to swim in icy cold waters and wagons were guided against strong downstream currents. But survival demanded it. The trading post could make or break a man. This was life in western Canada where dreams were born. 

Dining Outside the Home: Glacier Saloon in the Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise, Canada 

Dining Outside the Home: Glacier Saloon in the Fairmont Chateau at Lake Louise, Canada! On the lower level of the exquisite Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, you can relax over dinner with a majestic view of the Canadian Rocky Mountains at your doorstep. Unwinding over cocktails, brings reflections of the day’s wondrous adventure whether it be strenuous hiking, scenic canoeing, exploration of glaciers, or wildlife sightings. The pub and sports bar atmosphere serves up a hearty meal complete with Yorkshire pudding. Talk about comfort food at its best. Well done!