DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    Tuscany draws you with an irresistible air to Arezzo transforming a land into a theater filled with a lifestyle of tradition, culture and cuisine. Arezzo which is about 80 kilometers from Florence hosts the  Giostra del Saracino  or the joust held at the Piazza Grande. This medieval festival displays facets of its old world charm, its famous history, tradition and its tasteful cuisine.     Held on the first Sunday in September, the procession of La Giostra del Saracino winds its way right down to the Piazza Grande. Originating from the ancient Crusades, this Saracen joust began in the Middle Ages. The Christian Crusaders battled with the Islamic tribes or the Moors of the North African Arabs in an attempt to drive them out of Europe. This Baroque joust started between the 15th and the 16th centuries and gained popularity. But during the 18th century, the royal air that surrounded it declined and lost its notoriety. A brief...

Chocolate cake - pumpkin  with orange cream Or maybe ..  Halloween cake? ..  Chocolate, using pumpkin puree, cream with a delicious creamy orange (really great!).  Sprinkled with cocoa or cinnamon.  recipe requires advance preparation pumpkin puree, pumpkin in the cake but did not feel -  taste of cocoa and orange.  Instead of a cake can make a whole bunch of cupcakes :-).  Recommended! Ingredients for two tops chocolate - Pumpkin: 1 and 2/3 cup flour 2/3 cup and 1 tablespoon cocoa 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg half a cup of buttermilk or kefir 1 cup pumpkin puree * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 160 g butter 1 cup caster sugar for baking 3 eggs All of the ingredients should be at room temperature. The vessel Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, spices. In another bowl combine the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract. In m...

   Because of the long and storied  history of Halloween , there are many Vintage Halloween traditions that have been associated with the holiday for many years. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve   as was called long ago, has a very special history all its own. The many vintage Halloween customs set this Halloween apart from many other special occasions. The origins of many vintage Halloween traditions are both very colorful and diverse. What we know as modern day Halloween traditions and festivities are rooted in the Vintage Halloween traditions from the original All Hallows Eve   celebrations from centuries long ago.    All Hallows Eve actually evolved from an even older tradition. The pagan festivial, Samhain , was celebrated by ancient Celtic people for many years before it evolved into All Hallows Eve. When Celtic immigrants began entering North America in large numbers during the 19th Century, they brought the ...

     Halloween has ancient origins that are embedded in tradition and the Halloween  parade is one of the many celebrations associated with this holiday. Halloween parades today represent an opportunity for people to show off their Halloween costumes  and even compete for prizes. However, this fun part of modern-day Halloween tradition actually began thousands of years ago, with the intent of warding away malevolent spirits.    The tradition of having a Halloween parade can be traced back to the earliest origins of Halloween. Halloween actually began as the pagan festival Samhain, which was observed thousands of years ago with the ancient Celts who occupied what was is now Ireland , the United Kingdom, and northern France. Samhain represented a time when human spirits were supposed to come to earth to wreak havoc on human souls.     Each year on Samhain, the Celts dressed up in gruesome animal-like costumes...

    Myths and legends are a part of virtually every culture. One of the most interesting legends of Russian culture is that of Baba Yaga. She is, however, not unique to Russia. There are similar stories about her, under other names, in Poland as well as in the Czech Republic.     The figure of Baba Yaga is most often pictured as that of an old hag on a broomstick, reminiscent of the kitchen witches we often see today. Some believe that she might have been the precursor for the ugly, old crones that most often represent witches at Halloween.     In truth, however, Baba Yaga is a complicated creature associated as much with fertility and fate as she is with death. Some believed that she also had the gift of prophecy and great wisdom. However, for reasons never understood, she seldom chose to use those skills without exacting a gruesome payment. Anyone wishing to partake of Baba Yaga's wisdom had to take on a challenge, which began wi...

Pumpkin Gingerbread This has to be the weirdest fall ever. High seventies on the first day of November. Beautiful and sunny, though the wind has picked up a bit. The gusts come and go, stirring up leaves from the trees, so it’s beginning to at least feel like autumn. Trick-or-treaters paraded through the neighborhood last night, leaving a trail of candy wrappers and smiles. Mr. Jack-o-lantern is still sitting on his perch (maybe we’ll light him up again tonight!). We almost always have extra pumpkin sitting around this time of year, either puréed and in cans, or fresh. Two of my favorite sweet quick breads are  pumpkin bread  and  gingerbread . This recipe (an experiment really) I’m delighted to report, happily combines the two—pumpkin and gingerbread. Spicy, molasses-y, pumpkin-y. Easy too. Happy fall. Print  Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe Prep time:   15 minutes Cook time:   1 hour By the way, w...

 This diy comes from  www.thevintagedresser.blogspot.com  .   When ordinary leaves just won't do. Musical Leaves Tutorial When we were in one of our favorite shops in Snohomish a couple of weeks ago,  Joyworks,  I spotted some leaves they had hanging above their check-out area. They had been cut from music sheets from a song book. For some reason they struck me as a fun project to do, so here we go: On a trip to town a few days ago, I cruised some streets, looking for trees with pretty leaves. I was in a residential area and felt a LITTLE conspicuous parking in the street, jumping out and ripping leaves off of trees, but sometimes one has to sacrifice dignity in the name of "art"! LOL! Now, FYI, It would have been easier to use these leaves if I'd come right home and jumped on this project! But no---I waited a couple of days before I got to it, and the leaves were curling and getting kind of crispy! So, I smoothed them...