Making A Festive Garland

getting ready for winter ✨

Nov 30, 2024

Allô! 👋

Welcome (back) to good food at home, the monthly-ish newsletter featuring simple, seasonal, and sustainable meals, tips, and ideas. For more recipes, cooking Q&As + access to the full archive, consider joining the community of readers who support the newsletter by also subscribing to seasonal sundays, the fortnightly supplement that focuses on fresh produce at its peak!

Here, in Oslo, the sun is now rising at around 9AM and setting at about 3PM. All the leaves have fallen and crunch pleasantly underfoot, especially on mornings where they seem frozen in time, held mesmerisingly captive by crisp crystals of frost. Most days the skies are grey, but occasionally the sun shines through, piercing through hazy puffs of exhaled breath, diesel fumes, and chimney smoke.

The first snow quietly came to the city this month, though it was quickly chased away by rain, wind, and fog. Needless to say: thin woollen underthings are now part of the daily wardrobe rotation.

Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. The first pomegranates, clementines, and radicchios have all made their appearances on grocers’ shelves and in market stalls, their jewel tones glistening invitingly through shop windows and brightening up the fridges and countertops of any and all who care to bring them home. The sunsets are extra special at this time of year too, mirroring the tones of the season’s fruit with glowing hues of orange, purples, pinks and reds. Meanwhile, everywhere you go, festive wreathes adorn front doors, candles cheerfully glow through dark windows, and fairy lights brighten up store fronts, balconies, and city squares alike. Yes, the season for cocooning into comforts and nestling into nostalgia has well and truly arrived.

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve been in the process of settling into a new home for the past month. These last four weeks have been consumed by moving — half my belongings now in the city, the other half still a few towns over — and by doing renovations without professional help in between. So far, I’ve learned more than I ever thought I could about removing wallpaper, spackling, priming, and sanding and, while it’s been a steep learning curve with many long days of difficult work, it’s also been deeply rewarding.

In spite of all the mess and noise and discomfort and dust, there is something strangely satisfying and oddly reassuring about the chaos of a half-finished project: a tangible reminder that things often look worse before they get better, and that one rarely knows exactly when the hardship will end. The only way out is through, and nothing gets done without a whole lot of tireless, honest work. A comforting thought to hold onto when the whole world, too, feels like it’s taking its time to improve.

Amidst the mess and the upheaval, however, one must find small things to celebrate. For me, this month has been no exception. First off, I’m quite pleased to share that there are now over 100 recipes (and nearly 30 Q&A topics!) available to peruse and consider in the newsletter’s archive:

the recipe index

👋simone

January 31, 2024

Read full story

I’m also happy to report that I had a new recipe out in the Guide Papier this November. In case you read French (or don’t mind a bit of automatic translation!) and are interested, it’s free for all to access. Even though I haven’t been able to cook much this month, I do look forward to celebrating these achievements once the dust has settled and I finally feel settled in.

Another thing I’m looking forward to is getting crafty with decorations.

Here in Norway, at this time of year, it’s not uncommon for families and groups of friends to hold a juleverksted, or Christmas workshop, in which an afternoon is set aside for making decorations or baking festive treats for the season ahead. Think of heart-shaped pepperkaker (gingerbread thins) or delicate, cone-shaped krumkaker, reminiscent of Italian pizzelle but with a Nordic twist.

One thing I quite enjoy about the tradition is that you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to get in on the fun and, in fact, some of my favourite ways to decorate have nothing to do with the holiday — instead, they celebrate the season and act as a welcome to the arrival of winter, which I think is quite lovely as the decorations then stay appropriate well into the end of the season.

(After all, we don’t stop needing a little of bit of festive cheer at the end of December! In fact, I’d argue we need it most to keep us going through January, February, and even March…)

In this November edition of good food at home, in addition to a quick overview of which foods are coming into their prime, you'll find some seasonal recipe inspiration from the newsletter and website, as well as a simple way to decorate your home for the slumbering months ahead, and — as ever — a few parting links as food for thought.

I hope you’ll enjoy!

Wishing you all a cheerful and restful December ahead,
— Simone⁣

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late autumn is here:
what’s in season? 🍂

Although one might not think the end of fall has much to offer in terms of new produce (after all, the fields are looking bare and many farm stands are shut), the abundance of foods coming into season continues to brim with a rainbow of treasures.

Persimmons, pomegranates, quinces, crab apples, and clementines are all at their best at the moment — grapefruit, cranberries, and kiwis are too (not to mention, guavas, cherimoyas AKA custard apples, mangoes, Asian pears, tangerines, mandarins, and prickly cactus pears). Apples and pears remain stalwart staples on the shelves, of course, but if you’ve been meaning to get a little adventurous in the fruit aisle, now would be an excellent time of year to branch out.

Vegetable-wise, there’s also still plenty to enjoy. Brussels sprouts, both green and purple, are perhaps tastiest at this time of year, as are many other cruciferous veg and leafy winter greens. Thanks to the cold brought on by the season, chicories like radicchio and escarole see their colour intensified and their bitterness especially mellowed at this time of year, while the powdery hues of brassicas like cabbages and kales become all the more striking and inviting.

This late autumn, as well as Brussels sprouts, chicories, cabbages and kales of all colours and shapes, you’ll want to look for the first leeks, plus beetroots, winter radishes, carrots, sunchokes, sprouting broccoli and cauliflower, rutabaga, celeriac, parsnips, and more, as well as classic storage staples like onions, potatoes, dried beans, and garlic.

From the steely blue of leek tops to the nearly black green of dinosaur kale and the chocolatey purples of chard stems, cabbage leaves, and Brussels sprouts, passing through the vibrant oranges and reds of familiar and exotic fruits alike, it seems November’s — and December’s — radiantly restricted colour palette is, after all, more than enough to keep the grey of late autumn at bay.

late fall recipes 📖

Below, some suggested recipes for dishes that call for lingering by the stove or oven, basking in their warmth and glow, with the sweet knowledge that something delicious will soon be ready to savour with pleasure and delight.

(Recipes marked with a 👋+ are for paid subscribers only, though each paid post contains content available for all to read!).

a winter squash & butter bean soup ✨

A go-to recipe you know you can return to again and again and again. Just add bread and good butter (or don’t… it’s your soup)!

go to recipe 👋+

Plus: read more on how to select, store, and use winter squashes here [free for all]

honey-poached quinces 🍯

If there ever was a soothingly versatile way to usher in and brighten up the dark days of winter, let this be it. Serve the quince with breakfast or dessert — and either turn the syrup into a dazzling drizzle for yogurt, reduce it into ruby red quince jelly, or dilute it into hot mulled wine. Positively divine!

go to recipe 👋+

Plus: how to select, store, and use quinces and honey [free for all]

subtly chocolatey chestnut madeleines 🌰

I promise you those shell bottoms aren’t burnt: they’re chocolatey! Beyond their cocoa-kissed exterior, these madeleines are moist, nutty, not overly sweet, easy to make — and, not to mention, dangerously delicious.

go to recipe 👋+

Plus: read more about how to select, store, and use chestnuts — as well as how to tell the good from the bad [free for all]

pumpkin pancakes 🥞

I probably don’t need to convince you that moist, fluffy, subtly-spiced pumpkin pancakes (lightly dusted with cinnamon sugar, no less) are a delightful way to spend a slow weekend morning. But if I do, let me just say this: the photo above doesn’t even come close to doing them justice.

go to recipe 👋+

...and more!

• roast squash, brothy beans, and wilted radicchio
• green lentils, fast and slow
• a crispy chickpea caesar for all seasons
• Norwegian cinnamon knots
• a colourful cauliflower citrus salad

all website recipes

all newsletter recipes

a simple winter decoration 🍊🌲

This isn’t my usual type of newsletter recipe, but seeing as I don’t currently have a working kitchen and have spent most of November covered in dust, paint, and plaster, I thought you may instead appreciate a simple method of seasonal decoration.

Consider it a recipe for festive cheer!

HOW TO MAKE A CITRUS GARLAND

one orange or two-to-three clementines can make a garland roughly 90cm/35" long, though you can of course use more fruit and make your decoration as long or as short as you like

INGREDIENTS

• some citrus fruit(s)
• an oven and baking sheet, plus some parchment paper or a silicone baking mat
• thin thread and needle
• clear tape or wall tacks
• optional: other natural elements such as evergreen branches, whole spices (cinnamon, star anise, cloves, nutmeg), pine cones, etc.

METHOD

1. Neatly slice two or three tight-skinned clementines, tangerines, or mandarins into ∼6mm/∼¼" thick rounds, cutting across their equator, doing your best to keep the slices even in thickness the whole way through. (You can instead use an orange or two per baking sheet.)

2. Lay the citrusy discs flat on a parchment- or silicone-lined sheet pan. Bake at 100°C/212°F for at least 3 hours, flipping the slices halfway through, until they have hardened and are dehydrated.

3. Use a fine needle and thread to string the citrus slices together into a garland, tying small knots before and after each piece of fruit if you’d like to secure them into evenly spaced positions. You can also tie in some pieces of evergreen twigs or thread through some whole spices for an even more festive and fragrant decoration.

4. Hang up on a wall, mantel, or window frame using tape or tacks (or anything else that’ll hold the garland without damaging what you affix it to), and enjoy all season long!

The garland can be stowed away at the end of the season, gently nestled into a small moisture-proof box, to be pulled out again the following year still in tip top shape, ready for another winter of festive decoration

last, but not least:

the public health corner 🔗

In case you didn’t know, public health is my jam (more on that here, here, and here) — it informs everything I do! And, as always, I like to leave you with a few parting links relating to the topic, as food for thought: