2010 HSCC 4th Day!

Welcome to the 2010 Harbor Street Christmas Celebration! Today we're featuring a beautiful video from Coldplay, another delicious recipe, and an article on making salt dough ornaments.

Let's get this started!

CONTENTS

1. "Christmas Lights" video by Coldplay
2. Mexican Quick Comfort Soup
3. How to make Salt Dough Ornaments

"Christmas Lights" by Coldplay



My sister is an incredible cook. Here's one of her delicious recipes.

Mexican Quick Comfort Soup

1 can of chicken broth
1 can of chicken
1 can of chopped tomatoes & mild green chilies
2 stalks of chopped celery
1 chopped medium sweet onion
1/2 bag of baby carrots, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon of butter
1 heaping teaspoon of flour
1 small can of mushrooms
Black pepper to taste

Put a small amount of olive oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet. Turn heat up to medium. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are transparent. Put in large heavy pot. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil.

Add one teaspoon of butter to the first skillet. Melt butter, and then add a heaping teaspoon of flour. Cook flour until it begins to change color. Drain one small can of mushrooms. Pour the liquid into the skillet. Stir until smooth. Then pour the mixture and the mushrooms into the pot.

Turn the heat down to low. Replace the lid. The chilies will increase in heat the longer they cook, but you can add a small can of chopped green chilies. This will open your sinuses! You can replace the mushroom liquid with 1/4 cup of milk and then add a two-inch block of grated Velveeta cheese to the soup with the thickened roux. Tasty!

Nifty Christmas Ideas
Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are easy to make and will last for years with care. To make them, you only need three things:

4 cups of flour (not self-rising)
1 cup of salt
1 1/2 cups of hot tap water.

Mix water and salt together for one minute. Mix in the flour slowly. When all the flour has been absorbed, knead for two minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured board. You want the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick. Form the dough into various shapes with cookie cutters and molds. Place on a cookie sheet that's covered by foil. Be sure to make a hole at top of the ornaments that will allow a hanging thread or wire to go through. (You can't add the hole after baking as the ornaments will break.) Bake at 325 degrees until firm (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). The larger the ornament, the longer it will take to bake. Let cool completely. (Naturally you should not eat the ornaments.)

Varnish the ornaments with an acrylic varnish, or use acrylic paints to decorate them, and then varnish. The varnish is important as it keeps the ornaments from deteriorating. Be sure to varnish both sides. This is a great family project.

Don't forget you can still register for the First Drawing Giveaway on the 3rd Day post down below! And we'll see you tomorrow!

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