Features editorMarco Martinez(509) 664-7149

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At HomeIDEAS FOR GARDENING, HEALTH AND COOKING

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

C

It’s the time of year for a greens party — the entirely nonpolitical, friendly, creative type!

It’s easy to create your own personalized wreath, swag or other holiday décor at very low cost, using fresh-cut conifers likely right outside your door. Natural accents such as dried fl owers or grasses, as well as bright rose hips, berries and pine cones, are probably in your yard, too.

Deborah Briggs, my neighbor who moved to Wenatchee last summer, along with her daughter Amanda Brach, who was visiting for Thanksgiving from Louisville, Ky., joined me in just such an enjoyable afternoon project.

Deborah brought a reused wire frame for making a cross, Amanda chose to make a swag, while my project was a traditional wreath, reusing a wire frame. All three projects utilize most of the same supplies and principles.

Create a wreathSupplies needed include pruners, wire

cutters, paddle wire and a base of wire or grapevine. The base may be purchased at a

craft store or you may make your own. Shape it in a circle of the appropriate size. Form a sturdy doubled wire loop for hanging and attach it securely to the frame before adding greens.

Inexpensive paddle wire is simply a long length of fl exible wire wrapped on a paddle, making it easy for wrapping around and around the wreath. I prefer green colored No. 22 to 28 wire size; it’s fl exible, yet strong enough to hold the

greens in place. Even uncolored wire blends in, becoming invisible on the fi nished creation.

Combinations of conifers such as pine, cedar or arborvitae provide good background material with subtle texture and structural diff erences. Cut greenery into 6- to 9-inch lengths and have them ready to add as you build your wreath. Anchor the wire to your base and begin by taking little bunches of conifers and laying them against the frame, then wrapping wire around them once. This holds them in place. All plant material should go in the same direction, with each bundle of stems overlapping the last.

After making a circle of background green-ery, add another layer of greens and accents on the next revolution around the wreath. Cones and items without stems can be added later with a hot glue gun or by wiring individ-ually right where you want them.

Hang it so you can stand back and give it a critical eye. Tuck in more material under the wire in any sparse areas. Add a big ribbon or ornament if you want a touch more of color.

Making a cross or other shapeDeborah followed the same principles as

Do-it-yourself greenery for the holidays

Mary Fran McClure photo

A big bow and purchased garland of fake bright red berries enhance Master Gardener Mary Fran McClure’s fresh green wreath.

In the garden

Mary Fran McClure

Master Gardener

BY RENE LYNCH

Los Angeles Times

Holiday cookies can be divided into two categories. There are the picture-perfect cookies we see in the glossy magazines, the ones that make us oooh and ahhh over their dazzling designs and festive colors and look too pretty to eat.

Then there are your family’s favorite holiday cookies: They may not be Martha, but it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

Readers submitted more than 350 recipes in last year’s L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off , and almost 80,000 votes were cast. Six judges determined 10 favorites from 50 of the those voted best, six of which are presented here. The rest appear online.

Silver Bells

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted and divided2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided1/4 teaspoon salt2 1/4 cups fl our, sifted1 to 2 teaspoons waterFood coloring, optional

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and one-half cup powdered sugar until light and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla, and then the salt. Stir in the fl our, a little at a time, until thoroughly mixed and smooth to form the dough.Gather the dough and roll it to a thickness of one-fourth inch on a fl oured surface. Cut out cookie shapes from the dough.Space the cookies about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake until just browned on the bottom but still light on top, about 10 minutes. Cool briefl y on the pan, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla extract with just enough water to reach the desired consistency. To color the glaze, divide the dough and tint with food coloring as desired.Ice the cookies as desired.Yield: About 4 dozen cookies

Nutrition information per cookie: 70 cal, 4 g total fat (2 g saturated), 10 mg chol, 8 g carbo, 1 g pro, 13 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fi berNote: Submitted by Holly Hall of Glendale, Calif.

The Ultimate Wedding Cookie

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened2 cups powdered sugar, divided1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 cups fl our1/8 teaspoon salt2 cups fi nely chopped macadamia nuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter with one-half cup powdered sugar until light and fl uff y. Beat in the vanilla.In a separate bowl, whisk together the fl our, salt and nuts. Beat the fl our mixture slowly into the butter over low speed if using a stand mixer, or gently stir the fl our into the butter mixture by hand until evenly com-bined to form a dough.Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 rounded teaspoon of dough per cookie); if the dough is too soft to roll, chill it in the refrigerator until it is easy to handle. Place

the cookies at least 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheets. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.While the cookies are still hot, gently roll them once in the remaining powdered sugar, then place the cookies on a rack to cool. After the cookies have cooled, roll them again in the remaining powdered sugar.Store the cookies in tightly sealed plastic bags; they also freeze well.Yield: About 5 dozen cookiesNutrition information per cookie: 90 cal, 7 g total fat (2 g saturated), 8 mg chol, 8 g carbo, 1 g pro, 6 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fi berNote: Submitted by Bonnie Zanardi of Whittier, Calif.

Grandma Chandler’s Christmas Cookies

3 eggs1/2 cup molasses3 3/4 cups dark brown sugar3/4 cup water1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon ground nutmeg1 tablespoon ground cloves

These treats are sure to delight all through the holidays

cookie

Los Angeles Times photos

Clockwise from top left: Ultimate Wedding Cookie, Grandma Chandlers Christmas Cookies Silver Bells and Peppermint Pinwheels were among the winning cookies in the Los Angeles Times Christmas Cookie Contest last year.

Please see COOKIES, Page C2

Please see MCCLURE, Page C2

BY ELLEN WARREN

Chicago Tribune

Of course smell is important when it comes to eating. When we walk into a movie theater, our sense of smell is why we’re instantly dying for some popcorn — preferably drenched in butter.

It’s why Cinnabons are so hard to resist as their seductive scent wafts through malls and airports.

If glorious smells make us want to eat, is there a scent that could have the opposite eff ect and actually reduce our urge?

Yes, there is, says psychologist

Bryan Raudenbush, a professor at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

It’s peppermint.His study showed that volun-

teers who sniff ed peppermint scent every two hours were not as hungry as nonsniff ers and — even better — they ate 2,800 fewer calories in a week. That’s enough to lose close to a pound.

The peppermint, he says, “is distracting you from your hunger pains, and you don’t feel as inclined to eat as much.”

(Eating peppermint candy or chewing peppermint gum doesn’t

work as well.)Raudenbush’s earlier studies

showed that athletes perform better if they sniff peppermint. “They were able to go longer at the gym, able to push themselves, were more motivated, less fatigued and felt like they had more energy.”

The study also concluded “another implication would be that peppermint scent could be used to curb individuals’ false hunger cravings, i.e. emotional eating.”

Peppermint oil is available online and can be dabbed on a

wristband, for example, for easy sniffi ng. Raudenbush’s study used packaged peppermint inhalers available in nutrition stores or for $9.99 at sportsinhaler.com.

A sniff of mint can calm the appetite

McClatchy fi le photo

Study fi nd whiffs of peppermint every two hours supresses hunger.

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