The Simple Orange and Christmas

Don't these orange slices look pretty just tumbling out of the clear glass jar? I love clear glass in my kitchen. I used to have all my dried beans, flour, sugar, coffee, etc in clear glass jars on my shelves. So simple.

I was reading the paper yesterday and was just finishing the food section (my favorite) when I saw an article ...Dried Oranges. It brought to mind a craft that I did years ago. You slice the oranges thinly and blot them with paper towels, layer them between sheets of toweling, then put them in the microwave on high for two minutes.

Remove them from the microwave and then layer them on a foil lined cookie sheet and bake for about an hour or so in a 300 degree oven.

Then, when cooled, you can use them to decorate packages or hang with twine and raffia in your windows...they are almost translucent when dried. I plan to ...well I will save that for another post...My plan involves a loaf of bread, little pine branches,red berries, raffia, and then the orange slices.

There is a scent of oranges wafting through the air in my house right now. A natural air freshener. Sometimes I put cinnamon sticks, orange peels, cloves, and water on the stove and bring to a simmer. The whole house smells so nice. Hope you have a wonderful day today.

Balisha