Chocolate Bark

Chocolate Bark with
Cranberries, Almonds, and Pecans

In this book, South Beach Wake-Up Call,
there are recipes at the back of the book.

One of the recipes is for chocolate bark, and since it's
almost Christmas, I decided to make it.

The doctor who wrote this book said "Just a
small bite of this delicious chocolate treat
provides important health benefits:

antioxidants in the cranberries and chocolate

and good unsaturated fats in the almonds and pecans."

You mix together 6 T chopped almonds,
6 T chopped pecans, and 6 T chopped
dried cranberries.

You then melt 9 oz of 60% bittersweet chocolate chips
(easy to find at Publix in the chocolate chip section).

Stir the nut mixture into the melted chocolate and then
smooth it all onto a foil lined baking pan.

Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Then break into about 30 pieces.
Store in an airtight container.
Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

This bark was delicious!
Just what the doctor ordered!

Festival of the Nativity

Last Sunday night we attended the annual
Festival of the Nativity
which is held at the Orlando Stake Center
across the street from the temple.

Inside, in the cultural hall, there are hundreds
of nativity scenes displayed.

There are musical performances
in the chapel.

There is a room just for families
with young children
to make Christmas decorations and crafts.

There is also a room just for posing
for your own live nativity scene with your family
which you'll see at the end of this blog.

Following are some photos
of a few of the nativity scenes.

I took more photos that turned out
to be too blurry to include here. With the low
lighting, it was tricky to get a good photo.

Below is the tiniest nativity scene.
You may think it is a white thimble,
but there is a nativity scene carved on it.
It is from Peru.

The nativity scenes were made of wood, china, glass,
metal, wire, cloth, paintings, and potatoes. Potatoes?
Yes, potatoes, as you shall see.

Here's Huddy by one of the larger nativities.

Here's the potato nativity.
Sorry it's not clearer.

Katie took this clearer close-up.

This one below is made from wooden boards.

And here's the live nativity scene portrayed
by the cousins, minus Nola.