Snow Falling on Cedars: January Inspired Decor and a Creamy Low Fat Baked Salmon

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other." ~Chinese Proverb

I had the most wonderful day.

First, because it was clear and sunny out.

And second because I received gift cards for Christmas (my favourite thing) enabling me to enjoy an afternoon of guilt free shopping.

With everything currently on sale, what better way to spend the afternoon right before the turn of a new year?

I am fortunate enough to get two weeks off at Christmas so I have energy to burn this time of year - resulting in me taking the time yesterday afternoon to take our tree and all the trimmings down, and leaving the house in my wake looking like the Grinch had just struck.

But no matter, an empty canvas is the best thing on which to create new magic.

And this time of year as we are faced with more months of winter's cold hands upon us, I find it to be as important as ever to surround myself with beauty.

If Autumn is about nesting and hibernating into warm caves of red, gold and, caramel and December is about sparkle, then what must the cold months of mid winter look like?

Using the picture above as my inspiration, I decided to re-create "snow falling on cedars" in my family room with a goal to put together a living space that exuded comfort, understated elegance, and sense lightness and renewal.
And here's the thing - it's so easy to change up the look and feel of a room without spending a ton of money by adding and subtracting accent elements.

For example, in the Fall I added reds, Asian inspired accent pieces mixed with antique books...





Over Christmas I added red twinkle lights, season inspired decorations and candles.

And for January, a whole new look...

Without changing the basics, ie the colour on my walls or the furniture, you can see how I updated the feel of the room by adding "snow falling on cedars" white like twinkle lights, throw cushions and oversized vases, bowls and candles peeking through a lovely white hydrangea.

Carefully placed oversize items go a long away in creating a look that says casual elegance.

I love the snow on branches wall hanging I found today at Homesense.

There is so much that can be done to change a room and I think the best tip I have is to keep things fresh.

Put your older decorative items into storage to bring out at a later date and have fun picking up new treasures like these gorgeous artichokes for the mantle.

And a cozy sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace for little dogs to curl up on.

With my car loaded down with all these fabulous finds, and visions of a night of decorating swimming in my head, I started to think about the perfect meal to accompany this bounty - wondering: "Could I re-create the snow falling on cedars theme in dinner as well?

People, they don't call me the Kitchen Witch for nothing!

I made the most delicious baked salmon covered in a puff of a cream cheese infused white sauce.

Better still, it was made using low fat ingredients and at 417 calories, 10 grams of fat per serving, I feel no guilt sharing it with any resolution holders among us.

I give this recipe a big thumbs up and will also share that you could easily cut the sauce in half and it would still be good.

Decorating, cooking, blogging *sigh* life is good.

Soon enough I will have to go back to work - and reality - but at least I always have a lovely home to return to at the end of the day...

Now onward to the recipe!

Low Fat Creamy Baked Salmon
For printable recipe click HERE

Ingredients

* 2 lbs salmon fillets
* 3/4 cup nonfat sour cream
* 1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 tablespoon fresh baby dill, chopped
* 8 ounces fat free cream cheese
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 1/3 cup white wine or chicken stock
* salt
* pepper
* paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F Rinse fish and pat dry.
2. Place fillets skin side down in a single layer in a greased 9x13 pan.
3. Whisk sour cream, mayo, flour, lemon juice, dill, cream cheese, garlic and wine in a medium bowl until smooth and spread over fish.
4. Season with salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
5. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until internal temp is 140 F or middle inside of fish is slightly opaque. Fish will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing from oven
6. Transfer to serving platter spooning sauce over fish and sprinkling with additional paprika and dill to garnish if desired.

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This blog is linked to:

Savvy Southern Style

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch