A Year of Pretty - December 14, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is actually a super cute post....THESE PUPPIES ! ! ! !

Today being Sunday, it's a big baking day, but I wanted to share this adorable photo of Santa's little helpers. No original source given, just a random tumblr account where I couldn't locate the photo after five minutes of scrolling. Oh well, enjoy!

A Year of Pretty - December 09, 2014

A Year of Pretty - December 08, 2014

 .. . .perfect for the creative person. This would also be a great way to use left over yarn. What's also nice is that with a bit of adult super vision when attaching the yarn to the wreath, this is a fun project for kids to create. Imagine their concentration while winding the yarn into smaller balls....

I've given instructions for both a permanent and a temporary wreath. In the permanent version, the balls of yarn are glued together; both to the wreath form and to each other. In the temporary version, the balls of yarn are attached with thin wire. This is in case you may want to use the yarn again for another project and don't want it to be covered in hardened glue.

You can also use a foam wreath for your base and wrap it in yarn. I found that to be a bit time consuming, so I opted for a rustic twig / vine wreath I had on hand. Essentially, when we pruned back the grape vines in the garden, I twisted then into wreaths and let them dry that way. But you can pick one up pretty cheap at your local craft store.

Directions for Yarn Wreath:

Needed:
yarn in four or five complimentary shades
styrofoam balls in various sizes
large eyed needle
desired size wreath form; twig or grapevine
hot glue gun and glue sticks, or 20 gauge wire
wire cutters and eye protection
hanging ornament for center
clear fishing line
scissors

What to Do:

1. Wind various yarns around the different sizes of styrofoam balls, leaving a 12 inch tail. If you are using a smaller wreath, make smaller balls, larger for a larger wreath. Essentially, the size should be in proportion to the overall size of the wreath.

2. Thread the tail end of yarn onto the large eyed needle. Pull the needle through the ball of yarn repeatedly until the tail is secure.

3. Arrange balls of yarn on wreath form in the desired sequence in order to cover the front of the wreath as shown in the photo.

4. Apply hot glue to the back of each yarn ball and press in place along the wreath. Hold until ball feels secure. Repeat with all yarn balls; glue yarn balls together at sides where they touch.

OR

4. Attach each ball of yarn to the wreath with the 20 gauge wire by threading the wire through each ball and then twisting the ends of the wire onto the twig wreath until secure. Wearing eye protection, clip ends of wire with wire cutters. Twist and tuck exposed twisted pieces into the wreath for safety. Thread wire through yarn balls at sides where they touch and repeat twisting to secure, clipping ends as needed.

5. Attach hanging ornament to inside top of wreath with clear fishing line. Trim ends of fishing line with scissors.

Your wreath is now ready to hang or give away as a gift. I have found that round cake trays with domed lids from the grocery store's baking department are great way to store wreaths when not in use and are convenient for gift-giving. Just stick a pretty bow on the top of the dome and you're done.

Happy Christmas Crafting!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Christmas Baking Begins

It's here ! It's here! it's the most wonderful time of the year !

The Christmas season is my favourite time of year for a number of reasons. The cold snap in the air. Mittens and hats and scarves. Spending time with the family. The excitement in a young child's eyes; and the certain sparkle in the eyes of the young at heart.

But by far, this is my favourite time of year for baking. Each year around mid November, I pull out all my baking books and magazines and start marking what I want to make. I also begin a list of ingredients I'll need. I try to keep my selection of recipes down to an even dozen. However, each year it is a struggle between the tried and true cookies that our family loves and the new recipes that I want to try. There is also a discussion and decision meeting with the family. So quite often that selection process ends up at about 16 different varieties.

You may think that 16 different kinds of holiday treats is a bit overboard, but in a family of bakers, this is actually quite easily accomplished. My parents are lucky to have a large kitchen. Having two mixers going at the same time is also a time saver. (I bring mine over to my parents' house and we set them up side-by-side).

Most of the recipes call for a chilled dough, so the batters are often made in advance and then wrapped and labeled for a later time. We find that if we make all the dough over one week, and then do the baking the following week, it doesn't seem like such an ordeal.

When it comes to rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes, we have three stations going; two on the long kitchen table and one on the counter. So really, there are three people working on three different cookies at one time. We just make sure we are all working on recipes that call for the same oven temperature.

The dining room table gets converted into the cooling and storage area. Once a particular batch of cookies has cooled overnight, they get packed into a large tins and labeled. Hard cookies will stay in the dining room, soft cookies will head to the freezer downstairs.

But more important than the actual baking are the memories we share as we are making the dough and cutting the shapes. There are some pretty amazing conversations that occur when there are three people all rolling, cutting and baking at the same time with Bing Crosby playing in the background.

Okay, so what do we need with 16 types of cookies, with between 50 to 60 cookies per recipe? Well, in truth, we give most of it away as gifts. My Oma (grandmother) lives in a wonderful home where a good majority of the residents are of Western European decent (predominantly Dutch, but also German, Danish, and Belgians). They all enjoy home baking, especially those traditional treats they remember from their homelands. So we pack up a couple large tins with an assortment of 4 or so dozen cookies in each for her to offer to her guests that come for coffee. Oma is also diabetic, so we know she won't be eating them herself; and she doesn't have time to bake. My Oma is, and has always been a social butterfly. Her personal appointment calendar rivals that of most teenagers.

Mom likes to give baskets of home made jams, jellies, salsa and a variety of baked goods to her close friends. This will take up another 15 to 20 dozen cookies. Then she also brings a large platter of them to the Christmas Concert for her students. There goes another 12 dozen. I take a few of tins packed with 3 or 4 dozen each to my work, so there is another 10 to 12 dozen. What are we at now ....52 dozen?? That's 624 cookies. Which, if you've been following my math, leaves 176 cookies or 14.67 dozen. These get divided into individual treat bags with a dozen per bag and tied with pretty ribbon to hand out as needed (the postman, the pharmacist who takes my mom's prescriptions over the phone, the delivery driver who comes every other week with her dialysis equipment supplies). Some will go home with my brother and his girlfriend, others home with my nephew.

So really we are left with about 6 dozen assorted cookies for actual drop-by guests and "personal consumption." And when we feel we can't stand to look at another cookie, we pack up the remainder and stick them in the freezer until summer. Lebkuchen and Speculaas in the middle of July? Why not.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some baking and cookie photos. I hope you will be inspired by these and want to bake something tasty for someone you love.

Happy Baking!

A Year of Pretty - December 06, 2014

A Year of Pretty - December 05, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this montage of silver tones coffee table accessories, found on Pinterest via tumblr. 

I appreciate how the cable knit pattern on the throw pillow and blanket is reflected in the crocheted candle cozies on the silver platter, though I'm not sure if a wool candle cozy is the safest idea for something that's a lit flame. Maybe they just look like they are made from wool but are really resin or some other non-flammable material.

I really like coffee table vignettes like this that tell a little story. I have one going on my coffee table that I keep adding to. Mine is made up of little mementos from places I have travelled. There is the Eiffel Tower I got on my first trip to Paris, a Deft porcelain shoe from my first visit to The Netherlands, shells from a beach where I swam with dolphins in Portugal, and my most recent addition: an alabaster leaning tower from Pisa. 

And of course; candles. Lots and lots of candles.

A Year of Pretty - December 03, 2014

Today would be a great day to just cuddle up, stay inside, read a book and drink hot cocoa.

Full article can be found on BHG.com - 8 Rules for Smart Splurges

A Year of Pretty - December 02, 2014

Have you written your letter to Santa?

Each year, millions of children write to Santa with their deepest wishes and desires. In Canada, there is a special address operated by the Canada Post just to receive (and respond) to these letters. In Vancouver, there is a huge post box set up near Canada Place where children and their parents can drop off their letters.

In our family, letters to Santa are still required, and must be submitted no later than December 01. Of course, we don't mail them to the North Pole. Instead, we pass them along to "Santa's Helpers", who conveniently live at my parents' house.

Santa's Helpers are very busy people. So, these helpers greatly appreciate any additional information such as store location and/or website address that would help save them time and/or money. I know, I know...it's not about the gifts. But it is about making other people happy.

And honestly, it also takes a lot of stress out of trying to figure out what gift would make another person happy; especially when you have family members who are a little hard to pick out gifts for. My dad is a classic example. I could bake him his favourite cookies or sew him a beautiful shirt, but without the list I wouldn't know that what he REALLY wishes for is a set of four tire racks to hang his winter tires in the garage during the summer (and if anyone has any ideas on where to HIDE four tire racks in the meantime, please let me know).

So in honor of anyone beginning to stress about what to give those hard to shop for people on your list, today's Pretty Post is this cute illustration of posting letters. I'm not sure who the original artist is. I tried to decipher and search the name of the artist's mark in the bottom right corner, but with no luck.

Stay happy and healthy, and fingers crossed that Santa or his Helpers are working on making your Christmas wishes come true.

A Year of Pretty - December 01, 2014

Inspiration for all the Christmas baking that is about to begin . . . .

A Year of Pretty - January 09, 2014

It's January. I have a cold. It's cold outside (though being in Vancouver, BC . . .decidedly not as cold as Eastern Canada or the United States.) It's dreary. Some candles will add some glowing warmth to the room. I love candles

Today's Pretty Post is this lovely winter white arrangement, the original source from Lovenordic Design Blog.

This sort of arrangement would look nice on the mantle of a fireplace. What I like about it is that it can be displayed both before Christmas and afterwards. I would put this out maybe in mid-November, and then around the beginning of December add some sprigs of holly with red berries or a couple of red and gold balls. After Christmas, I'd remove the festive decorations.

Mom and I made a bunch of these pillar candles using leftover taper candle stubs, melting them down and pouring the wax into empty frozen juice tins and rinsed out milk cartons. Once the wax had hardened, we simply peeled off the cardboard.

I have two of these large wooden letters, each for the initials of my first and last name. I'm sure if I talk to my dad sweetly; maybe bring him some peanut butter cookies....that he and I could use his jigsaw to cut out these letters to spell this otherwise chilly time of year.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy - Christmas Baking Begins

It's that time of year again . . .time to start baking for Christmas. One of the cookies we make each year are basically a fruitcake in a cookie form. The original recipe from my great-great grandmother called them Lizzies. My grandmother nick named them Dizzy Lizzies. Now they are referred to as Boozie Fruit Cookies. And they are best made by my dad. So realistically, we call them Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies.

It starts with soaking the dried fruit and nuts in bourbon, but you can use rum or brandy. Some years we have used Maker's Mark (favourite) or Jim Beam bourbon; other years it's been Appleton Estate rum or Asbach. Next year I want to try using Spice Box Whiskey. In the original recipe, the fruit was soaked for one hour, and only in 1/2 a cup of alcohol. But dad over the years has increased the liquor to a full cup and lets the fruit sit covered for up to seven days; tossing the fruit in the liquid every other day. By the end of a week or so, the fruit has soaked up all of the liquid. This means the fruit will remain moist during the baking, and then help to keep the cookies soft.

These are a great cookie for making early in the Christmas season. They keep well and are excellent for packing and shipping. The recipe makes quite a few (7 to 8 dozen), so we often freeze half the batch and take them out as needed (or craved) throughout the new year. Christmas cookies in July? why not !

Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies

3          cup      seedless raisins

4          cup      pecan halves

1 ¼      cup      citron, diced

4          cup      candied cherries, chopped

1          cup      bourbon, dark or spiced rum or brandy

¼         cup      butter or margarine, room temperature

½         cup      light brown sugar, firmly packed; plus 2 Tbsp

2                      eggs

1 ½      tsp       baking soda

1 ½      tsp       ground cinnamon

½         tsp       ground cloves

½         tsp       ground nutmeg

1 ½      cup      all purpose flour

In a large sized bowl or other airtight container with a lid that seals, combine the raisins, pecans, citron and cherries. Pour the liquor over the fruit mixture and toss to thoroughly coat. Seal the container. Set in a cool location out of the way. Each day for a week or so, remove the lid and stir the mixture. (Or you can do what my dad does, which is to just pick it up and shake it so that the liquid re-coats the fruit. . . Be sure the lid is on tight!). When there is little to no liquid remaining, the mixture is ready.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter or margarine until light and fluffy. Add in the light brown sugar and continue to beat until well blended. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add the flour mixture and continue blending until smooth. Fold in the fruit mixture. There is not a lot of batter-to-fruit ratio in these cookies, so don't be alarmed if the batter seems really lumpy. It's supposed to be.

Drop by teaspoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake in a pre-heated slow oven at 325 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until firm. Remove from oven and transfer to wire cooling racks. Allow to cook completely before storing in an airtight container. 

If you have fans of Christmas fruit cake in your family or friends, then these are certainly going to be a hit for you. They pack all the flavours but without the heavy density sometimes found in the traditional cake. My nephew has been known to polish off a half dozen cookies in one sitting. But then he's going on 15 and 6'3" tall.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays !

(shown clockwise from top are Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread, Chocolate Crinkles, Vanilla Chocolate Thumbprints and Dad's Boozie Fruit Cookies)

Pomanders

Pomanders. The smell of spices and citrus.

During the Middle Ages, people didn’t bathe much. But they still wanted to smell nice otherwise it became increasingly difficult when trying to pick up a date for Friday nights.

The word Pomander comes from the French pomme d’ambre or apple of ambergris (nothing says “wow, you smell good like a bit of dull grey or blackish solid, waxy, flammable substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales). Originally made from gold, silver or ivory, the small filigree balls were filled with fragrant spices and ambergris; which was used as a fixative. The pomanders were then worn either on a long chain around the neck or at the waist.

A modern version of a pomander is made by studding citrus fruit with whole cloves and a mixture of ground spices containing orrisroot instead of the ambergris. Orrisroot will dry out the fleshy inside of the fruit so that it doesn’t rot. What you’re essentially left with is a light, hollow ball.

Now, keep in mind that I do bathe. Quite regularly. So I don’t need to wear one of these around my neck or waist. Instead, I use them for decoration or gifts. When studding the citrus, I leave about a 3/8 inch space all the way around. When the fruit has dried, I then wrap a long ribbon around in the space and then tie it in a double knot with a bow at the top. The long tails I then tie together to form a loop to hang the whole thing in the Christmas tree or from a chandelier in the dining room (the warmth of the lights really bring out the smell of the spices).  You can also cover the whole surface and then display them in a pile in a pretty bowl as a centerpiece with candles.

Pomanders also make a great hostess gift. When placed in closets, the help scare away the moths.

I choose small, round oranges with thin skins, or nicely shaped lemons. Once studded with the cloves and allowed to cure, the scent will usually last for several years. When the spicy scent starts to wane, I dip them is warm water and then roll them in fresh ground spices with a drop or two od cinnamon or clove oil. I then leave the pomander in the spice s for a couple days to dry.

Want to make your own? Here’s how:

6 to 8 assorted thin skinned oranges, lemons and limes (some people say apples, but I haven’t tried these)

½ lb (8 oz or 1 cup)              whole large-headed cloves

¼ cup                                    ground cinnamon

¼ cup                                    ground cloves

¼ cup                                    powdered orrisroot (the pharmacy / health food store should have this)

2 Tbsp                                   ground nutmeg

2 Tbsp                                   ground all spice

I find having a slim nut pick or a large needle handy for piercing the skin very handy. Holding the fruit firmly, insert cloves at ¼ inch intervals; either in rows or at random over the surface. The fruit will shrink as it dries, closing up the spaces between the cloves. Repeat with all fruit.

Combine all the ground and powdered ingredients and mix thoroughly. I place my mixture in a large Christmas cookie tin. Begin to roll the fruit in the spice mixture until completely covered. Leave fruit in mixture, and spoon additional mixture over fruit, covering as much as possible. Leave in open container for 2 days (more or less).

Turn fruit in container and recover with spice mixture. Repeat this process, turning fruit every couple of days until fruit is hard, light and completely dried out. This should take about 2 weeks.

Once the fruit has dried out, remove from spices and shake off the excess. Tie on the ribbon if you plan to hang these, or place in a decorate bowl for on the table.

After the holidays, you can either store them in the remaining spice for next year, hang them in the closet (just be sure they don’t touch your clothes or the coats) or leave them out on display.

PS: If you’ve made these and have suggestions or questions, please drop me a note and I’d be happy to help. And don’t’ forget the voting buttons below to let me know what you think.

Happy Holidays

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . .

. . .and it's just around the corner. Here is your "non-denominal festive season" image for today:

A Lighter Side to Fruitcake

Fruitcake seems to perpetually have a bad rap. Not entirely sure why. I mention the words "fruit cake" to someone and they are often met with "ehwww....I hate fruit cake. So gross.". Why? What did fruit cake ever do to them?

Many find fruit cake too dense and heavy. True, a number of fruitcakes are made this way. I have discovered that most commercially made fruitcakes contain too much fruit to batter ratio and this is what makes them so heavy. Added to this is a thick layer of overly sweet marzipan (personally, I'm not a fan of the stuff in any season).

I've been making our family fruitcakes for years. I like to make two types. One with the traditional candied cherries and peel and nuts and dark raisins. The other I make with only the light fruit. Golden raisins, dried citrus peel, dried cranberries and slivered almonds. This mixture gives the cakes a more blonde appearance with the red dried cranberries giving just a bit of colour.

I also separate the egg yolks from the egg whites (trivia question - what is the egg white called . . . besides "egg white"). The yolks get blended into the cream mixture while the egg whites are beaten stiff and then folded in at the end. This makes for a lighter, airier cake.

Another problem with fruitcake is that it can be dry. Good fruitcake remains moist. This comes from properly curing the fruitcake. And this takes time. And brandy. And a dark closet. So I usually start the fruitcakes in mid October.

So here is the recipe our family has used as far back as I can remember.

Blonde Fruitcake

Fruit Mixture

2              cup         golden raisins

1              cup         diced candied citron

1              cup         dried cranberries

1              cup         candied pineapple, chopped

1              cup         slivered almonds

1              cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

Batter

¾             cup         milk

¼             cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

1              tsp          almond extract

1 ½          cup         butter, softened

2              cup         granulated sugar

6                            eggs, separated

3 ½          cup         all purpose flour

1              tsp          cream of tartar

Cheesecloth for wrapping cakes

2              cup         brandy, orange brandy, asbach or spiced rum

In a large bowl, combine the raisins, candied citron, cranberries, pineapple and slivered almonds with the 1 cup liquor and toss to coat. Cover and allow to sit for two days. Toss, and allow to sit for another two days. Repeat until all liquid has been absorbed by the fruit mixture (about a week).

Butter 4 standard sized loaf pans (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ “). Line bottoms with brown paper. Butter brown paper. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Combine the milk, ¼ cup liquor and almond extract and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour alternately with the milk mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour over fruit mixture. Mic well and set aside.

In a clean mixer bowl and with clean beaters, whip the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until still peaks form. Fold into batter. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans. Pack evenly by pressing down batter with the back of a wooden spoon.

Bake at 275 degrees F for 1 ¾ hours until skewer inserted into center of each cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and cool in pans on wire racks for 30 minutes. Run knife around edge of cakes to loosen. Remove cakes from pans. Peel off paper and allow cakes to cool completely.

Wrap each cake with a double layer of cheesecloth. Using extra liquor, brush each cake with enough liquid to dampen cheesecloth. Wrap cakes in aluminum foil and store in a dark closet for 2 to 3 weeks, brushing occasionally with more liquor.

Cured cakes can be frozen for up to a year. 

Vacation - Day 2, 3, 4 & 5

Well, it seems time has gotten away from me. Here we are on day 5 of my imposed "vacation". No real sewing yet, although I have zip-zagged all my fabrics and visited the local laundromat. They are all clean and ready to go. Note to self - next time take the fabric to the local laundromat late at night when there aren't as many sour-faced old ditties that will scowl at you for taking more than two machines.

I have spent some time with the aforementioned planter boxes on my patio. And my floors and bathrooms are gleaming clean. So I can at least cross those things of my "To-Do" list.

I have discovered a problem in my craft/sewing room. Well, technically not a problem, just something that I thought I had done but it seems I still have some work to do. I found a box of unpainted ceramic houses. Eight of 'em. Plus all the tiny village people. Uncleaned greenware. Great, another project to add to my list of things to get done. Hence - a problem.

The situation is further complicated because Mom already has about a dozen finished houses and no more room with the current display to add more. So poor ol' Dad will have to build on to the village and rig up more lights for the display this Christmas.

But I guess compared to world hunger and the global economic crisis it's not a big deal . . . .