Christmas Memories

The squeals are gone,
The egg nog is drunk.
The carpet is covered in Holiday muck.

Santa was generous,
As were family and friends.
It's always so good to see them again.

Until next year,
I'll be cleaning the house.
For no one will help me,
Not even my spouse.

Twilight helps wrap presents.

Angelus & his cousin Anicia.

Me and my baby.

(My Ya-Ya) Jocelyn's All-Purpose Holiday Cookies
2 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven 400. Mix dry ingredients and the oil together in a large mixing bowl. Beat remaining ingredients until light and fluffy. Add to the mixing bowl with the mixture and stir together. Allow the mixture to chill for at least two hours-overnight is better. Divide the mixture into four sections for easier handling. Roll the dough out on a generously floured cutting board until it is about 1/8th of an inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter and place the cut-outs onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until cookies are stiff and a light golden color. Do not bake until brown or cookies will become hard and brittle.

Santa Baby... just slip a bunny under the tree...for me...

Ena gets up close and personal with her and China's birthday cake.

Santa Claws

Angelus left both chocolate and white milk out for Santa, as an experiment to see what Santa likes more. In the morning Angelus found the chocolate glass empty and the white glass full. No hypothesis was needed for the reindeer, they enjoyed their oats without hesitation.

"He's making a list, And checking it twice; Gonna find out, Who's naughty and nice."


We are halfway through the darkness, on to the new year.

Bark or Brittle?

When putting this recipe together for the Pagan Center annual cookie exchange, I wasn't sure if my flat, crisp creation was bark or brittle. Like divine intervention, Martha's December issue of Living magazine published an article just for me, my question was answered and all was right with the world.

A bark is chocolate based and a brittle is caramelized sugar or syrup based.

My creation is a bark!

Christmas Bark
This simple, but powerfully addictive creation, consists of 3 layers.

1. Cover stick pretzels over a 9x13 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

2. Cover pretzels with 24 ounces of melted white chocolate. Smooth out flat.

3. Drop chocolate covered peanut butter M&M's over the top of the white chocolate. Gently press the the M&M's into the white chocolate.

Place your cookie sheet in the freezer until the white chocolate is completely hard, about 20-30 minutes.

Gently break the solid sheet of Christmas goodness into smaller pieces.


Note: Peanut Butter M&M's are key, don't substitute.


I hope your holiday season is going wondeful! Tell me all about it! Did you view the winter solstice eclipe? What parties are you attending? Do you have snow? What do you hope Santa brings you?

Applesauce Ornaments

Constitute: equal parts of plain applesauce and cinnamon.

Combine completely, place on parchment paper and roll flat. Sprinkle the paper and rolling pin with cinnamon to prevent sticking. Use cookie cutters to create shapes.

Make a hole with a straw for your tree hanger.

Lightly smooth wet finger tips over cracks or imperfections.

Inscribe with a toothpick. Allow to dry by oven or air dry. By oven: place on a cookie sheet, heat for 1-2 hours on your lowest setting until dry and firm. Flip often. Air dry: leave out for 24-48 hours until dry and firm. Flip often.

String with ribbon or yarn and hang from your tree!



For shits and giggles, I created a
Voodoo Doll Gingerbread Man.

Pure Novelty.

Ouch.

I ♥ Michigan

No really I do!

Peppermint Tea and Gingerbread Cookies

Peppermint Tea and Gingerbread Cookies with the lovely and creative Spirit Phoenix. Over our years together as friends, I've come to admire many things about Spirit Phoenix, she has a beautiful, curious mind, a kind and generous heart, an adorable baby girl, a wonderful assortment of recipes, a proper fondness for cocktails, and most important - a beautiful collection of teacups.



Spirit Phoenix's Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
2 1/4 c flour
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c margarine/non salted butter softened
1 c. sugar
1 tbs water
1/4 c. molasses
2 tbs sugar

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tbs sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen

Visit Sprit Phoenix's Recipe Entry for more photos!

Reindeer Games

Sporting our un-favorite ugly Christmas sweaters, my family held our first annual Reindeer Games. Playing everything from Scrabble to Texas Hold-em with nudie cards!.

Our rules:
1. Winner picks next game.
2. Angelus is a good luck charm, use him wisely.
3. Deluding your whiskey will result in immediate ridicule.
4. Zog is not a word.
5. Avoid controversial topics, like The Beatles, George Bush and Roast Beef.




One of the many highlights of the evening was the Bacon Cupcakes my sister brought. Yep, I said Bacon Cupcakes. Bacon. I don't have a recipe, but I think most any foodie could recreate this unique and delectable treat! The cake was a cinnamon or spice type of cake with maple frosting; topped with pieces of crisp, salty bacon!

Bacon Cupcake

Coffee with Meave

My Ya-Ya Meave's marvelous holiday splendor!

The Popcorn String is All-American
There has been a great deal of controversy over the history of the Christmas tree. Some scholars contend that it is primarily a 16th Century German tradition, while others claim that it extends back to pagan times.

According to some legends, the Christmas tree actually has its beginnings in Northern Europe nearly a thousand years ago, when the pagans practiced a yule tradition that involved animal and human sacrifice.

The Romans used evergreens to mark the solstice. During the feast called Saturnalia, the Romans decorated their homes with evergreen plants. The tradition was supposed to remind them that winter soon would be over, and that Saturn, the God of Agriculture, would return to the fields and orchards. Roman mosaics have shown the God Dionysus -- another God representing rebirth -- carrying a conifer.

The earliest references to a Christmas Tree come from the traditions of 16th century German craft guilds. Still, the custom was confined to the towns of the upper Rhineland until the late 1700s or early 1800s. Greater Germany in those days was composed of dozens of tiny principalities, and there seems to have been an excess of German princesses available to marry the nobility of other nations. As the princesses traveled to other nations, they took their Christmas traditions with them. Britain's Queen Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz brought the tradition to England in 1761; Princess Henrietta von Nassau-Weilburg brought the Christmas Tree to Vienna in 1816.

In the United States, the Christmas Tree tradition could be found among German immigrants, but seldom elsewhere. Indeed, in many places, they were seen as pagan symbols -- something that would not be welcome in Puritan influenced America.

Indeed, the Puritans had already tried to stamp out many of the celebratory aspects of Christmas. Massachusetts governor William Bradford had tried to lead the Pilgrims in stamping out "pagan mockery," while in England, Oliver Cromwell had banned carols, decorated trees and joyful expressions."

It didn't hurt, of course, that the United States had a sizable German population. Germans, in fact, were, and are the single largest US ethnic group.

During this time, the Christmas Tree in America still was decorated in the traditional German style, with gifts, candles, fruits, nuts, lace and quilted toys -- and an American addition, the popcorn string. (source)

Holly
It did not escape the Romans’ notice that the common European holly, Ilex aquifolium, blossomed with bright red berries in December and was the perfect temple decoration for the midwinter festival of Saturnalia, a reminder of blooming life in the more fecund times of summer. Saturnalia was all about fecundity — and not just in plants.

With the fall of empire, Dark Ages Europe was more than happy to steal the Romans’ party plans and adopt them as their own. Old English Saxons used holly as a decoration for that turn-of-the-year celebration that the Christians hijacked and renamed the Big Spend.

In what is now Germany, there was an old Teutonic tradition of hanging the interior of dwellings with evergreens as a refuge for sylvan spirits from the inclemency of winter. With the spread of the new religion, holly came to be known in Germany and Scandinavia as “Christ’s thorn”, or “the righteous branch” from a verse in the book of Isaiah in which the prophet calls upon evergreens “to beautify the place of my sanctuary”.

Holly is an altogether jollier branch, although it too has its superstitions. While its berries sustain birds through the winter, they can provoke vomiting and purging in man. In some parts it is still regarded as unlucky to bring holly into the house before Christmas eve. ~ The Sunday Times

Meave's Banana-Oatmeal Muffins
Topping:
3 Tbsp. Oatmeal
2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Muffins:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 ripe mashed bananas
3/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp. butter
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper liners.
• Combine topping ingredients; mix well.
• In medium bowl combine bananas, milk, butter, and egg; mix well.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar and pumpkin pie spice; mix well.
• Mix together wet and dry ingredients.
• Fill muffin cups almost full.
• Sprinkle topping evenly over batter, patting gently.
• Bake 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
• Cool 5 minutes on wire rack, remove from pan.

Make the Yule-tide Gay

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight.


Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.


Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now.

Lately you might find me....

• Watching The Walking Dead

• Shining

• Drinking Peppermint Tea

• Wrapped in a blanket, reading and singing carols with Angelus under the Christmas tree.

• Taking yoga classes with my sister Jessica

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Adding pure mashed pumpkin to oatmeal makes for a yummy autumn breakfast!

Over medium heat, cook 1 cup of oats and 1 cup of milk until the oats are tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in 1/4 cup of pure pumpkin, 2 Tbs of honey, 1 ts of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Pour into 2 bowls and sprinkle a little more cinnamon on top.

Got Balls?

I'm reviving last years Christmas Balls blog party!

We've got balls! Round balls, white balls, chocolate balls, peanut buttery balls, sticky balls, tangy balls, juicy balls, you name it - we've got balls for Christmas! Help me compile the yummiest collection of Christmas balls this side of the Santa's naughty list. As long as they are round and editable, you can add them!

Add your recipe link below. Type the direct URL to your recipe on your blog. The post can be old or new. Add as many as you like!

Naughty and dirty comments are not only appreciated, they are expected!





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Roasted Autumn Vegetable Soup

Before Autumn escapes us, collect it's bounty to make a hearty soup!

Chop up the veggies into large chunks.

Pile into a roasting pan, drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle on any herbs you might like, I used my Thyme herb stick. Roast, covered, at 350 degrees until the veggies are tender.

Transfer the veggies and roasting juices to a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth, adding chicken stock to achieve your desired thickness. Puree in small batches if needed.