I love December, basically because it is a month long excuse to always be baking cookies. And listen to Christmas music. And have a lovely big ass tree in the house covered in lights and dried fruit. Plus snow if we are really lucky. December. It%u2019s a good month.
And we are getting to that time when now most of us have serious cookie making on the brain. I bet if you ask 5 people what they are planning on doing in the next few days leading up to Christmas, at least 3 of them will tell you they are making cookies because really, that is what you should be doing. That is if you like to bake. If not, then by all means, skip cookie baking.
Now what cookies to bake? Well you got to have chocolate chip, and peanut butter. Plus some no bakes and sugar cookies, but also, I think, some type of gingerbread.
These cookies are the gingerbread something. I added cardamon because I think cardamom is delicious and think everyone will think so too, And lemon because lemon goes with cardamom and ginger and lemon cardamon ginger just has a nice ring to it. Then crinkle because I didn%u2019t really want to roll out dough and cut out shapes (I was being lazy), but I wanted pretty and I am really Into the crinkle look.
These cookies were a huge hit. Not crispy like a snap, but not cakey or overly soft. A nice chew and deep in flavor. The mr was basically smuggling these cookies all day before I had a chance to really hide them and he is not a typical gingerbread lover but he told me that these cookies might just be the best cookies he has ever had. So yeah, I guess this is now my new winner gingerbread cookie recipe.
And no joke, these are probably the best smelling cookies I have ever made. I wanted to bottle up the smell and wear it on me like a teenage boy wears a new bottle of axe. Seriously, I kept sniffing my sweater all day long just to get a good hit of the smell. So good!
Now to the cookies!
The stuff. In one bowl there is flour, salt, and baking soda and powder. The other bowl is brown sugar and molasses. There there is a couple flax eggs, some oil, a lemon for it%u2019s zest, and spices of ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, and black pepper. Also powdered sugar to roll and crinkle these cookies.
Wet stuff. Sugar, molasses, flax eggs, and oil. Mix until combined.
Dry stuff. Flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and the spices. Add in the lemon zest too and whisk to combine.
Wet into dry. Grab a wooden spoon and mix until a cohesive dough forms. And yes you can give up the spoon after a minute and use your hands to complete the mixing%u2026 I did.
After dough is mixed and uniform, pop the bowl into the fridge for a little while to give he dough some time to rest. Half an hour is good and you could even leave it for a day if you wanted to, just cover it if you do.
And when the dough has had it%u2019s time, scoop, roll into balls, ans roll around and completely coat in powdered sugar.
Sugars balls of dough. Now pop them into the oven.
TA DA! Baked and all crinkly.
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack because that%u2019s how all cookie cool. And smell that delicious oh so lovely smell. It really is amazing, no?
Then onto a serving plate and now you have cookies for your mouth face.
Happiest happys of all the days to come! Now go eat cookies!
-C
makes around 2 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
zest of a lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup neutral oil (I used canola)
2 flax eggs (6 tablespoon warm water mixed with 2 tablespoon ground flax seed)
1/2 -3/4 cup powdered sugar
To start, grab a bowl and mix together the brown sugar, molasses, oil, and flax seed eggs until completely combines. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, all the spices (ginger, cardamon, cinnamon,and pepper), baking powder and soda, and salt. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry and mix together until a cohesive dough forms. Place dough in fridge for about a 1/2 hour to up to a day to let dough rest for a bit. If you are going to keep in the fridge for a while, just cover it up.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and measure out powdered sugar into a bowl
Remove dough from fridge and using a scoop or just eyeballing it, scoop about 2 tablespoons worth of dough. With each scoop, roll the dough into a ball and place into the bowl of the powdered sugar and roll around unit completely coated. Place ball on a baking sheet, giving it a little pat down, NOT squishing it down, just a little indent. And don%u2019t overcrowd balls, give them a little space.
When your baking sheet full, place Into hot oven and bake for 12-13 minutes or until the cookies have puffed and flattened out a bit, are golden brown on the bottoms, and the tops are all crinkly and lovely. Once cooked all the way, remove from oven and transfer cookies onto a wire rack to cool.
Then eat a warm one. Heck, eat 2 warm ones, then do what you will with the rest.
Store cooled cookies in an air tight container at room temp for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for long term storage but why do you need to store your cookies? Jest eat them.
December my friends. No way around it. But I am excited because I love Christmas time with all the fun christmasy things that we can do in next few weeks (there is an A Frame gingerbread village planned !). Also it%u2019s birthday season so I have already made one cake and stuck it in the freezer and only have like 10 more to make. And then there is snow, and lights, and trees%u2026 How can you not like December? Plus cookies. Need to start making cookies because what is December with cookies?
The week was good. After spending all of Sunday cleaning and putting up the Christmas lights, things went as usual with the ways of world. Tuesday Barb and I had lunch and went for a hike, just us girls, to take in nature and talk life things. She hugged trees while I deposited my knowledge that comes with my old age. HA. Later that day, Emma (the mr%u2019s sister), came over to catch up on life and teach the mr how to embroider. She was a great teacher and , I must say, the mr did a really good job being a learner. Although I was not surprised because he picks up everything so fast.
Then Thanksgiving eve. The mr gone for the day, me hanging hanging at home taking phone calls and going through the stack of papers that has been mocking me for the past few weeks. On his way home he picked up Miley so she could sleep over. We made a spaghetti dinner, she watched Nailed It Holidays and I walked her through making cinnamon star bread. The little lady kneaded, rolled, and shaped the whole thing pretty much all by herself. It was for sure a proud aunt moment for me. And then we watched Juno (I hadn%u2019t seen that movies in forever. I forgot how good it was) and I passed out. Bed for me and the mr. Miley, well I am not sure what time she actually went to bed. We let her stay up and watch whatever.
Thanksgiving day I woke up, cooked the star (Miley finished it by making and drizzling the glaze) and we just hung out until Erin and the other two littles showed up. We fed them, played them, and off they went to the Grandparents. The rest of the day was just me and the mr. We went for a nice, if not blustery cold, hike, then just putzed around the house. I read, he hung a new light fixture, then we made dinner. Being thanksgiving and all he felt the need to grill some turkey breasts and if you really want know how that went you can ask him. Me, I ate a humongous bowl of veggies and lentils and hand fulls of spinach. After an after dinner walk we crawled into bed and tried to watch a movie, but I passed (again) out and that was that.
Then the rest of the weekend has been pretty slow. Basically just hanging around the house doing little chores and some little projects. Mellow. And it has been pretty nice.
I am really excited for today. We are going to the Green Mountain Nation Forest to find us our Christmas tree!!!! My most favorite part of Christmas . And so we will head out late morning with our lunches packed, our snow pants tossed into the truck, the saw nice and sharpe, and head out into the mountains.And better yet, tt is suppose to snow later today and I am so very much hopping that we get a nice, (safe) amount of snow on our hike and tree cutting adventure. That would just be the best. YAY!
Internet links from the week, if you want to know what I know now.
-I didn’t know this about thanksgiving. And now I do. Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving On The 4th Thursday Of November
-Uh Duh, I could have told you this. Want to live longer? Surround yourself with plants
–A Brief History of Word Art, the Decor Everyone Loves to Hate. And I really REALLY hate it.
-I have been known to sit in front of the oven and watch the bread bake. Super satisfying. Here’s 36 Blissful Seconds of Bread Rising in the%u00a0Oven
–Photos of How Families Eat In The Arctic. And that is why I don%u2019t live there, it%u2019s a lot of meat.
-This makes me happy to look at. A Multicolored Library of the World%u2019s Ochre Pigments%u00a0
–Here’s To Grown-Up Siblings And The Ties That Bind. Siblings. Even when I want to punch them in the face, I still love them.
-I guess I just don%u2019t understand. Meet the $50 Strawberries That NYC%u2019s High-End Chefs Are Fawning Over
–Homemade Christmas baking is a joy %u2013 even if it is not to your taste. Agreed. Something about baking this tie of year, it is just so, well, joyful.
-On my reading list. Good Husbandry: A Memoir by Kristin Kimball. I read her first Memoir, The Dirty life, and it was A+
And pictures from the week…
What a week. What a year. So much has happened and is happening and is about happen. I guess that is the nature of life and time and all that good stuff.
The week started off fantastic. On Sunday the mr and I grabbed Judah, Emerson, and Barb, piled into the car, and went for a light drive. We walked around a light filled park, drove some more, then ended up at, of all places in this world, Burger King. And they loved it (I packed my own dinner because I do not, will not, eat at almost any place that the littles prefer) Funny, I don%u2019t know if I have ever been inside of a Burger King before, and if I have, it was long before I had a choice in what I ate. Again, they loved it, even though it was trash food, they got their crowns. Coco cheered just about every French Fry that went into his mouth, and the mr got to use Burger King coupons that he had hiding in his pocket (that is basically why we ended up there) It was a fantastic evening and is now going to be a Christmas Eve eve tradition. Light drive with dinner (never Burger King again thank you very much)
After we dropped them off at home, we went home and that is when the mr succumbed to it. IT being the stomach flu. That was fun.
Christmas Eve the mr was an ill man so I forged it alone. With the help of all the Christmas music I could handle, I baked a bunch, prepared the house for the next day when the family came over. I cut up all the fruits and veggies, wrapped the few little presents I had, did bills and a bunch laundry, ran to the grocery store. My mom stopped by and brought me a lemon tree because just because. I just was so freaking productive. And best part, it SNOWED, like a good amount. What I thought was going to be a completely snow free Christmas turned into the most magical snow ever. Christmas Eve afternoon, Big fat fluffy flakes covering the world. I bundled myself up and walked around the neighborhood just taking it all in. It truly was the best Christmas Eve snow ever. And after a full on day of resting , the mr was feeling a bit better so that was good. And then both to bed by 7 because thats our life these days.
Christmas morning had all the right stuff. Woke up and watched the sun rise while drinking a butload of coffee. The house was all clean and glittery and the ltree lights were on and the ground glittered with the fresh snow. After the mr woke up and was feeling a little worse for ware but ok, we bundled up and went for a little stroll on the beach. We usually go for a hike but I was not trying to push the mr too hard. The beach, oh man, was that amazing. The water was still, the snow was like diamonds, and the air was crisp and clean. Not a sound to be heard other then the lapping of water. It was so good. We left before I decided to stay forever and because the mr thought he could walk on ice and ended up with a his foot in a foot of water so we headed on home to meet the hoard of family. Just about everyone came (minus Ryan and the girls and Anthony.. we missed them all) ate food, did a little gift exchange thing (I got some sweet new house plants), plastered Jackson with a very nice shade of lipstick that might have been called whore red, and had a Happy Birthday celebration for Cameron because it%u2019s was Christmas, but it really was his birthday.
Then for the saddest part. We got the news that our uncle had passed away.
Oh Uncle Seth. He had been sick for a while now with Parkinson%u2019s disease, but the past month or so it got so bad. His death was not unexpected but never the less it was not any less painful. My only uncle, the guy who gave me my first car, the man who built a cabin from nothing in the woods and turned it into a place that you could only imagine (or see in a design magazine) A man who taught (he was as professor at RISD), loved the world, loved to travel, loved his work, was so fierce in emotion. SO many little qualities that I saw in him, I see in me. ( I feel like I get a lot of who I am from my dad and my uncle and aunt) The world lost a great man, I lost a great uncle. He is and will always be loved and I know I was just lucky to have been able to have him as an uncle. It is still hard, I don%u2019t think I have fully processed it still, It is kind of a not quite real feeling. Just an overall heaviness that has settled in on my mind and heart. It is so hard to loose any family, but especially hard when they were so full of life and had so much to give to the world. Agh. The words are not even close to adequate here, the full measure of him as a person not explained. To put it simply, he was an amazing, loving and generous person. I am so going to miss him, his creativity, his lust for life. And what I am going to miss most is his hugs and smiles and overall presences in my life. RIP Seth. You really were a fucking awesome uncle.
We got word of the funeral on Wednesday (which was also Anthonys 17th birthday%u2026.So old! I stopped by to see him and give him a big hug. Didn%u2019t want a party or cake this year so I owe him granola bars.) and were in the car driving down to RI by Thursday morning. Shannon, Megan, the mr, and me, all packed into the car and off we went. A small family funeral which was very beautiful and full of love, then food with the family. Not a long stay, but we are all going back down next weekend for Seths memorial celebration bash.
We got home and it hit hard. I started to feel kind of crappy (sick wise) and have been feeling blue ever since. Driving to RI really kicked the mr down again. He was so good, no complaining about anything, not the cranked up car heat or driving straight while us ladies spent the entire time talking of childhood memories. He didn%u2019t even put on the music. And by the time we came back home, the guy was sick again, or maybe never was not sick, but he has been down for the count ever since.
So yesterday we did a few morning chores together like got rid of the recycling and retuned amazon stuff to UPS, but by afternoon the mr was out. So I cleaned house, made another ice cream cake for Judah, and did more and more laundry. Another one of those feeling super productive days. Weird, but I am starting to see a pattern here. When the mr is really sick, I get a lot done. I think it%u2019s mainly because. a) I want to stay away from him as to not get sick too. b) I am afraid that if I do get sick none of what needs to be done will get done so I need to do it fast. And c) I don%u2019t have to worry about what he needs to do, it%u2019s all me. Ha.
Today is Judah%u2019s birthday. Nine years old! What an age to be. So basically I am going to the gym then coming home to do a few things and finish making his cake, then heading over to his house for a birthday dinner celebration. I told him and his sister I would go over early and give them haircuts (the boys hair is so long it covers his eyes, He looks cool, but if you can%u2019t see, well looking cool isn%u2019t gonna get you anywhere). It%u2019s gonna be fun.
Goodness, is that it. The end of another year. Hard to wrap my head around so I am just going to ease on in to 2019. Low key and cool. Just like me. Ha.
Happy New Years Friends! Be safe. Be happy. Be good. Be kind.
Interent links from the week
–Just Admit It, You%u2019re in a Bad Mood. All the lead up to Christmas then BAM, its over. Gets me every time.
-I am defintially one of those people who likes to bake when I am feeling anxious. The Rise of Anxiety Baking. Cookies are my favorite to bake too.
-Speakig of cookies. When ‘Cookiers’ Take Holiday Cookie Decorating To A Whole New Level. I had no idea there was a cookie cutter factory in Vt. I must see this place!
-Who doesn%u2019t love a good tree picture? Black and White Photographs Capture the Striking Appearance of Bare Trees Against Snow-Filled Landscapes
–Explorer completes historic Antarctic trek. Some people do crazy things that make me jealous. Not that I want to ski Antarctica, but something crazy would be cool.
-How did I not know until now that there was a monthly round up of trucks spilling shit. We all need this information. This month in overturned trucks: Cash, Christmas trees, cooking oil
–How A Little Science And A Lot Of Shady Advertising Boosted Yeast’s Popularity. I have never eaten a yeast cake, but I eat a shit load of nutritional yeast. MY favorite is a spoonful in the mouth where it gets stuck in my teeth and the roof of my mouth. For real.
-I am going to get a scale sometime soon. I just need to find the right one for the right price (free or very cheap at the thrift store) Until then, this is handy. Weight Conversions for Flour, Sugar, and Other Common Baking Ingredients
-This is something that I have wondered about. I am really happy that it doesn%u2019t get wasted. We Finally Know What Happens to the Leftover Cake on the Great British Bake Off
–The year vegan junk food went mainstream. Yup. Just cause it%u2019s vegan doesn%u2019t mean it is good for you.
And pictures from the week.
What are you doing today? Not last minute shopping and freaking out about silly holiday stuff that doesn%u2019t matter right? And if that is you, well I am sorry. May I suggest you just forget about it all and stay home and make cookies? You can give them as presents too and skip any more of the shopping hell. I give you all the permission and people love them some cookies.
The week went as usual. Nothing special or fantastic. We did finish the Christmas cards and sent or delivered most of them (still have a few to hand deliver). I spent a bit of time at the studio trying to get things glazed and fired before the holiday, organized all my kitchen towels, spices, and storage containers, and soaked and scrubbed the grease trap vent screen things that are in the hood vent above the stove. Low key but productive. We were intentionally keeping things quite as the littles and everyone that is usually around us is or has been getting sick with strep or the flu. We pumped the fluids, took the vitamins, and got our sleep. No need to get sick too right?
So nothing exciting. We went for a hike, had Barb over for a dinner where I might have had a slight anxiety attack that sent me to run and hide (I am blaming the weather, it is screwing with my mind) I worked the studio and loaded the kiln twice. Once and it was amazing then realized I loaded all the pots into the wrong kiln, had to unload it and reload it, cutting my hand open in the process . I was totally kicking myself in the ass, but again I blame the weather. (I will blame everything on the crappy, warm rainy shit we got this week. It really did mess with my brain)
We had the littles came over Friday night to do a little Christmas present crafting. They were going to sleep over, but the little lady wasn’t feeling well and what with them just being sick wit strep and all, they went on home because they need to be home when they are sick and I am not doing sick. But I did feel bad, and I did miss them Saturday morning. Oh well, not like they won%u2019t be at my house all this week. No school so it%u2019s gonna be party time.
I need to do a few things today, like start making an ice cream cake for Camerons birthday and go grocery shopping with my mom for Christmas Day food. And I definitely need to wash my hair (hat season does some shit to my head). Then it%u2019s basically getting things ready for Christmas for when the entire family comes over. Going to be proactive and move some plants so they don%u2019t get bumped into or knocked over, bring in extra chairs and a table to sit and eat at, and set up a drawing station for the littles. (Look at me, I am becoming quite the party host if I do say so myself.) Other then that, I am looking forward to a quiet evening of lounging and reading and maybe even an after dinner drive to check out some more Christmas lights. We tried for a Christmas light walk last night but got little in the way of lights, and we were walking for quite a while. So drive it is.
Hope you are having a great holiday weekend. Happy and Merry Christmas!
Internet to look at if you so do desire.
–The Joy of No-Gift Christmas. The mr and I stopped doing big Christmas gift things a long time ago. Now we each have stocking that we put a few little things in (like purple carrots and chap stick for me, candy and socks for him) and that is it. It is so so so much less stressful then trying to get a bunch of crap.
-Just in case you have that family member or two that make you want to take off running in the opposite direction. 9 Ways to Deal with a Toxic Family at the Holidays. Don%u2019t let them get to you.
-It is so true. Everyone ends up in the kitchen. And when the party is at my house, I almost never leave it, its my comfort zone. Like Moths To A Flame: Why Modern-Day Guests Always Gather In The Kitchen
–We%u2019re losing monarchs fast%u2014here%u2019s why. This makes me really sad. Humans, we need to stop screwing things up.
–Pedialyte embraces hungover-adult market. Ha. I remember going into the baby food section at the grocery store and buying it for my sister and her friends. Or better yet, stealing it from my mom when the twins were babies.
-I think I would be good at this, dealing with the weird crazy phone calls. I would be like%u201dYup, he is your cousin all right: Ooops!%u201d. Surprise DNA Results Are Turning Customer-Service Reps Into Therapists
–Can Hot Peppers Make Me Happy? They make me happy, to a point, then they can make me sad (too hot is not a happy feeling)
-San Francisco Orders Man To Rebuild His Iconic Home After It Was Demolished. That sucks.
–What are frankincense and myrrh? Not just incense you burn.
– Read article first before you go jumping out of a plane without a shoot. Researchers Show Parachutes Don’t Work, But There’s A Catch.
And Pictures from the week.
Happy Merry Christmas Eve you guys. I hope today and %u00a0tomorrow brings rest and relaxation and excitement for all the fa la la las la to come.%u00a0
I am excited. And really tired, and maybe a little stressed, but still really excited. We are doing the family Christmas tomorrow at our house, all 23-25 of us. Our house is officially the sponsor of all family gatherings. And because of this, I think that my family should all chip in and buy me a robot vacuum because I think I finally have gotten to that point where I am sick of constantly vacuuming (and the mr is sick of me constantly vacuuming too) %u00a0
%u00a0We started off %u00a0the week strong, with a sense that I had everything done, covered,%u00a0planned, and no stress. There was a bit of running around, especially for the mr, who was finishing up some jobs, but we got things done. I even got the loft cleaned (again) for Jeff when he gets here (he is coming the day after Christmas) I did a morning of gift wrapping for HANDs, finished up my Christmas shopping, picked up the farm share and made it to the %u00a0grocery store before all the food was gone.%u00a0Things were going smoothly. And good things happened too.%u00a0I made a chocolate babka wreath for fun. Shannon got the news of a New Year hip (but the mr fixed it with his bandaid and gave her a little penis to boot(see photo below)) Barb got excepted to a college, and I ended up with the most fantastical tree skirt that I have ever seen. A panda bear Christmas. If you new me as a little you would know that I was obsessed with pandas and that this tree skirt is perfection for my young self and gives me all sorts of happy feels.%u00a0
And all the snow. I think that we got about 5-6 inches of the most fluffy fun warm stuff that makes the world glow. That was the best.%u00a0
Yesterday was a nut of a day. It started out slow but by 11, we had the three littles (Coco aka Emersion, is walking now which makes things a littler more interesting to say the least) over for lunch/christmas present making /newspaper snow flakes. It couldn’t have been any more crazy and messy. We started out %u00a0painting on fabric to make pillows (the coolest pillows ever) for them to give to their mother. (she doesn’t read my blog so she I am not spoiling anything here) That was a mess in itself but we topped that off with trying to eat lunch at the same time. Three starving littles with paint all over, we rushed to get them some food. The mr was making the sandwiches and accidentally smashed the bowl of egg salad on the floor. It was eveywhere, glass and egg, and all sorts of gross, and the kids were starving and the baby was walking. But we were still all ok. Then I burnt the grilled cheese very badly while a little spilled the soup all over the table and the iPad. %u00a0They finally ate carrots and apples and cheese quesadillas, but they definitely were starting to get a little toody and crazy themselves. Paint and egg, and wetness everywhere (going in and out of the house and it started to rain) the mess was just getting bigger and bigger.%u00a0And I didn’t even mention the soccer net the mr is making that is hanging in the middle of the living room.%u00a0To top it all off, my mom dropped off enough food to feed an army for the shenanigans on Christmas so there was bags of food everywhere. But she brought me flowers so everything was good.%u00a0After that we figured what the hell and just made a shit ton of newspaper snowflakes and really just committed to trashing the house.%u00a0Then they left and I spent the evening cleaning the fuck out of everything.%u00a0
I am hoping today goes a little more smoothly, although I am pretty freaking tired %u00a0because I spent most of the night tossing and turning over the things that I need to do today. (white chocolate chip or oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies? Do I have a empty recycling box for wrapping paper? Is there enough toilet paper in the house?)%u00a0I know I am going to have to spend at least 15 minutes removing the sheet of ice that has accumulated over the car last night before I can leave for the gym, but the then that it’s, the rest of the day I am going to be spent in the kitchen.%u00a0%u00a0My plan all week was to spend yesterday baking and to spend today relaxing with a book but yesterday did not happen as planned. Todays schedule is now %u00a0to make all the cookies,%u00a0a birthday cake,%u00a0(Cameron’s birthday is tomorrow too) and last minute Christmas things to finish up (doesn’t involve shopping!) At least my house is clean for the time being. I know it will be short lived but hopefully someone brings that vacuuming robot with them tomorrow.
True story. The mr likes to pick me up and tell me he wishes I wonuld fit in his pocket so he can carry me around with him everywhere. So sweet right?%u00a0Yesterday in the midst of my crazy (I was going crazy)%u00a0he picked me up and said he wished I was tiny enough to stick me in his pocket so I would shut my mouth and be quit. Hahaha. %u00a0That is love.
Some internet looking for you browsing enjoyment.%u00a0
–11 weird and wonderful Christmas tree patents. These are all amazing,%u00a0
–Mary Berry Shares Advice on Getting Party Guests to Leave. Normally I just tell people that they need to get the F out.
-On their way to Vermont to give the gift that keeps on giving.%u00a0%u00a0Elderly Couple Stopped In Nebraska With 60 Pounds Of Weed ‘For Christmas Presents’
–How To Host A Hygge Holiday Party: Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection%u00a0 This is what I need more off.
-Are they laughing at us?%u00a0Comedy Wildlife Photos of 2017
-I love this idea to set up a ritual or custom based on what works for your family. Science experiments instead of church.%u00a0Sundays at the Altar of Science
–Never Too Late To Learn An Instrument. I hope the to be true because I really want to learn how to play the cello or the mandolin. I told myself after I graduated college I cud pick one of them up. I need to get on it.%u00a0
-On my list of things to do this coming week.%u00a0Taffy Vinegar Candy Recipe
The search for Santa. Kinda like where is Waldo, but with santas.%u00a0
–5 Tips for Keeping Houseplants Alive This Winter. Got to keep the plants happy
And some pictures from the week.
Enjoy the season and Happy Merry Christmas!
-C
Do you realize that Christmas is just a handful and a half of days away? I knew it, but like didn’t really register it. And now I am like, fa la la la fuck! We have been so busy and distracted that I haven’t really focused to much on the holiday, but at least we decorate the tree. And if I am remembering correctly, there were a few years, long ago, that the mr and I wouldn’t even start celebrating or get our tree until a few days before Christmas so if I am judging us on my past selves, well we are golden. And now we let the celebrating begin!
One of our Christmas traditions is to string popcorn while watching elf for the tree. This is a big deal night because I won’t let myself watch it until that night, but after that, I can watch it as many times that I want. (once a day) We got our tree like two weeks ago, and finally late last week we did the popcorn, watched some elf, and a few days after that we decorated, kinda.%u00a0 It was much lacking in ornaments. We had the lights, the popcorn garland, the paper chain (we made it a few years back), and the carved wooden carrots, but the bulbs we usually stick on it, I just wasn’t feeling. The tree was looking pretty good but was still lacking something. That’s when I went to my fruit bowl and grabbed an orange, a clementine and the dehydrator out of the basement over at the loft and went to work. I turned on the Christmas music (A very special Christmas, the red cover) sliced the citrus, stuck it in the dehydrator, and then, well, then I waited a good few hours. During those hours, the music was going, the house smelled up like citrus and lovely, and I felt that slight holiday tingle.
I think these orange slices are going to be a new holiday tree decorating tradition. I will probably tweak it next year ans spend the 6 hours waiting for the fruit to dry baking cookies and not pouring concrete, but maybe not.
And if you are thinking its too late to make any more holiday stuff, well you are wrong. And honestly, I might just make a sting of these slices to hang up all year long.
To make the orange slice ornaments..
All you need is..
oranges or whatever citrus you want to use
a sharp knife
needle and thread or ornament hangers
a dehydrator or a baking sheet.
The dirty work. Slice the orange about a 1/4 inch thick. Try to make all the slices the same thickness.
I am using my dehydrator so the slices go single layer onto a rack. If you are using the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment and single layer the slices. Pop those suckers into the oven at the lowest possible setting you got. Either way you do it, the slices are going to take anywhere between 5-8 hours to completely dehydrate. It all depends on how juicy your oranges are. Just keep an eye on them after the first few hours. You want them to dehydrate, not burn into crisp.
They are done when they look like so, all dried and crispy and delicate. They should feel dry to the touch.
%u00a0Once the slices have cooled off a bit, they are ready to be handled and hung. I used thread to hang my orange slices, but feel free to use whatever you want.(I was going to use ornament hangers but didn’t have any and I was not about to go buy some)
Slices of orange so pretty. They look so good with the wooden carrots, the popcorn garland, and the glittery acorns on the tree.
I definitely will be making more.
Enjoy!
-C
Today is the day, the moment of truth. The concrete counter tops that we poured a few days ago are getting un-molded, flipped, and set into place. I am so super excited and very much scared. Finally we will have a counter and we will be that much closer to a finished kitchen. But what if?%u00a0 What if something happens between removing the mold and placing the counter, like what if it doesn’t fit right or maybe it breaks? I shouldn’t be even thinking about that. It will be great and awesome and the best freaking counter ever.%u00a0 (and Ikea is only a few hours away and sell emergency counter tops)
The house. Oh have we got ourselves a little gem. All week we have been staying here, doing all our living here (minus showers, we take those at the loft) and still managing to get a bit of work done here. Working in the place you live is such a bitch.%u00a0 Plus it’s the holidays which makes everything not covered in tinsel and lights seem unimportant, but we are getting there. A few more weeks and I tell you, we will most likely have ourselves a pretty nearly done 98% livable house.%u00a0
Even though the house might not be perfect, we still had a the littles over for a school night sleep over where we finished decorating the tree, watched the Santa Clause, made claims on table settings and ate black beans for breakfast. That was a tough morning with -20 cold and no desire to leave the house. We might have been a few minutes late for school, but hey, I never drive in the mornings and didn’t realize 20 minutes wasn’t enough time to compete with the crazy ass traffic. And they might not have been late, so yeah. (I didn’t ask) What else….Well have been on the hunt for doors and glass for doors and all the odds and ends that we need. Every day it seems we end up at the hardware store, the junk store, or the salvage yard looking of that one thing that may or may not exist. It is driving me nuts. The mr, he is really good at the back and forth. Me, not so much. I really wish there was a store made for just me that sold (or gave me for free) everything that I could possible need. Doors, carrots, socks. That would be great. Oh and my crock pot. It has turned into the center of our living because it’s not our main source of hot food. It has been entirely new territory for me (never used a crock pot before last week) and there were a few soups that might not have so great, but I think I have got the hang of it and we have been eating hot food from the crock like champs. I’ll have to share some of my soups and tips with you guys soon. (once the kitchen is done there will be sooooo many new recipes and food fun coming your way!)
So besides the counter tops today, I think I have some serious cleaning to do. The loft is a mess, the house is getting a little on the dusty side, and the pile of dirty clothes has gotten out of hand. I might drag the hamper to the loft, be domestic for the afternoon and do some chores. A little Christmas music, lots of coffee, and amazon prime last minute gift shopping. It should be an interesting afternoon to say the least.
Links brought to you by the internet.
-I want this, it would bring me so much joy. This Infinity Galaxy Puzzle Has No Beginning or End
–5 of Humanity%u2019s Best Ideas of What Dreams Actually Are
-Lapland is on my travel bucket list. 10+ Reasons Why Lapland Is The Most Magical Place To Celebrate Christmas
–Meet The Spleen, The Strange Little Organ That Can Multiply
-Gift idea for your stinky loved ones. Shreddies flatulence filtering garments
-The mr and I are starting to plan our next cross country trip. National Parks all the way (free days are great but if you are planning on going to a lot of parks, get the pass) WHEN TO VISIT ANY US NATIONAL PARK FOR FREE IN 2017
-An Eleven-Story-Tall Tree Hugger Sprouts on the Side of a Building in Chile. Imagine painting that…..
-Food is always a good present.10 Last-Minute Recipes to Make for Homemade Food Gifts
The week in pictures.
Yes that is a giant tree monster about to eat a Christmas tree. So good.
Have a great day!
FA LA LA LA LA%u2026.. LA LA LA LA%u2026.Happy eve of Christmas! What better way to celebrate the holidays than with the sweet and spicy flavor of ginger%u2026in donut form! There is nothing better.
This donut is ideal for Christmas morning(or any other morning)..Warm and sweet, bright and tangy%u2026.The perfect balance to make everyone happy! It’s really fast and easy, so you can make a batch while the coffee is brewing, or you can even make them tonight and maybe leave a donut out for santa. Have guests over for the holidays%u2026Dazzle them with a homemade donut. Hanging out at home by yourself%u2026make some donuts%u2026..traveling%u2026.well you are kind of screwed at the moment%u2026 but think about making donuts when you get where %u00a0your going.%u00a0
It all started a few Christmases back when the mister gifted me with a wonderful addition to my kitchen bakeware%u2026.a donut pan%u2026. and it was a game changer. If you do not have a donut pan I suggest that you immediately go buy one.. No joke, it’s so worth it. The pan elevates a simple cake recipe to something more%u2026 A round of frosted soft cakeness. Circles with holes%u2026..happiness. Hopefully you already have a donut pan, but if not, I trust you will soon.(you can still make this recipe without the pan, just bake it in a 9×9 pan. Yes, it will still taste amazing, but it’s that much better as a donut!)
%u00a0I am really excited to finally share a donut recipe with you all. I haven’t made a batch yet that hasn’t won a round of applause or at least a super double thumbs up. If you haven’t made donuts yet, bookmark this recipe and make it %u00a0priority for your next baking adventure
.What I started with%u2026.flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt whisked together. A little bowl of fresh ginger, powdered ginger and cinnamon. %u00a0Molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg, melted butter and milk. Not a bad line up
The spiced mixed in to the dry%u2026.I used fresh and powered ginger but if you don’t have any fresh.. just add more powdered%u2026but fresh adds that extra bit of%u00a0gingery spiciness.
%u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0%u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0 The wet ingredients all mix together. Molasses first, then the butter, vanilla, and the brown sugar, mix that then add the egg and the milk last.(avoid adding egg and melted butter together so it doesnt scramble) %u00a0Mix wet mixture with the dry until fully incorporated and smooth.%u00a0
A beautiful donut batter%u2026.Scoop small spoonfuls of batter into very well greased donut pan %u2026smooth tops with a spoon or spatial….I may have added just a little too much batter the first round, , which is totally cool, it’s just the donuts came our with a bit of a spare tire around the bottom%u2026a little more to eat I say.Out of the oven and turned onto a cooling rack%u2026This beauties smell so very nice.
%u00a0 %u00a0 %u00a0%u00a0While the donuts are cooling, prepare the icing. Mix%u00a0%u00a01/4 cup of cream cheese with 1/2 cup of sifted powdered sugar. Half of a lemons worth of%u00a0juice%u00a0with%u00a0a teaspoon of lemon zest and mix%u2026 %u00a0add a splash or two of milk to get the desired%u00a0consistency(this%u00a0is a cream cheese glaze, it won’t harden like a sugar glaze)When the donuts are full cooled, dip into glaze%u2026.
Flip and let drip%u2026%u2026and admire. I had to beat a few hands away while taking these pictures..I am telling you, people will do crazy things for a donut%u2026..CRAZY THINGS%u2026Just look at these. And for real, they really don’t take much time. You could totally whip these up in less than 30 minutes.. just make sure to have someone else do%u00a0all the dishes!!!
Gingerbread Donuts with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients%u2026%u2026Makes about 8
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon %u00a0powdered ginger
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon melted butter
Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon zest
half a lemon worth of lemon juice
a splash or two of milk
Instructions Preheat oven 350
Grease %u00a0donut pan In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, powdered and fresh ginger. In a small bow mix molasses, vanilla, brown sugar and melted butter. Stir and add milk and egg last.
Mix the wet with dry ingredients and until just combined. Scoop small amounts of batter to each donut mold%u2026 fill to about 2/3 full. and level out with a spoon if spatula. Stick in oven and bake for %u00a010 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden brown and a cake test comes out clean.
While donuts are cooling, stir together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add small splashes of milk until you reach the desired consistency(not to runny, think dish soap) Dip baked side of donuts into glaze, flip and return to wire rack.
And then you open your mouth%u2026..EAT DONUT%u2026%u2026..EAT!!!
THE LOVELY CRAZY
December 30, 2019 by maximios • Blog
I love December, basically because it is a month long excuse to always be baking cookies. And listen to Christmas music. And have a lovely big ass tree in the house covered in lights and dried fruit. Plus snow if we are really lucky. December. It%u2019s a good month.
And we are getting to that time when now most of us have serious cookie making on the brain. I bet if you ask 5 people what they are planning on doing in the next few days leading up to Christmas, at least 3 of them will tell you they are making cookies because really, that is what you should be doing. That is if you like to bake. If not, then by all means, skip cookie baking.
Now what cookies to bake? Well you got to have chocolate chip, and peanut butter. Plus some no bakes and sugar cookies, but also, I think, some type of gingerbread.
These cookies are the gingerbread something. I added cardamon because I think cardamom is delicious and think everyone will think so too, And lemon because lemon goes with cardamom and ginger and lemon cardamon ginger just has a nice ring to it. Then crinkle because I didn%u2019t really want to roll out dough and cut out shapes (I was being lazy), but I wanted pretty and I am really Into the crinkle look.
These cookies were a huge hit. Not crispy like a snap, but not cakey or overly soft. A nice chew and deep in flavor. The mr was basically smuggling these cookies all day before I had a chance to really hide them and he is not a typical gingerbread lover but he told me that these cookies might just be the best cookies he has ever had. So yeah, I guess this is now my new winner gingerbread cookie recipe.
And no joke, these are probably the best smelling cookies I have ever made. I wanted to bottle up the smell and wear it on me like a teenage boy wears a new bottle of axe. Seriously, I kept sniffing my sweater all day long just to get a good hit of the smell. So good!
Now to the cookies!
The stuff. In one bowl there is flour, salt, and baking soda and powder. The other bowl is brown sugar and molasses. There there is a couple flax eggs, some oil, a lemon for it%u2019s zest, and spices of ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, and black pepper. Also powdered sugar to roll and crinkle these cookies.
Wet stuff. Sugar, molasses, flax eggs, and oil. Mix until combined.
Dry stuff. Flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and the spices. Add in the lemon zest too and whisk to combine.
Wet into dry. Grab a wooden spoon and mix until a cohesive dough forms. And yes you can give up the spoon after a minute and use your hands to complete the mixing%u2026 I did.
After dough is mixed and uniform, pop the bowl into the fridge for a little while to give he dough some time to rest. Half an hour is good and you could even leave it for a day if you wanted to, just cover it if you do.
And when the dough has had it%u2019s time, scoop, roll into balls, ans roll around and completely coat in powdered sugar.
Sugars balls of dough. Now pop them into the oven.
TA DA! Baked and all crinkly.
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack because that%u2019s how all cookie cool. And smell that delicious oh so lovely smell. It really is amazing, no?
Then onto a serving plate and now you have cookies for your mouth face.
Happiest happys of all the days to come! Now go eat cookies!
-C
makes around 2 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper
zest of a lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup neutral oil (I used canola)
2 flax eggs (6 tablespoon warm water mixed with 2 tablespoon ground flax seed)
1/2 -3/4 cup powdered sugar
To start, grab a bowl and mix together the brown sugar, molasses, oil, and flax seed eggs until completely combines. In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, all the spices (ginger, cardamon, cinnamon,and pepper), baking powder and soda, and salt. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry and mix together until a cohesive dough forms. Place dough in fridge for about a 1/2 hour to up to a day to let dough rest for a bit. If you are going to keep in the fridge for a while, just cover it up.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and measure out powdered sugar into a bowl
Remove dough from fridge and using a scoop or just eyeballing it, scoop about 2 tablespoons worth of dough. With each scoop, roll the dough into a ball and place into the bowl of the powdered sugar and roll around unit completely coated. Place ball on a baking sheet, giving it a little pat down, NOT squishing it down, just a little indent. And don%u2019t overcrowd balls, give them a little space.
When your baking sheet full, place Into hot oven and bake for 12-13 minutes or until the cookies have puffed and flattened out a bit, are golden brown on the bottoms, and the tops are all crinkly and lovely. Once cooked all the way, remove from oven and transfer cookies onto a wire rack to cool.
Then eat a warm one. Heck, eat 2 warm ones, then do what you will with the rest.
Store cooled cookies in an air tight container at room temp for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for long term storage but why do you need to store your cookies? Jest eat them.
December my friends. No way around it. But I am excited because I love Christmas time with all the fun christmasy things that we can do in next few weeks (there is an A Frame gingerbread village planned !). Also it%u2019s birthday season so I have already made one cake and stuck it in the freezer and only have like 10 more to make. And then there is snow, and lights, and trees%u2026 How can you not like December? Plus cookies. Need to start making cookies because what is December with cookies?
The week was good. After spending all of Sunday cleaning and putting up the Christmas lights, things went as usual with the ways of world. Tuesday Barb and I had lunch and went for a hike, just us girls, to take in nature and talk life things. She hugged trees while I deposited my knowledge that comes with my old age. HA. Later that day, Emma (the mr%u2019s sister), came over to catch up on life and teach the mr how to embroider. She was a great teacher and , I must say, the mr did a really good job being a learner. Although I was not surprised because he picks up everything so fast.
Then Thanksgiving eve. The mr gone for the day, me hanging hanging at home taking phone calls and going through the stack of papers that has been mocking me for the past few weeks. On his way home he picked up Miley so she could sleep over. We made a spaghetti dinner, she watched Nailed It Holidays and I walked her through making cinnamon star bread. The little lady kneaded, rolled, and shaped the whole thing pretty much all by herself. It was for sure a proud aunt moment for me. And then we watched Juno (I hadn%u2019t seen that movies in forever. I forgot how good it was) and I passed out. Bed for me and the mr. Miley, well I am not sure what time she actually went to bed. We let her stay up and watch whatever.
Thanksgiving day I woke up, cooked the star (Miley finished it by making and drizzling the glaze) and we just hung out until Erin and the other two littles showed up. We fed them, played them, and off they went to the Grandparents. The rest of the day was just me and the mr. We went for a nice, if not blustery cold, hike, then just putzed around the house. I read, he hung a new light fixture, then we made dinner. Being thanksgiving and all he felt the need to grill some turkey breasts and if you really want know how that went you can ask him. Me, I ate a humongous bowl of veggies and lentils and hand fulls of spinach. After an after dinner walk we crawled into bed and tried to watch a movie, but I passed (again) out and that was that.
Then the rest of the weekend has been pretty slow. Basically just hanging around the house doing little chores and some little projects. Mellow. And it has been pretty nice.
I am really excited for today. We are going to the Green Mountain Nation Forest to find us our Christmas tree!!!! My most favorite part of Christmas . And so we will head out late morning with our lunches packed, our snow pants tossed into the truck, the saw nice and sharpe, and head out into the mountains.And better yet, tt is suppose to snow later today and I am so very much hopping that we get a nice, (safe) amount of snow on our hike and tree cutting adventure. That would just be the best. YAY!
Internet links from the week, if you want to know what I know now.
-I didn’t know this about thanksgiving. And now I do. Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving On The 4th Thursday Of November
-Uh Duh, I could have told you this. Want to live longer? Surround yourself with plants
–A Brief History of Word Art, the Decor Everyone Loves to Hate. And I really REALLY hate it.
-I have been known to sit in front of the oven and watch the bread bake. Super satisfying. Here’s 36 Blissful Seconds of Bread Rising in the%u00a0Oven
–Photos of How Families Eat In The Arctic. And that is why I don%u2019t live there, it%u2019s a lot of meat.
-This makes me happy to look at. A Multicolored Library of the World%u2019s Ochre Pigments%u00a0
–Here’s To Grown-Up Siblings And The Ties That Bind. Siblings. Even when I want to punch them in the face, I still love them.
-I guess I just don%u2019t understand. Meet the $50 Strawberries That NYC%u2019s High-End Chefs Are Fawning Over
–Homemade Christmas baking is a joy %u2013 even if it is not to your taste. Agreed. Something about baking this tie of year, it is just so, well, joyful.
-On my reading list. Good Husbandry: A Memoir by Kristin Kimball. I read her first Memoir, The Dirty life, and it was A+
And pictures from the week…
What a week. What a year. So much has happened and is happening and is about happen. I guess that is the nature of life and time and all that good stuff.
The week started off fantastic. On Sunday the mr and I grabbed Judah, Emerson, and Barb, piled into the car, and went for a light drive. We walked around a light filled park, drove some more, then ended up at, of all places in this world, Burger King. And they loved it (I packed my own dinner because I do not, will not, eat at almost any place that the littles prefer) Funny, I don%u2019t know if I have ever been inside of a Burger King before, and if I have, it was long before I had a choice in what I ate. Again, they loved it, even though it was trash food, they got their crowns. Coco cheered just about every French Fry that went into his mouth, and the mr got to use Burger King coupons that he had hiding in his pocket (that is basically why we ended up there) It was a fantastic evening and is now going to be a Christmas Eve eve tradition. Light drive with dinner (never Burger King again thank you very much)
After we dropped them off at home, we went home and that is when the mr succumbed to it. IT being the stomach flu. That was fun.
Christmas Eve the mr was an ill man so I forged it alone. With the help of all the Christmas music I could handle, I baked a bunch, prepared the house for the next day when the family came over. I cut up all the fruits and veggies, wrapped the few little presents I had, did bills and a bunch laundry, ran to the grocery store. My mom stopped by and brought me a lemon tree because just because. I just was so freaking productive. And best part, it SNOWED, like a good amount. What I thought was going to be a completely snow free Christmas turned into the most magical snow ever. Christmas Eve afternoon, Big fat fluffy flakes covering the world. I bundled myself up and walked around the neighborhood just taking it all in. It truly was the best Christmas Eve snow ever. And after a full on day of resting , the mr was feeling a bit better so that was good. And then both to bed by 7 because thats our life these days.
Christmas morning had all the right stuff. Woke up and watched the sun rise while drinking a butload of coffee. The house was all clean and glittery and the ltree lights were on and the ground glittered with the fresh snow. After the mr woke up and was feeling a little worse for ware but ok, we bundled up and went for a little stroll on the beach. We usually go for a hike but I was not trying to push the mr too hard. The beach, oh man, was that amazing. The water was still, the snow was like diamonds, and the air was crisp and clean. Not a sound to be heard other then the lapping of water. It was so good. We left before I decided to stay forever and because the mr thought he could walk on ice and ended up with a his foot in a foot of water so we headed on home to meet the hoard of family. Just about everyone came (minus Ryan and the girls and Anthony.. we missed them all) ate food, did a little gift exchange thing (I got some sweet new house plants), plastered Jackson with a very nice shade of lipstick that might have been called whore red, and had a Happy Birthday celebration for Cameron because it%u2019s was Christmas, but it really was his birthday.
Then for the saddest part. We got the news that our uncle had passed away.
Oh Uncle Seth. He had been sick for a while now with Parkinson%u2019s disease, but the past month or so it got so bad. His death was not unexpected but never the less it was not any less painful. My only uncle, the guy who gave me my first car, the man who built a cabin from nothing in the woods and turned it into a place that you could only imagine (or see in a design magazine) A man who taught (he was as professor at RISD), loved the world, loved to travel, loved his work, was so fierce in emotion. SO many little qualities that I saw in him, I see in me. ( I feel like I get a lot of who I am from my dad and my uncle and aunt) The world lost a great man, I lost a great uncle. He is and will always be loved and I know I was just lucky to have been able to have him as an uncle. It is still hard, I don%u2019t think I have fully processed it still, It is kind of a not quite real feeling. Just an overall heaviness that has settled in on my mind and heart. It is so hard to loose any family, but especially hard when they were so full of life and had so much to give to the world. Agh. The words are not even close to adequate here, the full measure of him as a person not explained. To put it simply, he was an amazing, loving and generous person. I am so going to miss him, his creativity, his lust for life. And what I am going to miss most is his hugs and smiles and overall presences in my life. RIP Seth. You really were a fucking awesome uncle.
We got word of the funeral on Wednesday (which was also Anthonys 17th birthday%u2026.So old! I stopped by to see him and give him a big hug. Didn%u2019t want a party or cake this year so I owe him granola bars.) and were in the car driving down to RI by Thursday morning. Shannon, Megan, the mr, and me, all packed into the car and off we went. A small family funeral which was very beautiful and full of love, then food with the family. Not a long stay, but we are all going back down next weekend for Seths memorial celebration bash.
We got home and it hit hard. I started to feel kind of crappy (sick wise) and have been feeling blue ever since. Driving to RI really kicked the mr down again. He was so good, no complaining about anything, not the cranked up car heat or driving straight while us ladies spent the entire time talking of childhood memories. He didn%u2019t even put on the music. And by the time we came back home, the guy was sick again, or maybe never was not sick, but he has been down for the count ever since.
So yesterday we did a few morning chores together like got rid of the recycling and retuned amazon stuff to UPS, but by afternoon the mr was out. So I cleaned house, made another ice cream cake for Judah, and did more and more laundry. Another one of those feeling super productive days. Weird, but I am starting to see a pattern here. When the mr is really sick, I get a lot done. I think it%u2019s mainly because. a) I want to stay away from him as to not get sick too. b) I am afraid that if I do get sick none of what needs to be done will get done so I need to do it fast. And c) I don%u2019t have to worry about what he needs to do, it%u2019s all me. Ha.
Today is Judah%u2019s birthday. Nine years old! What an age to be. So basically I am going to the gym then coming home to do a few things and finish making his cake, then heading over to his house for a birthday dinner celebration. I told him and his sister I would go over early and give them haircuts (the boys hair is so long it covers his eyes, He looks cool, but if you can%u2019t see, well looking cool isn%u2019t gonna get you anywhere). It%u2019s gonna be fun.
Goodness, is that it. The end of another year. Hard to wrap my head around so I am just going to ease on in to 2019. Low key and cool. Just like me. Ha.
Happy New Years Friends! Be safe. Be happy. Be good. Be kind.
Interent links from the week
–Just Admit It, You%u2019re in a Bad Mood. All the lead up to Christmas then BAM, its over. Gets me every time.
-I am defintially one of those people who likes to bake when I am feeling anxious. The Rise of Anxiety Baking. Cookies are my favorite to bake too.
-Speakig of cookies. When ‘Cookiers’ Take Holiday Cookie Decorating To A Whole New Level. I had no idea there was a cookie cutter factory in Vt. I must see this place!
-Who doesn%u2019t love a good tree picture? Black and White Photographs Capture the Striking Appearance of Bare Trees Against Snow-Filled Landscapes
–Explorer completes historic Antarctic trek. Some people do crazy things that make me jealous. Not that I want to ski Antarctica, but something crazy would be cool.
-How did I not know until now that there was a monthly round up of trucks spilling shit. We all need this information. This month in overturned trucks: Cash, Christmas trees, cooking oil
–How A Little Science And A Lot Of Shady Advertising Boosted Yeast’s Popularity. I have never eaten a yeast cake, but I eat a shit load of nutritional yeast. MY favorite is a spoonful in the mouth where it gets stuck in my teeth and the roof of my mouth. For real.
-I am going to get a scale sometime soon. I just need to find the right one for the right price (free or very cheap at the thrift store) Until then, this is handy. Weight Conversions for Flour, Sugar, and Other Common Baking Ingredients
-This is something that I have wondered about. I am really happy that it doesn%u2019t get wasted. We Finally Know What Happens to the Leftover Cake on the Great British Bake Off
–The year vegan junk food went mainstream. Yup. Just cause it%u2019s vegan doesn%u2019t mean it is good for you.
And pictures from the week.
What are you doing today? Not last minute shopping and freaking out about silly holiday stuff that doesn%u2019t matter right? And if that is you, well I am sorry. May I suggest you just forget about it all and stay home and make cookies? You can give them as presents too and skip any more of the shopping hell. I give you all the permission and people love them some cookies.
The week went as usual. Nothing special or fantastic. We did finish the Christmas cards and sent or delivered most of them (still have a few to hand deliver). I spent a bit of time at the studio trying to get things glazed and fired before the holiday, organized all my kitchen towels, spices, and storage containers, and soaked and scrubbed the grease trap vent screen things that are in the hood vent above the stove. Low key but productive. We were intentionally keeping things quite as the littles and everyone that is usually around us is or has been getting sick with strep or the flu. We pumped the fluids, took the vitamins, and got our sleep. No need to get sick too right?
So nothing exciting. We went for a hike, had Barb over for a dinner where I might have had a slight anxiety attack that sent me to run and hide (I am blaming the weather, it is screwing with my mind) I worked the studio and loaded the kiln twice. Once and it was amazing then realized I loaded all the pots into the wrong kiln, had to unload it and reload it, cutting my hand open in the process . I was totally kicking myself in the ass, but again I blame the weather. (I will blame everything on the crappy, warm rainy shit we got this week. It really did mess with my brain)
We had the littles came over Friday night to do a little Christmas present crafting. They were going to sleep over, but the little lady wasn’t feeling well and what with them just being sick wit strep and all, they went on home because they need to be home when they are sick and I am not doing sick. But I did feel bad, and I did miss them Saturday morning. Oh well, not like they won%u2019t be at my house all this week. No school so it%u2019s gonna be party time.
I need to do a few things today, like start making an ice cream cake for Camerons birthday and go grocery shopping with my mom for Christmas Day food. And I definitely need to wash my hair (hat season does some shit to my head). Then it%u2019s basically getting things ready for Christmas for when the entire family comes over. Going to be proactive and move some plants so they don%u2019t get bumped into or knocked over, bring in extra chairs and a table to sit and eat at, and set up a drawing station for the littles. (Look at me, I am becoming quite the party host if I do say so myself.) Other then that, I am looking forward to a quiet evening of lounging and reading and maybe even an after dinner drive to check out some more Christmas lights. We tried for a Christmas light walk last night but got little in the way of lights, and we were walking for quite a while. So drive it is.
Hope you are having a great holiday weekend. Happy and Merry Christmas!
Internet to look at if you so do desire.
–The Joy of No-Gift Christmas. The mr and I stopped doing big Christmas gift things a long time ago. Now we each have stocking that we put a few little things in (like purple carrots and chap stick for me, candy and socks for him) and that is it. It is so so so much less stressful then trying to get a bunch of crap.
-Just in case you have that family member or two that make you want to take off running in the opposite direction. 9 Ways to Deal with a Toxic Family at the Holidays. Don%u2019t let them get to you.
-It is so true. Everyone ends up in the kitchen. And when the party is at my house, I almost never leave it, its my comfort zone. Like Moths To A Flame: Why Modern-Day Guests Always Gather In The Kitchen
–We%u2019re losing monarchs fast%u2014here%u2019s why. This makes me really sad. Humans, we need to stop screwing things up.
–Pedialyte embraces hungover-adult market. Ha. I remember going into the baby food section at the grocery store and buying it for my sister and her friends. Or better yet, stealing it from my mom when the twins were babies.
-I think I would be good at this, dealing with the weird crazy phone calls. I would be like%u201dYup, he is your cousin all right: Ooops!%u201d. Surprise DNA Results Are Turning Customer-Service Reps Into Therapists
–Can Hot Peppers Make Me Happy? They make me happy, to a point, then they can make me sad (too hot is not a happy feeling)
-San Francisco Orders Man To Rebuild His Iconic Home After It Was Demolished. That sucks.
–What are frankincense and myrrh? Not just incense you burn.
– Read article first before you go jumping out of a plane without a shoot. Researchers Show Parachutes Don’t Work, But There’s A Catch.
And Pictures from the week.
Happy Merry Christmas Eve you guys. I hope today and %u00a0tomorrow brings rest and relaxation and excitement for all the fa la la las la to come.%u00a0
I am excited. And really tired, and maybe a little stressed, but still really excited. We are doing the family Christmas tomorrow at our house, all 23-25 of us. Our house is officially the sponsor of all family gatherings. And because of this, I think that my family should all chip in and buy me a robot vacuum because I think I finally have gotten to that point where I am sick of constantly vacuuming (and the mr is sick of me constantly vacuuming too) %u00a0
%u00a0We started off %u00a0the week strong, with a sense that I had everything done, covered,%u00a0planned, and no stress. There was a bit of running around, especially for the mr, who was finishing up some jobs, but we got things done. I even got the loft cleaned (again) for Jeff when he gets here (he is coming the day after Christmas) I did a morning of gift wrapping for HANDs, finished up my Christmas shopping, picked up the farm share and made it to the %u00a0grocery store before all the food was gone.%u00a0Things were going smoothly. And good things happened too.%u00a0I made a chocolate babka wreath for fun. Shannon got the news of a New Year hip (but the mr fixed it with his bandaid and gave her a little penis to boot(see photo below)) Barb got excepted to a college, and I ended up with the most fantastical tree skirt that I have ever seen. A panda bear Christmas. If you new me as a little you would know that I was obsessed with pandas and that this tree skirt is perfection for my young self and gives me all sorts of happy feels.%u00a0
And all the snow. I think that we got about 5-6 inches of the most fluffy fun warm stuff that makes the world glow. That was the best.%u00a0
Yesterday was a nut of a day. It started out slow but by 11, we had the three littles (Coco aka Emersion, is walking now which makes things a littler more interesting to say the least) over for lunch/christmas present making /newspaper snow flakes. It couldn’t have been any more crazy and messy. We started out %u00a0painting on fabric to make pillows (the coolest pillows ever) for them to give to their mother. (she doesn’t read my blog so she I am not spoiling anything here) That was a mess in itself but we topped that off with trying to eat lunch at the same time. Three starving littles with paint all over, we rushed to get them some food. The mr was making the sandwiches and accidentally smashed the bowl of egg salad on the floor. It was eveywhere, glass and egg, and all sorts of gross, and the kids were starving and the baby was walking. But we were still all ok. Then I burnt the grilled cheese very badly while a little spilled the soup all over the table and the iPad. %u00a0They finally ate carrots and apples and cheese quesadillas, but they definitely were starting to get a little toody and crazy themselves. Paint and egg, and wetness everywhere (going in and out of the house and it started to rain) the mess was just getting bigger and bigger.%u00a0And I didn’t even mention the soccer net the mr is making that is hanging in the middle of the living room.%u00a0To top it all off, my mom dropped off enough food to feed an army for the shenanigans on Christmas so there was bags of food everywhere. But she brought me flowers so everything was good.%u00a0After that we figured what the hell and just made a shit ton of newspaper snowflakes and really just committed to trashing the house.%u00a0Then they left and I spent the evening cleaning the fuck out of everything.%u00a0
I am hoping today goes a little more smoothly, although I am pretty freaking tired %u00a0because I spent most of the night tossing and turning over the things that I need to do today. (white chocolate chip or oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies? Do I have a empty recycling box for wrapping paper? Is there enough toilet paper in the house?)%u00a0I know I am going to have to spend at least 15 minutes removing the sheet of ice that has accumulated over the car last night before I can leave for the gym, but the then that it’s, the rest of the day I am going to be spent in the kitchen.%u00a0%u00a0My plan all week was to spend yesterday baking and to spend today relaxing with a book but yesterday did not happen as planned. Todays schedule is now %u00a0to make all the cookies,%u00a0a birthday cake,%u00a0(Cameron’s birthday is tomorrow too) and last minute Christmas things to finish up (doesn’t involve shopping!) At least my house is clean for the time being. I know it will be short lived but hopefully someone brings that vacuuming robot with them tomorrow.
True story. The mr likes to pick me up and tell me he wishes I wonuld fit in his pocket so he can carry me around with him everywhere. So sweet right?%u00a0Yesterday in the midst of my crazy (I was going crazy)%u00a0he picked me up and said he wished I was tiny enough to stick me in his pocket so I would shut my mouth and be quit. Hahaha. %u00a0That is love.
Some internet looking for you browsing enjoyment.%u00a0
–11 weird and wonderful Christmas tree patents. These are all amazing,%u00a0
–Mary Berry Shares Advice on Getting Party Guests to Leave. Normally I just tell people that they need to get the F out.
-On their way to Vermont to give the gift that keeps on giving.%u00a0%u00a0Elderly Couple Stopped In Nebraska With 60 Pounds Of Weed ‘For Christmas Presents’
–How To Host A Hygge Holiday Party: Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection%u00a0 This is what I need more off.
-Are they laughing at us?%u00a0Comedy Wildlife Photos of 2017
-I love this idea to set up a ritual or custom based on what works for your family. Science experiments instead of church.%u00a0Sundays at the Altar of Science
–Never Too Late To Learn An Instrument. I hope the to be true because I really want to learn how to play the cello or the mandolin. I told myself after I graduated college I cud pick one of them up. I need to get on it.%u00a0
-On my list of things to do this coming week.%u00a0Taffy Vinegar Candy Recipe
The search for Santa. Kinda like where is Waldo, but with santas.%u00a0
–5 Tips for Keeping Houseplants Alive This Winter. Got to keep the plants happy
And some pictures from the week.
Enjoy the season and Happy Merry Christmas!
-C
Do you realize that Christmas is just a handful and a half of days away? I knew it, but like didn’t really register it. And now I am like, fa la la la fuck! We have been so busy and distracted that I haven’t really focused to much on the holiday, but at least we decorate the tree. And if I am remembering correctly, there were a few years, long ago, that the mr and I wouldn’t even start celebrating or get our tree until a few days before Christmas so if I am judging us on my past selves, well we are golden. And now we let the celebrating begin!
One of our Christmas traditions is to string popcorn while watching elf for the tree. This is a big deal night because I won’t let myself watch it until that night, but after that, I can watch it as many times that I want. (once a day) We got our tree like two weeks ago, and finally late last week we did the popcorn, watched some elf, and a few days after that we decorated, kinda.%u00a0 It was much lacking in ornaments. We had the lights, the popcorn garland, the paper chain (we made it a few years back), and the carved wooden carrots, but the bulbs we usually stick on it, I just wasn’t feeling. The tree was looking pretty good but was still lacking something. That’s when I went to my fruit bowl and grabbed an orange, a clementine and the dehydrator out of the basement over at the loft and went to work. I turned on the Christmas music (A very special Christmas, the red cover) sliced the citrus, stuck it in the dehydrator, and then, well, then I waited a good few hours. During those hours, the music was going, the house smelled up like citrus and lovely, and I felt that slight holiday tingle.
I think these orange slices are going to be a new holiday tree decorating tradition. I will probably tweak it next year ans spend the 6 hours waiting for the fruit to dry baking cookies and not pouring concrete, but maybe not.
And if you are thinking its too late to make any more holiday stuff, well you are wrong. And honestly, I might just make a sting of these slices to hang up all year long.
To make the orange slice ornaments..
All you need is..
The dirty work. Slice the orange about a 1/4 inch thick. Try to make all the slices the same thickness.
I am using my dehydrator so the slices go single layer onto a rack. If you are using the oven, line a baking sheet with parchment and single layer the slices. Pop those suckers into the oven at the lowest possible setting you got. Either way you do it, the slices are going to take anywhere between 5-8 hours to completely dehydrate. It all depends on how juicy your oranges are. Just keep an eye on them after the first few hours. You want them to dehydrate, not burn into crisp.
They are done when they look like so, all dried and crispy and delicate. They should feel dry to the touch.
%u00a0Once the slices have cooled off a bit, they are ready to be handled and hung. I used thread to hang my orange slices, but feel free to use whatever you want.(I was going to use ornament hangers but didn’t have any and I was not about to go buy some)
Slices of orange so pretty. They look so good with the wooden carrots, the popcorn garland, and the glittery acorns on the tree.
I definitely will be making more.
Enjoy!
-C
Today is the day, the moment of truth. The concrete counter tops that we poured a few days ago are getting un-molded, flipped, and set into place. I am so super excited and very much scared. Finally we will have a counter and we will be that much closer to a finished kitchen. But what if?%u00a0 What if something happens between removing the mold and placing the counter, like what if it doesn’t fit right or maybe it breaks? I shouldn’t be even thinking about that. It will be great and awesome and the best freaking counter ever.%u00a0 (and Ikea is only a few hours away and sell emergency counter tops)
The house. Oh have we got ourselves a little gem. All week we have been staying here, doing all our living here (minus showers, we take those at the loft) and still managing to get a bit of work done here. Working in the place you live is such a bitch.%u00a0 Plus it’s the holidays which makes everything not covered in tinsel and lights seem unimportant, but we are getting there. A few more weeks and I tell you, we will most likely have ourselves a pretty nearly done 98% livable house.%u00a0
Even though the house might not be perfect, we still had a the littles over for a school night sleep over where we finished decorating the tree, watched the Santa Clause, made claims on table settings and ate black beans for breakfast. That was a tough morning with -20 cold and no desire to leave the house. We might have been a few minutes late for school, but hey, I never drive in the mornings and didn’t realize 20 minutes wasn’t enough time to compete with the crazy ass traffic. And they might not have been late, so yeah. (I didn’t ask) What else….Well have been on the hunt for doors and glass for doors and all the odds and ends that we need. Every day it seems we end up at the hardware store, the junk store, or the salvage yard looking of that one thing that may or may not exist. It is driving me nuts. The mr, he is really good at the back and forth. Me, not so much. I really wish there was a store made for just me that sold (or gave me for free) everything that I could possible need. Doors, carrots, socks. That would be great. Oh and my crock pot. It has turned into the center of our living because it’s not our main source of hot food. It has been entirely new territory for me (never used a crock pot before last week) and there were a few soups that might not have so great, but I think I have got the hang of it and we have been eating hot food from the crock like champs. I’ll have to share some of my soups and tips with you guys soon. (once the kitchen is done there will be sooooo many new recipes and food fun coming your way!)
So besides the counter tops today, I think I have some serious cleaning to do. The loft is a mess, the house is getting a little on the dusty side, and the pile of dirty clothes has gotten out of hand. I might drag the hamper to the loft, be domestic for the afternoon and do some chores. A little Christmas music, lots of coffee, and amazon prime last minute gift shopping. It should be an interesting afternoon to say the least.
Links brought to you by the internet.
-I want this, it would bring me so much joy. This Infinity Galaxy Puzzle Has No Beginning or End
–5 of Humanity%u2019s Best Ideas of What Dreams Actually Are
-Lapland is on my travel bucket list. 10+ Reasons Why Lapland Is The Most Magical Place To Celebrate Christmas
–Meet The Spleen, The Strange Little Organ That Can Multiply
-Gift idea for your stinky loved ones. Shreddies flatulence filtering garments
-The mr and I are starting to plan our next cross country trip. National Parks all the way (free days are great but if you are planning on going to a lot of parks, get the pass) WHEN TO VISIT ANY US NATIONAL PARK FOR FREE IN 2017
-An Eleven-Story-Tall Tree Hugger Sprouts on the Side of a Building in Chile. Imagine painting that…..
-Food is always a good present.10 Last-Minute Recipes to Make for Homemade Food Gifts
The week in pictures.
Yes that is a giant tree monster about to eat a Christmas tree. So good.
Have a great day!
This donut is ideal for Christmas morning(or any other morning)..Warm and sweet, bright and tangy%u2026.The perfect balance to make everyone happy! It’s really fast and easy, so you can make a batch while the coffee is brewing, or you can even make them tonight and maybe leave a donut out for santa. Have guests over for the holidays%u2026Dazzle them with a homemade donut. Hanging out at home by yourself%u2026make some donuts%u2026..traveling%u2026.well you are kind of screwed at the moment%u2026 but think about making donuts when you get where %u00a0your going.%u00a0
It all started a few Christmases back when the mister gifted me with a wonderful addition to my kitchen bakeware%u2026.a donut pan%u2026. and it was a game changer. If you do not have a donut pan I suggest that you immediately go buy one.. No joke, it’s so worth it. The pan elevates a simple cake recipe to something more%u2026 A round of frosted soft cakeness. Circles with holes%u2026..happiness. Hopefully you already have a donut pan, but if not, I trust you will soon.(you can still make this recipe without the pan, just bake it in a 9×9 pan. Yes, it will still taste amazing, but it’s that much better as a donut!)
.What I started with%u2026.flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt whisked together. A little bowl of fresh ginger, powdered ginger and cinnamon. %u00a0Molasses, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg, melted butter and milk. Not a bad line up
A beautiful donut batter%u2026.Scoop small spoonfuls of batter into very well greased donut pan %u2026smooth tops with a spoon or spatial….I may have added just a little too much batter the first round, , which is totally cool, it’s just the donuts came our with a bit of a spare tire around the bottom%u2026a little more to eat I say.
Out of the oven and turned onto a cooling rack%u2026This beauties smell so very nice.
Flip and let drip%u2026%u2026and admire. I had to beat a few hands away while taking these pictures..I am telling you, people will do crazy things for a donut%u2026..CRAZY THINGS%u2026
Just look at these. And for real, they really don’t take much time. You could totally whip these up in less than 30 minutes.. just make sure to have someone else do%u00a0all the dishes!!!
Gingerbread Donuts with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients%u2026%u2026Makes about 8
Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Instructions Preheat oven 350
Grease %u00a0donut pan In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, powdered and fresh ginger. In a small bow mix molasses, vanilla, brown sugar and melted butter. Stir and add milk and egg last.
Mix the wet with dry ingredients and until just combined. Scoop small amounts of batter to each donut mold%u2026 fill to about 2/3 full. and level out with a spoon if spatula. Stick in oven and bake for %u00a010 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden brown and a cake test comes out clean.
While donuts are cooling, stir together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Add small splashes of milk until you reach the desired consistency(not to runny, think dish soap) Dip baked side of donuts into glaze, flip and return to wire rack.
And then you open your mouth%u2026..EAT DONUT%u2026%u2026..EAT!!!