More Christmas pictures

So, this holiday trip home felt like one of the best holidays we've had in a long time. We just had more opportunities to hang out with our families and do the sorts of things we all did when we were younger and remember so fondly.


For some reason, this ornament made me laugh more this year than it usually does.


Our familes enjoyed these British Christmas Crackers after dinner. They made this Christmas dinner the most fun in my recent memory.


The first Christmas decorations I've put up in years. And actually, I bought them but made Matthew put them up. The point is, I actually wanted to decorate for Christmas, which is highly unlike me.


Toby: The cutest Christmas elf!


A wintery bench.

The snow was a real treat and made Christmas feel one hundred percent like Christmas, for the first time in years.



Pictured above and below is one of the contestants of the Snowman competition which spontaneously erupted at our Day after Christmas bonfire. Notice the orange glow of the bonfire on his face.





This lavender-in-snow pincushion really made me chuckle. It looks very silly.


And, apparently the Hawthorne tree fascinated me because I took far more photos of it than necessary. But the pictures came out so pretty. I couldn't resist.

New Year's cupcakes

For my mother's new year's eve gathering, I made a batch of cupcakes from my new cupcake book, a Christmas gift from my mother. The book contains beautiful photos of the wee cakes, with a nice combination of easy, medium and difficult recipes.



After perusing each recipe, I decided on making the Black Forest Cupcakes because I wanted to use up a jar of brandied cherries that I'd canned way back in June 2004(an unusually bountiful cherry year). The recipe calls for blending cherries with their juice and then adding it to the batter. I thought the extra brandy flavor would be good, despite the fact that I put a hefty amount of Kirschwasser in the batter as well.

The other reason I chose this recipe came from the fact that I didn't need to use frosting. I prefer not to make or eat frosting, which is why Matthew rarely likes my cakes. He insists that a light sprinkling of powdered sugar and some fresh flowers do not make for a satisfying cake topping, and he's right. But I will say, my black forest cupcakes were delicious with just a few cherries, a little whipped cream and some chocolate curls to adorned these sweet little cakes. No frosting necessary!



We ended up with two left over the next day and I will say, they still tasted great, but didn't necessarily hold up as well as I'd hoped. They looked a bit wilted. Of course, my mother didn't refrigerate them, which may have helped keep them fresh longer, now that I think about it.

Little Christmas Cheese Poofs

For Christmas, Matthew and I wanted to share one of our new favorite recipes, Gougères au Cumin, with our families. This recipe comes from the Chocolate and Zucchini cookbook and is extraordinarily easy to make, with few dishes to clean up because it's all mixed in one pan.



We often try to make various changes but the original recipe usually turns out the best. Extra cheese makes them go flat and cooking at a lower temperature doesn't allow them to rise as well. A few large pinches of paprika is a fine addition but doesn't make them significantly better. This is one instance where I've actually made a recipe correctly the first time and haven't preferred my personal changes over the original recipe(as Matthew can tell you, that is highly unusual for me).



I've made this recipe so many times that I actually have the ingredients memorized and of course the method is just basic. You make pâte à choux and add cheese then bake.






Gougères au Cumin

1 cup water
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
5 ounces (1 1/2 cups) grated cheese, swiss, sharp cheddar or whatever you like
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
ground pepper

Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour and stir until dough forms a soft ball in the center of the pan. Remove from heat and let sit three minutes before you add the eggs one at a time, stirring each egg in completely before adding the next. This takes patience as the eggs will very stubbornly insist on remaining slimey until all of a sudden they will give up and mix into the dough. Once all the eggs are incorporated, add the spices and fold in the cheese. Allow to chill for at least 30 min or up to 8 hours(I've even let sit in the refrigerator 24 hours without any adverse affects).
Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 400 F for 20-25 min. When they are done baking, make sure you turn off the oven and crack the door for five min. before you remove them from the oven. This should prevent them from falling. They are perfectly reheatable and can be frozen as well.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a fun and joyous Christmas Day Celebration.



A photo of red berries(Lynnea's favorite)



A photo of red berries(Matthew's favorite)

Snowy, snow, snow

Well, it's been rather snowy for this x-mas trip home. Kind of fun, but a little scary during the seven hour(usually takes 4) drive though the snow. Chains are great but slow.

We stay busy with all sorts of toys to play with: Toby, the new cats, snow. And, we're almost done with christmas shopping and wrapping.

I found a little snow family and thought they were cute!



The little snow family walking in the snow fields



The snow family in the woods






Snow family in the trees

Persimmon Scones

The two persimmons that I packed in my carry-on did not come through their long trip unscathed. So, this morning I decided to turn the rather bruised and squished little fruits into scones. I just used my basic scone recipe and added whatever sounded like a yummy combination.



Persimmon Scones

Two Fuyu Persimmons, peeled and diced fine
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
zest of a tangerine
1/4 cup butter, diced
1 teaspoon vanilla
approx. 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine dry ingredients, rub in butter with fingers, add persimmons and vanilla.



Gently toss together with hands. Add milk and mix. I didn't measure the milk, I just added it until it was a nice scone batter consistency. So, if you need more or less then adjust accordingly.

Dump batter onto counter and pat into a round. Then cut into triangles. Bake for 15-20 min.



I discovered something while making this recipe: I don't know how to remove the zest of citrus without my microplane grater. This was a rather disturbing realization; I am so dependent on modern inventions. Could I make a recipe successfully without a modern kitchen? I tried using a mini grater but it just chewed up the skin. So, I peeled the tangerine and used a knife to cut away the pith from the zest. This was way too much work, so after zesting a quarter of the tangerine that way I just gave up. If you have a microplane grater or a zester, then add the zest of a whole tangerine; it would be delicious in this recipe.

Cherry Apron

Last year I was very good and made most of my Christmas gifts. This year I was mildly good and made some of my Christmas gifts(well, one so far, but I have plans for another). The little cherry apron that I'm wearing in the photos was hand stitched over the course of a couple weeks. I think it's super cute! Too bad it isn't for me, but rather for a coworker of mine who doesn't have a single apron, a sad oversight.