Tag: baking (page 1 of 8)

December 23, 2018 / 0 Comments

Christmas Preparations

The cookies are baked and stored in tins, a “Pimped out Pumpkin Pie”, recipe courtesy of The American Pie Company is cooling on the counter. The turkey has been picked up from the butcher shop and a loaf of bread is on its second rise before being baked, cooled and cut up for stuffing.

There is a pecan cinnamon-sugar star bread in the freezer, that I made a few weeks ago, that will be pulled out on Christmas Eve to defrost and rise again and then be baked on Christmas morning and smothered in icing for breakfast.

Christmas music is playing, all the lights are twinkling. There is an excitement in the air, but a calmness to our pace. Tomorrow we shall work on final preparations for Christmas day and then Mr. Michie said he had a surprise up his sleeve for me. We’re going to see one of my favourite Christmas movies, “White Christmas” on the big screen. I can’t wait!

It always feels as Christmas will never come and then suddenly it’s here in a rush and a blur of lights and noise and torn Christmas paper and I don’t want to miss a thing! I’m going to savour every moment.

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December 14, 2018 / 0 Comments

First Batch

Today, I started my Christmas baking. This year, I’m making three different cookies to bundle up and give away. The first, was a batch of “snowdrops”. These are deliciously delicate, studded with pecans and each bite has hints of honey and vanilla and all of that is generously enrobed in powdered sugar.

As I chopped the pecans this morning I couldn’t help but think of one of the first women I ever worked with, Mrs. Moss. Her job growing up in the weeks leading up to Christmas was chopping all the nuts and fruit that her Mama would need for Christmas cakes, cookies and pies. I don’t ever chop nuts and not think of Alice Moss.

I know I’ve shared her story here before and I’m gonna do it again today. She was such a special lady. It’s funny, but along the way, other people’s stories become a part of you. Maybe that’s how we keep them alive, as long as we continue to tell their story, their threads continue to be woven into the tapestry, for their story has become a part of our own story.

The story I shared of Alice’s childhood during Christmas, can be found HERE.

The first part of her story and how she met her husband can be found HERE.

March 20, 2018 / 0 Comments

Snow

From Friday night until we went to bed late on Sunday, we were pretty much constantly being sprinkled with snow flakes. It would come down heavy for awhile, stick and a few hours later dissipate from the sidewalks and road and then start all over again.

After Saturday night everything had iced over and then it snowed on top of the ice, so it was hard to tell where you could walk and where you would start ice skating, when we headed out for a run on Sunday. After ice skating for a bit down the road, we decided to head to the coffee shop to warm up with hot chocolates. I made fast friends with a little furry girl, whose coat was so tight and curly, it was like running your fingers through an ebony shag rug. Her name was Roxy and I got lots of kisses.

It was 15°F when we got up yesterday morning and the ice was still pretty thick in places, so there was no run for me. I hate not being able to get out there, but it is better to take a day off, then six weeks off, because I’ve ended up in a cast with a broken limb.

I headed out early this morning and the air was so cold and clean. The ice had mainly melted, but you could still see it here and there in places. However, I did skate over the train tracks footbridge, as it had remained a solid sheet of ice. Snow still speckled the earth. Thicker in some places than in others.

I love how the snow changes the landscape. Things become more pronounced or softly hidden under a blanket of white. As I made my way to the woods this morning, I only passed one other person, it was so quiet. The birds were singing and I watched a magpie couple slowly build a nest. He flew back and forth carrying small sticks in his beak while she flittered about and helped.

Now, I’m home, defrosting with a cup of tea. The sky is pearly grey. I’ve got buttermilk rolls rising on the counter for dinner tonight and I had just enough buttermilk left over to make another loaf of my Nana’s Irish Soda Bread. Happiness is…

March 16, 2018 / 0 Comments

Hello Friday!

Hello? Hello, Friday! It’s good to see you! We’ve been waiting for you since Monday.

I have been back from my little adventure for a week now. Spring looked as if it was truly “springing”, but Lady Winter is not ready to give up yet. We are supposed to have a weekend FULL of SNOW and that suits me just fine! I don’t mind once last hurrah of winter.

I’m hoping it means a blissfully long weekend with no school on Monday. With snow in the forecast, I’ve been busy this morning. We finished planning our weekly menu last night and I went grocery shopping after my morning run today.

Our fridge is well stocked. There is an array of vegetables on the counter, soon to be turned into refrigerator pickles. Butter is slowly softening on the stovetop and will be beaten into a St. Patrick’s Day decorated pound cake. The dryer is humming away, music is playing and I’m eating a slice of my Nana’s Irish Soda Bread. So, all is well in my world.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last! xx

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December 19, 2017 / 0 Comments

The Last Batch

The cottage is turning into a regular ol’ cookie factory. I baked my last batch of Christmas cookies this morning. They’re all cooled now and waiting to be boxed up and delivered. This last batch of spritz cookies will be packaged up with snowballs and iced sugar cookies.

I made an extra batch this go round so there will be cookies for Mr. Michie to enjoy with a cup of tea. The vanilla, almond and hint of lemon flavour of this buttery flaky cookie goes perfectly with a hot cup of tea or a bowl of vanilla ice cream!

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December 15, 2017 / 0 Comments

The First Batch

I’ve spent my day baking my first Christmas batches of spritz cookies and sugar cookies. I think it took me longer to decide which cookie cutters to use than to actually make the sugar cookies. I love cookie cutters! This year I’ve used my pretty little lady and there are stars, hearts, reindeer, trees, mittens, a cute little bear and a log cabin. Tomorrow, I’ll ice the sugar cookies and start working on making snowballs.

I got the prettiest little pot of glacé cherries at the grocery store this week and I placed them in the middle of pink coloured spritz flowers. They reminded me of cookies on the tray of Italian Christmas sweets that always filled both of my grandmother’s homes during the holidays.

The cottage smells of sugar and lemons and vanilla and almonds and I think that everything might be covered in glitter dust now. But, that’s okay! Who doesn’t need a little sparkle in their life?

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you may be! ♥

November 8, 2017 / 0 Comments

The First of the Season

We had our first hoar frost of the season this week. It was beautiful! The grass looked like sugared sticks of spearmint. The ducks were huddled together in the middle of the pond with the heron walking amongst them. Little wrens hopped around the edges where ice had formed and dipped their beaks in and out of the water, slowly drinking.

Today I worked on making my first batch of gingerbread of the season. Just gingerbread rounds, no fancy shapes this time, it won’t be long though before I pull out my special gingerbread lady cookie cutter. Tomorrow I’ll ice them while I work on making the rest of a meal we are putting together for a friend.

I might have snuck a cookie while putting the last batch on the cooling rack. There just wasn’t room for all of them, I figured my eating one was just making space!

The evenings are coming quicker, soon it will start getting dark not long after 3pm. I don’t mind this time of year. I light my candles, I put my music on. I try to absorb as much from each season as I can.

My Mom introduced me to Kyle Pederson a few years ago and this particular album is one I can’t get enough of. I’ve been listening to it non stop today. Below is one of my favourites on the album as well as one of my most favourite carols, Lo, How A Rose.

I hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday wherever you may be today and that you find beauty in the little things.

October 19, 2017 / 0 Comments

Mr. Moon

I see the moon and the moon sees me!

I’m spending this cloudy, windy, chilly Thursday afternoon, listening to a spooky podcast and decorating Halloween cookies for school tomorrow.

I’ve made chocolate and vanilla moons, pumpkins, bats, witches and ghosts. I used Baking A Moment’s chocolate sugar cookie dough recipe and it tastes like a brownie in cookie form! Happiness is…

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July 18, 2017 / 1 Comment

Cherry Picking

Goose Girl decided she would join me on my run this morning. But, I lost her as soon as we crossed the footbridge. Once she saw the cherry trees on the other side, dripping with ruby droplets of sweetness, her eyes glazed and that was that.

I finished my run while she stayed to pick the cherries. Her apron was full by the time I swung back that way. She said she’s going to make a cherry pie for Foxy, but she couldn’t decide how elaborate to make her crust? Just a simple top crust with an “X” in the middle, or lattice work, or a top crust decorated with pastry leaves, flowers and cherries, or just to make a crumble topping, or…

Whatever she decides to do, I know Foxy will be very happy.

January 26, 2017 / 1 Comment

Pumpkin Pecan Spice Cake

Yesterday was a very long day and the only answer to it was: CAKE! I made this pumpkin pecan spice cake for dessert from a Williams-Sonoma mix. I frosted the top with tangerine infused cream cheese and a sprinkle of tangerine zest and chopped pecans for decoration. A slice of that and a cup of tea and all was right with the world again!