'tis the season: food {part one}

making christmas sugar cookies, originally uploaded by Ann Marie Whittaker.

a few days ago i made about a bazillion sugar cookies. they now are biding their time in the freezer until i'm ready to package them up for the neighbors. and maybe i put this song on repeat while i made the cookies...which means i probably listened to this song at least sixty times in a row. didn't get sick of it. good thing ceej wasn't home or he would have banned me from listening to it ever again!

Christmas Tradition: For Laughs

"A Christmas Story"

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Homemade eggnog (don't worry, the eggs are not raw!).

Every year I am truly amazed at how well this movie captures what Christmas time feels like as a kid...especially the scenes of Christmas morning with new fallen snow, and Christmas night when all the hooha has settled down. It reminded me that Christmas Day really feels different from every other day of the year. Now I'm all excited to wake up Christmas morning...though we don't focus on presents as much any more (it's much more fun to have a yummy breakfast and to laugh with family).

A few lines from the movie to remind you how good it is:

Mr Parker: [after Mother "accidentally" breaks the Old Man's leg lamp] Why did you touch that? You were always jealous of this lamp.

Mother: Jealous of a plastic...

Mr. Parker: Jealous! Jealous because I WON.

Mother: That's ridiculous. Jealous. Jealous of WHAT? That is... The ugliest lamp I have ever seen in my entire LIFE!

Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Now it was out.

Holiday Misc.

We've been oh so busy these past few days with holiday activities and fundraiser/protest organizing. Here's some photos to document some of it. Above, me with wreaths I bought at Apple Hill. They are oh so pretty and oh so cheap! One of you lucky readers will get one of these wreaths...you'll find out who it is in about 4 days!

Here is where we took a lunch break: apple cider doughnuts.

Can you see all that sugery goodness?!

Doing a little grocery shopping...hooray for pears!

Clementines for me, please.

We had this yummy treat while we watched the movie below:

My double chocolate caramels worked! Phew! They are pretty darn good.

My little fruit display...my grandparents are known for taking pictures of their fruit organized in pretty ways...I thought I'd keep the tradition alive.

My cheddar twist rolls. I can taste 'em now...they melt in your mouth!

A little bouquet for me!

I just thought this was pretty (and yummy!)

Lemon Poppyseed shortbread. I've made these twice in one week now. Soooo good.

Last night we had a Christmas Extravaganza party at our little apartment with a few of our neighbors. Homemade eggnog, twice-baked potatoes, mulled cider, and Abelskivers were served. We had a lovely time laughing and eating.

I sent a few of these lovley postcards off...will be sending more soon.

1 Hour!

Today I thought I'd try my hand at making caramels, and not just any caramels, but DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CARAMELS. Right now I'm wishing I had thouroughly read the instructions...that stuff needs to be at a low boil for a full 60 minutes! Sheesh. These better turn out. I'm a little nervous, and all this time for nothing might make me sigh...and then start all over again.

Round 2

This holiday season I'm trying 15 new recipes, and brushing up on 6 family recipes. Today was full of "seconds"...let me explain:

This morning I started making these delicious thyme cheddar twists, instructed by Martha herself, when my phone rang. It was Celia Jane wanting to discuss Christmas gifts for my Mom. I thought I could handle talking on the phone while following this new recipe. Nope. I added the milk-yeast mixture too quickly, and I added an extra egg--all of this made the dough much to sticky. Boo. So this afternoon I made the dough again. Too bad, because I wanted these rolls for dinner, but now they'll be part of tomorrow's lunch.

Tonight I made twice-baked potatoes for the second time in my life. The first time I made them was only a week ago. After making these and eating them I think I can see why people's mouths start watering when they just hear the name.

In case you were wondering, I've been using dairy products from a wonderful dairy here in Northern California, Clover Stornetta Farms. They are committed to sustainable agriculture, and are Free Farmed certified. Hip, hip hooray!