Ski Trip

Luke decided we needed to go skiing with him while we were up visiting, so we loaded up in Jami's rig and headed for Bogus Basin. Jami had been up with friends just the night before and it snowed so much over night that the roads were closed till nearly 10am. We finally made our way up in the afternoon and got to put in a few hours night-skiing. Luke and Austin boarded, and Jami, Shaun and I went for skis instead. Shaun was up on the lifts after just a couple hours!

We had a crisp, clear view of Boise from the slope, but Shaun said we could keep the cold. I guess we need a few more layers....

The Russian Bear

 This last spring Shaun found a little shop called the "Russian Bear Cafe" down in Eagle. The owners, a couple from Russia, are friendly and the food is awesome! We have tried almost everything on the menu now, and haven't found a single bad or even so-so item yet.

 

As you can see, Luke especially enjoyed his family lunch time....

And finally... Blinis with chocolate, dulce de leche, and strawberries and cinnamon!

Holiday Baking

Family tradition during the holidays is Baking, Baking, and more Baking! Mom made a batch of snails, Aunt Pat made Pogens, and I made Boetterletters in honor of Jacinda and Matt :)


















Gluten-free Dairy-free sugar cookies are also becoming a holiday mainstay for us. Eli helped me frost and decorate these...

Here is our recipe:

1 cup white sugar, 1 cup Crisco, 1 egg

1 cup white rice flour, 3/4 cup corn starch or potato starch, 3/4 cup tapioca flour, 1 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp xanthan gum, 1 tsp salt 

2 tsp vanilla

Blend the sugar, Crisco and egg together till completely smooth. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir them in slowly, as the powdery flours will want to *poof* in the mixer. Add the vanilla and mix till smooth. It really doesn't hurt the dough to over mix a little.

Turn the oven on to 350F. Use a little extra white rice flour to roll out the dough. Roll it fairly thick - 1/3 inch is good. Cut with shapes or in diamonds and bake on ungreased sheets for 13-15 minutes. As soon as the cookies start to brown at the edges, take them out. Let them cool slightly, then remove from the sheets.

These cookies are very crumbly, so don't store them in a bag unless you want crumbs!

Christmas Dinner - Part 2!

We gathered in the great hall for another feast - Christmas Day dinner!

Christmas Morning Starts at 5AM

Abi was up early, and convinced me (only because I was semi-unconscious) to get up and start the day at 5AM. I was able to hold her off presents for another couple of hours while we rousted the boys and got breakfast ready. All in all, the kids made out like bandits!

 

Router happily destroyed her new toy in under an hour...

Then the kids went outside to play with their new bikes with Shaun.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

...and all through the hall,
not a creature was stirring, but oh, were we all!

The garlands were hung o'er the gas stove with care
to delight all the family that was gathered there.
With some bundled in sweaters and some wearing wraps,
we had just settled down to a long winter repast.

For days on the rooves, there had been steady patter
of rain on the rooftops, and mud puddles scattered.

But tonight, rain abaited, and a wonderful feast did appear
with goblets of red wine and some with rootbeer.

And after the lamb roast and pudding and cake,
we each took a turn at playing St. Nick.
The presents were passed and paper disposed
as laughs and rejoinders echoed and rose;
until finally outside it began to drizzle,
and the ponies and sheep for their dinners did whistle.

And so we gave our last hugs by the low candle light, saying,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!

Last Chance Shopping

The day of Christmas Eve, Aunt Pat, Uncle Bear, Eli, Abi and I ventured into downtown LA to the fabric district. Eli was convinced we were in Diagon Alley! And indeed, every shop we poked into did sort of seem like Olivander's or Gringot's. In the end, we did find the wool yardage we were looking for and some nice linen, too. We also found a couple of fun bead shops. Finding our way back to the car to leave was more like finding our way through Diagon Alley than we would have liked, however. Before heading back up the 5 to the house, we stopped at an old French cafe called Philippe's. This place has been there for a hundred years - starting in the French community and now surrounded by Chinatown. The sandwiches au jus are so good, it's easy to see why they are still around.

Gingerbread Pudding

I have gotten a lot of mileage out of this gingerbread recipe. Those nice, big, soft cookies started to get mushed up in the bottom of their bag, so I threw them in the freezer thinking, 'I can do something with these...'

Gingerbread Pudding

8 large chunks of gingerbread cookies (2 1/2 to 3 cups full)
3 cups milk
3 eggs
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon
butter

Set the oven for 325F. Butter a deep casserole dish. Sprinkle maybe a tsp. of the cinnamon+sugar mixture ove the bottom evenly. Dump the gingerbread chunks into the casserole, and make sure there aren't any big empty spaces.

Scald the milk on the stove - don't stir it, just let it come to barely a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and brown sugar in a good-sized bowl.

Once the milk is ready, pour 1/2 cup of it *slowly* into the egg mixture while whisking *quickly*, then pour in another cup while still whisking. Pour in the last of it, mix it thoroughly, then pour this over the gingerbread.

Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon+sugar over the top and bake for 45 min. This should be golden brown, soft-set, and have a thin sugar-crust over the top (almost like creme brulee!) when it comes out.

Good warm or cold! But it must be refrigerated to keep because of the eggs.

Fall Color.... At Last!

It only takes till December to get nice Fall Color in LA. Here is the very last of it in my back yard.

... Now only if there were white, sparkly snow to offset these beautiful wine-dark berries and bright crimson tendrils! Eli agrees - he has been asking for 'Yes snow in California' for the past month. *Sigh* I guess we will just both be waiting for Winter Weekend!

Ogre Hat

I had this lovely celery-colored, thick, bouncy yarn. It was begging me to make a hat out of it, so I did. Upon reaching the crown, I found there was still just a bit left over - maybe 4 or 5 yards tops. Looking down at this lovely, Shrek-colored hat in my hands, it suddenly dawned on me - I had just enough left over to make Ogre ears!

It's official... Christmas is in just two weeks!

We got our tree yesterday, and the kids haven't rested until we got it decorated! Aunt Pat donated some garlands for our banisters, and Shaun got the lights tacked up around the front walkway. It's official! We're ready for Christmas!

Apple Butter Cookies, New and Improved!

New Recipe for Apple butter cookies that turns out softer and nicer, just like regular gingerbread!

6 cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free pancake mix
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups apple butter
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Beat the eggs and stir into the apple butter with the vanilla. Mix together dry ingredients and stir into that mix. Beat on medium to high speed for 1 minute.

Drop in heaps - up to 1/4 cup at a time - onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375F for 14 minutes. Remove from the sheets and cool.

Mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with the juice from 1 lemon, and drizzle or brush the icing onto the cookies.

By Candlelight

A major step forward for Eli....

Teryl's Wreath

Found treasures, all from Aunt Pat's yard: ivy, rosemary, oak, rosehips, lemons & pepper berries

Pear Ginger Upside-down Cake

1/4 cup of butter + 3/4 cup butter
2 pears
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
dash of grated nutmeg
2 eggs
2 Tbsp buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
scant 3/4 cup flour
generous 1/2 cup almonds, pulsed in a food processor till completely pulverized
6 Tbsp buttermilk

Put the first 1/4 cup of butter into the cake pan and put it into the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. The butter will melt as the oven pre-heats. Take the pan out of the oven as soon as it's done preheating. Melt the other 3/4 cup butter on the stove and set aside.

Swirl the butter to coat the pan. Sprinkle in the spices as evenly as possible. Sprinkle in the brown sugar. Peel and slice the pears very thinly. Arrange them in a fan all the way around the pan: do the inside-most circle first, then the outside ring.

With an electric mixer, blend the eggs, 2 Tbsp buttermilk and vanilla completely. Sift together the dry ingredients in another bowl, then add half that mix to the eggs. Add half the buttermilk and half the melted butter and mix in thoroughly. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix, then the rest of the butter and buttermilk and mix. Blend on low speed for over 1 minute. Pour this batter over the pears.

Put into the oven and bake for 35 minute. If the top hasn't gotten brown and the sides haven't started bubbling up with the carmelized sugar, then cook it for periods of 3 minutes until it does.

Remove from the oven and carefully run a butterknife around the edge of the cake to release it from the side of the pan. Only let it cool a couple of minutes. Invert it only a plate as soon as possible to cool the rest of the way. Serve with vanilla whipped cream or ice cream.

Yule in Dreibergen

My first SCA event back after months, and - of course - it's a feast! And before the feast, a table decorating contest!

We started out with a theme: green. And gold and silver, because that's very Christmassy. And we gotta have fruit if we're going for a Medieval Christmas Table. Aunt Pat suggested pears, so we ran with it...

And I threw together a pear-ginger upside-down cake to go along with it. Here's a picture of how our table looked at the feast:

A wonderful evening was had by all, and we're looking forward to the next event :)

Dreibergen Yule

Now this is the kind of SCA event I like - a feast!

Aunt Pat and I put together a bunch of things for the table decorating contest. The theme was 'Winter' and we were going for evergreen, silver and gold. Pears dalloped with green grapes, swans and partridge nestled in ivy and cedar boughs, all lit by silver-sconced candle light.

For our efforts, we took first place!

Plus, Aunt Pat and Uncle Bear got to visit with some folks that they hadn't seen in some time. We met some new friends and had a great time.

Abi's Peacock Pin-feather Wreath

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!