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!