Mary happened to be one of the best cooks in our church, until they moved. (Now it’s Janice!) I digress, sorry.
Mary made the best baked goods and contributed recipes to the church cookbook.
The one I made wasn’t in this book though, she gave me her special recipe on an index card. I no longer have it so I can’t share it with you.
I can tell you there were Rhodes buns, caramel and then I’m lost. Now I had tasted this yummy bliss (before being gluten free) and knew it would be perfect for Christmas.
So while the boys played with their new toys, Ed cleaned up the papers and tags, I put this special dish in the oven and went upstairs to get dressed–okay I took a nap, too. I had plenty of time! Don’t judge me! This dish had to bake for 45 min.
There was a bit of yelling downstairs–something about fire? I have never been so alert after a nap.
Smoke rose up the stairs as I came running down.
Smoke was everywhere and there were flames in the oven. Yep, my own little Christmas fire.
The wonderful yummy sauce that made itself had leaked out of the angel food pan and snuggled up tight to the oven coils. I was supposed to use a bundt pan, but didn’t have one and thought it wouldn’t make a difference.
Ed put the fire out, breakfast went in the trash and windows were opened to clear the smoke. A new tradition was born. Cinnamon rolls from the store or cookies for breakfast became the Christmas breakfast.
And that recipe? I’m not sure what happened to it. I think someone threw it away.
What kind of cooking surprises have happened in your kitchen?
When you blend two families together holidays can be–okay the truth is they can be over-the-top stressful.
My first husband, John had grown up with Dec. 6 being a day to wake up and find candy in his shoes.
I woke up as a child on Dec. 6 with nothing in my shoes!
When we married I learned about St. Nick’s Day. We chose to celebrate it by hanging stockings and putting in chocolate coins and a few small toys.
After John went to live in Heaven, and I married Ed, I introduced the joy of St. Nick’s to Andy. He didn’t mind adding an extra tradition that brought surprise goodies in the morning. His stocking is in the middle. It’s the one his mom, Debbi, picked out for him. I think it blends in nicely between Ben and Josh’s.
After the first year of being a blended family we began giving each boy a small ornament to hang on the tree. Those ornaments would go with them when they married, or moved out and began putting up their own trees. Later we began adding pieces to a Nativity scene.
It didn’t take long for 3 small boys to realize St. Nick’s day meant it wouldn’t be long before the Christmas tree would be decorated and cookies baking.
Do you celebrate St. Nick’s?
* from Wikipedia St. Nicolas comes primarily in Alsace, Lorraine and Nord-Pas-de-Calais (French Flanders). St. Nicolas is patron of Lorraine. A little donkey carries baskets filled with children’s gifts, cookies and sweets. The whole family gets ready for the saint’s arrival on December 6, with grandparents telling stories of the saint. The most popular one is of three children who wandered away and got lost. Cold and hungry, a wicked butcher lured them into his shop where he attacked and salted them away in a large tub. Through the intervention of St. Nicolas the boys were restored to their families. This story led to Nicolas being recognized as the protector of children. In France statues and paintings often portray this event, showing the saint with children in a barrel. The evil butcher became Père Fouettard, who has followed St Nicolas in shame ever since. This story is also a popular French children’s song. Meanwhile bakeries and home kitchens are a hive of activity as spiced gingerbread cookies and mannala, brioche shaped like the good saint, are baked. At school children learn St. Nicolas songs and poems and draw and paint St. Nicolas pictures and crafts. Saint Nicolas visits nursery schools, giving children chocolates and sometimes even a little present. Though Père Fouettard carries switches to threaten the children, what they really fear is that he may advise Saint Nicolas to pass them by on his gift-giving rounds.
When you are a child the arrival of snow is a good thing. School gets canceled, sleds come out, and cookies get baked. Sometimes it even comes before Christmas.
Heavy snow meant the car wouldn’t be able to climb either the gravel hill or the blacktopped one. We would be stranded.
Being stranded meant no cars coming down the street where we liked to sled.
Snow was a joyous experience.
My mother somehow knew when the snow would come. At the signs of the first flakes mom would call us to come look. My brother and I would be press our noses against the front picture window. Our questions came rapid and high pitched. “Would there be enough to cancel school? Can we stay home even if it isn’t enough to play in it? Would mom make chocolate chip cookies? “Would it stay long enough that Santa would use his sled?”
The answer from mom was always the same, “We’ll see.”
Then she would disappear and come back with the special glasses used for company, and they would be filled with 7up. The sparkles would pop and fizz against our noses then mom would say, “Let’s toast the first snow of the season.”
I’m not sure she did that every year, but it seems like she did. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized she knew there was a probability of snow so she purchased that special 7up and chocolate chips in advance and hide them on the shelf we couldn’t see.
I had so much fun doing the a2z meme I decided to join Patty’s newest Jolly Daze 4u & me. If you have a blog head over to her site and find out how it works. You don’t have to be a writer to play along.
Today it’s abut THANKSGIVING MEMORIES!
This is one of those times I’m really glad my mom doesn’t use a computer.
Yep, it’s one of ‘those’ stories.
Before D&D (death and divorce) came to our house we spent Thanksgiving at my grandparents home–my dad’s side.
I was so small I had to tiptoe to see all the yummy pies on top of the sideboard. Chocolate and lemon meringue, pumpkin, mincemeat, cherry and apple. I couldn’t wait for the dinner part to be over. I wanted my mom’s pies. Chocolate was the best and favored by many of this group so you had to get your piece fast.
The moment arrived and those of us with Mom’s pie dove in and got a surprise. She’d forgotten to bake the pie shells! We didn’t care. We ate the meringue and chocolate anyway and left the shell.
Mom was and still is embarrassed by this story. I love it because it is a solid memory for me of laughter and good times. After the kitchen was cleaned we’d sit, some of us piled up on parents, some on the flour and sing Christmas carols with the grown-ups before hurrying home to plug in the tree lights to see how many needed to be replaced.
Now we’ve come to the end of the alphabet and the a2z meme that Patty Wysong created. It’s been fun thinking of a blog post for each letter.
Z is for Zandini. On our mini vacation to St. Joesph, Michigan in August I found this guy in a corner of the carousel building.
I couldn’t help but remember the Tom Hanks movie Big, in case you don’t know the movie, Hank’s character puts in his money and wishes to be big. His wish is granted and he wakes up with an adult body.
I had .25 cents but not a wish that would/could be granted by The Great Zandini, he may have been predicting futures I’m not sure. The idea of know what lies ahead creeps me out. I’d rather let each day come to me the way God wants it to.
Then again if he were granting wishes…just one… I would have wished for more days to spend walking the beach with my husband.
I’m pretty sure no one else will use this for their ‘Y’ in the a2z challenge from Patty Wysong.
YardLines is our family business. There used to be a brick and mortar store–okay it was a concrete building. When Illinois regulations began to cost us to much money to continue hiring people and running trucks we downsized. A lot.
Not everything needed to run a paver business is inside this trailer. We rent space to store other trailers, stuff and the bobcat. Unless it’s going to snow then the bobcat goes in our garage so we can get to the main road.
I keep saying WE own YardLines and on paper that’s true. The real story is that Ed is YardLines. He has an amazing skill and talent for laying pavers. YardLines (ED) lays pavers at an amazing speed, he’s put them in driveways, horse barns, patios, visitor centers, metrolink stations, roundabouts, and even an outdoor stage. Most of the time he works alone. YardLines (Ed) is a bit of a perfectionist. When I get to help I carry bricks, pick up trash from the paver pallets and find tools.
Here’s a few photos of what YardLines (Ed) has done. Because he does this I can write. I’m very blessed.
Amphitheater in Alton
Paver Circle Package
Horse Barn
YardLines, (Ed) also builds walls. If you want to see more of what YardLines does, visit Yardlines.
This book is rich in details. The story is one that I couldn’t put down—but had to it’s 430 pages! It took me two days to read it and I enjoyed every twist and turn. My heart ached for the main character Claire Laurent as she grieves for her mother.
Claire’s time at Belmont is a blessing from God, but you wonder as you turn the pages how long will it be before she realizes that He has been watching over her, or worse will she toss His blessing aside?
The subplots in this story was perfectly written, it doesn’t overpower but lends it a possibility of more books in this series. I’m hoping that is what is being planned. I wasn’t quite ready to say good bye to Cara Netta.
About the book:
A fake. A forger. More than anything, Claire Laurent longs for the chance to live an authentic life, to become the woman she wants to be. And she’ll be given that choice. But will it come at too costly a price?
Claire Laurent’s greatest aspiration is to paint something that will bring her acclaim. Yet her father insists she work as a copyist. A forger. When she’s forced to flee from New Orleans to Nashville only a year after the War Between the States has ended, her path collides with attorney Sutton Monroe. She considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But after he later refuses to come to her aid, Claire fears she’s sorely misjudged the man. Finding herself among the elite of Nashville’s society, Claire believes her dream to create a lasting impression in the world of art is within reach–but only if her fraudulent past remains hidden.
The Federal Army has destroyed Sutton’s home and confiscated his land, and threatens to destroy his family’s honor. His determination to reclaim what belongs to him and to right a grievous wrong reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever imagined–as well as the woman he loves.Set at Nashville’s historic Belmont Mansion, a stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, A Lasting Impression is a sweeping love story about a nation mending after war, the redemption of those wounded, and the courage of a man and woman to see themselves–and each other–for who they really are.
About Tamera:
Tamera Alexander is a best-selling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose resonate with readers. Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in Nashville Tennessee, along with their two adult children who live near by. And don’t forget Jack, their precious–and precocious–silky terrier.
A Brand New Kindle Fire (shipped as soon as it releases)
A copy of A Lasting Impression and 3 other special books Tamera wants you to have (for Kindle)
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on November 15th. Winner will be announced at A Lasting Impression Facebook Party on the 15th. Tamera will be wrapping up the A Lasting Impression celebration
with an author chat and giving away Southern Food Baskets (Loveless
Cafe Food Baskets, books, Amazon & Starbucks gift certificates, and
copies of Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate cookbook), six gift certificates to Starbucks and Amazon.com, and copies of A Lasting Impression! So grab your copy of A Lasting Impression (it’s
okay if you don’t have one yet- you might win one!) and join Tamera on
the evening of November 15th for an author chat, a trivia contest (How
much do you know about the 1860’s?) and lots of Southern-inspired
We’ve come to the nightmare of posts with this letter. There are only 9 words that start with X in my dictionary.
One I often use in scrabble: Xi.
Xi is a river in China and it’s 300miles long.
This week we went to a hardscape trade show (that’s all about pavers, stone, bobcats and glue in case you were wondering) while there I snapped a photo of this X from the Xmarks booth. I’m not even sure what they were selling but they didn’t mind me taking a photo.
There are a few X’s I don’t care for: X-large size (on me–don’t take offense if you need that size.) XXX adult rating. And the one I wish didn’t exist: X-Mas instead of Christmas. That X I really don’t like. Christmas is about Christ–go ahead and celebrate what ever you wish, but don’t mess with the name please.
1 vanilla bean, split and insides scraped (I used a teaspoon GF vanilla flavoring)
Apples:
2 tablespoons butter
6 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8ths
2 tablespoons sugar
For the filling: In a small saucepan, melt the butter and cook it until it starts to brown and begins to smell like hazelnuts. Transfer the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle. Add the sugar and beat together on medium speed. Gradually add the flour. Once the flour has combined, add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla bean seeds. OR ADD VANILLA FLAVORING.
For the apples: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and sugar and cook until the apples start to soften, 6 to7 minutes. Pull the pan off the burner and dump the apples into the tart crust.
Bake the tart in the 350 degree oven until the top is golden brown and slightly crispy, 45 to 50 minutes.
Anne Burrell’s Note: This filling is enough for 2 tarts. It’s easier to make a larger quantity and it lasts in the fridge for a few days.
* I didn’t know what to do with the extra filling and because it tasted go good I knew I’d eat it if I put it in the fridge. Next time I’ll pour it into a small loaf pan for a mini cake. *I watched the show again and Anne Burrell says the extra filling can be frozen.
The quilt top is finished. It’s waiting to be assembled and tied by the quilters at my church.
Every month 7-10 women gather and haul things from the closet and a corner in a Sunday School room so they can work.
One person sews the binding, a few others make a sandwich (quilt top, batting, and backing) and few more slide needles up and through to ‘tie’ the quilt. Someone will cut squares and make packages for others to sew the tops at home.
In October, the finished quilts are shipped to Lutheran World Relief where they are handed out to those who need them.
It’s a fun project and I’m glad to be a small part in helping someone stay warm.