Amazing Foccia Bread.

This is so amazing. One of the things

I hope to learn in the next few months

is how to make great Foccia bread. I

have been saving photos of samples

that other bakers have made. I'm so

impressed with the creativity. Amazing!

💗 Chy 💗

Blogtober: Day 26.

Fall cleaning means making sure we have all our

baking items for the holidays. Washing out all the

storage containers and filling them back up with

new supplies. Can't wait to start our holiday baking.

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 16.

Tried a new cookie recipe this week.

Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They were a hit with both my team

and the family. We'll make this again!

~ Chy

Homemade Cookies.

 

Baking homemade cookies is something

I don't do very much anymore. Part of it

is time ~ when I was a mom at home,

baking fit in to my day with my littles.

But now they're grown, life is so busy

with work and projects, and cookies

have taken a back seat without littles

in the cottage to gobble them all down.

I was excited last week with our "down

the lane neighbors" coming for dinner as

they have 3 kids and the cookies would

be so needed. They loved them and I

did send home some goodie bags. The

cookies were a hit but I wish I had sent

home more as we still have cookies a

full week later! Next time, more will go!

Do you like baking homemade cookies?

~ Chy

Eastern Sun.

I'm so thankful we faced the back of our little cottage to the east. We get this wonderful sun that streams in early and sticks around for a good part of the morning, until lunchtime, when it starts to move towards the south end of our abode. It was a messy sink pic this morning but frankly, with temperatures still stuck in the deep freeze, and a cottage that is all neat and tidy, one spot can be messy! We baked cookies on the weekend and will now have to do more time on the treadmill! But oh, they were so yummy and we still have enough left over for the week, while we wait for the warmth to return. Someone today said that the predicated temperature on Saturday will be +3 C. Wow! To go from - 50 C one weekend, to + 3 C the following weekend is crazy. We'll take it though. Grateful for all we have but wish the weather could be more stable here. So tiring.

I find it hard to deal with bad weather. It could be massive thunderstorms, that increase my stress with thoughts of lightening strikes or possible tornadoes. Too much heat translates to forest fires. Last Summer was the first time since we moved to the country that we were on high alert due to a fire just down the road from us. We are so fortunate to have the best firefighters and they did a brilliant job of putting out a very large fire, without a single home lost. When it snows, it's so pretty and mkaes me feel so cozy, especially when I'm home. But when we have a blizzard with icy roads and very low temperatures. I love our 4 seasons but truly wish we could have warm Winters, with some snow but no blizzards, beautiful Springs but no flooding, warm Summers but no scary storms, and long Falls without threats of early snow storms. My ideal!

Not sure I could live somewhere where there is literally one season. I need the change every quarter, with a break from the hot, or the cold, the wind or the rain. It's fun to to decorate and prepare for each time. Having different sets of clothes and footwear is a pain. But doable. One of my favorite author, L. M. Montegomery, wrote in Anne of Green Gables ~ "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."  The cool crisp air, the crunching falling leaves, and the homeyness of life around us makes Fall my favorite! Ah, Fall! Makes it worth the seasons to get thru the crappy days to get to the good days. Seasons mirroring life!

Do you have 4 different seasons in your area?

~ Chy

First Crack at Baking Homemade Buns.

My first attempt in my entire life to

make fresh baked breads. And the

dough rose, just as the directions said!

Now on to the baking. Wish me luck!

~ Chy

Amazing Gingerbread.

One of my favorite baking experiences

is when we make Gingerbread. Our little

cottage smells incredible for days. And

they stay so soft. Delicious and so easy!

~ Chy

The Night Before.

Every year, we try to do a lot of early prep so that our

Christmas Eve can be a relaxing "no activity" night.

But every year, there is always something to do that

ends up taking time. I guess we're human! This year,

we did some baking on the eve. On the menu was my

"melt in your mouth" Shortbread (the before and after

are above), Gingerbread and more Confetti. We treat

ourselves each year to a dinner delivered to our tiny

cottage ~ this year, we had scrumptious pizza. It was

sooo good! And then it's time to place gifts around

the tree and write a note to Santa, along with a plate

of cookies. Finally, once the house is cleaned for the

big day, we get to sit back and enjoy. Sometimes its

a movie or a PVR'd show. And sometimes, just music!

Do you have a routine on Christmas Eve?

Or do you figure it out as it arrives?

~ Chy

Christmas Eve.

It's Christmas Eve. In our little cottage, this is the day we finish up our baking ~ today we're making butter tarts, shortbread cookies, gingerbread, more confetti (our "test batch is almost done) and then putting our gingerbread house together. Music on, gifts are wrapped, the kitchen will be smell like Heaven and we have some pre-Christmas wishes to send by phone later. Yesterday we had a little Christmas celebration with my mom at her care home. They've asked that families visit before the big day but not on the big day as they had an outbreak and though it's over, they hope to have the residents be all well tomorrow. I was okay with this as every year since my mom has lived there, there has been an outbreak at Christmas and we've not had visits with her on those days. It would have been fun to maybe bring her home this year but they were very adamant so we made the best of it and had great fun yesterday. Hopefully next year we'll be together!

After our baking is done, we're going to shovel. We've had very little snow this week. It has been bitterly cold but fortunately, we had no where to go, other than we trekked in to town yesterday to get our fresh ingredients for dinner tomorrow, visit mom, take our dgs to his kidney ultrasound, do our final end of year banking, a trip to the liquor store for special drink ingredients and a last check of the mail. By the time we headed home, the snow had started and it was scary driving on the highway in the blowing wind. Thankfully, it's not a long drive (we're less than 10 minutes from town), but it was still pretty scary. I can't imagine what it's been like for those who have been travelling to visit with family for the holidays. It's warming up here in Alberta, Canada. We were having extreme weather with  - 46 C temps with the windchill. But today, it's a very balmy - 18 C out here in the big woods. In the next few days, it will climb up to single digits, so we're feeling quite blessed that we haven't had the snow and other weather that many communities across Canada and in the States are experiencing. Not sure why it has hit us but we know it will likely be our turn at some point. For now, we're beyond blessed and grateful.

I'll have lots of posts over the next few days as we share our holiday celebrations. Wishing you and your family a beautiful day as you get ready for the big day. And hope wherever you are, you're safe, warm and healthy. 

Merry Christmas my beautiful blogging buddies!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 26.

I will not even show you what my cakes

look like! I love to bake but putting this

together would not be in my wheelhouse!

Do you love to bake? Are you this talented?

~ Chy

Gram's Kitchen.

One of my very favorite Susan Wheeler

prints. Look at that amazing kitchen! And

an island that is just perfect for baking with

grandkids. It does remind me a bit of my tiny

gramma's very small but oh so cozy kitchen.

I love the pretty display shelves, the plates and

the vintage stove. That sink! Lots in this small

print to love. I so love a Susan Wheeler print!

Do you have a favorite artist? 

~ Chy

Pink Cupcakes.

Our girls wanted cupcakes the other day

and this is what they came up with. So

yummy and I love the color. They did

not last long. More have been requested!

~ Chy

Decorated.

 

Here's my first batch of gingerbread cookies

that actually truly worked out. They are crisp

on the edges, slightly soft in the middle but not

too soft! And full of flavor. And now decorated.

~ Chy

Finally Perfected.

I also made some gingerbread cookies

for the lunch. I have failed many times.

This year, I found the perfect recipe and

am so happy with how amazing it was.

Soft and great flavor, without that spicy

taste that is sometimes too gingery. The

cookies 4 days in are still just the right

texture of soft but with a slight crisp edge.

And though I'm not the best decorator,

they have turned out beautifully. We still

have some left over for Christmas Day

but we keep eating them. More to bake!

~ Chy

Christmas Baking.

Planning out our final Christmas Baking

List ~ can't wait to try all these recipes.

We always make both sugar and

shortbread cookies each year. I'm

getting better at decorating them ~

definitely have to keep practicing.

These Christmas lights are too sweet.

Might try these out for the kitchen tree.

Gingerbread with white chocolate

and tiny sprigs of berries and leaves.

I haven't done these Stained Glass

Cookies for years but might try them

again this year. The trick is to not

make them too thin and to find the

right candies that will melt well. I

hope they turn out and are eaten up!

I wish I could decorate like this! So

much detail. Maybe one day I will.

In addition to the cookies we love to

bake and eat at Christmas, we'll also

be making sweet Butterscotch Confetti, 

Mini Cheesecakes, Butter Tarts, my

Nanaimo Bar, and a Neapolitan Bar. All

really easy to make and so good to eat.

Do you spend time baking at Christmas?

If you do, what do you like to create?

~ Chy

Festive Baking.

Yesterday was my day off and my daughter also had the day to relax. We decided to drop off kids at school together and head in to town to pick up baking supplies. With our chest freezer now in place in the newly organized garage, I wanted to try this year to bake ahead and freeze some baking so it's not such a big job as we get closer to the holidays. We bought all the ingredients I didn't have on hand to fill up the pantry again. Took some time to find our recipes and even chose some new ones. Then we set ourselves up at the kitchen island and soon created a lovely mess. But the kitchen smelled amazing! My favorite scents!!

When we first arrived at the store, there was an amazing set up with pop and decorations and nuts. Very festive. When we arrived at the bakery within the store, the staff was just finishing up the last few details of their gingerbread house. They let me take pics for the blog to show you the incredible workmanship that went in to this creation. And they did confirm that it's all edible. Yum!!

Below the gingerbread pictures are a few shots to show our progress through the day. I didn't take any photos of the finished products but can at another time. We made a type of shortbread (not as good as my recipe so we'll eat these up and make mine at a later date), butterscotch confetti and a chocolate chip square with drizzled chocolate on top. I have an online meeting tonight but hoping to do a bit more in between dinner and my meeting. I'll likely finish up on the weekend. Hoping everything freezes well. We didn't ice but will save that for once we bring the items out to thaw before serving. Looking forward to enjoying these treats.

Have you started any holiday baking?

What do you make that freezes well?

~ Chy

Christmas Baking.

Today is the Eastern Final for football in Canada. Our team is one of the two playing and though I'm not a big fan, it's exciting to think we might have a chance at the Grey Cup (football's version of hockey's Stanley Cup). A sunny, warm day for football. The snow is currently melting off our roof and it sounds and looks like Spring. I'm sure in time, Winter will return and cover our landscape with  fluffy, white snow.

Dh brought me brekkie in bed ~ cranberry lemon muffin and juice. I've been reading blogs and enjoying the sun but it's time for a quick shower, comfy clothes for the day ahead and a trek downstairs to settle in for the game. While it's on, I'll be scouring my recipes to create our Christmas baking list for this season. I stumbled across this sweet picture of "teabag cookies" ~ there was no recipe and no reference so I'm going to have to dig. But aren't they sweet? As a tea lover, it's on top of my list. After the game is over, we'll head out to finish up more work on organizing the garage. This is a task we couldn't have done a year ago at this time of year. With the little furnace we had installed in October, we can now work out there, year round, in short sleeves. Toasty warm and a great place to now work on refinishing furniture and other projects. Excited to have this space almost completed. We've already got a list of projects. 

Christmas baking girl ~ a favorite pic

of mine at this baking time of year.

She looks so happy to be helping. I

imagine her mother is off to the side.

After working in the garage, which will likely require a second shower, I've got a load of laundry to do, enjoy the dinner that dh has placed in the crockpot for the day, then we'll likely chill for the rest of the evening. We've started watching "The Kominsky Method" and an episode or two would be great. Picked up two books from the library yesterday, so those might get cracked open too. Relaxing night. 

What's on your agenda today?

Do you have a Christmas Baking List?

~ Chy

Banana Bread.

I make the most amazing banana bread,

according to my children and the dh.

What makes it so good? I have no idea,

because I actually can't eat banana bread!

Yup, I'm allergic to it! It would literally

kill me if I consumed any of it. So there

you go. Something I make, out of love

for my family, that I will never know

what it tastes like but glad all who try

it love it. A healthy treat for my family.

~ Chy

Homemade Twix.

We had fun this year trying a few

new desserts for Christmas Dinner.

This one promised to be very similiar

to a Twix Chocolate Bar ~ my favorite.

Not too hard to make. It was all in the

timing and making sure the base was cool.

The layers once all was set and we

could cut. The verdict? Yes, a Twix!

~ Chy