I am on a lemon-bender. These fragrant yellow orbs are hobbling into grocery stores everywhere for the season. I couldn't be happier. It's no secret I love citrusy things. Biggest problem is usually that I can't decide which of it is my most favourite. Besides having to ...
Tis the season to learn of new traditions. When I first heard of these I couldn't help but be excited. Greek Kourabiedes are popular special occasion cookies. They are often served at weddings, christenings and of course, Christmas. You might also find them on an ...
Who knew? When I saw that reminder on Twitter, I couldn't help myself but to think that I may not have been celebrating enough lately. How about you? Life a little busy? Preoccupied with everything? I had a pineapple sitting, waiting for someone to enjoy it, so ...
View Celebrate Life With National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day
Here it is, the big day. I hope you have all that shopping done. You've planned for the appetizers, the sides and the main attraction... I hope you've saved room for dessert. I couldn't resist something spiced and a little lighter than a cake or that never ...
I have to say that I was not only pleasantly surprised but pretty proud that vegan choices are shortlisted over at the Marx Holiday Party Food Contest. I was contacted last night and told that my recipes had made the finals, just in time for everyone's last Holiday weekend ...
It's a little more last minute than I wanted to post but after a Christmas Eve car crash delay (we're ok), I'm back to wish all of you a wonderful Holiday and a very Merry Christmas. Taking some of my two favourite Holiday ingredients I had on hand, I simmered up a pot of marmalade. For so long I always perceived jam and jelly making as being a day long mess but I've quickly come to realize that it's really not that tough. Sugar, temperature and flavour are just about the only things you need to remember. Adding enough sugar to fruit and juice then boiling it to the 220ºF setting point is pretty much all you need to ensure a delicious gift. If you couldn't tell already, I absolutely love pomegranates. Come December, I typically buy out my local grocers stock and snack on half at a time instead of popcorn. Combined with a zesty, sweet red grapefruit, I made a marmalade I'm sure any Scottish Gran would love. Wishing you all a very merry and safe Holiday, I hope you enjoy your families... and your feasts.
Getting into the last week before Christmas, the excitement builds and the rush heightens. I can't help but get those butterflies like I had when I was a kid. A staple at our Christmas sweets table, this version of shortbread is certainly a family tradition just as Santa and snowflakes. Soft and tender, they simply melt in your mouth. Wonderful all alone, but for the Hoildays the addition of toffee or dried cranberries is an extra special treat. I had originally made give aways of this cookie mix for the Holidays, just needing to add the margarine but the simple layer of sugared cranberries seemed lost in the sifted white ingredients, so I opted to just spare recipients the time of baking and bring them the finished products instead, minus the ones I had to test for doneness, of course.
It was amazing I had a chance to fill these cookies. Fresh and plain, the almond biscuits coming straight from the oven proved pretty popular. I almost would have thought to leave them just for snacking although it is Christmas cookie season, so I figured a little extra sparkle was in order. Setting off with an original idea to use up the finally ripe hachiya persimmon sinking into my window sill, I was thinking of a swankier jelly thumb print. All I needed was the cookie to dab my thumb downward. Looking for a cookie base to stuff, ice or otherwise decorate wasn't too tough. I wanted versatility and these cookies have it. Delicately flavoured with almonds these cookies are also nice and crisp, able to hold up a sweet orangy center. This, I guess is where inspiration meets evolution; or laziness meets versatility - can't decide. No matter which, the cookie base is a great canvas and here are two works for it. Let me know what you come up with.
I love latkes. It's almost bad, how much I like latkes. A holiday tradition usually brings sharing and that might be my biggest problem. To date the best solution I've had is to make them smaller so I have more. That way it takes me a little longer to eat them and gives others a chance to snag one. Usually served on their own with a choice of apple sauce or sour cream on the side, I wanted to offer something with them to dress them up, especially when served as an appetizer. Slathered on a plate, I like the sour cream option, but there's something about the salty grease that goes so well with a little tartness. For platter passing, otherwise known as sharing, I conjured up my own applish sauce, just a little fancier for the Hoildays. I added the glimmer of pomegranate to quince to make this tart and spicy relish. It was pretty good. I ate the whole plate. ... But after I was done, I thought I might just make another batch, maybe even double it - to share. The relish in a little jar tied with a red bow, might just make a pretty sweet hostess gift.
Not that I'm the authority but I think that it's safe to say that Holiday baking is may "officially" begin, now that it's actually December. Be it that we took our kids to the community Santa Claus parade or that was today was the first of December, Holidays get me to hum classic carols and remember highlights of Christmas Past. With my brain swirling of roasting chestnuts and the clementine I almost mistook as a lump of coal down in the depths of my stocking toe, I decided the first cookie of the year should be able to last as long as that heart wrenching childhood memory. Memory aside, it's always a thrill to bring home the first box of "Christmas Oranges", as my daughter refers to them. Cracking into them fills a room with a special kind of happiness only little orange packages can bring. With clementines and cookies on my mind, it wasn't too tough a decision to get that this biscotti would be the first cookie of the season. Biscotti is a double baked, super crunchy cookie, perfect for packing in just about any flavour combination and, of course, dipping into mulled wine, coffee or nog.
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