Sunday, December 5, 2010

holiday odds and ends

Very busy lately trying to get ready for the Holidays while also getting orders shipped. I put the tree up this weekend and dug out all the ornaments. The snow really came down on Friday night so it looked very festive. I had visions of a tree full of colorful old fashioned birds- the kind with the feathery tails- but this is not what I have been seeing in the shops. If only I had stocked up a couple of years ago when that was all I saw! I have also been doing a little baking- trying out recipes. First up is one of my all time favorites:
Gingerbread. I thought I might try a maple butter sauce on it, or a lemon sauce.
I froze a lot of fruit this summer and fall including blackberries. On a recipe search I found this blackberry bread pudding using a Challah loaf. It was delicious! This I will definitely make again.
What really turned out nicely and which I served at Thanksgiving (along with a pumpkin pie, of course) is this cranberry pecan bundt cake. The sour cream in it made it very moist.

As for projects, my pound of lavender from Mountain Rose Herbs has arrived and I will be making sachets. These I have sold on etsy and will relist. I'm also planning to do some embroidered ones. The next two weeks will be a bit more shopping, wrapping, and then baking. Can't wait to be done!
This post is linked to Metamorphosis Monday/Deck the Halls,www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com, or click on the icon on the sidebar. Enjoy the Holiday decorations!

6 comments:

Sevenbeads said...

I have some frozen blackberries. Now I know EXACTLY what I'm going to do with them. Your gingerbread looks heavenly.

Lululiz said...

You got me drooling all over my keyboard now, lol, gosh, that all looks so delicious.

Pam Kessler said...

You have such a pretty dining room. I know what you mean about the bird ornaments. I saw them everywhere last year and none this year.

Debby said...

Everything looks so beautiful and yummy!!!
Debby

Pamela Gordon said...

Hi, I just found your post at BNOTP and want to say I love your dining room! If you live in Manitoba, Can. and have an English Butler near you, there are feathery birds there, at least the one in Fredericton, NB has them. They have a whole tree decorated in them. :-) Blessings,
Pamela.

Pamela Gordon said...

Hi again,
Thanks for your lovely comments on my pictures. Also, thanks for the explanation of Manitoba. Interesting though :-) Yes, English Butler is a Canadian home decor store but I don't know if they are all across the country. Sorry you can't find the birds where you live.
Pamela