In the spirit of all things Christmas, Cab has been decorating today again. She got a pretty good start hauling everything out last night, but we both forgot how much we have accumulated over the years! Our favorite thing was the tall skinny tree we found on clearance at Home Depot last year after Christmas so it was still brand new in the box. She plopped an angel rag doll that was gifted to me several years ago atop it and she totally OWNS the tree! I really like the cranberry garland, the giant acorns, and the tiny multi-colored lights that play music and blink! We are thrilled with the results.
I now realize I should have started last year on December 26 and worked full time every day on all the things I now want to handcraft for everyone. Tablecloths, crib sheets, pillowcases, quilts, stockings, hats, table runners...how many can one woman create in just 23 days?
I am now asking Cab what her Christmas wish list is. 1-Dog 2-Dog 3-Dog, oh! #4-Dog! Unfortunately, a dog is not in my rental contract; in fact NO PETS is in my contract. Top three breeds: Bernese Mountain Dog, Border Collie, Austrailian Shepherd. We are watching 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' and she just exclaimed "See, even the grinch has a dog!". I think we need a farm with lots of space for running, a few sheep, a little brown cow for me, a piglet or two, maybe an alpaca, some cats, three goats (billy & nanny with kid), and a farmhouse with a wrap around porch. There is a great room for large family gatherings, a studio for me to create in, and a library for studies. On the porch a wrought-iron swing, and a swingset with playhouse for the babies. A rail and bowl for the skaters. There are fruit trees in the orchard and a greenhouse for my blomster man; bees with hives supply plenty of honey and pollinate our trees, flowers, and garden. This is my grown-up Christmas wish. Heaven.
The following is a comment I posted to Allison of Scarcity and Abundance a few days ago. She had a post about bread and I suggested a particular wheat bread recipe that I love and I put cream cheese and pumpkin butter on it when it's cooled. My little B loves it. Allison asked for a recipe and I found this:
My Betty Crocker's Old Fashioned cookbook has a recipe for Honey Apple Butter. It could be easily converted.
1 quart sweet apple cider
8 cups pared, cored and quartered cooking apples (about 3 pounds)
1 lemon; peeled, sliced and seeded
1 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat cider to boiling in large dutch oven. Boil uncovered until reduced to 2 cups - about 15 minutes. Add apples and lemon. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 1 hour until apples are soft. Mash with potato masher or ricer to remove all lumps. Stir in honey, sugar and cinnamon. Heat to boiling, reduce heat, simmer about 1 1/2 hours until no liquid separates from pulp. Pour mixture into hot sterilized jars leaving headspace. Wipe rims, seal with boiling water bath or steamer. Cool. Makes about 5 half pints.
(My grandma taught me to make it in the oven in a giant roaster pan. We would gather a pailful of apples that had dropped from the trees and remove the bruises, birdpecks, and wormholes. She let it bake all day stirring occasionally, and it made considerably more than 5 half pints.)
If I were converting, I would probably add some pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon. I would also cook the pumpkin in water if I didn't have any apple cider. I might even try adding some cream at the end of the simmering process to a small portion that would be used immediately. (Make sure pumpkin isn't boiling when you add cream or it will curdle.) You can also make pear butter, but you don't have to boil the pears initially for as long as the apples if they are yellow and ripe.
Wednesday I made bread using the water drained from boiling the potatoes from Monday night's dinner. I was interrupted in the middle of the second rising with an errand that couldn't wait, so I just put the loaves in the fridge until I returned. You only need to wait 10 minutes to put it into the oven, and that's about how long it takes the oven to heat. It is a miracle to stir up a few ingredients that the earth yields up and together they live and grow and nourish. The loaves turned out divine. I am grateful for such simple and delicious pleasures in this life!