It’s Boxing Day but I still have a couple cookie recipes I wanted to post before Christmas, before I was railroaded by situations with the pets and ridiculous car troubles (we’ve used CAA’s towing services three times in a week, including on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – yay). So bear with me while I…
Wish I may, wish I might
Got my new 6-point star-effect filter in the mail today (from Hong Kong! I ordered it on eBay on December 15… ironically I’m still waiting for a package of photos which are part of a Christmas present that I ordered on December 12, from a 20 minute drive away. Screw you Canada Post). I was…
Prize Shortbread
Every Christmas for as long as I can remember my Mom made these little coin-sized shortbread cookies with green and red maraschino cherries (before we go any further, it’s an absolute myth that maraschino cherries contain formaldehyde). This is another well-loved recipe from my ancient copy of A Guide to Good Cooking by Five Roses…
Vanilla Almond Crescents (a.k.a. Kipferl)
I made these cookies without knowing beforehand that they’re actually a traditional German cookie called Kipferl. I found this out while I was looking for a recipe for Lebkuchen, a German Christmas cookie that I love but have never made from scratch before. Chris’s family has German/Lithuanian heritage so I’ve become more interested lately in…
It’s a sad day
I’m very saddened to share with you that my kitty Spud passed away this afternoon, quite suddenly. Chris and I came home from work early because of the snow storm, around mid-afternoon, and after being home about an hour or so, we realized that we hadn’t seen the cats yet. I found Spud down in…
Psychedelic cookies
I haven’t made these before but they look so cool that I just had to try them out, and they’re pretty simple too. These, and most of the Christmas cookies I make annually are from an ancient, well-loved copy of A Guide to Good Cooking by Five Roses Flour. I have no idea how old…
My ugly carrot cake that tastes like heaven
A couple of months ago I was reminded of my own fantastic carrot cake recipe when my pal Alice made it as her son’s first birthday cake. I hadn’t made it ages, and the other day Smitten Kitchen posted her own recipe with a maple-cream cheese frosting which I just had to try out. You…
There’s no denying it, winter is here
This past weekend I entered another time zone: winter. With SNOW. Lots of it. It never ceases to amaze me when I drive to the farm in the winter. Toronto and Stratford area are like two different countries at this time of year. As of Friday evening there was nothing but bare ground in Toronto…
A little self-analysis: why I create
I’m a total CBC podcast junkie. I have at least a dozen or so programs that I subscribe and listen to weekly. I love thoughtful talk radio and my workplace isn’t really conducive to listening to the radio, so I try to keep up with my favourite shows this way. Recently I was listening to…
Made with love
Magnus’s stocking is all done and I’m making a trip to the farm this weekend to make the special delivery. I really wanted to add a personalized tag to the stocking, so that later when my wee nephew is older, he’ll know who made it for him. I did a little searching online thinking I’d…