The Christmas Outside

As far as the forecast for this area is concerned, we are into another GREEN CHRISTMAS which for me is ok, but 1 or two days of snow for Thomas and Michael would be fine by me ;0 ok, maybe a few more for Michael LOL being 8 years old and no snow is a hardship; being over 50 and no snow is not a hardship, unless your a Christmas-holic who goes overboard with the decorations outside; the picture at the top of this page is from several years ago, and gives you an idea of what it is like at night; today I took a few pictures and here is the best one ;) if we get snow will take some more then; but for now this is as good as it gets; btw, read the blue sign LOL

uploaded a 5mb pic, but it is still only showing as a 47 kb strange, 

the blue sign says, Merry Christmas, Think Snow; 

Taste Test the two MM Recipes

Well, here it is, where the rubber meets the road; at the top, being a wee bit blond, is the new comer; though an older recipe, by probably 30-40 years, it is a plain Jane, unpretentious, not out to impress; the older recipe that has been used for the past 10 years or more, is a standard modern day MM that gets it's beginning at the turn of the century, 19th to 20th that is; it is loaded with spices and fruit, and is not ashamed to be known as a Traditional English MM Recipe; so, which is best,
    the Traditional Recipe, Dark Colour, the spices are most noticeable in the taste, and the amount of fruit gives it a chewy texture; whereas, the Light Coloured, Older Recipe, has a tangy flavour, imparted by the two main ingredients, Lemon, and Black Currant, it is less chewy, but more of a savory; either should do well at the dinner, for those that like Mince Meat, but I am thinking that for those that don't, if they try either, the Blond will make new friends ;-)
     my own opinion: I am looking forward to having the blond bomb next year as a 1 year old; she may just unseat the other one as a favourite;

Deep in the Past

This week Thomas has been trying to find the recipes for some of the things we used get at Christmas when we were kids; Snowballs, Strawberry Candies, Coconut Ice, and some other treats; of course the Mincemeat and the Cakes and Puddings came from Wonderbread Bakery, as we had a delivery man that came around the neighbourhood on a regular basis, just like the egg lady and the milk man;
     I have found a few of the treats in a book that Mom left me,

Let’s Cook!

Compiled By

14^th Peterborough

Scout Ladies Auxiliary

Murray Street Baptist Church

Peterborugh, Ontario

I haven't tried any of them yet, but when things quieten down after the holidays, will have a go at them; and report here the results; update, I have tried several of the recipes over the years, just didn't know it ;-) Unbaked Chocolate Cookies, Tomato Soup Cake, English Coconut Ice (think Kendal Cake, Michelle ;-) and Date Squares; perhaps there are others; thinking that I will be dipping into it a bit this year, along with the one below, Mrs Beeton's book  ;)
       was out with Lisa and Thomas and got looking at the stand up Mixers, and asked a lady what she was looking for in one, as I had no idea which to look for; well, she took me through some of the features, and then asked me how much I would be using it; well, I am thinking at least 1 to 2 times a week, so she recommended Kitchen Aid, as it is all metal construction, some have plastic gears; so guess that I will save up for this KA ;)

     Mom was into making pickled red cabbage and pickle-lily, as well as a few other things from the garden, horse radish ;) for dinner garnishes; that I would like to try to find the recipes for; I do have a verrrrrry tattered old recipe book without cover, index mostly gone, and falling apart really; she bought it when she got married, back in 1947, so I am assuming that it is one she used a lot; may find these recipes there; 

      But a few days ago, I found a recipe book online, that I had heard about, but never seen; I think every British cook has heard of this book, though like me only know it by reputation; Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management;

http://www.mrsbeeton.com/

I understand that it sold like hot cakes back in the day, 1861 ;) and so there should be many copies available still in England, so when I am there next, or perhaps online, will look for a copy for myself; she has a lot of recipes that are familiar and yet different, reading it is like being back home, yet not quite ;-) I did the Mincemeat recipe from her book, and tonight will be sampling some of it in tarts, comparing it to some I made from a modern recipe last year; report to follow BWG
      OK, the cheapest one I have seen is a Facsimile copy for 50 pounds ;( unless someone wants to buy me a first edition for 2000 pounds LOL don't you dare, would want to put it behind a glass case ;-) will make do with the online version for now; 

The Big Clean Up and >>>

ok, today a good man went to war!!!! or in other words, I cleaned the site of the battle that will ensue over the next fortnight or so; hard to believe only 3 more weeks and it will be Christmas Eve; it is coming fast; I won't show any pictures of the clean up, tooo embarrassing ;( had to have a nap afterwards; and then I got the cedar log that I cut off of a larger log (Thomas got the other piece) for a Christmas Yule Log ;-) the picture is above; yes I know that it is plain, but give me a break, it is only just made ;-) but for now, just a little bit of fun,

Ok, a bit later ;) and have decorated the log with pine cones and imitation cherries or small crab apples, depending on your inclination ;-)

and another update, like a week later ;) I have added some birds and pine branches; 

below is a piece of Bristlecone Pine that I picked up in the SW United States back in around 2003; I have attached with wires some birds, and put it on the book shelf my father made back in the mid 60's 

Merry Christmas Everyone!! 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi if someone has been thinking that I have slacked off, they would be wrong!!
CLEANED up the kitchen, got rid of a lot of debris from decorating, and made room for cooking; we have the 28 lb "Raptor"  in the fridge defrosting; we think it will take 2 weeks ;-) the list of cookies has been "finalized"; which means that we have decided on the basic minimum and if we have time, energy and funds or ingredients, we may do more ;) I was able to put off the paying of the internet bill, Teksavvy, courtesy of a lovely lady at their accounting department, now all I have to worry about is the Gov't being on time with my CPP ;)
    last night I made the decision to try the Noel cookie recipe for a Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe; substituting the Peanut butter for the butter/margarine; well it turns out that the peanut butter is not as moist as the butter/margarine, the dough was crumbly not holding any shape; so I tried adding some soft margarine, but it wasn't working, so a bit of milk, and it came together; this morning I tried the same recipe, to see if it was a fluke, but no, it still happened even though I put 1/3 cup of margarine in with the peanut butter; so I measured 1 Tbsp at a time in, mixing between, for total of 2 Tbsp; I now have two batches of batter in the freezer, with 28 cookies made from them; the picture is from the second batch;

now for the recipe; 

       Preheat the oven to 375 F, but if like mine it is fast (hot) then decrease accordingly

        Blend or sift (whichever is your preference)

              2 cups of either Cake and Pastry flour or All Purpose Flour

              1/2 Tsp baking soda

              1/2 Tsp salt (I use a pinch)

         Cream together

               1 Cup peanut butter (either 1 cup of crunchy or soft, or 1/2 cup of each)

               2/3 Cup white sugar

               2/3 Cup dark or light brown sugar

               (at this point I added 1/3 cup of margarine, more on that later)

         Beat in

              1 large egg

              1 Tsp of vanilla extract

          Beat until it is well mixed and then for 5 minutes longer, on low speed; don't expect it to become light and fluffy, it won't ;-) 

          Stir in flour mixture with spoon, fork or spatula; then beat with mixer or use hands to knead it further; 

           it is at this point you will notice that it is not holding together, even with the added margarine; I added 2 Tbsp of milk, one at a time, mixing by hand in between additions; 

          cooked for 12 minutes at 300 F, because my oven is hot; they came out slightly flat, and crisp; I think that it is a recipe worth working on, so I will try another batch later on; maybe leaving out the margarine, and adding more milk if necessary; last nights batch were raised up and chewy, not crisp; both still edible, but would prefer the chewy ones myself ;-)

         and now I am waiting for Thomas to recover from shaving some wood off bottom of the front door and we will perhaps go get some more ingredients for baking; need either the hard margarine or real butter for the Noel Cookies and a few other recipes; stay tuned, more coming up; 

Change of Plans

Today was suppose to be finish clean up (wash the floors and clean the oven) but because of some instructions from above, the kitchen is rather cramped;
   So Plans of Change ;-) I have begun the Mincemeat Recipe from Mrs Beeton, with suitable amendments for the modern palate; leave out the 1 1/2 lb lean beef and 3 lbs of suet ;-) as well, for the citron, I tried substituted the zest of one lime and for the candied peel I substituted mixed peel; this was before we went out shopping for the raisins, and found the peel I was missing; I have cut the recipe in half, for expedience sake; it may not measure up to expectations; at the bottom you will find her recipe as found in Wikipedia's entry;

Amended Mince Meat Recipe as I made it this year; next year I will omit the lime zest and the candied peel ;-)
     

     2 1/2 lbs or 1/2 pottle of apples
     1 lb of raisins (mix of dark and light is good)
     2 lbs of currants in preserve
     1 lb of Dark Brown Sugar
     1 lime, the zest (put in before we went shopping ;-)
     2 oz candied citron peel
     2 oz candied orange peel
     2 oz candied lemon peel
     2 oz of mixed candied peel  (put in before we went shopping ;-)
     1/2 sm nutmeg
     1 lemon, the peel minced (chopped) (scraped the white pith)
     1 lemon, 1/2 the juice
     1/2 pint or 1 cup of brandy; I used the almond sherry

     For today, I began by weighing out 3 lbs of apples from which I was able, after paring and coring, to have 2 1/2 lbs of apples or 1/2 pottle; then I took a pastry cutter/blender and mashed the apple into manageable sizes; ie pea and slightly bigger; to this I added 1 cup (1/2 pint) of alcohol, in this case almond sherry; I was at first worried that the almond flavour would over power the rest, but it hasn't;
     then I added a jar of preserved black currants from NoFrills, they are an import from Poland; the contents weigh about 2 lbs, including the syrup, so I figure I am getting a minimum of 1 1/2 lbs of currants; I put in 2-3 oz of mixed candied peel, that I had left over from last year; and grated 1/2 of a small nutmeg; to which I added the 1 lb of dark brown sugar; I will go and grate the zest off of one lime and that will be as much as I can do for now, until I get out to pick up the raisins and lemon; then it will be done;
      I had the idea of adding imitation currants (the dried currants that are sold at bulk barn, are actually a small grape) and ground cranberry to substitute for the meat, but have decided to pass on that for this try;

       Some observations:
       I have found making this mincemeat to be rather a quicker one than the previous ones that I have done; perhaps it has to do with the quantity, as the peeling and coring takes a lot of the time, but then too, some of the other ingredients like the oranges, take a lot longer to process;
       the added benefit of putting in the liquor to the apples, is that they stop turning brown, remaining white;
        and the REAL black currants definitely add something to the smell and flavour of the mix; I think though, next time, I might crush 1/2 of them before adding;
         the candied peel does not make as big an impact as in modern recipes, which call for more, so I think the old peel may have had more flavour to it than present day peel
        Thomas says that the Citron is half way between a lemon and lime, so I am in the right territory with the lime zest;

This is the mincemeat before adding the raisins and lemon; click to enlarge; right click to download and view in a picture viewer; with the latter you can zoom in and get a better better idea of the sizes of the apple pieces ;-) the item at the side of the bowl is the pastry blender; when I get the raisins in, I'll take another picture;
   Well, I found the orange peel, lemon peel, AND the citron peel, at the Bulk Barn; I bought Thompson's Seedless Raisins, and Sultana Raisins; and added the lemon, which I scraped the white pith off; and chopped up the remaining peel and added the juice; it does taste a lot different than regular bought mincemeat now; more tangy; so now I have it in a plastic container with lid, and it works out to about 7-8 lbs; it appears wet, but think the raisins will soak up some of that; will see how it is in 3 weeks ;) think a pie is most appropriate at this point in time;

A 19th century recipe c. 1865, by Mrs Beeton

2 lbs raisins

3 lbs currants

1½ lbs lean beef

3 lbs beef suet

2 lbs moist sugar

2 oz citron

2 oz candied lemon peel

2 oz candied orange peel

1 small nutmeg

1 pottle of apples

the rind of two lemons, the juice of one

1/2 pint brandy

Stone and cut the raisins once or twice across, but do not chop them; wash, dry and pick the currants free from stalks and grit, and mince the beef and suet, taking care the latter is chopped very fine; slice the citron and candied peel, grate the nutmeg, and pare, core and mince the apples; mince the lemon peel, strain the juice and when all the ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together, adding the brandy when the other things are well blended; press the whole into a jar, carefully exclude the air, and the mincemeat will be ready for use in a fortnight

Time Passes Quickly

when last I posted I was walking 7 K a day, but on November 4th I twisted my Left Knee and have been out of circulation for a month; but I'm back and Christmas is now 22 days away;
update: we bought a 28 lb turkey and then found out that our roast pan would not hold the bird; we now have a Tin foil roaster that will hold the offending bird ;-) however Paul, has offered to do a bird for Christmas; ok, well, scratch one job LOL
Mark has offered to help with the funding of the Christmas treats, ie the cakes and cookies; so now we have it split 3 ways we are in a better position to do the baking;
I have come up with 6 cookies for Christmas that 4 that are traditional around here, and 2 that aren't; Ginger Bread, Short Bread, Unbaked Chocolate Cookies, Mint Chocolate Chip / mixed peel cookies (aka Heroine Cookies), and the two that aren't, Almond Cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies; if anyone wants other's we will discuss it;
The plan is to do one batch each and set out a platter with 12 cookies from each batch; see how long 72 cookies last around here; the idea to start the cooking around the 12th of the month, or 12 days before Christmas Eve; with an average of 50 cookies per batch that's 300 cookies ;-)
2 weeks ago I boiled the Ginger for the Ginger Beer, and today I took the liquid and reboiled it, 11.5 L, and added 5 cups of sugar; I bottled 2 gallons, or 9 L and the remainder (about 1.5 and .75 {2.25})I put in a 1 gallon jug, and topped it off with apple juice, about 2 l; this latter is an experiment; I put air locks on 2 and a cap that will pop under pressure on the other, and will leave them for 3 weeks; Thomas says they will ferment on their own;
we were given 20 lbs of potatoes yesterday, after buying 10 lbs the day before, and have 5 lbs left from a previous bag; so I have proposed making a batch of potato flour, for latkas ;-) there was a time when Thomas made them every Christmas, so we will try to restart this tradition; will try to get some pictures of the process;
I have found a web site for Mrs Beeton's Housekeeping Management and Cookery book c. 1865, www.mrsbeeton.com and found that the recipes, while old and often with obscure ingredients, are not all that difficult to follow; a recipe for Mincemeat caught my eye, and I am eager to have a try at it, with some adjustments to modern eating habits, ie discard the 1 1/2 lbs of lean beef, and 3 lbs of suet ;) and substitute something a little more politically correct for our time;

 

OK this is the first actual Christmas Tree that I have had since 2005; so it is a mile stone for me; to get I had to re arrange my room, after I had done some work on raising the bed about 1 foot higher to get "stuff" under it; the results are below, before I decorated the tree; feel more like I have a room to live in rather than a room to crash; there is an arm chair to the right in the picture below that is just out of the picture. which is actually useful now and quite comfortable; so Christmas and Thanksgiving have arrived together this year ;-) as always, click on the picture to enlarge; 

That's about as much as I can think of; will update more later; Cheers,