The Staff of Life: Bread

Ok, this is going to be tricky; as I don't know how to create web sites, this will have to do for a section on BREADS. I'll edit it as needed, adding recipes and tips...

Feb 14^th 2014: yup Valentines Day, and I decided to do some bread. A Challah Bread to be exact. Had tried some Artesian 5 minute bread earlier in the week and it was a flop (pun intended) Well, this days attempt was worse than a flop, it failed to make any attempt to raise to the occasion. My error on both occasions appears, (on reflection and getting up at 2:30 am Saturday Morning, to search the internet,) to have been the flour. It said All Purpose, but is behaving and looking (those little brown flecks are a dead giveaway) like whole wheat. The remedy was in the way I mixed the dough. 

The recipe ingredients

    1 1/4 c water (luke warm??)

    2 TBSP active yeast

    1/4 cup sugar (??)

    1/4 TSP salt

    5 cups of AP flour (3-4 cups whole wheat)

    oil to coat dough for rises 

    1 extra large egg and some honey, for coating bread before baking

 Method:

1) Add 2 cups of hot water, two tbsp sugar and two tablespoons of yeast. in a large bowl; proof 10-15 minutes

2) Add more sugar 2+ tbsp, the salt required

3) Add to mixture 2 cups of flour, stir

4) Add 1 more cup of Flour stir until thick, then get hands in and begin to knead the dough. 

5) Add 1/2 cup there after each time needed; dough should only be slightly sticky, like tape, not gumming up the fingers, not so dry as to be no stick at all...towards the end, flour your hands while kneading, to keep from adding too much flour, and get the dough to the right consistency. Knead for 15 minutes. 

    Kneading is an art in itself. Some believe you have to have a floured bread board, or some large bowl with flour in it... myself, I found just handling the dough, twisting and folding it, was the easiest method here. Unless one is making dough for 4+ loaves of bread, there is no need for anything more. 

For making bread: 

      Divide into two balls, coat with oil and set aside to rise in separate bowls, covered.

      Let rise for 1 hour in pan, to double, punch down, and either braid the bread with 3 ropes of dough, or re-coat ball with oil and let rise again, until suitable. 

   

(It was chilly in the house, so I left it to rise again for 1 hour, but normally it should only take 30 minutes, according to the recipe. This is something to keep in mind for later. Have read that heating the oven to 200 and turn it off, and putting the pan or tray in the oven, with the door ajar, will get it to rising temperature in a chilly house)

      Coat bread with the honey egg solution, and sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top

 or 

     Coat with flour and slash with a bread knife either diagonally or horizontally, and put a tray of water in the oven; this will ensure a firm crust.

      Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown

For making buns:

       don't let rise, flatten to 1/2 inch, cut into circles with large cup, (I got 6 buns) and lay on tray... let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how you want them. They did tend to rise a bit more in the oven when left to rise for 30 minutes. Haven't done a batch for 1 hour yet ;) 

  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees...  

New Beginnings and A New Content's Page

This is not about New Years Resolutions, that come and go
I have been a LOT lax in keeping up my blogs, and for that I am guilty
However, time to get on the wagon and try my best to make it up....

Have moved into new digs, and have made a decision to record as much of what I have in the way of self discovery on of all things, PAPER ;-) while at the same time slipping as much as is practical to the ELECTRONIC PAPER... How this will work out in progress is anyone's guess at the moment...

First Step: I have been collecting together in a folder, favorite recipes, and have now begun to organize that folder, into what I hope will be the contents pages of a Cookery Book... at present, this page here will be my online equivalent of the folder and the Word Doc contents page.... any critiques or comments, additions etc welcome...
     While this will be the Christmas Section of the Book, (I am planning on another blog to do the book in it's entirety) there will no doubt be some overlap with the more normal sections, like breads, pastries, cakes etc... So treat the following as a work in progress, not a finished product:; there will be over the months / years additions and subtractions....  and I will be posting the recipes in later posts, or updating recipes that I have already posted.... Be patient with me ;-)

My Cook Book as of January 10th

 Contents:

Tips, Weights and Measures, Charts:

            Weights and Measure Charts

            What Type of Sugar is THAT

            Making your own Graham Flour / aka Whole Wheat Flour

            Making your own Whole Oat Flour

            Substitutions

Drinks and Beverages

            Mulled Cider

            Homemade Mead & Wine

Candies

            Oreo Truffles

            President’s Choice Decadent Lemon Cookie Truffles

            Real Truffles from BBC

           Fudge:

                    Simple Basic Recipe w/variations

Condiments

            Lemon Curd

            Basic Curd Recipe

 Desserts

            Michelle’s Apple Crisp

Cookies

            Sally’s BA, Chocolate Chip Cookies

           Coconut Macaroons

 Cakes

           Tomato Soup Cake w/ Cream Cheese frosting

Pastries

            Pie/Tart Pastry

                        Elizabeth’s Pastry Shell

                        Sally’s Secret Ingredient Flaky Pastry

            Puff Pastry

            Pies:    Elizabeth’s Cloves Apple Pie

            Squares etc:     Baklava Simplified

Breads

            5 Minutes Bread

            Biscuits

            Buns

            Challah Bread

            Artesian Breads

Muffins

Christmas

            Paul’s Sausage Rolls

            Mince Meat: 2 Recipes

                              20^th Cent. Traditional

                              Mrs Beeton’s 19^th Cent. Traditional

 Christmas Fruit Cake  

 Christmas Day Trifle 

          Puddings: several recipes:

Pudding Broken Hill, NSW, Australia

Traditional Recipe

          Noel Cookies: 2 Recipes

                              Sally’s BA Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe

                              Thomas’ adaptation of Chocolate Chip Cookies

         Paul’s Turkey Cooking Directions

         Short Bread Butter Cookies 

         Ginger Bread Ornaments or Men

         Ginger Bread House Cookie Jars

         Cathy’s Cinnamon Rolls

        Unbaked Chocolate or Stove Top Cookies, by Betty Martyn

        Hot Apple Cinnamon / Cloves Punch
        Ginger Beer aka Bob Crachit
        Crock Pot Hot Apple Spice Punch 

        Apple pies – Cinnamon (Costco), Cloves (Homemade)

        Pumpkin Pies – (Costco)

           

           

Dinners

            Curries

            Meats

Breakfast

            Anili’s Euro Pancakes/Crepes

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, 

The Gun Has Sounded

and we are off to the races ;)
Cathy's Mom, at age 75, has given up the idea that she is 30 and can still put on the Family Holiday Dinners; it happened on October 24th, when Cathy asked her about Christmas, and she said, she couldn't keep doing it, perhaps we could all go out to a nice restaurant, and not have the preparation or clean up; that went over like a lead balloon;
So now it is here at the house; Cathy is in charge of the meal, though we will do our 31 lb Turkey, and and perhaps some other bird ;) as well as Christmas Eve, Christmas Breakfast, and Christmas Dinners Desserts ;-) English Traditions; which we were told, not everyone likes, so while we will try to accommodate, Cathy will buy whatever other's want ;)
Thomas is still in Halloween Mode, so hard to get him to talk recipes, and menus; but I am hopeful that we will have a sit down the first week of November; in the meantime, I'll make lists here, and see what happens when the lists meet reality ;)

Christmas 2011

ok!! lets get this kicked off right; have blogged about the weight, now how about the feast as the end ;) yup, there will be a Christmas feast; The Cratchets should be so lucky to have such bounty!! LOL
Well, perhaps not, it will be heavily improvised this year; aside from the Mincemeat (I made a single batch for this year) the cake, and two puddings are hold overs from 2009 so very well cured ;-) At the end of last year, I put aside some of the ingredients for cookies and such, so that we would have a start for this year; as it turns out, it was a good idea; we have mint chocolate chips, and Black Currant preserve; red and green cherries, almond paste, spices, and sliced almonds, custard powder and jellos for the Tryfle ; the cake, puddings and the Mincemeat will be "seasoned" tomorrow, for the last time, it makes up 4 Litres, more than adequate for the family; all that needs purchasing, can be done between now and the beginning of December; we have a Christmas Turkey (31 lbs) and if money permits we may have a Goose and Ham for those who desire it; no guarantees ;)
now to make a list of things we would need/like for cooking:

Small Tarts shells from Almost Perfect
Butter
Candied Peel
Flour for baking 10 kg
Molasses
Sugar, white and brown

How to lose 72 pounds in a year!!

Oct 26th 2011
it is now almost a year later, and I have NOT lost 72 lbs; not even close; there have been several mitigating circumstances; primary is that income remained variable, and the leg is still not working as well as I had hoped; I am now "permanently" using a cane when out walking; the knee has a habit of locking up when least expected, making for an unstable centre of gravity, that if I hadn't the cane, I would possibly pitch over on my face ;(
on the bright side, I have been slowly working since February on an exercise machine, that I am hopeful will be finished before Christmas, which will help strengthen the thigh muscle in the damaged leg; it having atrophied over the past 2 years;
as well I have been walking with weights since January 2011; I bought myself a set of ice cleats for my boots, and they do work; not perfect in high winds, but adequate with caution; I have been able to walk up to the doctor's office, about 4 miles, in both winter and late spring; and a daily set routine of 7 kl (in 1 1/4 hour) with weights varying from 18 to 25 lbs; this to improve endurance and heart strength; not to loose weight or improve the leg, though it appears to have worked on the knee, increasing muscle around the surgery area;
so now for the interesting part: I will be going on the fast again until Christmas; without looking at the scales or charts; just cut back on the intake of food and increase the water or tea (btw coffee is out now; found it was causing leg swelling this past two months) the food should be easy, as the price of groceries has skyrocketed, and I am now finding I am living more out of the freezer and making my own bread, etc to compensate; so with this blog post, as the start, Tomorrow is the day one ;)
Starting weight I will post tomorrow, and again November 25th (or there about) and again on December 20th; goal, to be below 200 lbs by Christmas, by however much I can manage;
***********************************************************
November 8th 2010
Hi, this is a semi humourous post; semi because this time last year I weighed about 195 lbs, and had weighed that for several years, while trying to lose 25 lbs; then last Christmas when we were trying to have a traditional Christmas, I gained about 20-25 lbs; what with cooking early to make sure of technique and quantity. The Christmas Chocolate Chip cookies, called affectionately Heroin Cookies, because a batch of 48 could go in a night amongst 5 people, were a real problem; not to forget the Broken Hill Pudding of which I was eating a whole one myself, sliced like thick bread, per day until I had the method down pat, but by then it was too late!!
So this year, I have fought the battle of the bulge and lost 6 lbs of that weight gained, at least 12 times, probably more; so for arguments sake, we will say I lost 72 lbs this year; yesterday I went out with my friend AJ, to A&W, and had an Uncle Burger, Fries and Rootbeer; but before I went out, I thought I would get into some jeans that I hadn't put on for over a year; well, one pair barely done up and there were parts of my anatomy that were in danger of being strangled ;-), the others were a dead lose, couldn't squeeze into them no matter what I did; and no I didn't lay on the ground and try to get into them ;)
That is the humourous part; what is not so humourous, is that my cardiologist (yeah I have one) told me last spring that I had to lose at least 40 lbs, and a test I did online to see how long I would live given my general health and habits, I took twice; once as I am now, and the second with changes in habit, diet and weight; the difference was about 10 years; and that is with present medical technology;
I just went upstairs, and Adam is making pancakes for his daughter, and he made more than enough for the family ;) of course the smell is wafting down the stairs into my room; but I have to start a fast to lose at LEAST 10 lbs in the next 20 days; there is a chart below that I will be filling out, plus I will be keeping track of my food intake on a 11 1/2 by 8 inch sheet, food diary, attached to the Fridge door to keep me honest; it has been toooooo easy to get up in the middle of the night or during the day and eating at irregular times, to graze at the food ;-)
With all the variety of food that there is to choose from to cook and bake for Christmas, (and I will be posting the recipe collection soon) perhaps this is a family tradition after all ;-) I will be posting progress reports from the front (and the rear) as the battle wages;
Just to be clear, this is not a religious or complete fast, but a cutting out of the extras and cutting down on what is above my output level; I know exercise is important, and if your dieting or about to, then you have to increase that as you decrease your intake; common sense, no! but right now I am limited to what I can do, and will be for a while, so will work out something here in the basement as I set up the workshop and other improvements; while the blogs and other computer related work is important, there are other areas of life that are as well; so somewhere I have to find a balance; this too I will get back to you on '-)
Cheers

What are Christmas Traditions

I have been thinking this past couple of days about "Why am I hitting my head against the lack of Enthusiasm for Christmas traditions amongst my family and others??" only a few people are involved in Christmas, and other's are either expecting the Old Folks to Make Christmas, or are doing the commercial thing, of buying ready made products; to busy to be involved in the Real Spirit of Christmas

Some of it can be laid at the feet of Parents who have done everything, and not involved the kids; for others it is our fast paste lives, spread out from Family and Friends; while still more likely is the lack of any desire to get into a Seasonal Spirit of Past Traditions Handed Down, it's too much work and takes time, so not the quick fix that the Fast Food / Instant Gratification Society wants life to be;

My generation may be the last one to have grown up with and done for themselves the Christmas Traditions, at least as far as I know in my own immediate family; only one Daughter has any inclination to Make Christmas, and she married a man who is into that as well; regardless of his other faults, he is still someone that I am glad is in the family ;-)

This year we will have our first Christmas Dinner here at the house, with a Pot Luck, overly organized but still a start; then on New Years Day, we are planning another dinner Pot Luck, we will have more of the traditions of the family, with additions from my daughter's husband, mixing in; it will be a Made Celebration, not bought; home made beer, mead, punch, wines; puddings, cakes, and year old mincemeat I started last January; 4-5 traditional cookies, cinnamon buns, Christmas Tryfle and Jul log rolls; the nuts, cold cuts, cheeses, with home made sausage rolls, buns and breads; and of course The Real Music and Movies of Christmas !!

But Christmas Traditions are more than just food and partying; they are just a way of sharing and caring amongst the family; each one bringing what they do best, and making up the Celebration; for the religious or spiritual amongst us, it is a concrete way of sharing the Gift of the Messiah with the family and friends; by going amongst the houses and visiting, sharing a drink, cookies or cold lunches, along with chat and hugs, that is building relationships that epitomize the Spirit of the Season; whatever religion we belong to it is universal to people at this time of transition in the yearly calendar;

What to me are important traditions, won't be important to others, and while I won't do all their traditions, I will realize they are important to them and respect their doing and sharing; in the end we all grow and develop as people and friends; if I had not met the Wagners and other Northern and Eastern Europeans, I would not have the joy and pleasure of those traditions in my Christmas, added to my own families traditions; it is an evolving organic celebration that can and will change with each generation, but the core is always there; as my son said in November, Christmas to him now, would not be Christmas without the Weihnachten Lieder or German Christmas Songs to those who don't know the term;

Prettige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Noflike Krystdagen en in Lokkich Nijjier
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année
Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår
God Jul og Godt Nyttår
God jul och gott nytt år
Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo
Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Veselé Vánoce a Šastný Nový Rok!
Hyvää Joulua Ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta!
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
Wesolych swiat i szczesliwego nowego roku

More on Mulled Cider Recipes

Mulled Cider Recipes

First a definition - what is Mulled Cider or Wines, what does it mean;

Mull: 

To warm or heat up (perhaps that is why it is also used for reflective thinking ;)

Mulled:

Warmed up (a beverage, esp. wine, beer, or cider) and added spices and sweetening to a beverage

a tankard of mulled ale

shall we mull some apple (juice) cider with cranberries and cinnamon 

             So mulled cider seems to have been a drink that was a common man’s beverage; it was made from whatever was available to hand, similar to his versions of wine and mead; in this case a base of apple juice, with a cover of herbs and other flavours, which range from various other fruits to spices; it would have been an experiment carried over many years and perhaps generations, as recipes were refined and quality was improved; the Gingerbeer recipes of the later 17^th to 19^th century would have been just one that became a staple of commercial and home brewing life;

      Below are a few that I have found on the web, and some that I have worked out myself; I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is which LOL

         Dave

 

HOT MULLED CRANBERRY CIDER   

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,hot_mulled_cider,FF.html       

1 (32 oz.) bottle cranberry juice cocktail (4 c.)

1 (32 oz.) bottle apple juice (4 c.)

6 cinnamon-apple herbal tea bags

6 (8 inch long) cinnamon sticks

 

1. In 3 quart saucepan over high heat, heat cranberry juice and apple juice to boiling. Remove from heat. Add tea bags. Cover and brew 5 minutes.

 

2. Remove tea bags. Serve in glass mugs and use cinnamon sticks as swizzle sticks.

 

This is a drink to sip by a warm fire on a cold autumn day.

Gingerbread Dough and Royal Icing

well, it is time to do a Gingerbread house and cookies; at least it was a few weeks ago, and now after much procrastination, here are the results ;-)

first the cookies; (not many left to photograph I am NOT sorry to say ;-)

it is the same batter / dough as for the house so we will dispense with a repeat post:

First you will want to get the ingredients out; 

1/2 cup Shortening, 1 Egg and 1/2 cup Molasses at room temperature, leave out over night if you keep it in the fridge; 2/3 cup white sugar (I use 1/3 white and 1/3 DARK brown) 

    now here they suggest that you creme' the sugar and the shortening together and add the other ingredients one at a time; I have just plopped the lot in a bowl and with a spoon mixed it up; it still worked out well, your choice;

but my advice, the molasses and the shortening MUST be room temperature if you are using a hand mixer, as this is really tough on the motor; but if at room temp, it is also easy to mix by hand and save electricity ;-) if you are taking the molasses and shortening out of the fridge and using cold, then my advice is to use a pastry cutter or sharp knife to cut into small pea size pieces before using the hand mixer; just a bit of experience of the past 3 weeks making 5 batches ;-) 

    hmmmmmmm at this point it calls for 1/4 cup of hot water to be blended in; perhaps it pays to read the recipe ;( ok, next time; but you use it; it might help out a bit LOL ;-) 

     it says to gradually stir in the dry ingredients; ok, that would be the 2 1/2 cups of cake and pastry flour (ummmmmm, I used All Purpose in the first two batches, just removed a Tbsp for each batch, and sifted 2 times) 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp nutmeg ground, 1 1/2 tsp of ginger ground; stir it up or sift it once; would be a good idea to do this before doing the wet ingredients, then it is ready when needed; combine with the molasses mixture and beat the h... (ooooops keeping it PG ;-) batter well until it is mixed; 

if your really getting into it, and you find that you want a darker batch, you can add another 1/4 to 1/3 cup of molasses and hand mix; it is an experience LOL as you can see; 

This is half a batch, on the cutting board, lightly floured, otherwise it sticks to the board and to hands; I used my hands to press it out, flipping the batter twice, and re-coating my hands once; then cutting the first cookies, and placing on the greased cookie sheet; then refresh the flour on the board and press out again, flipping only once, and then cutting the rest of the cookies; the remainder I shaped by hand and put on the pan; 

for the log cabin, I cut the "logs" from the pressed dough and put on the pan for baking;

rolling does not retain the round shape in the oven, as the dough flattens on the bottom; 

did a batch of rounds, hoping to make snow men, but they would have made better bushes ;-) filled with a nugat or almond past they would have made an interesting cookie, coated with a white icing ;-) just a suggestion LOL or a reminder to myself, as I just thought of it hahaha; 

    cut the squared logs off at the ends to make a neat end, otherwise they will need to be cut immediately after bringing out of the oven; same goes for the cookies, as they can be rather hard, though keeping in an airtight container will soften them; 

these are rounds that I cut with a 2 inch spice bottle lid; they baked to 2 3/4 inch width ;-) I was going to use them for an advent calendar, but they got eaten first ;-) it has been that sort of season; 

    Bake at 350 F on the top shelf for about 10 to 12 minutes, best to keep an eye on them unless you are sure you haven't got a "hot" oven like mine ;-) the first batch I left for the 12 minutes and the bottoms were caramelized ;-( not bad for me, but not what I would serve to others ;-) 

     as this is a method that does not utilize cooking on a stove, it is great for a quick last minute house or batch of cookies ;-) below is the Icing recipe; 

Royal Icing for the Gingerbread either cookies or houses

I took out the ingredients for the Royal Icing, and am a bit shocked, 1 lb of icing sugar and 3 egg whites 1/2 tsp of cream of tarter; have a feeling after beating for the 10 minutes, it is going to be quite the bowl of snowy white ;-) going to have to figure a way of either keeping it moist afterwards or cut it down ;-) of course I could mix in some cocoa, mint flavouring and coconut, flatten in a pan, make cut marks, and leave to harden and see how it turns out; think I can count on it being verrrrrrrrrrrrrry sweet - maybe add raisins and nuts to thin out the sugar ;-) 

 

Mulled Cider / Wassail / Crockpot Punch

Ok, well, this is just something I cooked up myself, just a bit of a tip of the hat to the people who have put recipes for Crockpot Punch on the web; 

    2 ltr Ginger beer, home made (or 2 ltr Ginger Ale bought)

    2 cans of pure Apple juice, not concentrate (usually 1.04 to 1.2 Ltr ea)

    1 stick of cinnamon, not ground or broken up

    1 Tbsp or more to your taste, of crushed cloves

    1/2 a nutmeg seed (just be careful cutting it) 

     an Apple and an Orange (any kind will do) sliced for decoration mainly, though the apple does cook and is edible ;-) and that is it, put it on high to boil up, then turn down to warm to maintain heat; easy to refill when it gets low and it does feel good when the temps are chilly and the snow is blowing ;-)  

     one other point I should make, this does NOT need sugar; using a hydrometer, there is enough sugar to ferment to 5-6 % alc./vol, so it is quite sweet enough as it is; and that fermenting it has crossed my mind, obviously LOL

      BTW the stronger the ginger beer, the more bite it will have, I used a mild batch, and it turned out quite acceptable, suitable for children and for adults with acid reflex, who may find the stronger taste and fire of a full ginger beer too much, 

This is a bit off the wall ;-) but I just took the apple pieces from the batch I made last night, and put them in a cereal bowl, covered with a cup of quick cook rolled oats, and a couple of scoops of punch then stirred up;  put in the Microwave for 1 min 40 seconds; with a bit of eggnog instead of milk, and a cup of punch on the side, a Christmas brekkie treat  ;-) 

BTW regarding Eggnog, there are more uses for it than straight drinking; if you think of replacing it where you would ordinarily use milk, either in drinks, breakfasts, cooking, it adds a special flavour to the seasonal fare; 

Light Cheese Biscuits

Here are a couple of recipes that should be added to the Family Traditions, but would be worth while keeping around for every day use; the Sister in Law's mother made them using a mix from Bulk Barn, but I looked up a recipe on line and found this; will make some tomorrow (don't have any cheese so they will be plain, and not into garlic ;) to see how they work out; 

the first is a Cheese Biscuit that is very light and fluffy, not hard tack ;-) and the second is a recipe for Buttermilk that while a few don't think highly of it, a majority of reviewers did say saved there baking; 

RED LOBSTER GARLIC CHEESE BISCUITS (LIGHT)

*  Exported from  MasterCook  *

 Recipe By     : 

 Serving Size  : 12   Preparation Time :0:00

 Categories    : Breads                           Muffins

                 Low-Cal

   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

 --------  ------------  --------------------------------

    2       c            AP Flour, Minus 1 Tb flour (or 2 c Cake ‘n Pastry Flour)

    1       tb           Plus 2 tsp baking powder

    1/2     ts           Baking soda

    1                    Pinch salt

    3       tb           Stick (Parchment) margarine, chilled

    3/4     c            Low fat (1.5%) buttermilk (see Substitute below)

    1 1/2   oz           Sharp (Old) cheddar cheese, grated

    1/4     ts           Garlic powder (optional)

   1. Preheat oven to 450F. Line baking sheet with

   parchment or waxed paper; spray with nonstick cooking

   spray.

   2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking

   powder, soda and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of the

   margarine and blend with pastry cutter until mixture

   resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and cheese;

   combine with fork, handling dough as little as

   possible. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared baking

   sheet; bake until lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.

   3. While biscuits are baking, in a small microwavable

   bowl, add remaining tablespoon margarine; microwave on

   high until margarine is melted. Stir in garlic powder;

   set aside.

   4. When biscuits are done, remove from oven and brush

   margarine mixture evenly over the warm biscuits.

   Remove from baking sheet and serve immediately.

   Serving (1 biscuit) equals 3/4 fat, 1 1/4 bread, 15

   calories. Per serving 83 calories, 2 gm pro, 9 gm

   carb, 4 gm fat, 338 mg sodium, 4 mg chol, 0 gm fib.

   Source: Weight Watchers Magazine, December 1994 Typed

   for you by Linda Fields, Cyberealm BBS Watertown NY

   and home of Kook-Net 315-786-1120

Variations:

     Instead of Cheese, add raisins, currants, cranberries, mixed peel (w/ Christmas spices) or blue berries / strawberries; 

Buttermilk Substitute

User Rating 4 Star Rating (26 Reviews) Write a review

By Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide

Making a recipe that calls for buttermilk? Use this simple substitute, and you won't need to buy any:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Milk (just under one cup)
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.

3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

35 days to Christmas

This weekend we have the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto and the Thanksgiving Parade in New York; Time is flying by; yesterday I went out and spent 53 dollars on basic ingredients for a BASIC Traditional Christmas;

      What I mean is, that with the Recession biting back, with the costs of products escalated with the cost of oil and other necessities of production, and our utilities going through the roof, we have had to scale back to the very Basic of Traditions; which for this blog is probably a good thing; otherwise it would be a chore to read through ;-) 

        To bring you up to date on the decorations outside and inside, Thomas has finished the trees (he got the last of the garland yesterday) and he has begun decorations inside; Fred, our stuffed relative in the coffin at Halloween, may yet become Santa, but we are not sure yet; 

         As far as the baking is concerned, we are fortunate to have the Cakes, Pudding and Mincemeat made; all that is needed there is the sauce/custard and the tart shells; I am thinking of making one batch of Brokenhill Christmas Pudding, mainly for myself, no one else seems to like it ;) 

          This is the Christmas Food List as it stands now; the extra baking we have pared down to the RED recipes, which I will blog individually later; 

Cathy's Cinnamon Buns 

Noel Cookies 

Unbaked Chocolate Cookies 

Ginger Bread – For cookies, decorations, house and sleigh 

Short Breads 

Ginger Beer 

Tryfle 

Hot Apple Cinnamon Punch 

Tarts, pies 

Nuts and Candies 

Fruit 

Fruit Cakes 

Puddings

Christmas Mincemeat

Back in January I decided that I would make a batch of Christmas Mincemeat for this year, but didn't think that 1 quantity of the recipe would be enough so I tripled it; not really a big mistake, but certainly more than we can use in one Christmas; it made 20 lbs of Mincemeat; here I will Chronicle the process up to this date;
The basic recipe you have seen if you looked at the previous blog post here ( http://ourchristmasyear.blogspot.com/2010/11/mincemeat-2010-basic-recipe.html ) what I did was to multiply everything by 3; sounds simple enough, and for most ingredients it was; so here is the recipe as I wrote it down at the time; for authenticity sake, I photographed the page ;-)



(Click on picture for larger image)
For those of you who can't read my writing ;) here is what the piece of paper on the left says (with notes):

Early Jan: Mixed Fruit

1 1/2 cups mixed peel
8 cups Blk Raisins, (Thompson Seedless Raisins)
8 cups Sultana Raisins
8 cups Currants (dried black, but probably red before ;)
8 cups Brn Sugar Drk, (that is Dark Brown Sugar, light will do in a pinch)
1 cup Grd Almonds (Ground Almonds)
2 cup Suet / Beef / Chopped (I didn't increase this quantity, as I am leery of too much fat {heart disease} but if you want more triple it to 6 cups)
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice, cloves
3/4 tsp mace
2 cups of Sherry (we used an almond sherry, but basically what your looking for is a high alcohol content liquid that will help marinate the mix; Brandy or Dark Rum would be my next choice; Ouzo if your into Licorice flavour, or Vodka if you want no flavour at all; not sure about Whiskey, your going to have to ask the Scots or the Irish ;)

What I haven't included here, is the 4 1/2 cups of ground apples;

*******************************************************************

ok this is how it was done in 2010 ;-) 

this is the table with the ingredients; 

Here are the apples prepared to be cut up: 

The apples crushed are in the front, the rest of the ingredients are spread around, except for the spices; 

Now for the fun part, literally we get our hands into it up to the elbows ;-) ok, a bit of an exaggeration, half way to the elbows; 

Ok in the above picture I have combined the raisins and mixed peel together, in one bowl and have the other ingredients ready to be combined in another bowl; in reality, there were 3 bowls, the raisins, mixed peel, in one, the crushed apples in the second, and the nuts, the suet and sugar in another; at this point I began to realize that I didn't have a container big enough to combine the lot; just a warning, before beginning, do realize that this recipe tripled as I did, produced a huge volume of MM ;-) so be prepared with a container that is about 12 x 18 x 5 inches in volume for easy mixing; the bowls I am using are actually meant for use on Milk Farms, I bought at Princess Auto; they make excellent mixing bowls; and in this case, were capable of containing the mixed ingredients; 

I divided up the raisins and mixed fruit after mixing, and added the dry ingredients to one part, mixed that and then combined the two into one; the method isn't important, the end product of thoroughly mixed ingredients is, so however you do, it is ok ;-) 

Now of course I couldn't leave the mix in the bowl for 11 months, so I found a container large enough to allow me to have access to mixing in the spices and the alcohol; yes, at this point I have not done that; this part took the better part of a day, from getting the places organized (cleaned up ;) and the ingredients out; then the grinding and the mixing; 

below it the mix in the container and then the fridge; 

**********************************************************

Imagine that 11 days have passed and we are now preparing to do the spices, the fruit juice and zest, and the initial Alcohol; are you ready for this ;-) 

the ingredients laid out on the table, Note the Juicer in the background; it is not strictly necessary, but it does work, bit messy though, see last picture;

here we have the juicer in action, the oranges and lemons cut up, and the Zest and spices in the small bowl; 

see what I mean about a bit messy; well, as I said it works; I have already begun to add the juice and will then add the spices and hand mix the mash; adding the alcohol as I mix it; the amount of Alcohol can vary, but assuming a high alcohol content, 2 cups is sufficient for the first round; 

I checked the Mincemeat twice; April 22nd when I added a cup of Sherry and mixed it again; then again on July 13th when I added a cup of rum; then I checked again in October, and made some sample tarts, and decided that aside from the addition of a bit of apple juice, there was sufficient alcohol; we will use a large portion, but certainly not the whole 19 lbs remaining; what remains I will fortify in January again, and am considering doing another batch; not necessarily as large; I have also found a recipe for a Dark Jamaican Rum Christmas Cake that requires steeping the fruit in alcohol for an extended period; sounds interesting ;-)