Oh my!
Here we are at the third week of Advent already. But then I’m sure everyone reading this is caught up in the same headlong rush towards Christmas as myself!
So many commitments, so much food to prepare, gifts to complete and to wrap etc. and there are also pesky things like meetings for which Minutes need to be typed and other meetings that just need to be attended.
Then on Tuesday evening, coming home late after one of those meetings I foolishly ate some undercooked food and WHAM!!! Food poisoning. Thus Wednesday and even Thursday were pretty much of a write-off and here we are at the weekend and now I’m even further behind. Sigh.
Tuesday evening upon returning home I had also discovered a sticker on the front door noting that UPS had tried to deliver a parcel in my absence and that is would be necessary to collect it at a store which is a good 20 minute walk away. So, despite feeling awful on Wednesday afternoon Wil and I set out not knowing what we would find because I was not expecting any parcels.When we got home and opened the box I was so happy to find a wonderful new pair of slippers, sent by my thoughtful friend Victoria, as you can see from the photo, Wil thinks they are pretty special too! Those couple of days my morning work was confined to dealing with the most urgent correspondence, although yesterday there was the pleasant surprise of the completed Lamb Chapter for the 2016 Program Manual so some extra time was spent reading that and making a few suggestions to send back to the author. Yesterday also brought what I hope is. the final version of the CTM Christmas Newsletter “Networks”, since if the PDF copy can get to our Communications Director today surely he will be able to send it out this weekend. It is a good job I’ve graduated to the tea and toast phase since Monday is the December Day Camp Committee Meeting and I had planned to cook a bit of a special dinner and then Wednesday I’m catering a dinner for 20 for a friend. The latter dinner includes 3 appetisers, main course, salad and two different desserts. AGH!!!
So today simply has to be “Bake & Blog” since there will be precious little extra time tomorrow for fancy cooking and then it will be Monday! Somehow I would like to squeeze in an experiment of making my own marshmallows too, they could make some super little gifts IF they work. There is no such thing as organic corn syrup, (one of the required ingredients) I have successfully substituted agave syrup in a number of recipes but am not sure about the effect on marshmallows. We will see.
Fortunately the weather was very nice yesterday (Montreal broke a record of +14C) so no time was wasted and Wil and I hurried to three different grocery stores to procure special ingredients for both dinners.
Tomorrow will be the Advent All Ages Gathering and for the third year the Service will be cantered around the dressing of the Jesse Tree. With Nick away leading a Holy Communion Service at a small rural church there is plenty to do. At first I was most discouraged and having a lot of difficulty finding Readers, a Musician and a Gathering Leader but people really stepped forward and we now have a full roster. Yay! Nick has kindly offered to drop me off early at St. Stephen’s on his way out of the city so there will be time to do a proper set up and better still I do not have to figure out how to fit a ton of art supplies into my pack basket. More on this tomorrow, hopefully with a few photos.
This week’s photos are a bit sparse due to having spent several days lying on the sofa (which is actually quite uncomfortable since both Wil and Mandu insisted on joining me and it is a very small sofa!!). On Thursday it was possible to do a bit of sewing to finish some gifts and then yesterday afternoon it was pleasant to sit and pop all the presents into the fabric bags, which are my wrapping mode of choice. Still a few last minute presents to complete, but I think there will be enough time!
So today it is on to making an Angel Food Cake that will be the basis for a fruit trifle, the weekly batch of gluten-free loaves, pita crisps (part of the dinner party appetisers), gingered nuts (also
an appetiser) and possibly some gingerbread cookies, if my stamina holds up!
Gingered nuts are a special treat and make a simple gift too so it seemed like a good idea to share the recipe here: –
Gingered Nuts
- 3 cups mixed nuts
- ¾ cup candied ginger, minced
- ¼ tsp. each cayenne and black pepper
- ¼ cup each sugar and water
- 2 Tbsps. sesame seeds
In a large bowl combine the nuts, ginger, spices and sesame seeds. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 3 minutes. pour the boiling syrup over the nuts and stir well. Spread in a single layer on a parchment lined and greased baking sheet. Break into small clumps when completely cooled.
