Here we are already at the end of the first week in Advent!! December flies by at such a swift pace it is SO hard to hold onto every moment of this most special of months. From January until we finally see warmer weather in April the weeks seem to stretch on forever, time certainly has a way of playing tricks with our minds 😊
The week began with a lovely first Sunday in Advent. Our house community is using a couple of great Advent resources this year. One is a series called “The Joyous Mysteries” and includes narrative videos by 4 visual artists, each of whom has illustrated one of the Mysteries- The Annunciation, The Visitation, the Presentation and The Nativity. We are also listening to a podcast series of 4 Advent Reflections, accompanied by Scripture readings by Archbishop Rowan Williams.
By Wednesday of this week I had finally badgered the last 2 newsletter contributors into producing their articles and there is now every hope that CTM’s Advent/Christmas Newsletter will be published this weekend. Whew, done 😊 Early in the week I also sent out another round of reminders to prospective Day Camps host communities (new and old) which email has solicited a small flurry of activity. In fact this morning I even trekked over to the bank to deposit another 2018 Day Camp deposit cheque. So even though I was sure everyone was much too wrapped up in Christmas preparations to think about summer camps, apparently I was wrong (it does happen on occasion!).
Afternoons I’ve been finishing up small bits of Christmas sewing as well as finely completing my wedding present for Jillian and Victor, and Thursday I spent the whole afternoon wrapping everything. For a few years now I have sewn simple fabric gift bags for all my presents since I disapprove of the profligate waste of paper (and trees!!) that happens at this season. So “wrapping” gifts is super easy and pleasurable with no tape sticking to one’s fingers. All I have to do is select a bag of the correct size for each gift, write a message on my (premade 😊) tags, slip the tag on the bag cord, tie a bow & done!
Afternoons I’ve been finishing up small bits of Christmas sewing as well as finely completing my wedding present for Jillian and Victor, and Thursday I spent the whole afternoon wrapping everything. For a few years now I have sewn simple fabric gift bags for all my presents since I disapprove of the profligate waste of paper (and trees!!) that happens at this season. So “wrapping” gifts is super easy and pleasurable with no tape sticking to one’s fingers. All I have to do is select a bag of the correct size for each gift, write a message on my (premade 😊) tags, slip the tag on the bag cord, tie a bow & done!
This morning I sewed a couple more fabric “buckets” which I use for packaging baked goods and also made a project bag as a gift for a special friend. And this afternoon I prepped some baking that I plan to do tomorrow afternoon since Monday is our Day Camp Committee dinner and meeting and I’m making a special Christmas Pavlova for dessert. The main course will be a Mexican Black Bean Soup with Two Pepper Cornbread and I really did not feel I should serve baked goods for dinner on Monday that had been made two days before, hence a Sunday afternoon baking plan!
Well before I head off to saw some birch wood which will be used as part of the creative activity at tomorrow’s Gathering, we need a recipe.
Thursday evening I made a bit of a special Italian dinner for Jillian as she had had a long day teaching and needed a surprise. Our main course was Tuna Caper Sauce over Linguine and for dessert I prepared Poached Pears with Chocolate Ganache. Although the latter are a bit “fiddly” to make they are very pretty for a festive dessert, so do try them.
Poached Pears with Chocolate Ganache
(serves 4)
(serves 4)
- 4 Anjou pears
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
- 2 Tbsps. heavy cream
Peel the pears leaving them whole and keeping the stem at the top. Place the pears in a small saucepan; packing them close together so they stay upright if possible. Add the orange juice and cinnamon stick and bring to a gentle simmer. Poach for approx. 20 minutes or until the pears are just tender NOT mushy! Drain the pears and return the pan of juice to the stove, simmer the juice until it is reduced to about ½ a cup. Place each pear in an individual dessert dish. If necessary cut a thin slice from the bottom of the pears so they will stand upright in the dishes. Once the juices are reduced pour an equal quantity into each dish around the base of the pears. Melt the chocolate and cream over low heat, stirring to combine. Carefully pour several spoonfuls of ganache over each pear using a spatula to shape it prettily. Serve at room temperature.