Hello Blog Friends!
Ordinarily I tend to start putting together these posts at the mid-week point, jotting down the highlights of each day and noting other bits and pieces that could be of interest to my readers.
This week I’m coming to the post a bit later than usual as all my spare time since about last Tuesday has been spent in transitioning the house from Christmastide to Epiphanytide. So let’s start with Day Camps news before launching into other matters J.
Tuesday evening we were supposed to hold our first meeting of 2022, but unfortunately 2 people forgot the date, another was having WiFi problems and one is still on a sabbatical due to family matters so there were only 3 of us present one with wonky WiFi so sadly we decided it would be best to defer until January 18th as there had been plenty to discuss and it seemed best to aim to have everyone present when we do meet. The new date is still more than 2 weeks ahead of our upcoming Virtual Team Gathering so it should be a timr when we can catch up together and cover a lot of territory both reviewing a few past activities and making plans for winter events.
I still hope to receive some advice from Lee-Ann who is involved with promotion at the Diocese of Montreal’s office regarding marketing of “Come Together”. With the latest lockdowns everyone is back to working exclusively at home and the office was officially closed until this past Tuesday so I thought I would wait until next week to contact her again about this matter, as she did offer, before Christmas, to give us some help. Hopefully I can meet virtually with her before the Day Camp meeting and report to everyone on that topic.
I am also hoping at the meeting we can touch on plans for spring events. We have spoken already about the possibility of running a third series of the Cook-Along as well as some sort of Lenten Program for Team Alumnae, more on this as plans unfold. J
Last Sunday, I had a very pleasant surprise when Josiah (who will be the Guest Speaker at the Team Gathering) and his wife Alicia, knocked at my front door! They now live in Windsor Ontario but were down in Montreal for a few days visiting Josiah’s parents who live just a couple of blocks from my house. It was a very cold day but I was fairly warmly dressed so we were able to chat outside for a few minutes.
Wednesday I entertained Jessica for lunch. She had nobly agreed to give me a hand dismantling my Christmas tree. It was such a beautiful tree and so large and bushy that I was worried about getting out of the stand by myself. We had a pleasant time together removing all the ornaments and catching up on news. Although we have had a number of Skype visits we hadn’t met in person for several months. As soon as Jessica left I began to blitz the house, taking down and packing decorations. This task continued all day Thursday but that evening I was delighted to celebrate the Feast of Epiphany with Jenna. Fortunately, when making them last week, I had frozen a second casserole of Dolmas that came in very handy and provided a suitably Middle Eastern vibe for the “feast” followed by Honey Cream, Ginger Biscotti and coffee. Thomason was not too badly behaved so we managed to have a fairly civilised conversation although as a concession to his anxiety issues we did eat our supper in the kitchen instead of the dining room, where he is not allowed at mealtimes.
As of yesterday nearly all the Epiphany/Winter décor is in place. It is always especially sad to see the Advent/Christmas decorations go but there is something very fresh and clean about the mostly monochrome palette I use for this season so I am feeling happy with the results of my labours.
This morning I have been sewing a gift for Jillian and Victor, I cannot believe they will already be celebrating the 4th Anniversary of their wedding on January 13thJ
Of course later this afternoon there is also some baking in the works and I need to get started on that soon, but first we will finish off with a recipe.
One of the items I am baking today is a batch of my favourite Cream Crackers. They are so handy to have around at any time of the year and are great served with cheese or soup, do give them a try J
Cream Crackers
- 3 cups all purpose flour (or half all purpose and half whole wheat
- 2 tsps. sea salt
- 3 Tbsps. heavy cream
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup warm water
- For toppings: coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, poppy seeds and sesame seeds
Place flour and salt in food processor, mixing together to blend. Add olive oil, heavy cream, and water. Mix together just long enough for it to begin forming into a ball. Dump the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface to further shape into a ball (without too much handling). Divide into four balls. Cover with a towel and let it sit for twenty minutes (or so).
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Roll the dough out (as thinly as possible) onto 2 sheets of parchment paper, placing 2 pieces on each sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the surface of the dough with water. Sprinkle with the black pepper, salt and seeds of your choice. Prick here and there with a fork (to prevent it from bubbling up in the oven). Using a pizza wheel, score the crackers, roughly 1″square.
Bake the crackers until they are golden and just beginning to brown along the edges, approximately 8-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. After cooling, store in an airtight container.