Hello Blog Friends!
Here we are approaching the last Sunday of the liturgical year. It has been a pretty full week around here as I have squeezed “The Changing of the Decorations” in between all the other CTM and home activities
The week began with the bi-monthly CTM Board meeting on Sunday afternoon. Everyone was able to attend and so we had a productive meeting and even set future meeting dates through to June 2024 😊.
Of course, for me, that meant Monday morning included a couple of hours turning 4 pages of handwritten notes into coherent, typed minutes. The draft was then sent off to our President as he approves it for circulation. He sent his approval on Tuesday so by Wednesday the minutes had been emailed to all the members
That morning had been blocked off to enter, on the MailChimp platform, all the content for the CTM Advent/Christmas newsletter but, sadly, I hit a road block upon discovering it appeared the provider had deleted all our templates. Since Guylaine (CTM’s director of communications) was at work at that time I ended up switching around my own schedule so that she could take a look at our MailChimp account, while on her lunch break. Thankfully she was able to find the new location of our templates and, once she sent me a screen shot of how to find them, I was able to get going and so, by the end of the day, had almost all the new content entered on the template. Thursday morning I added a few more bits and pieces and now the draft is back in Guylaine’s hands for final editing and proofing.
Throughout the week badgering has continued since yesterday was the deadline to submit content for Carols & Cocoa. As of today, no videos have appeared, although a couple of the presenters do seem to be working on their “sets” so we are trying to remain hopeful 😊.
The other topic in need of badgering is the Alumni Advent Study Program. There are 14 people signed up but several are only able to attend one or two sessions so it is rather confusing deciding who needs to receive access to the Google Meet link. The first episode will be taking place a week from tomorrow so nailing people down is fast becoming a priority. My noble “assistant badger”, Mikaela, has offered to also do some nagging, which may help to solidify the list of participants 😊.
Outside of office time everything has focused on the Advent/Christmas décor although, in between days with rain and/or snow, I have also been bundling up to do some final raking and sweeping since, although the trees are now bare, the strong winds still bring plenty of stray leaves that cover the lawns and pathways. Once we have lasting snow it will be impossible to remove the mess until next April and so everyone in the neighbourhood is out doing final clean-ups.
Of course today there is also baking to do and later this afternoon I am hoping for a quick visit from Victoria (mother of 3 of my Godsons) as she is currently attending a graduation ceremony for law students she has taught at the University of Sherbrooke and is planning to break her journey back to Ottawa by stopping here for a cup of tea. It is fortunate that today’s Bake involves the last batch of “November Scones” so I should be able to serve her a plate of fresh Ginger Chocolate Scones with her tea 😊.
Today’s Bake features lots of ginger as I’m, making the first batch gingerbread cookies, destined for the freezer as part of the. Christmas stash and the list also includes a pan of Digestive Biscuits and a Boule.
So with no further ado, here is the scone recipe:-
Ginger Chocolate Scones
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ¼ cup raw cane sugar
- 2 Tbsps. cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. powdered ginger
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. soda
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, spices, soda and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Fold in the chocolate chips Make a well in the centre and add the cream. Use a wide spatula to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and gently knead a few times. Divide the dough in half and shape into a 6″ disc. cut each disc into 6 equal wedges, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush each scone with a little cream and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden.