Hello Blog Friends,
We have finally arrived at the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year! It seems amazing that the month of November has passed by so quickly, that is usually what I say about December but, here we are, already about to leap into Advent.
Much time, this week, has been devoted to preparing the Advent/Christmas issue of Networks. By Wednesday, it was ready to go to Guylaine, but there were still a couple of sections that needed “fluffing”, so, after hearing back from her that evening, I was able to finalise the template. She will add a couple more pieces of content and do a final proofread. If you are interested in receiving this quarterly newsletter, there is a subscription form on the homepage of the CTM website.
Badgering has also been at the forefront, since the date (December 6th) for Carols & Cocoa is fast approaching, as is the first session of our Alumni Advent Study Program, which will be happening on November 30th. Next week, my work will be focussed on preparing the whole study program, as I need to create a series of Google Slides, which will be fairly complicated. We have plenty of good content collected but it all has to be pulled together on the slides.
Outside of office hours, this has been the week for the “Changing of the Decorations”. As most days have been cold and wet, it has good to have some intense indoor work on which to concentrate. Fortunately, we have had some sunshine today so I hurried outside after breakfast and spent nearly 3 hours raking up more, very wet leaves, some of them amidst snow!!
Not much time for craft work, although I have made progress on a doll I’m sewing for a special toddler and have also completed my 10th Gnome! Tomorrow, I have hopes of starting to sew 2 stuffed mouse dolls for some other small people.
This afternoon I need to get on with the Bake. At the first episode of the Harvest Cook-Along, our chef, Mariejoy, taught the children how to make Pear Snickerdoodles. Everyone who participated said they were delicious some I am anxious to try them myself and thought I would share the recipe with all of you.
Pear Snickerdoodles
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 small pear, peeled and cut
Sugar coating:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsps. cinnamon
Peel and cut the pear into small cubes, set aside. Whisk to9gether flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in eggs. Mix in dry ingredients until no flour streaks remain and fold in the cut pear. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar for the coating. Portion cookie with ice cream scoop, roll into a ball, then roll it in the sugar-cinnamon mix. Place cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper, leaving about 2” between cookies. Bake at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden. Allow to cool before serving. Makes 24 large cookies.