Leap!

Tomorrow marks the first Leap Day of runty mouse's existence.  A few links and tidbits to mark the occasion:

It's my Aunt Barb's birthday!  How old are you now, Barb?  Fifteen?

Despite the anti-aging benefit, apparently being born on Leap Day isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Thus, the Leap Day babies have banded together in an online support group!

Most amazing 30 Rock episode yet: Leap Day.  In which these geniuses create a complete, detailed, believable, fictional holiday with all the trimmings.  A little clip here (poor quality but you get the gist) .

[Leap Day Kenneth William] 

(found here)

Google's plan to honour the day.  Check out Google tomorrow to confirm!

Wikipedia sums up all that is known about Leap Day.

My words of wisdom for tomorrow:  don't be afraid to take a leap!

For the love of cranberry

Cranberry sauce with turkey is the holiday equivalent of pineapple on pizza.  You like it or you don't.  One of the great dichotomies of life.  Since I'm dedicating a whole post to cranberries, I think you can guess which side I favour.

[found here]

For years I thought canned cranberry sauce was a-mazing.  Sweet, tangy, easy, there.  That was before I was doing any of the cooking.  A few years back I took to making the sauce from scratch - which is dead easy.  Boil a cup of sugar and a cup of water, add a bag of cranberries and cook til the skins split.

Last year, I came across a more involved cranberry sauce recipe in Sweet Paul Magazine.  I knew I had to try it!

"Sauce" is an understatement.  This stuff is called Spiced Cranberry Apple Relish and is just as fancy as it sounds.  But fun to make!

First, dice up the cranberries - I threw them in the food-processing attachment of my immersion blender and a few minutes later:

Citrus really makes this recipe zingy (zest and juice of oranges and lemons).

Grated fresh ginger adds the eponymous spice.

Bit of sugar tames things down a bit:

And the final product.  Cranberry lovers rejoice!

Best enjoyed with turkey and all the trimmings.  Happy holiday eating to all of you, cranberry lovers or not!

O, Christmas Tree

This Christmas brings a few firsts.  First Christmas living back on PEI (after all those years away), first Christmas in our own home, and more to the point of this post, first real Christmas tree!

We started the season with only nine Christmas ornaments.  The nine ornaments worked well last year, when we had nothing to decorate but our philodendron.  But, thanks to some gifts, some sales, and some last minute DIYing, I think we've been able to fill it out nicely.

[Santa from a French craft fair, from the world-traveling brother-in-law]

[Snowman, Atlantic style]

[From a couple of donkeys]

[Labrador souvenir]

[A gift from Mike's mom]

[DIY with feathers and empty Christmas balls]

[A mummer, souvenir of Newfoundland]

[More DIY - pine cone, a hook and some hot glue]

[A gift from my mom]

[Souvenir of Europe - handmade in the Czech Republic]

The trunk may be crooked and the ornaments few, but to me it's the most beautiful tree.  The scent fills the house.  It really brings on the Christmas spirit!

Caramel apple dip

Oh, I'm so happy to be sharing this little recipe with you!  It's easy, and so delicious!  Crowd-pleaser, for sure.

I found the recipe here on a fellow Islander's blog, although I did modify it.  The recipe is simple:  1 pkg caramel sauce (find in the produce section - it's used straight-up for dipping apple slices), 1 pkg softened light cream cheese, crushed skor bar pieces (some mixed in the dip, some on top for garnish).  The original recipe also calls for 1/2 cup brown sugar but I think the dip is sweet enough with the caramel and skor bits.

The part of this dip that got the biggest response was definitely the tray of apple slices.  I used a combo of Granny Smith and Red Delicious.  I arranged them in alternating colours and it made quite a visual impression!

My dad has over thirty years of experience as a grocery man, so he had a great tip for keeping the apple slices from oxidizing (i.e. turning brown).  Dip them in 7-up.  Good ol' 7-up.

An up-shot of using the pop was that at the end of the process, you had a delicious little apple-lemon-lime beverage to sip!  (Mike came up with that).

Here is a final shot of the dip before it was taken to the annual family party and devoured.

Something quick to make for a New Years Eve party, maybe?

Holiday playlist

I've been collecting a list of favorite not-necessarily-traditional holiday tunes over the past several years.  I was first inspired by a former lab-mate who made an amazing mix CD (that was before everyone had an iPod and an iPod dock) that I "borrowed".

So, in no particular order, allow me to provide you with my current Christmas/holiday playlist.  YouTube or other links are provided.  Some songs are traditional Christmas carols, some are less-than-traditional, some are just wintery songs that I like to listen to at this time of year.

Song For A Winter's Night - Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot's songs take me back to my earliest memories of childhood.  This Christmas, I received Gord's Gold on vinyl... along with a photo of a new turntable set up in my living room back in St. John's!  Guess I'll be listening to this song all winter long.

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
Oh how I love this song.  Maybe my favorite of the season.  See my previous blog post regarding the Jenn Grant and In Flight Safety version of the same.

At Last, I'm Ready For Christmas - Stan Rogers (link to a cover version)
Oh Stan.  He sings the truth.  This song captures the reality of Christmas for young families.  Another Stan favorite of mine is First Christmas... but it always jerks tears so I have left it off my official playlist.  Especially since this WAS my first Christmas away from home.

I Believe In Santa Claus - Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers
Dolly and Kenny are a staple at my house over the holidays.

Christmas Must Be Tonight - The Band
Shockingly, I just discovered this song this year.  Very catchy. 

O Holy Night - Weezer
I'm surprised that Weezer's whole Christmas album is religious, with the exception of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  Anyway, I think it's a fun update from the usual version I hear at church every year.

White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
This is one of the non-Christmas songs... but I love it.  Just love these guys.  When My Morning Jacket zigged with Evil Urges, these guys zagged in.

Christmas In Killarney - The Irish Rovers
I think I sang this in my grade four Christmas concert.

Merry Christmas Everyone - Séan McCann (song download link)
This is a new release out this year from a Great Big Sea member going out on his own.  I downloaded it because it was free, and it grew on me.

Christmastime - The Smashing Pumpkins
This is one of the songs from my lab-mate I mentioned earlier.  Definitely a new classic.

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Self-explanatory.

Seven Joys Of Mary - Great Big Sea
Wow.  Traditional, but not classic Christmas.  This song really gets my foot tapping.

I Saw Three Ships - Sting
Short and sweet.  Sting's sound really goes well with this traditional song.

Snoopy's Christmas - The Royal Guardsmen
I have always loved this one.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan
BNL is one of the few bands whose Christmas albums/specials I just adore.

Wintertime Love - The Doors
SO not a Christmas song.  This is maybe my favorite Doors album (Waiting for the Sun).  If you like the Doors at all, I would check it out.

Come And I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles) - Great Big Sea
Another traditional song from GBS.  I know it's not a Christmas song, but it somehow feels right at this time of year.  Maybe it's because I first heard this album over a Christmas break; maybe because it's church-y and this time of year church-y songs are kosher.

Little Drummer Boy - Bob Dylan
Most new Bob Dylan songs freak me out a little.  His holiday album is no exception.  This video is quite entertaining though... nothing like the Must Be Santa video.

Happy listening!

Christmas dinner

Mmm... one of the best parts of Christmas.  Mike and I had two amazing turkey dinners on Christmas day.  The following photos are from the second turkey dinner, the one that actually induced the food coma.

[classic turkey]

[clockwise from top:  coleslaw, chow, turkey and cranberry sauce, carrots and broccoli, gravy on potatoes.  centre: maple bacon stuffing]

[plum pudding]

Plum pudding is a staple of Christmas dinner in our house.  It may be the best dessert I've ever had.  Of course the fact that you only eat it once a year makes it all that much more delicious.  I love it so much, in fact, that two years ago I rolled away from the table to write the following poem:

Ode to Plum Pudding


You are sweet.
You are delicious.
You appear but once a year.

Juicy are your raisins.
Your sauce gives me hallucinations.
Butter, cream and sugar
Are so much more
Than the sum of their parts.

My blood sugar soars.
My food memory roars.
Oh plum pudding,
My heart belongs to you.

Scotch cookies

So, apparently, Scotch cookies are a Prince Edward Island thing.  When you Google "scotch cookies", the first three links that come up are from PEI.  Some Islanders also know them as scotch cakes.

I will let you in on a secret.  They aren't really just a PEI thing... the rest of the world knows and loves these cookies as shortbread.

Regardless, they are a tradition in my family's home over the holidays.  We recently whipped up a batch.

The recipe has been handed down and has morphed over the years, depending on how tight money was at the time.  The current recipe is similar to the hand-written one above, with a few changes:

Scotch Cookies


1 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
icing to decorate, if desired


Cream butter, yolks, and vanilla together in a bowl.  Add icing sugar and combine.  Add flour and salt and mix.  Form dough into ball.  Roll out thin - about 7 mm or desired thickness.  Cut with cookie cutter.   Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until bottom edges of cookies are golden brown (about 15 minutes).  Once cooled, decorate with icing.  Cookies freeze well if layered between sheets of wax paper.  Depending on your cookie cutter, you might get about three dozen cookies out of this recipe.

My mom's mom's baking spoon has been handed down to us and that's the one our scotch cookies are made with every Christmas.



Continuing on with tradition, this cookie cutter has also been around for an eon.  It is made from an old pizza sauce can, back when the cans were super tiny!  I don't know what would come in a can that size now.

Again, here is the finished product.  Melt-in-your-mouth Christmas cookies!

  

Advent calendars

As it is almost December 1st, and I've been seeing so many advent calendars around the blogosphere lately, I decided I would provide you all with a little collection of my faves.  Some are very suitable for DIY.

The first is from Miss Gioia via oh, hello friend (who happens to have an excellent round-up of advent calendars).  I am in love with this one - it uses an increasing amount of buttons to indicate the number of each pocket.  Love, love, love.

The next is actually a DIY project and comes from Paige Russell via Poppytalk.  I think the stark white mixed with rainbow bright colours would be perfect in a modern home or apartment, don't you?

Here is a fun little pyramid calendar from Country Living.  I found it courtesy of craft lovely.  If you are like me and love candlelight, and prefer a matchstick to a lighter, you may just have a few matchboxes lying around.  Alternatively, you could purchase a multipack of matchboxes and store the matches in a large jar while the boxes are re-purposed.

This final calendar is a beautiful print-it-yourself project by Jen Hill (found via the ever-addictive Design*Sponge and their round-up of calendars in general).  It comes free with purchase from her shop or you can get the .pdf for $5 on her site.

If this post inspires you to make up your own advent calendar, I need to see pictures, so let me know!

Granville Island

During our Vancouver sojourn, we packed in a lot of fun experiences.  One of the most memorable would have to be our visit to Granville Island.  Granville Island is located in False Creek, adjacent to Yaletown, where we were staying. 

[courtesy Google Maps]

With a home-brewing husband, it's hard to turn down a brewery tour whilst on vacation.  Especially when that brewery touts themselves as the oldest microbrewery in all of Canada.  The Granville Island Brewing Co. boasted at least seven brews during our visit.  The tour was detailed, informative, and included an actual taste-test of the various malted grains used in their brewing process.

My absolute fave, hands down, was the Brockton India Pale Ale.  Unlike some I am familiar with, this I.P.A. is true to its hoppy history.  The hops aroma, flavour, and bitterness were all present.  This is a trend I've seen in the past few years, with Garrison, Propeller, Sam Adams (and many more small breweries) earnestly using that fourth ingredient that the larger breweries seem hesitant to take on.

[under the Granville St. Bridge with the husband]

Next stop on the Island was the Public Market.  A veritable feast for the eyes, nose, and palate of someone who spends the better part of the year on a less-than-fertile island on the opposite coast.

Check out some of this produce!  Stall after stall was filled with fruits, veggies, and herbs to the hearts content.  I would have bought some to take back to Newfoundland with me, but after another week of travel it would be in the same category as our usual grocery store produce.

There was a large deli selection as well.  Ranging from the usual:

To the exotic:

Yes, you are reading the sign correctly - it says camel.

Thanks for sticking with me through this long post, reader.  If you are lucky enough find yourself in Vancouver, I highly recommend a tour of Granville Island.  I know I'll be going back some day!