Firstly, see how I am getting so much better with the titles of these blogs?
The past couple of weeks seems to have gone by in a blur of preparations and runs to the post office but in between it all I managed to take and pass my advanced driving test which was one huge bundle of nerve-wracking awesomeness. Getting ready for Winter up here is quite a thing it seems as we are mostly off grid except for the electricity so making sure we topped up the oil and the wood pile for the heating have been important. I have been squirrelling away goodies for Christmas and in the depths of the freezer lurks a huge ham to be cooked in a couple of weeks. Before that though will be my beautiful daughter's birthday, the munchkin who loves the spiced biscuits I make more than anyone I have ever met. Today I will be making a batch of them and she will lurk by my elbow as I jiggle them onto the cooling rack and when I say she can have one for each hand she will, as always, pop a biscuit in her mouth before picking up two then dashing off. The tin always has these inside this time of year, the fridge has a roll of the dough ready to bake more as they go so quickly and friends will find a little cellophane bag of them in their hands as we rush apart from a hurried natter, all dashing about in this frenzied time. A couple of years ago I bought the popular stack of star shaped cutters and started making the Christmas trees out of a pile of stars graduated in size and this is the recipe for the spiced biscuit dough (I tried the vanilla biscuit that came with the cutters but my munchkins prefer the spiced ones):
3oz butter and 4oz caster sugar creamed. Mix in 1 beaten egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp golden syrup,1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp mixed spice, 9oz plain flour. Chill the mixture for an hour then roll out and bake at 180 degrees centigrade until cooked; cooking time depends on the size of the biscuits so check to make sure they don't get too dark. Leave them to cool before moving.
Today is a glittering world of ice and I was outside defrosting the car for my OH so he can get to work safely. It would have been the birthday of a very dear friend, a lovely woman who did so much for other people and as I go about my day I will remember her and smile. My sweetpeas are still going strong in the greenhouse so I will pick a bunch for her.
It seems to me that this time of year people are running around stocking up on extravagant presents, trying to keep up with all of the many social events going on, not least of which are the ones organised by the schools. I like to go to a carol service and each week the munchkins and I have a crafting or baking session maybe two. This week we made snowflakes out of paper and hung them in the kitchen window. JR has been moping as he has been put on a diet by the vet so no extra nibbles for him.
However you prepare for Christmas, enjoy!
Hugs from Haggis Land,
Jx
