Salt Dough Ornaments...by (Angela) Jean

We have been enjoying preparing for Christmas and have been in full-on craft mode for several weeks now.

The kids and I have been doing all kinds of paper crafts together, but I was searching for something that we could make together, that was simple enough that they could fully participate, but that was sturdy enough to last. When my friend Jaye mentioned she was making salt dough ornaments with her son, I thought that would be perfect!

I did a little search on Pinterest (do you know about Pinterest? Oh man....check it out!) and found countless ideas. My main inspiration came from this post on Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments, on Homemade Grits' blog. I thought these would be a great way to remember Christmas 2011.

For the dough, I used the same recipe as Homemade Grits: very, very simple.

4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water

(As an aside this dough is great for kids because unlike cookie dough, there is no butter or sugar so it's not greasy or sticky! So easy to clean up!)

Combine ingredients and kneed for 15-20 minutes until dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.

some of the dough we left smooth and some we textured with the meat tenderizer

Bake in a 300 F oven for 2-4 hours or until they are good and hard. When I was doing my research, I found several suggestions for temperatures and baking times. One even suggested leaving the ornaments in a 200 degree F oven over night. My ornaments were relatively small and thin so 3 hours or so was plenty.

Unfortunately, our hand print ornaments didn't turn out. They puffed up like a big bubble in the oven and then crumpled as they cooled. I think I should have pricked them with a pin to avoid any air bubbles. I plan to try them again.

The other shapes worked out quite well. Some we left plain and glued on beads and jewels. These ones have the names of our next-door neighbours, who tend to end up as the guinea pig testers for all our crafting and baking projects...they haven't complained yet!

Mimi was concerned that they looked too much like real cookies so she made a card to tell the neighbours not to eat them.

Others we painted with glitter paint.

This Martha Stewart glitter paint comes in amazing colours, but like all glitter paint you need to do several coats to get solid coverage. I think I did about 6 coats.

This was coat #1

We made a few in the shape of gingerbread people, but I thought the googlie eyes made them look a little creepy, so I let the kids play with them until they broke. (They lasted about 30 minutes before being decapitated in automobile accidents....it was gruesome....and quite un-Christmassy)

I got so into this project that I made a second batch, and based on suggestions from other internet crafters, I added some cinnamon to the dough just to make it smell a bit nicer. In the end though, it was pointless because I ended up spraying them with Mod Podge varnish to preserve them. I sprayed them outside to avoid stinking up the house and when it dried the varnish had no smell at all.

We enjoyed our salt dough experiment and are very happy with the results. We ended up with about 3 dozen ornaments. Some we will keep and the rest will be given to friends and family as little gifts.

Handel's Messiah... by Barbara (Ruth)

One of the things for which I will be forever thankful is the love of music instilled in me by my parents. As you could tell if you read last summer's posting called "Mood Music", I like all kinds of music. On my radio presets right now I have pop, easy listening, alternative rock, country, 40s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Broadway, Christian, folk and classical. That last one, classical, is especially suited to rainy days, winter afternoons, and the holidays.

Both my parents were musical before they lost their hearing. Dad sang in barbershop quartets and in the church choir, and also played the ukelele (really!) and banjo. Mum played the piano, had perfect pitch, and sang in the church choir. When I was in my teens in New York they joined the "Classic Chorale Society" and dragged me to various concerts featuring works by Bach, Brahms, Mozart and Mendelssohn. I didn't like some of the pieces, but I remember one piece - Festival Te Deum, by Britten - that I hated. Mum said to me, some things are just more fun to sing than to listen to, and I should give it a try.

So the next fall I tried out for the choir. The Director, Walter Latzko (who was a well known arranger of barbershop music), was so kind to me, and was happy to have a young person join in. I was 16. (Side note of interest: Mr. Latzko arranged music for The Chordettes, the group who sang "Lollipop" and "Mr. Sandman". He ended up marrying one of them, Marjorie Needham. She was lovely, and I thought it was pretty cool to know someone who had been on the radio. If you don't know the song I mean, then you are very young and you should click here.)

I really had no idea what I was about to experience. We spent the fall learning a number of Christmas choral arrangements, and focused particularly on the choral pieces from Handel's Messiah. Mr. Latzko announced that our choir was to be part of a group that would perform the Messiah at the West Point Cadet Chapel, about 10 miles from where I lived.

If you have been to West Point, go ahead and skip the next couple of paragraphs. If you haven't, then feast your eyes on this glorious "chapel" that sits at the mouth of the Hudson River:

My parents and I went to church here quite frequently when I was growing up. We really liked the Minister, the history, the ambiance, and especially the music. I used to tilt my head waaaaaay back to stare at the flags that are hung down either side of the aisle - they are all real and from many historical battles. Some are tattered and torn, and all represent loss and victory and sadness and pride.

In the picture above you can see the long straight aisle. At the beginning of church the Cadet Choir would stand at the back and sing the call to worship, the booming male voices (this is before women were allowed, if you can believe it) glorifying God and echoing off the arches. They would then march kind of a slow march down the aisle, swishing their feet in perfect time. I loved the pomp and circumstance associated with this place, and have many fond memories of going to church there. I even remember a sermon or two... but that's another story.

So you can imagine that I was pretty excited and impressed when I heard we were to be part of a 500 voice choir that would perform here during the Christmas season, accompanied by a baroque orchestra and the world's largest church organ (no kidding - it's huge - look):

The Messiah was composed in 1741 by George F. Handel, and is divided into three parts - the first is the Christmas story, the second is the Easter story and ends with the glorious Hallelujah chorus (which is oddly associated with Christmas), and the third is about the final Resurrection and the victory over sin and death. It ends with the most glorious Amen that never fails to give me goosebumps - in fact, I found one quotation that says the last Amen should "be delivered as though through the aisles and ambulatories of some great church."


Indeed the West Point Cadet Chapel is "some great church". Singing the Messiah for the first time was an important moment in my life. Not only for the bonding time with my parents (my mother and I were both altos), but also for the spiritual reinforcement of my faith and the meaning of Christmas.

Today I try to go to a performance of the Messiah every year - whether the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Taflemusik Choir, or even the sing-along Tafelmusik version (which is great fun)  - and if I can't go, I certainly listen and sign along by myself! This year I heard Tafelmusik's performance at the beautiful Koerner Hall at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. The venue was stunning, and the performance moved me to tears. The thought of my parents being unable to hear this glorious work made sad tears, the nostalgia of many many years of happy memories singing this with friends and family created wistful tears, and of course the beautiful and comforting words like

Come unto Him, all ye that labour, come unto Him that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take his yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

made me remember that everything will be all right and so I shed a few happy tears.

The final Amen is too moving for words. Click below and listen and maybe go hear it for yourself if you have time this year. If not, mark it down for December 2012. You'll be glad you did!

Henderson Christmas Baking Traditions... by Barbara (Ruth)

I'm a pretty nostalgic person on the average day, and at this time of year I kick into overdrive with tradition. I have Christmas lights from the '30s, glass ornaments from the '50s, my stocking from the '60s, record albums from the '70s, and many many other traditions and memories as far back as I can remember.

Like many of your families I'm sure, food is a huge part of our family Christmas traditions. From Mum's savory stuffing to old-fashioned ribbon candy to "Mrs. Santa's butter", we Hendersons enjoy a myriad of festive treats, and try really hard not to worry about our waistlines!

As a baker, I'd like to share the three most special baked treats that make my Christmas every single year. They're not particularly difficult, and I enjoy making them almost as much as I enjoy eating them!

Christmas Plum Loaf
This recipe is over 100 years old, so I'm told. Originally it was made with lard, and yeast cake, and flour that had to be heated, and a few other ingredients that are either extinct or unhealthy or both, so I know it's been modified over the years. I don't have my grandmother's old hand-written recipe, but I have a transcribed version told to me by my Auntie Janet, and it's a good one!

This is a heavy bread made with fat seedless raisins (I assume it used to have plums) and a lot of nutmeg. It is fragrant and delicious and even good stale when toasted. Sitting down with a slice of this and a clementine is nothing short of Christmas morning heaven.

My mother hated to make this. It's a pain and requires lots of stirring and kneading and three risings and patience and exactly the right baking juju to make it work. Some years I have been more successful than others, but I consider it a personal challenge to channel my grandmother and give it a shot. When I was a teenager and discovered my love of baking, I rescued Mum from this job, and Dad and I would make this together.

I plan on taking a slice to him tomorrow in his nursing home to see if the spices and scents reach him like music does.

Fruit Jewels
I have no clue where this recipe comes from - all I have is my own teenaged scribble on an index card, and memories of making this ridiculously easy batch of cookies with my Mum. She would always tell me that I made the cookies too big, but I have never enjoyed bite-sized cookies. Go big or go home!

These are full of chocolate chips and candied fruit, and require a minimum of fuss and cleanup. They look really pretty on a plate, and are as bad as potato chips in that you "can't eat just one". I tried to hide them in the freezer one year so I'd stop eating them. Sadly, they are VERY good frozen.

Light Fruitcake
Now don't roll your eyes, or say "blech". I know many people do not like fruitcake, and I can only guess that it's because they've never had a properly made one. This recipe is from the old Better Homes & Gardens red & white checked recipe book published in 1968 (this was the 3rd printing. It was originally published in 1930 - very interesting history here.)

This recipe is simple and the batter is DELICIOUS. We used this recipe for my sister Elizabeth's wedding cake - I remember my mother substituting fancy nuts like brazil nuts and hazel nuts for the occasion. And every year we made a batch of this cake or the other version, "Dark Fruitcake" (the difference being molasses and the addition of a variety of spices like nutmeg and cinnammon). I like light fruitcake a lot better, and I'm not offended if people don't want any. It lasts forever in the fridge and makes me very happy on a cold winter afternoon with a cup of tea.

Recipes:

Christmas Plum Loaf

1. Mix together 2 T of yeast with 1/2C warm water and 1 tsp sugar.
2. Scald 2C of milk and cool to lukewarm.
3. Combine the yeast mixture with the lukewarm milk, 1C of brown sugar, 1 tsp of salt, and 3C of white flour. Mix well and let rise until light and bubbly (about 1.5 hours).
4. Melt 1/2C butter and 1/2C shortening. Add 1C brown sugar, 1-2 whole nutmegs grated (this year I added about 3 large nutmegs - we loooove nutmeg), 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp lemon flavouring, 2-3C of seedless raisins (I add more like 3C), and 1 egg beaten.
5. Beat down the risen dough from step 3, and add the mixture from step 4. Mix thoroughly and add 4-5C flour (and no, I can't be more exact... you need enough flour to make a soft, but not sticky dough).
6. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, adding flour as necessary. (This is tricky. Just enough so it isn't sticky. Any more than that and it will be dry and crumbly.)
7. Place the dough in a ball and cover with a cloth, and let it rise until doubled (about 2.5 hours).
8. Punch down the dough and divide into two. Knead each and shape into loaves. Place in greased pans (I spray with Pam), cover and let rise again (about 1.5 hours).
9. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Check after 30 minutes and if the bread is browning too quickly, cover with tin foil for the last half hour. Tapping the loaves should sound hollow when it's done.
10. Turn out on cooling rack and let cool completely. Wrap well to store.

Fruit Jewels (double batch - makes about 60)

1. Cream 1C brown sugar with 1/2C butter. 
2. Add 1C evaporated milk. Beat well.
3. Add 4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cloves. Beat well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix 4C candied fruit and 2C raisins with 2C white flour.
5. Add 1.5C chocolate chips and 2T of orange or lemon rind and stir well.
6. Add wet mixture and stir well. (You need serious elbow grease for this as it gets thick and sticky.)
7. Drop about 1.5T of batter per cookie on a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 350 for 12-14 mins.

Light Fruitcake

1. In a large bowl, mix 1/5C candied cherries, 1C raisins, 1C candied pineapple, 1/2C chopped mixed candied fruit, 1/2C candied lemon peel, 1/2C candied orange peel, 1C chopped walnuts, and 1C of flour.
2. Mix together so the flour coats all the candied pieces.
3. In a mixing bowl cream 1C butter and 1C white sugar.
4. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating after each.
5. Mix 1/4C corn syrup with 1/2C orange juice. Add to creamed mixture, alternatively with 2C flour.
6. Fold in fruit and nut mixture. (The recipe calls for 1/4C orange juice and 1/4C wine. I just use orange juice.)
7. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans (again, I used Pam. And you'll see I used one loaf pan and four mini pans.)
8. Bake at 275 for 1 hour. A knife inserted in the centre should come out clean.
9. Turn out onto cooling rack and let cool completely. Wrap well to store.

The Little Yellow Box: Favourite Recipe #4 - Carnation 5-minute Fudge... by Barbara (Ruth)

If you've been reading for a while, you may remember that many moons ago when I was much better at posting regularly (sigh), I committed to making a few favourite childhood recipes from my Mum's little yellow recipe box.  I've posted about Wacky Cake, Baking Powder Biscuits, and Sweet and Sour Meatballs. I have really enjoyed my trip down memory lane, and wish the last couple of months hadn't been so hectic so I could have done a few more!


Anyway, tonight was a perfect night to make fudge. I had a bit of a weird day at work, and I needed to de-stress - that usually means baking (and making happy co-workers the next day)! This is a recipe I fondly remember making when I was a kid. Don't believe me? I have proof:

This is probably 1969 or 1970. I'm making this fudge recipe with my
sister Janet. I figure Mum had us do this to make me feel better. (With the
dark under-eye circles, it looks like I had been sick!)

Honestly this is one of the easiest recipes in the world. You can make several variations by adding nuts, coconut, dried fruit, or peppermint/almond/orange extract (or any combination of those options!). Tonight I made a plain recipe and sprinkled smashed candy cane pieces on top to be festive. Just make sure you have Carnation Evaporated Milk, chocolate chips, and some marshmallows on hand, and then be creative!

Step 1: Combine 2/3C evaporated milk, 1 2/3C white sugar, and 2 T butter in a medium saucepan. Heat to a rolling boil, and cook for 5 minutes (hence the name of the recipe) stirring constantly.

This stage is mesmerizing. You have to stir all the time while
the sugar forms, and it smells wonderful, like you're in a
candy factory.

Step 2: Stir in 2C mini marshmallows (I only had giant ones, so I snipped them with scissors in order to get a proper measure), 1 1/2C chocolate chips, and 1 tsp vanilla into the hot liquid until it is well mixed. (You would add nuts or any other items at this point if you wanted to.) It gets tough to stir pretty quickly, so use that elbow grease!

Step 3: Pour into a greased 9" square pan (I just sprayed it with Pam), and spread quickly before it sets. Sprinkle any toppings on, and place in the fridge to set!

Cut into 1" cubes and enjoy.

Field Trip Friday-Episode #4-Feed the Birds...by (Angela) Jean

The surprising and happy side benefit of planting sunflowers in my garden was the daily visits by goldfinches to our backyard.

But sadly, when the sunflowers faded, so did the visits.
The goal of this week's Field Trip Friday was to bring back the birds.

My Dad had an ingenious way of keeping the birds in his garden. It involved a trip to his friend's farm for some faded sunflowers, a wooden stake, and a roll of duct tape. Worked like a charm.

While I loved his idea, I was looking for something that would last the whole winter and that could be installed near our kitchen window for easy viewing during the winter months. The educational goal is to learn about the native varieties of birds....what they eat, how they behave, what they look like....

So this week, Beppe and Nonno came to visit and helped us with our project. We all piled into their SUV, me between the car seats in the back,

and headed to.....

Clearly we were in the right spot, since this was the display just inside the front door.

We purchased some supplies.

Pushed some carts, and admired some forklifts.

And headed home to fire up the power tools.

Nonno spoiled us by doing most of the assembly work ahead of time in his workshop, but Mimi helped drill some holes for drainage.

Nonno dug a deep hole for the post, and I covered the surrounding area with plastic sheeting to attempt to prevent my kitchen herb garden from being invaded by germinating bird seeds in the spring. (I'm not kidding myself though, I know I'll be pulling up seedlings for most of the next growing season.)

 Lastly, we added some seeds, and now we wait for the birds.

So far, no luck. Mimi suggested we make a sign so the birds know where to go. If we have no visitors by tomorrow, we may do just that.

Gingerbread Mania....by (Angela) Jean

Nothing says 'festive' like 11 small children hopped up on candy.

I love Christmas crafts and now that I have children of my own I can throw crafty parties and people will be fooled into thinking I'm doing it 'for the kids' when really, the fun is all mine. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration...I think the kids (and I'm going out on a limb to say the adults too) have a bit of fun.

Preparation is key when doing these kind of events for kids. In general, little people are not known for their patience and they really can't hear "we're almost ready" more than a couple of times before they revolt. I also took it easy on myself and purchased the gingerbread houses. I'm sure they will not be as tasty as homebaked, but to be honest: a) this was more of a craft project than a baking project and b) does anyone really want to eat anything that small kids have had their paws all over? My friend Sarah baked the sugar cookies. They were delicious!


I tried my best to do most of the prep work the night before. I rolled up the rugs, set up the folding tables, assembled the gingerbread houses and arranged the paper craft stations.

There were three activities planned: gingerbread house decorating,

paper crafts,

and Christmas cookie decorating.

Mmmmmm.....doesn't that look delicious?

I was impressed with the level of focus the kids mustered up. At times, the house was almost silent. You would have never guessed that there were 6 boys and 5 girls all under 10 in my teeny house!

 All in all, the party was a success, and I look forward to making it an annual tradition.