Christmas Cooking and Sewing

Living in El Salvador has drastically cut down the amount of Christmas cooking I do--after all, Christmas cookies just aren't very portable.  Before we took the trip to Panama, I made cranberry pear butter (like apple butter, but not apple) to share with friends.  Tuesday, I made saltine toffee (recipe) and strawberry cookies (recipe) and today I'm taking a tray full of both to the church office.  Hopefully, everyone likes things that are sweet, because the toffee is the definition of sweet.

I started my Christmas sewing about a month ago, but it's still going to come down to the last minute.  I made 30+ miniature fabric trays (pictured below) using Christmas fabric I ordered in August.  I've given almost thirty of them away to my Bible study ladies, our IDEM group ladies and more.  

I also finished the sewing gift for my three grandkids.  (Not going to put a picture because their parents may read this and I want it to be a surprise.) 

I'm making two quilted table runners.  One of the tops is done and the other is still in pieces.  The fabric for the border, backing and binding is on it's way to California, so I'll have to find time to finish them when I get there.  If not, they'll be after Christmas gifts and will be ready to decorate the house for Christmas 2016.  That's just the way it goes when I don't have access to everything I need.

Two more days to get everything done before we fly to California--my "to do" list has never been longer.

Working on my listI

With Daniel and the grandkids here March 1 to 7 and a campaign March 7 to 14, my "to do" list was set aside.  On Sunday, I revised and updated it and yesterday I started at the top.

The first thing on the list (on the list since the first of February) was:  TAXES.  

Our taxes are much more complicated than they used to be when we were both working.  Now, we have pension income, social security income, ministry income and a ton of ministry expenses.  I keep a detailed monthly record of all of our ministry expenses so at the end of the year I just have to total them and be sure everything balances.  I finalized the ministry expense spreadsheet in February, but didn't find time to do the rest of the paperwork until yesterday.  Now our tax "stuff" is in the capable hands of our accountant, Paul Cumberland.  As always, hoping the numbers add up in our favor.  

Second task for yesterday was to make a trip to PriceSmart.  My list wasn't that long, but, as usual, once I get there, I realize there are other things I need.  We do have to be careful not to buy too much as the quantities and large sizes don't fit in our limited storage space.  Nevertheless, on checkout the bill was almost $200--my goodness, when did toothpaste, soap, detergent, canned vegetables, coffee and chicken get so expensive?  Just kidding--there were several other things in the cart, too.

One thing about lists is that completing something on the list usually results in adding other things to the list.  Case in point, buying chicken breasts and other meat in bulk means repackaging it into smaller quantities and freezing it.  If you're confused, check out my past post:  Baggies are a Girls Best Friend.  

That's all the time I have for today . . . . got to bake cookies for our IDEM group tonight and have one more thing to check off the list.

Traditional Cookies

I made two kinds of sugar cookie dough yesterday morning--used 4 sticks of butter.  Yikes!  The dough needed time to chill before our late afternoon cookie making event at my sister's house.  Jon and I packed up cookie dough, cookie cutters and sprinkles and headed to Kristi's house about 2:00 p.m.  

First up were the Snickerdoodles--it just isn't Christmas without these cookies.  I've been eating these cookies my whole life and not just at Christmas.  I always found it difficult to turn down a snickerdoodle cookie, but not a single one ever tasted as good as my mom's recipe.  Rolling them is therapeutic!  Laken and Jon handled the cinnamon/sugar layer.  Even after everyone sampled the wares, we had more than six dozen left.

Second, we made Sand Tarts--don't know where my mom found the recipe or where the recipe got it's name.  She starting making these when I was in high school (maybe), but even so, that makes the recipe at least 40 years old.  Kristi and I have really struggled to get them right--we're so much better at them than when we first started making them by ourselves.  The trick is to roll them as thinly as possible.  If done correctly, they are the ultimate in crispiness.  No frosting for these, just an egg wash and sprinkles to decorate.  Some family members prefer one shape over another (angel vs. reindeer or mitten vs. light bulb), but I think they're all equally tasty.

By the time I rolled out the last batch, the freezing rain was coming down like crazy, so Jon and I left before the final pan came out of the oven.  We will be enjoying the fruit of our labors on Christmas day!

Candy, Cookies and Best Friends

There's nothing like time spent with your best girl friend!  Stephen is in West Plains visiting his parents, so I've been staying with the Guenthers to get in some extra girl friend time.  Terisa went to work early so she could come home early and we could get started on Christmas treats.  
Last night's cooled strawberry cake was the foundation for cake balls!  Love those little sweet morsels of goodness.  

Also on the agenda was "never-fail" microwave peanut brittle.  The recipe sounded too good to be true since my memory of making peanut brittle is of stirring the mixture forever while using the candy thermometer to be sure it gets to the correct "hard-ball" stage (about 305 degrees.)   In fact, the first batch proved the recipe title wrong!  Guess the old saying that the power of microwave ovens varies is true because the 4-, 4-, 2-minute recipe resulted in over cooked peanut brittle which just tasted burned.  We had enough stuff for a second batch, but the dilemma--how long to cook it?  We found some other recipes which suggested a 4-, 3-, 2-minute cooking time so we opted for that.  Success!  It really tasted amazing and is very easy.  Here's the link--same recipe works for all kinds of nuts, including cashews, almond, pecan, macadamia, etc.  Just be sure to adjust the time for your microwave!

The sugar cookie dough chilled while we made these treats and ate dinner, which was a delicious homemade chicken pot pie!  We tried the sour cream sugar cookie recipe that's been all over Facebook for the last month.  It is supposed to render very soft, not crispy sugar cookies.  Ethan and Chloe helped us cut them out (Michael took pictures, but I don't have them.)  Chloe loved adding the sprinkles after they were frosted.  They turned out cute, the dough was easy to work with, the frosting is simple, but I'm not convinced they are the best tasting sugar cookies.  

However, baking was just the medium to spend time together and that was a rousing success.  Love how God has knitted our lives together so that even though we've been apart for 5+ months, we can pick up right where we left off.