Merry Christmas

Cookie time

I found some time today to bake cookies with the boy. We decided on shortbread, which is Colin's favourite. I used an Ina Garten recipe and as usual, it turned out really well!

Shortbread Cookies

From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, by Ina Garten

Ingredients
¾ pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough ½ inch thick and cut with your choice of cutter. Place the cut-outs on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

The Christmas newsletter that never got sent

Every year we get some Christmas cards with newsletters from friends and family. I know some people think they're pretentious or braggy, but given the right mix of good news, happy moments and real life stuff, ie. not too much bragging, I think they're a great way to keep up with the people you care about. I really like them and look forward to them every year.

Every year I think- I should do that. And every year I leave it too late and it never happens. This year I actually wrote one, but then ran out of time to pretty it up and get it sent out. My friend Katie suggested I just post it on the blog, which is what I'm doing. So here it is....

This year we thought we'd start a family newsletter for the holidays......no groaning please! We enjoy getting them from friends and family each year, and hope that this one makes you just as glad. We hope this letter finds you well, and looking forward to the holidays and the coming New Year. We've had a year of many things....good experiences and bad, new adventures and more renovations, sadness but also great joy.

We've watched Ethan grow from a baby to a little man, and what an amazing thing it's been! He's now over three feet tall, talks a mile a minute and is getting more independent every day. He's also a bit of a goofball and makes us laugh all the time, even when we're sleep deprived beyond belief! He's mastered the tricycle, sand "cake" building, helps his Dad with projects and has acquired his own tool belt. He knows how to use a drill! This fall, Ethan started pre-school three mornings a week and he's been making new friends and learning new things ever since (some good, some not so good!).

This summer we managed to get away for a much needed holiday- our first road trip with a kid! Being the Powells, who do nothing half-heartedly, we embarked on a three day drive to the east coast via New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. There were plenty of stops along the way- for photo-ops, picnics, running around in playgrounds, sightseeing and shopping (LL Bean in Freeport, Maine was amazing!). We rented a beachfront cottage in southeast New Brunswick for one week, and fit in many day trips including PEI, La Dune de Bouctouche, Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy. We ate a ton of seafood, enjoyed a few days of beach bumming, shell collecting, and flying kites. We loved every minute and hope to go back again soon. Travelling with a 2 year old wasn't nearly as traumatic as we feared.

Also this summer, Colin's brother Jay and his wife Angela welcomed their new son into the world. Blake is an adorable little boy who is healthy, content and happy, and has brought great joy to Jay & Ange. We're so happy for them and also for Ethan, who will have a cousin nearby to play with.

We've managed to fit in a few home renos- this year's were scheduled, unlike our previous "surprises". The house continues to improve and looks less "dump-like". I continue to have ideas and Colin continues to execute what he calls my "vision". Colin replaced all the nasty yellow siding and soffits, I painted all the doors, the backyard has grass (hooray!) and no major landscape elements (read:overpriced trees) have died this year. The kitchen is done. Yes, a 2.5 year project has finally come to a close...it is indeed a Merry Christmas for me. Next up- moving Ethan and his big bed to a newly decorated room, then organizing our office in his old one. We may build a fountain in the front patio this summer- seriously.

This year we've also watched my mom struggle with illness, after her cancer diagnosis in July. There has been surgery and chemotherapy, and in January she'll begin radiation treatments. It has been a tough journey for everyone, but one also filled with hope and remarkable spirit on my mom's part. Through it all, my mom has remained so strong and upbeat, with her sense of humour intact. She has seized every opportunity to be happy and enjoy what she can, when she can. She has not buried herself in reading and researching and worrying about this disease, which would be her normal reaction. She has probably had private moments of sadness and despair, but we have had far more laughs than tears. She is even suprised at herself in this regard. And I have seen a whole new side of my mom, and I am proud.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and wishes for much health, happiness and good fortune in the New Year!

And....eat cookies and be merry!

After the storm

Last night, after a day in the house, it was time for a walk and some fresh air.

Some fun in the snow...

And some snow clearing.

Then back home for a story and warm milk before bed.

Snowy day

Today we’re being pounded by a huge snow storm, our second of the year already. Last year at this time, we were still waiting for snow and we had a ridiculously warm and green Christmas. Not this year.....

So, since we're stuck in the house for the day, I decided to try baking bread. I've only made bread once before, and it wasn't so great. All the kneading, rising, punching, etc. is a bit confusing and intimidating. This recipe's been making the rounds on my FoodWine list, and everyone was raving. Turns out that bread's not so difficult after all, not this method at least. There'll be more homemade bread in our future- this was so delicious and half the loaf is gone already! The olive-rosemary variation will be next weekend's project.

ALMOST NO-KNEAD BREAD
Published in: Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients

3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour -- plus additional for dusting work surface
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1 ½ teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water -- at room temperature
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Instructions

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cook ing spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured, work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch long, l/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center regis ters 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

ALMOST NO-KNEAD BREAD WITH OLIVES, ROSEMARY, AND PARMESAN
Follow recipe for Almost No-Knead Bread, adding 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan about 2 cups) and 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves to flour mixture in step 1. Add l/2 cup pitted, chopped green olives with water in step 1.

ALMOST NO-KNEAD WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
Follow recipe for Almost N 0- Knead Bread, replacing 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour wim 1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour. Stir 2 tablespoons honey into water before adding it to dry ingredients in step 1.

ALMOST NO-KNEAD CRANBERRY-PECAN BREAD
Follow recipe for Almost No-Knead Bread, adding l/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves to flour mixture in step 1.

The kitchen is done!

After 2.5 years, finally, the kitchen renovation is done....save a few paint touch ups and a new window covering. Hooray!

When we bought this house, it was 10 days before I gave birth to Ethan. We were finalizing the deal as I was in labour. We bought it even though we had no plans to move for a couple of years, and the house we were living in was fine. It was done, decorated and comfortable, just a little small. But, we loved this neighbourhood, the extra space....it was the right house, just a few years too early. It needed work, alot of work. But we loved it, and it felt right, so we talked ourselves into it. How much work could one small baby be, right? We'd reno'd before, no big deal, we could do it. We were wrong. Really wrong. And, that's why we've been picking away at the kitchen for over two years! Of course we've had a few other urgent (surprise!) projects along the way, but that's a whole other story.

So, the pictures are not professional, and it's difficult to get a good angle, but here it is. Please excuse the fridge and all the stuff on it....it's become a play centre for the boy.

I love this floor! And I really really love the wall tile.

Mostly I just love that it's all done, and that I can cook without drywall dust and plaster chunks falling in the food!