ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

my true love gave to me, a Christmas cookie stash to shame them all.

ENCOURAGING WORDS FROM OTHERS WHO LOVE ME

You are amazing and lovely.

You have a gift for writing. Your delight in making, displaying and enjoying food is palpable.

Is there life after divorce? The woman I remember was a fun, beautiful, energetic woman. I have
faith in her.

I have a different memory of our time together. You were definitely the teacher. I learned a lot
from you, how to laugh, how to care. I hold my time talking along the trails in Saskatoon, slicing up preserved flesh under your scrutiny, and the early visits with you in Montreal as some of the highlights of my younger life.

You are an amazing person.

PP has a pretty amazing mom.

Thx for a lovely day! Food, presentation, conversations, service and your pretty face all adding up to a great tea time, totally enjoyed it!

You blessed me with your words! You have encouraged me and reminded me of what I treasure most. :)

I also have taken time as I have been waiting to go over the memories we have made together in the last few years. We live apart but the distance is nothing when we connect by text, phone or in person. I have been blessed to have you as a friend through so many years and changes and times of growth we each have had.

Breath by breath be blessed my friend. 💗

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

my true love gave to me, friends who helped clean the kitchen! (It's my birthday!)

Loading the dishwasher like a game of Tetris!

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

my true love gave to me, a Victorian Christmas in George-Etienne Cartier's home.

A table top tree, from Prince Albert's German roots.

A Bourgeois feast at the Canada Park's Sir George - Etienne Cartier home

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on Christmas

VEGETARIAN THALI AT SAHIB WITH MAD CLOSING DOWN THE PLACE

BHOJAN
From 12 o'clock - Saag Paneer, Eggplant bharta, Spicy lentils with yogurt to mix in,  Gulab Jamoon, naan, rice

ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,  three layer dainties, two skating rinks and a dusting of snow.

Rainbow Pastel

300 ml sweetened condensed milk
2 cups icing sugar
400 g unsweetened coconut
red and blue (or green) food colouring

Blend together and divide in 3, colouring one batch pink and one blue. Press  into loaf pan  in layers above (I lined it with the plastic of one 200 g coconut bag) and cover air tight.

from Company's Coming  150 Delicious Squares

CHRISTMAS IMAGES

Clove orange pomander, a Christmas scent

Creativity at work

Amazing ice cream that rivals peppermint dazzler of my childhood

Narnian street lamp, bell, star and Santa (on roof), gifts and trees and candy cane (in Hello Kitty's Hotel)

SCHOOL TREATS WITH A FEW SUBPAR TREATS FOR HOME

White chocolate and chocolate candy melts

Round sprinkles, mini dipped oreos, straight pretzels, mini-Reese's PB cup, orange sprinkles,  candy eyeballs, candy canes.

Crunchy peppermint and a horror of melting snowmen in a pan

Ready for school

It's nice to have a few "failures" to have for dessert!

From Rosanna Pansino's newest cookbook
Baking All Year Round

Leftovers for breakfast: fit for an elf!

DREAMING OF AUSTRIA/GERMANY AT CHRISTMAS

My first Christmas away from home was barely white, with a lovely family in Augsburg, Germany. What I remember was that they loved to watch Sissi, like we used to watch the Sound of Music during the holiday.

I've been back to Austria and Germany since, but never at Christmas. I have attended German school and been to a local Christmas market. Christmas makes me think of treats from these roots. So I bought the movie, and watched it with two German speakers. I made Linzertorte for the first time, and the spices were lovely, like gingerbread.

I am sure there is nicer way to make the lattice, but it was delicious!

I made pretzels, with Alton Brown's recipe, and was very pleased with the upgraded design.

Check out the double braid on the middle left. Those were less traditional, but my personal favorite.

Salzburger Mozartkugeln and marzipan chocolates by Neideregger Lübeck. Ready for Sissi watching. 

CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH PRAGMATISTS

CHRISTMAS TREE INJURY

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two skating rinks and a dusting of snow.

CHRISTMAS DINNER FONDUES

Cheese

Chocolat Favoris Chocolat (Blanc) Vanille

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a dusting of snow.

REFINING THE BLINDS TO THE SIZE OF THE WINDOW

Pry the buttons off, undo the knot in the centre. Remove redundant slats.

Pull out to the level of the window sill.

OGILVY'S CHRISTMAS WINDOW HAS MOVED

Mill in the Forest: On temporary exhibit in front of the McCord Museum
I hope it will be back next year!