Posted on 07/19/2016 4:57:16 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
When I was younger and worked part-time, I would always start ‘Creating Christmas’ in July.
I made a lot of my gifts back then, and would start work on them and on planning food and decor, in Summer; and by the end of September almost everything except cooking and decorating the house was finished, and many recipes and notes were saved/jotted-down for cooking, decorating and shopping.
It made for much more leisurely holidays than I’ve enjoyed in recent years, and I’m trying this year to get back to handling things that way again.
A while back I bought a gadget that I’ve never used, but will include in my cookie-making this Christmas. It’s a little cutter that makes ‘pinwheel’ cookies (some people call them ‘windmill’ cookies) easy and very uniform:
You can buy one here:
http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product/pinwheel-cutter/cookie-making-and-cutters>/a>
But you can cut these on your own, without a gadget; here is Lazarus Lynch on ‘TasteMade’, showing how to make ‘Peach Pie Pinwheel Cookies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16osXmwImM
My favorite gifts to make were always ornaments, and I went through a period where I made many of the beaded-and-jeweled ornaments similar to the ones sold in kits by 'The Cracker Box' in Pennsylvania, and for which you could also buy less expensive kits back in the '60s. But lately, I’ve become interested in more rustic decorations, and will be making some of these, this year:
They’re very easy to make, and require no sewing. There are lots of tutorials on the web, and this one comes from 'Shabby Fabrics':
https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV_XtQ_tJ_A
-JT
Waiting for Rush this morning while making Indian eggplant chutney. The most forgiving condiment God ever gave us! The house smells heavenly.
I used to make roasted eggplant & garlic dip & yes, it just perfumes the house. What is Indian eggplant chutney, is it sweet or savory? It makes me want to warm some bread & slather it on.
Next week is my last full week before school starts back on the 1st. I just made a mid morning coffee & used my new sunbeam toaster to warm a brown sugar poptart( don’t make fun of me). Life is grand at this moment ; )
This is quite beautiful. Can you light a candle in one after you spray paint it, is it safe?
I’d be very careful about candles....unless you mercuried glass specifically meant to be a candle holder.
Yet, even then.......the paint might react to heat.
At Christmas time they sell little tea lights that are battery-operated.....could be an option.
The lavender lemon ones sound extraordinarily delicious.....and so elegant.
I won’t make fun of you! When I worked I used frozen waffles. What are you studying?
I looked up some Indian chutney recipes and used what I had on hand: eggplant, apple, tomatoes, onion, one hot pepper, fresh ginger, lots of garlic, raisins, plus mustard seeds, fennel seeds, chili powder, cumin, oil and vinegar. To build up the sauce, I added some tomato sauce and tomato paste. And just let it simmer for an hour or so.
I’m not going to can it. I’m just putting it into a plastic container and we’ll have it all week long.
I just used what I had bought in the farmer’s market and spices on the shelf.
Yes, they are! And I don’t decorate those because the little lavender bits look so pretty and sophisticated. Not everybody loves lavender in cooking so when I served them at Christmas last year, I had them all to myself.
Have you been watching the British bake show this summer? Love it!
The magic ratio: tsp Elmer's glue: 3 drops blue food colouring; 1.5 tsp
water. To make turquoise: two drops blue, 1 drop green food coloring.
HOW TO---Using even strokes, brush onto jar from top to bottom being careful not to go over it too much or the glue will start to clump together (this part is a little frustrating until you get the hang of it). The streaks when the mixture is wet will be almost invisible if done correctly. This is where patience comes in. The bottle dries in minutes; can microwave 30 seconds on low to expedite. FOR AUTHENTICITY: add an extra coat to the neck of the jar and at the bottom. Real vintage jars age deeper blue at these two spots.
Love those Brit chefs......they’re so inventive......and dedicated to their dishes. I feel bad when the persnickety judges nix them.
I was reading up on it in The Guardian and they gave the winner’s name out. It was last year’s of course, but I was annoyed at the spoiler. I’ll keep the winner’s name from you, of course.
Thanks for the info. I’m a real candle gal,but great idea about the battery tealights. Brilliant!
Your recipe has made me very hungry! What a treat for the whole week.
I am a special needs/self contained classroom teacher. K- 3rd grade bambinos.
Ah, ok! Very nice career.
I do enjoy all the fruit and vegetables available during the summer.
Some of the battered tea lights actually look like flickering candles......so shop carefully.
That is so pretty! I’m always collecting odd glass at the thrift store just because I like the shape or design - and never using it for anything ;-(. This is a good idea!
There is a wonderful gold-leaf-looking paint that Martha Stewart used in some of her earlier magazine projects - it looks really *gold* - nice to paint pine cones and leaves for a centerpiece. (another thing I bought and put in the crafts-to-try box, but haven’t used ;-)
There’s also ‘Rub-n-Buf, which is a waxy paste that you rub on, looks like real metal, and it comes in many colors. I’ve brought back some lovely old picture frames with it:
Buy these cheap at after-Christmas sales.
Religiously clean glass jars and glass trees with alcohol and then wrap outsides and lids tightly with saran and tape.
Spray paint insides w/ several thin coats of plain old white paint. To reach corners, spray several seconds then swirl container; dry for 15 min then respray thin areas a bit---a messy job!
Remove the saran--et voila--the jars look like milk glass.
The two little trees got a few coats--look like white ceramic trees. Now you have "knock-off" Fenton milk glass.
One of my fave Martha projects.....she gilded ceramic turkeys.
I meant to mention the name of that paint in my post, but it’s buried in the Craft Box. Will find it, and post.
-JT
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