Merry Christmas

Scarf

My coworker made this for me for Christmas.

Chocolate Bears

2 sticks butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg
2 C. flour
1 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix. Refrigerate until firm. Bake 350* 12 minutes.

Peanut Brittle

I did a nice job this year. I added the peanuts at the last minute so they didn't get over cooked and spongy. The brittle has a good snap to it.

Snowman Pretzels

Super easy! They make circle pretzels now. Just fill with melted white chocolate and use dragees and chocolate covered sunflower seeds for decorations.

Pretzel Wreath

Here is a link the recipe at Pillsbury.com The size pretzel you use will greatly influence the finished size of treat. Rold Gold makes a twist the size of a nickle, now. Too time consuming for a holiday treat, would only recommend as an activity to occupy children.

Gingerbread

Any gingerbread recipe will work. Scoop dough with #40 disher, then hand roll into balls. Lightly dust the top of each roll by first dipping finger in flour, then gently tapping top of ball, so you leave a fingerprint. More flour leave noticeable traces behind, less flour and the stamper will stick to the cookie. Stamp the ball until it is flat. You should get a good impression this way.

Kolache

This is pre-made pie crusts smeared with home made jam, folded into traditional kolace shape, brushed with egg wash and sparkling sugar. Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes.

Towel origami

I have been folding towel animals for Hilton Friends and Family visitors. I like them to think our hotel is a little better than theirs.

Dinner Buns

1 C. whole milk, warmed to about 110°F*
2 1/4 tsp. platinum yeast
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 C. honey
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 C. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour (spoon & leveled)

Pour warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Sprinkle yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar on top of the milk. Give it a light stir with a spoon and allow to sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should be frothy after 5 minutes. If not, start over with new yeast. With the stand mixer running on low speed, add the honey, egg, egg yolk, melted butter, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, then add remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute as it all combines. The dough should be thick, yet soft. And only slightly sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead. If, however, the dough is too sticky to handle add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Make sure you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes, then place into a greased bowl. Turn the dough over to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm environment to rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Once doubled in size, punch down the dough to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down again to release any more air bubbles if needed. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in half. Cut each half into 8 equal pieces for a total of 16 pieces that are about 1/4 cup each. Shape into balls as best you can and arrange in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size and puffy, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 18-21 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the edges of each roll look cooked.

Last Days of Fall

Favorite Christmas Songs

Little Drummer Boy - Pentatonix
           A rum pa pa pum

Carol Of The Bells - Peter Hollens
           Ding dong ding dong, that is their song

Christmas Canon - Trans-siberian Orchestra
           On this night, on this night, on this very Christmas night

Adeste Fideles - Friar Alessandro
           Venite adoremus Dominum

The Boars Head Carol
           Caput apri defero, Reddens laudes Domino

Gloucestershire Wassail
           With a wassailing bowl, we drink unto thee

O Come O Come Emmanuel - Enya
           Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel, nascetur pro te Israel!

The Key Of David

O COME, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that morns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! O Israel,
to thee shall come Emmanuel!

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heav'nly home,
make safe the way that leads on high,
that we no more have cause to sigh.

Who or what is the Key of David? Revelations 3:7-8 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia (at the time there were seven churches of Asia, this is one of them) write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Isiah 22:20-23 Then it shall be in that Day, that I will call My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah; ²¹ I will clothe him with your robe and strengthen him with your belt; I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; so he shall open, and no one shall shut; and he shall shut, and no one shall open. ²³ I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place, and he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

The Key of David is a term found in Revelation and Isaiah. A key indicates control or authority; therefore, having the Key of David would give one control of David’s domain, i.e., Jerusalem, the City of David, and the kingdom of Israel. The fact that, in Revelation 3:7, Jesus holds this key shows that He is the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, the ruler of the New Jerusalem, and the Lord of the kingdom of heaven.  In both cases, with the Church in Philadelphia where certain Jews had unlawfully assumed authority (Rev. 3:9), and in Jerusalem where Shebna had usurped authority in the palace (Is. 22:15-19), the Key of David was given to establish God-ordained authority in those places. In the culture of the time a Key was an emblem of the authority of Government; and in the East to this day, in transferring the authority and Government of a city, a large Key is laid upon a person.

Wreath

This year's wreath is also edible. It is lavender and rosemary. It smells heavenly.

Spy V Spy

This is for my secret Santa. I am also working on a sketch.

Apple Pie

3 C. flour
1 stick Crisco
salt
Chilled water

Makes four small pie tins or two family sized crusts.

Christmas Cactus

I love our little Christmas Cactus. It is a pearly white with a hint of pink. The bloom has a fuchsia stamen. My mom has the other half of the cactus and a complimentary fuchsia cactus to contrast.

Red squirrel

The American red squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus, known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel and Mearns's squirreli). American red squirrels are widely distributed across the North American continent. Their range includes most of Canada, the southern part of Alaska, coastal British Columbia, and the Rocky Mountains and boreal forests east to the Atlantic coast. American red squirrels are abundant and not of conservation concern throughout much of their range. However, an isolated population of red squirrels in Arizona has experienced considerable declines in population size. American red squirrels experience severe early mortality (on average only 22% survive to one year of age). The survival probability, however, increases to age three, when it begins to decrease again. Females that survive to one year of age have a life expectancy of 2.3 years and a maximum lifespan of eight years.

Songs about Coke

There are a LOT of songs about cocaine. Here are a few more.

The Weekend's Can't Feel My Face
The song isn't about being so happy in love that his face has gone numb from smiling (although that would be romantic). The lyrics actually reference cocaine, personified as a woman. "And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb. And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come."

Grandmaster Flash White Lines
"My white lines go a long way / Either up your nose or through your vein / With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain"

The Eagles Life In The Fast Lane
“They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavenly bills. There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face”

Interpol Rest My Chemistry
"I haven't slept for two days. I've bathed in nothing but sweat / And I've made hallways scenes for things to regret. My friends they come / And the lines they go by.

Fleetwood Mac Gold Dust Woman
"Rock on gold dust woman / Take your silver spoon / Dig your grave"

Metallica Master of Puppets
"Needlework the way, never you betray / Life of death becoming clearer. / Pain monopoly, ritual misery / Chop your breakfast on a mirror.

Black Sabath Snowblind
Written by Butler not Ozborn "Crystal world with winter flowers turn my days to frozen hours."

Marbled Orb Spider

Lekach Honey Cake

Butter, for greasing pan	2 3⁄4 C. flour, plus more for pan
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon	2 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. ground ginger	1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. kosher salt
1 C. sugar	6 eggs, separated
1 C. canola oil	1 C. honey
2 Tbsp. orange zest	1⁄4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp. Grand Marnier	1 1⁄2 C. confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 4-qt. Bundt pan; set aside. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat ³⁄₄ cup sugar and egg yolks in a bowl on medium-high speed of a mixer until tripled in volume, about 4 minutes. Stir in oil, honey, 2 tbsp. juice, zest, and Grand Marnier. Add dry ingredients; stir until just combined.

Beat egg whites in a bowl on high speed of a mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan; smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Let cool and invert onto a serving plate. Whisk remaining juice with confectioners' sugar; drizzle over cake.

Clam linguini

Clams sauteed in butter, olive oil, parsley, salt and lemon pepper, served over linguini.

Work sign

The people at work ripped the handle off the refrigerator. I drew them a sign to be more careful next time.

Globes

I re-did my globes with festive holiday ribbons. You are looking at "Nevada" and "Colorado".

hot chocolate waffles

Waffle batter mixed with a packet of hot chocolate mix, topped with chocolate and marshmallows. This tasty waffle should be a welcome fall treat!

Wreath

I made a new bow for my door wreath. The blue sparkly spider still upsets D.

Stick Bug

Stick insects—also known as walking sticks—live in tropical and temperate forests all over the world. Related to grasshoppers, crickets, and mantises, these insects are usually brown, green, or black. They’re also the world’s longest insects. The largest one ever found stretched 22 inches with its legs extended.  This one was about 7 inches long.

Eclipse 2017

Steak Gremolata

.25 oz parsley (maybe a third of the amount that you usually buy at the store)
1 oz sliced blanched almonds (baking aisle)
10 oz Heirloom cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
a lemon
olive oil
10 ounce New York strip steak (not individual sandwich steak slices like I found)

Finely chop half the parsley; pick leaves from other half and reserve for garnish.  Mince garlic. Halve tomatoes. Halve lemon.  Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add almonds to (dry) pan and toast, tossing frequently until gold. Remove from pan and then finely chop once cool, leaving a few larger pieces.  In a small bowl, mix chopped parsley, almonds, a pinch of garlic, a squeeze of lemon, and 2 Tb. olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste.  Mixture should have a pesto like consistency.  Add another drizzle of olive oil if needed to correct it. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in your pan over medium-high heat.  Add tomatoes and remaining garlic.  Cook, tossing until tomatoes soften, 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.  Add more olive oil to the same pan and continue over medium high heat. Pat steak dry with paper towel, season with salt and pepper.  Cook in the pan to desired doneness, 3-6 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes then thinly slice against the grain. Plate your dinner. We had smashed cauliflower as our base.  Next lay steak strips down, then top with tomatoes.  The gremolata goes on top like a relish.

Sushi

Red Dragon roll: Spicy Tuna, avocado, tobiko topped with slice tuna and siracha mayo
Angry Dragon roll: Tempura shrimp, papaya, and tuna wrapped with soy paper, topped with spicy king crab
Philadelphia roll: smoked salmon, cucumber, cream cheese
Sweet potato roll: deep fried sweet potato slices

Breakfast burrito

This low-carb chicken burrito is a wonderful breakfast item. It contains boiled, shredded chicken, scrambled eggs, a non-hot tomato salsa, and avocados. It is packed with flavor and easy to digest. Less than 10 carbs for a burrito big enough to fill you up.

Beech Tree

Beech bark is extremely thin and scars easily. Since the beech tree has such delicate bark, carvings, such as lovers' initials and other forms of graffiti, remain because the tree is unable to heal itself. The fruit is a small, sharply three–angled nut 10–15 mm long, borne singly or in pairs in soft-spined husks. The husk can have a variety of spine- to scale-like appendages. The nuts are edible, though bitter (though not nearly as bitter as acorns) with a high tannin content, and are called beechnuts. They were not tasty raw.

Honey bee

Bees

Fudge Frosting

Fudge Frosting
6 Tb. butter
6 Tb. milk
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 C. chocolate chips

In a sauce pan, boil the milk, butter, and sugar. Stir to make sure it does not scald, and the sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate chips (and a tsp. vanilla if you have it). Stir to fully incorporate. Pour over brownies. Decorate with candies or nuts, then place in fridge to harden. It sets up exactly like Christmas fudge.

Oxeye Sunflower

Basket of Fire

Basket of Fire is a compact branching chili that has a very attractive habit producing a heavy crop of 2-3inch creamy colored peppers that matures through yellow and orange to bright red all over the plant. The fruits are quite pungent, measuring 80,000 scoville heat units which is a little less than a habanero type. I got a pre-made window basket containing these peppers, Mexican cilantro, basil, and thyme.

Popcorn chicken

Perfect tempura batter
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. corn starch
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
assorted seasoning (I like a pinch of pepper and cayanne pepper)
up to 1 C. ice cold water, you have to eyeball it.

Mix batter. Dip bite size chicken pieces in it. Deep fry your dipped chicken pieces over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Sometimes they get soggy if you let them sit around too long, but deep frying for an additional minute takes care of that.

Cucumber