With love and appreciation to our readers. 

 Here’s hoping 2011 is full of good times, 

peace and prosperity.  

 

Egg  Nog Spice Bundt Cake

     by Linda Broday

 1 box spice cake mix

1 box Instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding & pie filling

1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup light eggnog

1 egg

3 egg whites

1 1/3 cups toasted chopped pecans

Powdered sugar

1.    Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray

2.    Combine cake mix, pudding mix, yogurt, oil, eggnog, egg, and egg whites in a large bowl.

3.    Stir in pecans. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. When cool, dust with powdered sugar.

 

 My Aunt Grace’s Downhome Banana Bread

     by Tanya Hanson

½ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 medium mashed bananas

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and cream well. Sift flour and soda together. Fold flour and bananas into above mixture. Add ¼ cup chopped nuts.

 Bake in greased floured loaf pan, 1 hour, at 350º.

 

 

Haystack Drop Candies
By Winnie Griggs

 

This is a holiday favorite at my house.  It’s super easy and, as you can see from the notes on ingrediants that can be swapped out or added in, it is very versatile. 

 

INGREDIANTS

• 1 cup caramel chips (can substitute butterscotch chips)
• 2 cups shoestring potatoes (can substitute chow mein noodles)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup salted peanuts (optional)

 

DIRECTIONS

• Melt chips and peanut butter in microwave or double boiler.  Stir until well blended
• Gently stir in shoestring potatoes and nuts
• Drop by spoonfuls unto waxed paper 
• Cool until set

 

Other add-ins you can try

• Rice Krispie cereal
• Miniature marshmallows
• M&Ms
• Coconut

 

Andes Mint Cookies
By Cheryl Pierson

 

INGREDIANTS

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbs water
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 oz. Andes mints
• Pecan halves

 
DIRECTIONS

• In a large bowl, cream sugars and butter or margarine.
• Add eggs and water. Beat well.
• Mix flour, soda and salt well.
• Add gradually to egg mixture. Chill dough overnight (it is important that the dough be well chilled). 
• Wrap each mint completely in cookie dough.
• Place 2″ apart on lightly greased cookie sheets and put a nut half on top of each cookie.
• Bake 7-9 minutes until golden brown in a 375 degree oven.

 

 

OLD FASHIONED RICE PUDDING

By Cheryl St. John

 

1/2 cup rice

1 quart milk

4 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons sugar

Combine rice, milk and salt. Cook in a double-boiler until rice is tender.

Beat egg yolks until light and lemon colored. Add these, 1/2 c sugar, margarine and vanilla to the rice. Stir vigorously as you add the egg mixture. Cook slowly until pudding becomes the consistency of custard.

Pour into casserole and top with meringue made of the 4 egg whites beaten stiffly and 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Brown in oven 10 to 12 minutes.

 

 

 ORGANIC RAW CHOCOLATE CREAM COOKIES SUPREME

 By Karen Kay

 

 1)  Fill a quart jar with almonds half full.  Fill another quart jar with pecans half full.   Fill jar with water and salt and let soak overnight.  (The purpose of this is to deactivate the anti-nutrients — phytates — in the nuts.  Phytates impair digestion and prevent the body from assimilating important nutrients like calcium, magnesium, etc.)

2)  Pour off water and salt and dehydrate the nuts in the lowest setting on your oven — or dehydrate them in a dehydrator if you have one.

Recipe:

 5 tblsp. soaked and dried raw organic almonds

5 tblsp. soaked and dried raw organic pecans

2 tblsp. raw organic cacao

2 tblsp. raw organic coconut flour

4 tblsp. raw organic butter or if raw butter not available, regular butter

1/4 teasp. pure organic stevia

1-2 tblsp. vegetable glycerin — or substitute 1-2 tblsp. maple syrup

1 cup raw organic cream or if raw cream not available, one can substitute regular cream — hopefully non-homogenized

1 teasp. vanilla

Put almonds and pecans in a food processor and grind until nuts are the consistency of a coarse flour.  Add raw cacao, coconut flour, butter, stevia and vegetable glycerin (or maple syrup) and blend until a dough forms.

Drop by spoonfuls onto the dehydrator or cookie sheet and press to form a flat cookies.  Dehydrate for 3-4 hours or put in oven at lowest possible heat and heat for 2-3 hours.  Whip raw cream with a couple of pinches of stevia and organic vanilla.

Place a spoonful of cream onto the cookie and place another cookie on top — making a cookie sandwich.  Makes about 16 cookies.

GRANNIE’S TEXAS GERMAN

CHOCOLATE CAKE

By Phyliss Miranda

Grannie was a cake baker for one of the first cafeterias in downtown Amarillo, Texas, during the 50’s and this is her original recipe she made every Thursday for the lunch crowd.

Recipe

2 c.      Sugar

1 c.      Shortening

4          Eggs, separated

2 ½ c.  Flour

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp.   Soda

1 c.      Buttermilk

4 squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Dissolve chocolate in ½ cup hot water. Set aside. Cream sugar and 4 egg yokes (beaten).  Add 2 ½ cups flour and ½ t salt, alternating with buttermilk in which soda has been dissolved.  Add melted chocolate. Beat 4 egg whites till stiff, but not dry, and fold mixture into egg whites.

Bake 350 degrees for approximately ½ hour.  Makes 3 round pans.

German Chocolate Cake Icing

1 c.      Sugar

1 c.      Canned milk

½ c.     Chopped pecans

1 c.      Coconut

½ stick Butter

3          Egg yolks

Pinch of salt

Vanilla to taste

Combine ingredients.  Cook over very low heat until mixture spreads smoothly.  Ice cake.

  

Home on the Range Christmas Cookies

By Victoria Bylin

 

3/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. oatmeal (regular not instant or steel cut)
1 c. Rice Krispies
1/2 can shredded coconut (3 oz or so)
1 small bag chocolate chips
1/2  large box raisins
1/4  lb. walnuts
 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar and vanilla. Add beaten eggs. Cream well. Add dry ingredients (sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt). Mix well. Add coconut, chocolate chips and nuts.  Flatten into small cookies with wet hands.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Makes approx. 8 dozen cookies.

 

Grandma Rosa’s Caramel Cookies

By Tracy Garrett

 

Since my Grandma Rosa played an important part in my first western historical, I thought I’d share one of her recipes with you. Every Christmas you would find some of these in Grandma’s freezer.

4 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup shortening
6 cups flour
4 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
8 tablespoons water
1/4 tsp salt 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, slightly beaten, and  molasses and mix well. Add dry. Mix well. The dough will be very stiff. Form dough into two 2-inch rolls. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight in the refrigerator. Slice thin and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Grandma’s recipe calls for a “very slow” oven, which is 275-325 degrees. If your oven runs hot, go for a lower setting.

Wrangler Wreath Cookies

Mary Connealy

1/3 C. butter

 10 ounces marshmallows

Microwave 1 ½ minutes. Stir. Microwave again 1 ½ minutes. Continue until smooth. Add:

1 t. green food coloring

Add:

6 C. cornflakes (crushed)

Wet hands work as well as buttered hands to prevent sticking. Roll into balls. Poke thumb through center and flatten to form a wreath. Decorate with red hots.

 Gumdrop Cake

Donna Alward

1/2 cup Margarine

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

1 cup milk

1 cup gum drops (no black) chopped, or baking gums

Cream margarine and sugar, beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to the mixture, alternating with the milk until smooth.

Dust gumdrops with flour (to keep them from sticking together). Add to batter. Grease and flour a funnel or bundt pan. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean. Wrap in foil and let ripen for 1 week (if you can stand to wait that long!).

JEFFREY KOTERBA’S ARTWORK USED WITH PERMISSION

 VISIT HIS WEBSITE: http://www.jeffreykoterba.com

 

‘Twas the night before Christmas in this Junction of ours;  

The sky over the prairie was ablaze with bright stars;

   

Our boots were lined up by the fire with care,

In hopes that Old Santa Claus soon would be there;

   

Felicia’s ornery mule napped snug there in the barn,

Whilst our visiting guest was spinning a yarn;

 

O’course Winnie in her wool socks and Tanya in her cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,

 

When out in the corral there arose such a ruckus,

I sprang from bed to see what the heck was…

 

…outside the window, there on the barn roof,

Victoria banged open the shutters and near busted a tooth!

 

The moon was so bright it near blinded my eye

And the snow landed like whippin’ cream coverin’ a pie,

 

When, what to my hornswaggled eyes should appear,

But a covered wagon and eight dusty reindeer!

 

With a little old driver wearing boots and a hat,

I knew for durned sure he was related to Pat.

 

He was cheery and bright, a right jolly cowpoke,

Elizabeth laughed when I saw him; he was my kind of  folk.

 

Those reindeers, they ain’t docile. What a hissy they threw!

Nearly toppled the wagon, and Old Santa Claus too.

 

Quicker’n a youngin’ off to play hookie,

That old geezer came in and asked Linda for a cookie;

 

Tracy found one and he ate it, so Stacey got milk

Then Karen, she presented him with a scarf made of silk.

 

But Mary, she hung back, I think she was a’feared

‘Cause all night she trembled and her eyes how they teared

 

No worry, Margaret told her, the fat guy’s a friend.

To us in the Junction and those ’round the bend,

 

Sure ’nuff Santa left a package in each Fillies’ boot,

Didn’t matter none to him, they was dusted with soot.

 

Then somethin’ happened, caught us all by surprise,

Donna and Cheryl S showed up with an armload of pies.

 

We sat down to eat ‘em, and they tasted fine,

Though they couldn’t have baked ‘em; They hadn’t had time;

   

Old Santa asked for seconds; Bet that’s why he’s merry.

 He tried pumpkin and apple, even pe-can and cherry.

 

Phyliss heaped on whipped cream, and still he ate more.

His belly how it swelled! Would he fit out the door?

   

“It’s my big night,” he declared.  “Only comes once a year.”

  Good thing for that, too, or he’d burst I do fear.

   

He stifled a burp, and a pipe out it came;

“Smoking’s not good for you,” Cheryl P did loudly exclaim.

 

“All that sugar and now this, think of your health.

“Think of all the children that count of your jolly old self!”

 

He listened real close and even nodded his head,

Took right to his heart everything we had said.

   

He tossed that old pipe in the fire with a pop,

“The Missus, she’s been tryin’ to get me to stop,”

   

With a hearty laugh and a promise to come back.

The Fillies watched that old fella leap up the smokestack.

  

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yee-haw,

And away they all flew, like twister-flung straw.

 

And we heard him exclaim as that team took flight,

“Merry Christmas, you bloggers, and to all a good-night.” 

 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

 

That is probably the best known poem in the English language. Written by Professor Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) in 1822, the poem was first published, anonymously, in The New York Sentinel on  December 23, 1823.

Clement Clarke Moore came from a prominent family and his father Benjamin Moore was the Bishop of New York who was famous for officiating at the inauguration of George Washington. 

It was not until 1844 that Clement Clarke Moore claimed ownership when the work was included in a book of his poetry.

       MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

 

Victorian clip art (pictures 2, 3, & 4 in the blog) courtesy of Averyl’s Attic: http://www.averyl.com/attic

For a sleighride, don’t you think?

I haven’t been on a sleigh ride in years, but I have fond memories, especially of when I was a kid growing up in a small farming community.  I belonged to groups like 4-H and we often had outings that included skating parties, hot cocoa, caroling, and yes, sleigh rides.

Of course you would hope for snow so you could actually go on a sleigh ride and not a wagon ride. There is something magical about the white snow and moonlight and the squeak of the runners against the snow. The sound of the horses’s hooves and the plume of the frosty air out their noses and of course the sound of bells!  But if there was no snow, we made do with wagons and bales of hay just the same. After all, you don’t need snow to sing carols. Or drink hot chocolate. Or eat Maudie Griffith’s fudge.

I got thinking about different books and movies that I love that have sleighrides in them.  How about the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, and burrowing under buffalo robes to keep warm?  Or one of my favourites – YEARS by LaVyrle Spencer. Teddy and Linnea were lovely characters and the day he picked her up from the train after Christmas break and they stopped and saw the wild horses…. happy sigh….

Movies, too. Like The Santa Clause 2 when he uses some magic to create a snowfall around the sleigh as they make their way to the Christmas party. Or at the end of White Christmas when it begins snowing and they roll back the barn doors and a horse and sleigh go jogging past!

Alas there are no sleigh rides in my immediate future, maybe you can recommend some other holiday books and movies I may have missed?

And as this is my last post of 2010 – MERRY CHRISTMAS and a big thank you to the other fillies for welcoming me to the family this year.

First off, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my fellow Canucks!  I hope you’ve stuffed yourselves full of turkey and cranberry sauce this weekend!

When I was a girl, I lived on a farm, so we never really vacationed much.  In the summer time, it was too busy.  In the late fall and winter, I was in school. There was the odd trip to the Annapolis Valley for apple grower field days in the summer. But I didn’t camp.

My husband’s family, on the other hand, camped A LOT. When we started dating, I suddenly learned what Coleman stoves and lanterns were for. How to put up a tent. The taste of bacon and eggs cooked in the outdoors. How you don’t touch the sides of the tent in the morning or when it rains or else you’ll get wet.  We moved out west and had kids and bought a bigger tent. Then we bought a tent trailer – a pop up that keeps us off the ground and has a table that works out dandy when it’s raining.  I love how I can leave my dishes and necessities in it and not have to pack them up every time.  It has burners but we still take the Coleman stove and use it unless it’s pouring down rain. It wouldn’t be camping without the camp stove.

One of my favourite camping trips ever was the summer before we left Alberta. We’d already spent a few weeks in the Shuswap area of British Columbia, but after being home a few days we felt the urge to hit the road again.  The husband left the destination up to me. I think for a while he regretted it, because I picked The Great Canadian Barn Dance  in Hillspring, Alberta – I think it was 2 or 3 nights camping and then a roast beef dinner and dance included.

Now my husband is a quiet guy.  The idea of going to a “group” dinner and then a barn dance earned me a few nasty looks. The girls, on the other hand, thought it sounded marvelous.

Southern Alberta is beautiful, and the campground was only a short drive from Waterton National Park. If you’re at all familiar, you’ll know that Waterton is on the Canadian side of the Montana Border and Glacier National Park. It’s absolutely stunning. And all around it is some of the most beautiful ranch country I’ve ever seen.

And the barn dance was great. First there was dinner – roast beef, potatoes, beans, coleslaw, buns….mmmm.  And Apple Crisp for dessert. Then there was the entertainment – the place is run by the Kunkel family and they’re all pretty talented. There’s an audience participation component (can you see my husband’s eyes roll again?) and wouldn’t you know he got chosen to play the “gut bucket” aka washtub bass. But he was a good sport.  After that the kids got a wagon ride around the place and then there was the dance itself.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to two-step or line dance.  They’ll teach you.  They’ll teach you something called The Butterfly too.  A mutual friend taught me to two-step several years ago, but this was the first time my husband ever did it, and it was great. We left before it was over to put the kids to bed, but as we sat outside we could still hear the music.  We even shared a dance beneath the stars as the party ended.

Now that we live on the East Coast, we’ll probably never make it back there again. But I’m sure glad we went.  And glad we’ve got the memories. Heck, it even inspired one of my Romances that was out in 2009.

Our camping trips inspired lots of locations, sometimes just be exploring a part of Alberta or British Columbia and finding it particularly pretty.  Such is the case with my next Harlequin Romance, Proud Rancher, Precious Bundle.  It’s out in February, but it’s out this month in the UK as a Mills and Boon Cherish.