Advent Shadowbox 2012: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining us for our Advent Shadowbox 2012 Calendar!
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December 1, 2012

Advent Shadowbox 2012: Day 1, Have a Tree Trimming Party, Make Cinnamon Glitter Ornaments & Favourite Photo Ornaments

Technically, it’s the day before Advent Begins….well, unless you go to Saturday night mass, as my grandmother would have said. Let’s just say we’re taking my granmother’s advice….

This morning, the kids woke up and ran downstairs to see if I had gotten their Advent Shadowbox out of storage. They found the image above in the frame.

Today, we’ll be having our annual family tree trimming party, and we’ll be making two types of ornaments with which to adorn our tree:

We’ll be making the 2012 edition of Our Favourite Photo Ornaments

and we’ll be whipping up a brand new recipe

a batch of heaven-scented, non-edible Cinnamon Glitter Ornaments

[you'll find the DIY directly below.]

Cinnamon Glitter Ornaments

Materials
1 Cup Cinnamon [get it at the bulk store!]
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves or allspice
.5 c glue
.3+ c glitter
.5+ Cup Applesauce
Glitter
Cookie Cutters
A Drinking Straw
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet
Oven
Thin Ribbon [we used metallic elastic ribbon]

Method
Heat oven to 200 F.
In a medium bowl, mix Cinnamon, Spices, Glue and Glitter with a spoon.
Add Applesauce by the quarter cup until a thick, somewhat tough dough forms.
[If the dough becomes a deep dark brown and wet, you've added too much applesauce, add more additional cinnamon to compensate.]
Add additional glitter if you think you’d like more sparkle.
Divide the dough into 2-3 sections.
Roll out each section on parchment paper.
Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters and use a straw to punch a hole for hanging towards the top.
Place ornaments onto a parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 2.5 hours and let cool on a wire rack.
Run a thin ribbon or piece of elastic through the holes in the ornaments to hang.

The dough above is just right!
The dough below is too wet!

A Little Gallery:

Today’s Shadowbox:

This year’s Favourite Photo Ornaments

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October 5, 2012

Whisky Fig Cranberry Sauce

If you’re going to make your own cranberry sauce, you might as well make it worth the effort. We’re always trying something different for our annual Thanksgiving feast. This time, I was inspired by one of my favourite fall cocktails: Apple Cider & Fireball Canadian Whisky (Cinnamon Whisky). We just went apple picking, so there’s plenty of cider on hand. And I always seem to have some sort of whisky in the cabinet…Of course, the booze cooks off, so it’s family friendly. This recipe can be canned using a boiling water bath and given as gifts around the holidays. The figs are green, so it looks kind of Christmassy, too.

Whisky Fig Cranberry Sauce
this one’s for you, Grandma Geraldine
Makes 1.25 pints
Recipe can be doubled, triped, quadrupled…

Ingredients
For every 12 oz bag cranberries:
.25 c whisky [We used Fireball (Cinnamon Flavoured) Canadian Whisky, but any Whisky will do!]
.75 c apple cider [juice or water can be substituted here]
1 cup brown sugar
[OPTIONAL] .25 cup/50 g diced dried apricots [OPTIONAL]
1 cup/8 oz quartered fresh green figs, tips and tails removed.
zest and juice of .5 lime
.5 tsp cinnamon
.5 tsp vanilla extract
.125 tsp ginger
.125 tsp cardamom
.125 tsp cloves
OPTIONAL Garnishes:
.125 cup sliced almonds (toasted if you wish)
.25 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Method
Heat liquid, sugar and [optional] dried apricots in a pot and bring to a boil.
Add the cranberries.
[If your cranberries are frozen, wait a minute or two before continuing].
Add the quartered fresh green figs and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low.
Add lime zest, lime juice, and spices.
Boil on low, stirring frequently, until the sauce comes to an almost jam-like consistency.
[This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.]
Sauce may be canned using a boiling water bath, leaving .25-in headspace in jars and processing for 15 minutes.

[Optional] If you would like to make this into a ”compote,” add .25 c shredded sweetened coconut and/or .125-.25 c almonds per batch to your sauce before canning or serving or you could use coconut and/or almonds as a garnish on the day of your gathering. This is going overboard, of course…..but we like to go overboard around the holidays.

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