Today was to be the last day of baking, but there were some other plans – I’ll explain. No bother, really – I’ll continue with baking tomorrow. I’m finding that I’m really enjoying it – I think a sturdy stand mixer has a lot to do with that, especially since so many cookie recipes involve creaming butter and sugar which – if done by hand, becomes quite tiring.
In the Reverse Advent Calendar, today I added pasta. It’s inexpensive, can be prepared a hundred ways, and nearly everyone likes it. It’s a winner all the way around!
Today’s “Diva drill” is the recipe I used for yesterday’s espresso brownies which – honestly – could drive a good man to contemplate committing felonies to get his hands on them. They’re a bewitching mixture of not-too-sweet chocolate and velvety coffee flavors and the glaze just – oh, my! Plus, crazy easy. Seriously, cut these into bite-size portions and give away a chunk of them or freeze them. Otherwise, you’re going to eat the entire pan. I can’t give credit to the source – it’s not written on my copy – but these are certainly not my own creation.
From the bookshelf, try to track down Aunt Epp’s Guide for Life, which is an alphabetical collection of musings from Elspeth Marr that were found in her private papers. She led a quiet life and was, by all accounts, a rather stern and dictatorial woman. But that was only the outside. Her writings show her to be an inquisitive woman who had a great deal of commonsense and plain-spoken advice on topics we don’t usually associate with the Victorians.
Holiday prep today came in two flavors today – I continued baking (I made my mother’s peanut butter cookies and I’m part way through an espresso cookie with peppermint buttercream that I’m looking forward to trying) but the best part was buying and wrapping presents for some little girls I’ve never met. They asked for simple things and it was great fun playing elf. If you haven’t done that yet this year, there’s still time. And – especially this year – some folks are having a hard time. Go help out – there are kids who are having a lean year and don’t forget the adults, too! Many nursing homes have folks whose families haven’t seen them in quite a while who would enjoy a little something under the tree, too.
We are fortunate in so many ways.
Come back tomorrow!
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