Happy Winter Holidays
Hello Everyone! I hope the winter holidays have been a good experience for you. 2020 is a challenging year to put in perspective. Foremost, it is accomplishment enough to be able to witness the end of the year as so much tragedy has occurred. But then daily life needs come in to the picture which can be complicated and stressful such as going to the grocery store. What keeps me going are the stories of the spectacular such as a high school student, Emma Davenport, leading the IL effort to create masks and those individuals using this time to make giant strides in their personal growth. Enough of high philosophy, however, it has been busy at Planet Nice Crafts with creative activities and I am sure you have been quite busy too.
A common creative activity this time of year is holiday decorating. Because so many of the tree stands had sold out in my area, I purchased a Christmas tree on December 8th, about two weeks earlier than I usually do. I chose a white pine, which I had one before and recalled it was more difficult to decorate because of its long needles – however, I did not find that this year. Yes the tinsel was a bit of a challenge but the white pine’s Charlie Brown and bushy, creature look more than compensate. I put the final picture first as that will be posted in the header. Here is the same tree at the lot:
Other activities amped up during this season were cooking and baking. The fruitcakes from last month completed their aging process on December 23rd so it was time to move on to new endeavors. On the Eve, I baked a big batch of Toasted Coconut Shortbread, a recipe by Alison Roman, published in New York Times Cooking a few years ago. These cookies are all butter – I used nine sticks of butter this day. Here is the dough heading towards the end of its formation (another cup of flour to go):
The dough is divided and each part is pressed out into a
rectangle and then cinnamon is added:
The dough rectangle is then rolled into itself lengthwise to form a
log and then chilled. Once chilled, the logs are brushed with an egg wash and
rolled in coconut:
The logs are then sliced and are ready for baking:
The recipe suggests baking at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes but my first couple of cookie sheets had quite pale cookies. I like these cookies with more browning and toasting.
Each cookie sheet required different conditions (and each of my cookie sheets is a different brand). One cookie
sheet attained the more toasted results at 350 degrees for 13 minutes while the
other needed 365 degrees for 15 minutes. The more you know about the equipment,
the better.
In the cooking realm, I decided to use one of my homegrown
pumpkins to make a roasted vegetable dish with artichokes and thyme, a Martha
Stewart recipe. The pumpkins have aged well on the floor by my patio door.
And when cut, revealed numerous seeds that were also very
tasty roasted – so as much as possible was used from this precious homegrown
vegetable.
Lastly, the birds have been interesting this time of year.
Yes, the less desirable flocks of sparrows and starlings have been spotted
especially in the more frigid temperatures, but the chickadees and cardinals
have been observed taking in part the water and seeds provided. One evening I
was working on a small project and made this recording:
The BirdNet app identified the call as a Great Horned Owl. I
was very excited because it was so prominent. This is special as I have not
heard anything since. One of Planet Nice Crafts’ 2021 goals is to include an
audio or video snippet – we are expanding media!
Lastly, we had a great time putting together packages this
month so do not hesitate to reach out at planetnicecrafts@gmail.com. The
offers made in November continue into 2021 as everyone can use some more Nice.
Until 2021!
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