C is also for Christmas (tree)

many moons ago, i was at a garden center that was going out of business. it happened to be the week between christmas and new years, so everything christmas themed or related was 95% off. i was 23, and in the middle of my "dragonfly" years. i never stayed in one place long. always flitting from one city to another. and the places i did live? were the size of postage stamps. i was never going to have room for anything bigger than a charlie brown tree. all the same, i purchased a $250 7 foot artificial norweigan fir tree. for $12.

i know, artificial trees are kinda hokey looking. but this one really is very realistic looking. and i know me, if i got a real tree? i'd be that person who had shedding pine needles all over the house through march. i do miss the smell of a real tree. but that's easily solved with a yankee candle.

for years this tree lived in my parents attack, still sealed. it wasn't until i came into tony's life, and into his townhouse, that i had a place to finally set my tree.

i try to put together a respectable tree. small white lights with lots of red and gold. branches of berries and painted pine cones.

i was going for warmth. and seasonal. and.....nerdy. if you get a good look at our tree? we have all sorts of gems hidden amongst the classic "crate and barrel" look. like a darth vadar. a darth vadar in an ugly christmas sweater. that has AT-AT's with antlers.

a john deere. cause....tony. iowa has to be represented. 

this guy i love. nothing says "awesome" like dr seuss.

and no tree would be complete without an angel. DON'T BLINK.

of course where there is a weeping angel, there must be a TARDIS. it's bigger on the inside.

i try to collect ornaments whenever i travel. from scotland? i brought.....the hairy coo. mostly because i love that it is called.....a hairy coo.

we also have set our stockings by the chimney (we don't have a fireplace, so figured a staircase was the next best thing.) we each have one from what we consider to be quintessential  christmas movies.

bumbles bounce!

fra-gee-lay.

the last touch of holiday cheer we bring to the home sits beneath our tree. the world's saddest elf.....

seriously, have you ever seen a face so embarrassed? she's like the teenage daughter of the dog world. always annoyed with what we do.

now with my tree all aglow, my stockings hung with care, and my "balsam and cedar" candle burning, i'm ready to begin my christmas cheer! cue the muppets and john denver!!!

C is for Cookie

to me a necessary element to the holiday season is scent. the woodsy smell of pine and fir. the refreshing scent of citrus. the smell in the air before it snows. and of course the sweet smell of baking cookies.

for as long as i can remember, candies and cookies were a mandatory part of preparing for christmas. as a child i would help my mother roll snickerdoodles in cinnamon sugar and stir the toffee as it boiled on the stove.

now i continue the tradition in my own kitchen. every year i bring out the 3x5 cards that are stained and smeared from years of use. most years i experiment with new recipes (some successful like the s'more cookies, some not....pretty much any attempt that involved egg whites). but i always have a few classics i have to make.

christmas isn't christmas without gingersnaps or snickerdoodles. maybe it's the warmth of the spices in each cookie. or just how fun they are to say their names. or it is simply the smell of these two wintery favorites baking.

the recipe i use for snickerdoodles is pretty much the same one i helped my mother with so many years ago... and yes, you do need cream of tartar. no clue what it does. but it seems to be the magic behind the snickerdoodle.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 c crisco                                       1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter (softened)                      2 eggs
2 3/4 flour                                        2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda                             1/4 tsp salt

*cinnamon sugar for coating (approximately 1 Tbsp cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar)

-Heat oven to 400F
-Cream together crisco, butter, sugar and eggs.
-Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
-Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet.
-Form dough into ping-pong sized balls.
-Toss in cinnamon-sugar.
-Place on prepared cookie sheet 2" apart.
-Bake 10 minutes (until golden).

i highly recommend tossing the pre-cooked cookies and cinnamon sugar together in a ziplock bag. i do about 5-6 at a time. super easy and keeps the mess minimal.

here's my little army of cookies waiting to be placed in the oven. have i mentioned how much i love my new cookie sheets? not a single cookie burned or stuck!

words cannot express how phenomenal the smell that poured out of the oven when i opened the door was. and again, an oven with convection bake setting? much love. this has cut my baking time in half this year. which i guess means i should make twice as many cookies?

now for the gingersnaps.... mine are slightly different from most people's. for one, they're softer than the average snap. and a little bit spicier. my "secret ingredient"? this stuff:

cardamom. it's not just for indian food anymore. i find it adds an extra "snap" to the snap. it isn't a hot spice, but extremely flavorful.  this recipe is a little unusual (the vinegar threw me for a loop), but i promise, it makes for one amazing cookie. the process is very similar to the snickerdoodle. these two compliment each other very well.

Gingersnaps

2 sticks (1 c) butter                                       3 c sugar
3 eggs                                                            1 c molasses
2 Tbsp white vinegar                                    6 3/4 c bread flour
2 Tbsp baking soda                                       4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon                                  1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground cardamom                                

*sugar for coating (approximately 1/4 cup)

-Heat oven to 375F
-Cream together butter and sugar.
-Incorporate molasses, eggs and vinegar to butter mixture.
-Sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom.
-Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet.
-Form dough into ping-pong sized balls.
-Toss in sugar.
-Place on prepared cookie sheet 2" apart.
-Bake 10 minutes (until golden).

action shot! the convection bake setting, the ceramic cookie sheets, the stand mixer.... cookie making is so much easier for me now!!!

here they are, fresh out of the oven, with that beautiful cracking on the outside and the dusting of sugar. 

these + a nice cup of chai tea? will make for a lovely afternoon snack!!!

Meet Cash

we have a new guest staying with us at la casa de gaio.



he came to us from chattanooga. he is a two year old feral cat who was being fostered by our friends daliah and mark.

the little man was found living in a barn with a family of strays. our friends took it upon themselves to foster this family and get them healthy enough to be adopted into human homes (which i think earns them both a spot in heaven).

they called him "buster" (short for bustepher jones...the "cat about town" from the T.S. Eliot poem). i love that they are familiar with old possum's book of practical cats!

they knew with buster it would be a difficult battle to get him acclimated to people and living indoors.

his need for a safe home indoors took a dramatic upswing a few weeks ago. this poor creature was hit by a car, and his little jaw was broken. his mandible needed to have a wire put in it for him to heal properly.

we got an email from daliah and mark that they would be in town (visiting friend and family) and were asking if anyone had room in their homes for buster.  they weren't having much luck finding anyone in tennessee that could take in a cat with these rather unique problems, so they wanted to cast a wider net.

when tony showed me the email, my heart broke for this furry creature who had been through so much.

we have been talking about getting another cat. we lost our lewis in february. and i know we can offer safety, comfort, and lots of snuggles. so after a great deal of talking, tony and i decided we would take this cat in, and do our best to continue his rehabilitation.

after a few days with our new boarder, we started to call him "cash". as in johnny. he is from tennessee after all. and a man in black. so it seemed like a good fit!

it's been a rough few days. because of the wire in his mouth, cash will only eat a little bit at a time, and it takes a lot of coaxing. we have finally discovered that baby food, specifically pureed chicken, will whet his appetite. but we have to feed him by hand, which takes a great deal of patience. and is pretty messy. i end up with more chicken on me, than on him.



it's worth it though. when we are able to get him out from under the bed, he is really the most snuggly of cats. very sweet, and super loving.

cash is still wary of every noise in the house. and totally freaked out by mahjong (he has an existing fear of dogs). and he still has the wire for another 5 weeks. but we're hopeful that he will find comfort here, and learn that this really is a safe place.