The List: December 2013

December is rolling to an end, and, incredible as it seems, 2013 is on its way out. What a ridiculous month this was. Too many chips, dips, cookies, casseroles and parties altogether. Here's some of the highlights of this month.

A sampler of our Baking Day products

Baking Day: I got together with two friends one Sunday for a big baking day. From noon until 4 PM, we baked non-stop. Dozens and dozens of cookies including cranberry chocolate chip cookies, fruit and nut shortbread, almond biscotti, mini elephant ears. One person mixed, another scooped while a third manned the oven. V was given the job of shooing the kid and the dog away from the cooling cookies. We also made samosa style puffs to snack on.What an excellent way to spend a chilly afternoon.

I took some of the cookies to a neighborhood cookie exchange and got to meet some new neighbors over wine and appetizers before swapping boxes of cookies with them. It was a lot of fun but I've realized that I like baking cookies more than I like eating them. Or more accurately, I only like eating cookies that have been made by myself or by Trader Joe's!

Cooking for lots of friends, old and new. A highlight of the month, no, this year, was last week, when old friends of ours drove 12+ hours to come spend a few days with us. We were 11 of us crammed into the house- 6 adults, 4 kids under five, and 1 dog in the middle of it all. Can I just say how wonderful it is to cook for foodies who are not picky and who eat with gusto? We just lazed around the house and cooked and ate and laughed the whole time.

On the menu were some of our favorite meals- dosa, waffles, misal, sev puri, enchiladas, lasagna, biryani. I baked elephant ear cookies with the 5 year old- they somehow vanished in minutes off the baking sheet, even before I could transfer them to the cooling rack. We made several loaves of buttermilk bread from the New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - this bread was a huge hit with the crowd. Also a big hit were these mandelbrot or almond biscotti- I've made many batches this holiday season and everyone has raved about them.

One friend whipped up Kentucky Sours- whiskey cocktails that are a quick and tasty way to get tipsy fast! He shared the recipe: 1 part egg whites, 1 part simple syrup, 1 part lime juice and 2 parts whiskey. Or something like that, I was too buzzed to pay attention ;) Another friend made fluffy omelets for breakfast- funny how something as simple as omelets can be different when made by someone else. It was a food festival all the way.

The kids all enjoyed their 72+ hour play date. I got matching pajamas for all four kids and it was super cute to see them prancing around in excitement looking all matchy matchy. They all got stuffed stockings and presents on Christmas morning, just for fun. Even Duncan had his own stocking with toys and treats. He amiably played the role of a one-dog petting zoo and deserved some pampering. We would put the kids to bed and then watch stand-up comedians on Netflix. Our roaring laughter kept waking up the littlest baby, much to his mamma's consternation.

All in all, it was a treat to get to bond all over again with old friends, and they were the nicest house guests possible- jumping in to do the dishes, happily eating leftovers every few meals, meaning that we had lots of fun while not wasting any food.

Then- another surprise, a visit by Mandira of Ahaar and her sweet family- it was great fun to chat in person over a cup of chai while our kids played together. She's even sweeter than I imagined her to be!

Making

Mini stockings as gift card holders for Lila's teachers. I used this pattern- it was quick and easy. Sewing curves was the only slightly difficult part, but it is a gift card holder and not a garment- it does not have to be perfect. I sewed the ribbon loops by hand.


For a friend's daughter's third birthday, our gift was a fleece blanket paired with a
book. When this child comes over to play, she always snuggles with the quilts I have in the living room, which is why I thought she might like this. I made this by putting together two different 1.25 yard pieces of fleece and sewing them together with a blanket stitch on the edge. The book is Press Here by Herve Tullet- Lila got this as a gift from my friend Cathy and it is so delightful that I bought more to give as gifts.

And I've been knitting small gifts- a giraffe hat for a giraffe-collecting co-worker who is expecting her first grandchild.

And

mini sweater ornaments for a couple of quilter friends.


Reading took a backseat this month. But I read Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth, continuing her memoirs of being a midwife in the East End of London. Again, this book is beautifully narrated and worth reading even though there are portions that are almost unbearable. Also, this month, I read one of Agatha Christie's most famous books that somehow I had not read until now- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. And I re-read a book that I read and loved as a child: Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. It is a sweet and sentimental story- an orphan girl, a wise and dashing uncle, 7 boisterous boy cousins, aunts galore- and a great read if you're looking for something light this holiday season.

Watching  holiday movies, which is a first for me. I very rarely watch movies and almost never the holiday classics. Too many people kept gushing about Love, Actually so I finally watched it. They call it a feel-good movie but it seemed rather bittersweet to me and with too many story lines- certainly there were many cute moments, but they were sprinkled in among plenty of ludicrous ones. And for some reason, men (the PM and the writer) kept falling in love with women who served them tea. What gives? But I enjoyed the soundtrack very much. Have you seen this movie? Am I over-analyzing it? :D

It's A Wonderful Life was showing on some channel as I surfed through and I'm glad I finally watched this classic. As I was knitting holiday gifts, I also watched and thoroughly enjoyed some episodes of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, set in 1920s Australia.

So what have you been cooking, baking, eating, reading, watching this month? Did you get any exciting holiday gifts?

I wish you all a wonderful 2014. Via One Hot Stove, I hope to continue sharing my favorite recipes and books and crafts with you in the coming year. Cheers!