Holiday Gift Giving

By Administrator on October 27th, 2006
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

It’s getting to be that time of year again when most of us start thinking about holiday gift giving. Whether you are celebrating the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa (I’d include Diwali in this list also except that it was early this year and is already past), coming up with bright ideas for the people on your list is often the hardest part.

If you are looking for unique handmade gifts, please come by and take a look. If nothing else, it might inspire some creative thinking! Whether it’s something that I’ve made myself or something that I’ve purchased, finding that perfect gift to match a family member or friend is the most rewarding experience of the holiday season (well, next to seeing the look on their faces when they receive the gifts, that is).

Last year I was able to come up with handcrafted gifts for both of my sisters-in-law and they were both delighted with them. Of course, it would have been better if my brother had actually provided me with the correct size for his wife! I knew that my sister in law really loved Native American leather clothing, but the prices were way beyond what the budget would bear. We usually try to attend a big powwow in late Summer and since there’s usually a booth that sells pelts, I’d determined to buy some deerskins and see what I could come up with. The fringed vest turned out really well, but since my brother had underestimated his wife’s size, it didn’t look so great on her. She put it on and wore it for the rest of the day anyway, so I know that she was really pleased with the effort. I’m hoping to try again at some point and make her a jacket — only in a much larger size!

If time allows, I’m planning on posting an article on how to make your own dangle earrings sometime before the holidays. The only problem is getting someone to photograph the steps so that it will be easy for others to follow the directions. (I often find that a picture is much clearer than a written description when reading “How To …” instructions.)

Chocolate Bread Pudding

By Administrator on October 19th, 2006
Posted in free recipes | 1 Comment »

If you’re used to the more usual plain bread pudding with raisins or the English bread and butter pudding, this may sound a little weird. Believe me though, once you try it the recipe will be in your recipe box for keeps! I first made this a very long time ago when I was in junior high school (as a matter of fact, the original recipe came in a Home Economics cookbook published by the public school system.)

2 cups milk, scalded (2% works just fine if you’d like to avoid the extra fat and cholesterol)
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (Dutch process is best)
1 cup bread crumbs (almost anything except rye will work)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Scald milk in double boiler. (Tiny bubbles will appear around the edges and the milk will be quite hot to the touch. If you let it heat any longer, a “skin” will form on top of the milk.)

Add a little of the hot milk to the cocoa to form a smooth paste. Add more milk until you have a dark chocolate liquid, then add chocolate mixture to the rest of the milk. Add crumbs (these don’t have to be really fine crumbs, in fact, I prefer a little chunkier texture. If using bigger pieces of crumbled bread; however, use more than a level cup or your pudding will not have enough body.) Soak until soft.

Add sugar and salt to slightly beaten eggs and mix well. Add a little of the hot mixture to the eggs and stir quickly. Pour this mixture back into double boiler and cook for five minutes.

Add vanilla and pour into a buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F until firm. Insert a knife into middle of pudding to test. If knife comes out clean, pudding is done.

Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.