Here things are a little out-of-the-ordinary, to put it mildly. The past days have been a whirlwind of packing, cleaning the rental house, hauling things over, figuring out what to do first, worrying, making a million calls and running errands, and all the excitement that comes with moving and adjusting to a new place to live. The actual move will start Dec. 27th, and until then, we're trying to relax a little and celebrate Christmas with our families.
Now that my oven is back, I simply could not resist to use it for *something*. So I made a nice lemon cake and paired it with vanilla poached orange segments and lemon curd for a Christmas trifle. It was lovely. Also, I made a big batch of spiced/sugared nuts as gifts to our dads who both adore nuts. It couldn't be simpler and they are just a lovely snack, best eaten straight from the oven. (whisk 1 egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy, add 1 1/4 lbs of mixed nuts, stir in a mixture of 1 cup sugar and 1.5 tablespoons of cinnamon, and bake at 250 for 50 minutes to an hour). Here they are before baking:
Because I think that we can all appreciate something nice during the whole moving process, I have prepared the dough and streusel for an apricot crumb cake, that my mom has been making since forever and we all love. It makes a big sheet, so there will be plenty to go around and it keeps well too, so I know it will be good for a couple of days. And that will be the last of my (soon to be someone elses) oven I'm afraid.
My husband gave me two magnificent new baking books (The art of the cake and the latest Carole Walters book on muffins, scones and coffeecakes and the like) and I'm itching to try all kinds of complicated new recipes. The rental has an oven, and it looks barely used, but it has yet to be discovered how well it works. For now I'm just glad it is there!
I'll probably be offline for a couple of weeks while we struggle with our internet provider, but I'll be popping in here and there for sure. See you soon, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!
Thank you all for reading my stories, your comments, and your cheering up and cheering on when needed :o). One resolution for next year is for sure to bake lots and blog about it!
6 opmerkingen:
Sounds like you had a good Christmas. :-) I hope the move goes smoothly tomorrow. And, once you're settled and have the internet access worked out I would love the recipe for the apricot crumb cake. I love apricots and I love crumb cakes. :-)
Ann
May you enjoy peace and happiness in your new home during the coming year and all the years that you spend in it. Happy cooking!
Regality
Ann, I promiss to post the crumb cake recipe ASAP :o). I'm still unpacking boxes and stuff, but I won't forget. It's my mom's recipe which makes it extra special to me :o).
We've moved into the rental and are trying to get settled in, but the move went pretty well.
Regality, thanks so much for the kind words :o). I am so excited about planning a new kitchen and envision many happy hours in it (and the new house in general). We hope it will be ready somewhere between September and November!
No hurry, Heleen. I'm sure you've got more than enough to do right now. When you get a chance. :-)
Glad the move has gone smoothly! I've never been able to figure out why packing goes so much quicker than unpacking???
Ann
Hi Ann, as you see, I've managed to dig it out :o). Hope you like it!
I *know* about the unpacking! And it's so strange how you pack things that may not get lost SO carefully, that you cannot seem to find them for days? I've spent four days going through boxes to find my watch, when Marco found it at last, hidden in a pair of socks, in a container that holds change. What was I thinking????
Obviously, you wanted your watch to be safe! LOL! :-)
Ann
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