Category Archives: Yule/Christmas

Snowball cookies are delicious, melt on your tongue, Christmas treats but did you know they are sourced in Danish Yule traditions? Known as Smor Bollar or “butter balls”, they can have any of a range of ingredients, always including the wonderful butter Denmark is known for. This version is made with hazelnuts but pecans or […]

Pâte à Choux has been around since the middle of the 1800’s and although no one is really sure it is thought they originated within the royal kitchens of the French monarchy. I tend to think that makes sense as the first ones I made were turned into swans with long elegant necks and wings. […]

Do you love chestnuts and the feelings that come along with “roasting on an open fire“? The jury is still out for me when used plain, but what I do know is they combine well with everything from mushrooms to chocolate. There are many varieties grown all around the world and each area has its […]

Crabapples are grown in orchards to help with pollination. They so do not make good eating apples but my do they make nice jelly. Crabapples are naturally full of pectin so no Certo required. Jean has a tree in her orchard and the crabapples are ripe with a glorious shade of red. Yesterday I was […]

It is time to dig deep into your ethnic roots and pull our any connection to Italy either from this life or possibly one past. Everyone may be Irish on March 17th but on January 6th, we can all look forward to having been visited by a giftgiving witch. La Befana flies tonight, bringing presents […]

Not everyone enjoys cakes and cookies chocked full of nuts, fruit and spices. Sometimes it is a particular variety of fruit that is not liked but it may also be allergies, dentures or diet restrictions that make Christmas goodies a challenge. Offering a range of textures and flavours helps everyone have something they can nibble […]

I taught a bath bomb class last week. We were scheduled for 13 people and 20 showed up. It got a little crazy on my end but everyone seemed to have a good time. I wanted to share some of what was created as examples of easy to make, won’t break the bank Christmas gifts […]

I hope you have a few moments for the retelling of an ancient Celtic story and the wonders of imagination. You see there were two brothers who shared the same job; to care for the earth. One was responsible for the part of the year where dark turned to light and the other brother, the […]

With so many things being extra sweet at this time of the year, using fresh cranberries for a bit of pucker makes a refreshing addition to the cookie tray. Cranberries and British Columbia go way back. They are native to this part of the world and were traded as far away as California by 1827 […]

Where winter is cold and there is lots of snow, one might expect Christmas Eve dinner to be served hot but the older tradtion was that the hot meal was served at noon and the evening meal was one of bread and cheese, smoked meat and on special occasions, herring salad. Some recipes for herring […]