2014.

twenty-two hours into 2014 and we were met with a downpour of bad luck.  flight cancellations, delays, lost baggage, car problems, and bad colds have left me so grumpy most days that it's hard to remember what a pleasant holiday season i had.   

it was nearly two weeks of great times with delicious food, family + friends in texas and in new york.  

and... look what i got for christmas. 

hooray!

berry + toasted rice white chocolate bark recipe

i thought of this festive looking white chocolate bark mixture a couple weeks ago, while i was taking a long walk on the beach.  there are still/only four days until christmas, but it is definitely not too late to make a batch of this berry + toasted rice white chocolate bark.  

bark is easy to make, and there are recipes all over the web that are all pretty much identical... but here is the way i made mine.

ingredients
about 32 oz of white chocolate (i used ghiradelli white chocolate candy dipping and baking bar, which is 40oz, available at sam's club if you have a membership- or know someone that does)
toasted rice cereal
freeze dried strawberries (i used trader joe's freeze dried berries, see picture below)
freeze dried raspberries

line a 9"x12" rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
melt the chocolate (i used the heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water method).
pour in some toasted rice cereal and stir it up (look at me, trying to be different). i just eyeballed the amount, but it was probably at least 2-3 cups.
spread the white chocolate/rice cereal mixture into the prepared pan, and smooth into an even layer.
sprinkle more rice cereal and the freeze dried berries all over the top, until evenly covered.*  let the bark set- you can speed it up by sticking it in the fridge for a little while. break or chop the bark into pieces.
package it up alone or with some other homemade treats.

*the freeze dried berries are unsweetened and rather tart, but i think that the tartness helps balance the intense sweetness of the white chocolate.  i found that one 1.2oz bag of each berry was more than enough for for one batch.  quite a lot of the berries had been crushed into powder on the bottom, and i also sprinkled the powder all over to add color and texture contrast.  

runaway elf!!

MISSING: small christmas elf

physical description: adorable smiling finnish elf in red, donning a traditional red pointed hat.  he is approximately 2.5 inches tall (to the tip of his hat). he enjoys the smell of spruce trees and sipping mexican hot chocolate. 

last seen: hanging out on the christmas tree with his other elf buddies.  he went missing while all the others were preparing for their 11 month hibernation. elf in question most likely ran away, grieved by the idea of once again leaving his happy christmas home, however, elf-napping is also highly plausible. 

please contact me, clearlytangled, should you run across an elf fitting this description.  it is likely he is enroute to the arctic circle in finland, where santa lives, and christmas trees are up year round.  he answers to the name, "tonttunen".  his safety is of utmost importance!!!

partially actualized christmas baking fantasies

every christmas i suffer from baking fantasies. i daydream about packing up perfect boxes with a large variety of delicious treats, and promptly becoming the most celebrated and loved person in the office and among my friends. this of course never happens. there usually is way too much going on and the holiday baking dreams fall to the wayside, and i become a slave to my sewing machine.

however, this year i was determined to do something. last year, under the influence of my hopeful delusions, i had purchased a couple of new cookie cutters, that i failed to even remove from the packaging. last week, i decided i couldn't let another whole year slide by without using them... so i made gingerbread men and snowflakes for the work folks using this recipe, (the chewy version). if i made these again, i think i'd add a lot more spice in it, but that's just how i prefer my gingerbread cookies.

aside from the fact that i made a complete mess of my kitchen two days in a row, and i discovered that taking one wilton cake decorating class almost ten years ago does not mean that decorating cookies will be a breeze, i'd consider it to be a moderate success. i packaged them individually in cellophane bags with twisty ties and made little round stickers that said "i hope you like gingerbread. i'm really sorry if you don't. happy holidays!". not quite the elaborate boxes of decadent treats, but as they say, it's the thought that counts, right?

the comments i have received about the gingerbread have been sending me into fits of laughter, mostly because of their cannabalistic references (not that actual cannabalism is funny...). 

take this comment, for example from one coworker:

"i went for the arm first, but then i couldn't stand him looking at me,  so then i ate the head."

and this e-mail from another:

"thank you for the gingerbread man! it’s REALLY good. i ate its' head and will probably save his body for j, or maybe, just save one foot for him."

thank you bakingbites for the gingerbread man + scarf idea.

crazy christmas lady

you may have noticed the appearance of christmas products in my etsy shop. sometime this summer, i was struck with the insane idea that this year i would make + sell whimsical, non- traditional tree skirts and some stockings.

i was inspired. it was going to be fabulous. i could NOT wait. i would make a minimum of 25. maybe 30. even 40. different sizes. different colors. different patterns!! the fabric store was having a sale on eco felt, and in my enthusiasm, i bought nearly 30 yards of felt. at once. i brought the husband along so he could lug the bolts around for me.

the lady cutting for me naturally was curious as to why i needed so much felt in the middle of july. i explained. she made a comment implying that she would not want a bright pink or peacock blue tree skirt in her house.... and ever since that encounter, she has greeted me as "the christmas lady" every time i enter the store. if you heard the tone of her voice, you would realize what she is really thinking is, "the crazy christmas lady".

globetrotting adventures - finland ii - christmas star pastries

one of the most traditional foods during the christmas holidays in finland is the "tähti torttu", or star pastry. the husband and i have always called them christmas stars. it is basically what an american would call a danish, with jam (plum) in the center of a puff pastry. with ready made ingredients, this is a very simple and delicious treat that finns enjoy during coffee time between christmas eve and boxing day.

to make these tasty treats, all you need is ready made puff pastry from your freezer section and some plum jam (and an egg for an egg wash). plum jam is something i have never come across in the u.s., but many other jams would make an appropriate filling, such as apricot, blackberry or raspberry. in finland, this pastry is so common that you can buy the puff pastry in pre-cut sheets with instructions on how to make the pastry on the box.

felt christmas stockings tutorial

   

in recent years i've taken up the habit of making some of my inlaws' christmas gifts. last year we sent everyone my "extra shopping bags" (as seen in my shop). this year we thought it would be fun for me to make everyone stockings, since no one in the husband's family has them- stockings are not a finnish tradition. it was an enjoyable diversion from my normal sewing- and the most challenging part was simply the design.

the materials i used for 5 stockings:

1/2 yard 72" red felt (easily made 3 stockings with leftover scraps)

1/2 yard 72" charcoal felt

matching thread

the materials i used for the stocking decor:

scraps of white, red, and charcoal felt

grosgrain ribbon

one giant red button

holiday preview

i start getting antsy sometime during september, always a little excited about what is soon to come: october. I love autumn. nevermind the fact that houston doesn’t really have a fall. i am not a big fan of halloween, but it marks the beginning of the holiday season. after living abroad for a couple years, i realized how much i enjoy the kitschy american commercialism of the fall/winter holidays. i thoroughly enjoy all the tacky store décor, along with all the useless seasonal goods, even though i rarely, if ever, purchase them. we have had a few fleeting moments of cool weather this past month (meaning, under 80F), and every time it has filled me with joy. this time of year always inspires me to bake all kinds of pumpkin based goodies, bust out the hats and scarves (not that I need them), and buy new winter shoes (once again, not that i need them). i also begin daydreaming about christmas. christmas trees. christmas treats. christmas music. christmas gifts.

to kick off the season, i decided to get a somewhat early start on my holiday cards for etsy, so, here is a preview of this year’s christmas cards. i will be posting them in my shop sometime this month or early next- i haven’t quite decided… thoughts? anyone?