COME CHRISTMAS TREASURE HUNTING WITH US

     Yes, I'm jumping the season, but many of the projects mentioned below take awhile to get organized. The Internet is of course awash with Christmas material. I've tried to find things just a little bit out of the ordinary or a little bit better than ordinary. And my apologies to those of you who aren't interested in crafts or cooking. In our next issue we will go back to reviewing sites that appeal to many different interests.

----Table of Contents----

1. Internet Angels
2. Bread Dough Crafts
3. Children's Christmas Crafts and Celebrations
4. Fr*ee E-Book -- Gifts from Grandma's Cupboard
5. Candy and Cookie Wreaths and Ornaments
6. Not For First Timers
7. Christmas Food History
8. A Gift of Love
9. Fruited Cocoa Cake
10. Christmas Tea in the Delta
11. Recipe: Stained Glass Gumdrop Cake

1. INTERNET ANGELS

     We're coming into angel season, and of course the Internet has many angel sites. Internet angels differ widely -- some angel sites I liked and some, whose angels struck me as "dark angels," I did not like. Following are two I especially liked.

     ANGEL STORIES. Joan Wester Anderson posts a new angel story on her website every other week. These are wonderful stories -- do go and take a look. If you like, you can join her newsletter and be e-mailed the latest stories. She has also published some angel books.

     I BELIEVE IN ANGELS. Like Joan's site, this one specializes in angels from a Christian perspective. It offers angel stories, angel art, and an angel collectible catalog.

2. BREAD DOUGH CRAFTS

     The author says, "Adults enjoy making dough crafted objects almost more than children; I believe this is because it reminds them of their childhood days. Kneading bread dough at Christmas could become an annual ritual, along with making a gingerbread house. In fact, you can make all sorts of bread dough models including jewelry, earrings, necklaces and pendants."

3. CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS CRAFTS AND CELEBRATIONS

     AMAZING MOMS has Christmas gifts kids can make, Christmas party ideas, fr*ee craft ideas for children, plus craft kits you can buy, family fun and traditions for the holidays.

     AUDREY'S CHRISTMAS PAGE on Teacher Help has links to some wonderful Christmas MUSIC, inspirational links, and children's stories from the Lutheran Hour ministries and others. Links to skits, plays and musicals! A rich source of valuable material.

     FAMILY CRAFTS is a great site for parents and children throughout the year. All sorts of things kids can do on their own and with others.

     DANIELLE'S PLACE also has ideas for children's crafts throughout the year. Many of them are Bible based. The site has lessons suitable for home schoolers and Sunday schools.

4. FRE*E E-BOOK -- GIFTS FROM GRANDMA'S CUPBOARD

     My friend Deanna Keele, who has told me about so many good newsletter items, put me onto this one. She says, "It's 124 pages of things you need for gifts in a jar and a recipe book for them too + additional projects (recipe cards, grocery lists, goodies for pets, napkins, tags)."

     You will need Adobe Acrobat to download it, and be warned that the download takes 15 minutes or more. But when you're through, you'll have a lovely e-book telling you how to make many different gifts in a jar plus other things. People who do crafts and people interested in making inexpensive gifts will really like this.

5. CANDY AND COOKIE WREATHS AND ORNAMENTS

     Learn to make a candy wreath, a cookie wreath, and Christmas ornaments made of candy. The site moves on to Cranberry-Banana Bread, Eggnog Pie, Apple Crescents and other holiday foods.

6. NOT FOR FIRST TIMERS

     The perfecter of this Portuguese-Hawaiian bread says that "it's not something to try for your first loaf of bread." But if you enjoy baking and enjoy a challenge, here's a special egg-rich sweet bread, based on much older Portuguese and, yes, Hawaiian, versions. It can be made without dried fruit and nuts or, as a Christmas treat, with them.

     ----Commercial----

     And now for a brief word from our sponsor, the Tastebud Tango lady. She wants you to know that her shopping cart has great gift ideas for Guys That Grill, and for Women Who Deserve Something Astonishing. Onera Spices offers a gift pack of seasonings you can't buy in the stores. Ideal for a little thingamabobby gift for a guy. And for guys who enjoy lighting a fire under people's tastebuds, try T-Boy's authentic Cajun seasonings.

     If you want to make a BIG splash, give a case of Garlic Head barbecue sauce. It not only tastes incredibly delicious, it is of course loaded with garlic. A gift of Garlic Head barbecue sauce will put new meaning into the term, "the gift that keeps on giving all year long." NOT something easy to overlook, on Christmas Day or later.

     And for someone who has it all? JD's Electrifying Hot Sauces with figs. The recipient will not have some already, you can be sure of that.

     Janette has other items, of course, such as old-timey cookbooks and a cat story book for children. We're just hitting the highlights here. So astonish your friends and relatives and make an impression that lingers in the air and everywhere all year long! Click below:

     ----End Commercial----

7. CHRISTMAS FOOD HISTORY

     Here you can learn about the first recorded cookie swap, candy canes descended from medicinal(!) sugar, and much more.

8. A GIFT OF LOVE

     A touching story goes with this "Holiday Fresh Orange, Date and Nut Cake." The story begins, "This is a recipe which my grandmother invented over 80 years ago. When she was 14 years old, she went to work as a cook at a lumber camp in Wisconsin. She would get up at three o'clock in the morning to start the rolls and bread for the day. She was quite a cook and an even better baker. The first Christmas she was away from her family working at the camp was very hard for her . . . ." Find the recipe and the rest of the story here:

9. FRUITED COCOA CAKE, CIRCA 1690

     Another challenge, this is technically a fruitcake but grander and more glorious. The recipe was first sighted in 1690, was updated in 1880, and updated again recently by the author, who says she continues to refine it. She says, "I often make this for parties and most people love it. Technically it is a 'fruit' cake but even people who do not care for fruitcake will eat this."

10. CHRISTMAS TEA IN THE DELTA

     An afternoon tea party would be different and ideal for the half-dead weekend between Christmas and New Year's. Even for New Year's Day, if the invitees didn't welcome the new year in too many time zones. This website gives delicious recipes for tea sandwiches, plus one for banana-nut bread with lemon curd. Any of the cakes mentioned in this newsletter would also be perfect.

     My only quibble is that this afternoon tea claims to be copied after English "high tea," though high tea is actually lower than regular tea -- not at all the elegant event Americans imagine. The British working poor often eat cheap, filling things like baked beans on toast when they get home from work in the evening and call it "high tea." High tea is really a money-saving combination of tea and dinner. Those who serve an elegant English afternoon tea offer lighter refreshments such as tea sandwiches and cakes, with the understanding that a proper dinner will be eaten later in the evening. That having been quibbled, this is a great site with a great idea.

11. RECIPE: STAINED GLASS GUMDROP CAKE

     I've been trying to find for you a cake my neighbor Gerri Cummings made 40 years ago. She called it a Stained Glass Fruitcake. Instead of fruit, it contained the large size of gumdrops. They were left whole. The cake was cut in very thin slices, and the translucent gumdrops shone like stained glass.

     Google lists hundreds of stained glass fruitcakes, but all that I saw used candied fruit for the stained glass effect. Surprisingly, there are also many gumdrop cakes, with an applesauce cake base rather than a fruitcake base, and almost all of them suggest you cut up the gumdrops. Recipezaar.com had the following version, which seemed closest to Gerri's. I am a fan of Recipezaar -- its recipes come from real people and are reviewed by real people.

HOLIDAY GUMDROP CAKE

     Barb Gertz says, "This is my Mom's recipe for Gumdrop Cake that she used to make. It is a family favorite. Easy to make. She always left the gumdrops whole or used the small spiced gumdrops."

1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda (dissolved in a little hot water)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 lbs. gumdrops (leave out licorice ones)
4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts

     Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour bundt or angel food cake pan. Cream butter; add eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix applesauce, soda, nutmeg and cinnamon together and add to butter and egg mixture.

     Add gumdrops and nuts to flour and salt. Mix to dredge. Thoroughly mix gumdrop, nut and flour mixture into the applesauce mixture. Pour into prepared pan and bake 1-1/2 hours.

REVIEWS:

     Patrish says, "This cake turned out really pretty, but we were a little disappointed in the taste. The problem was that the gumdrops, numerous as they were, were just a tad overpowering. I would recommend halving the amount of gumdrops; that way, you get a gumdrop here and there instead of a mouthful with every bite. I'm glad I tried your recipe though, as I was curious about the whole idea of gumdrop cake. Thanks for sharing." - Feb 1, 2005.

     Mimi Bobeck says, "Fabulous! The kids were asking me if they did something 'extra-specially good' because they thought I made this to reward them. This is not the kind of fruitcake that everyone groans when they get it at the holidays. This is one you will not only actually want to eat - but make again!" - Feb 24, 2003.

© Copyright 2005 Janette G. Blackwell. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this newsletter for noncommercial, personal use only. You may forward a copy to someone else as long as the copyright notice is included. Any other use of the materials in this newsletter without prior written permission is prohibited.

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     Janette Blackwell