Christmas Twinkle

Holiday Photo Tip #3

by Warren Tang
Shoot Things, Not Just People -
As much as the holidays are about people – family, friends, loved ones, and even in-laws – the spirit of the holidays is also in the décor, the food and yes, the desserts. To capture the full essence of the holiday season I encourage you to include photos [...]

Holiday Photo Tip #2

by Warren Tang
Get Down Low And Get Close -
Just because you’re taller than your kids doesn’t mean most of your photos should be of the tops of their heads. To get some great photos of children try to get down to their level where you can make eye contact and really engage them. You can [...]

Tips for Holiday Photos You’ll Cherish

by Warren Tang
As the holidays are upon us, many of us are feeling the need to capture memorable photos of friends and family, food and fun, and the sparkle of joy in the eyes of the little ones. Whether you’re wielding a $2,000 professional DSLR camera, snapping with a slim and trim compact camera, or [...]

How to Boost the Festive Atmosphere in your Home

Posted by admin on January 28th, 2010

With Christmas just around the corner, you might be thinking of ways to boost the festive atmosphere in your home. You needn’t think too hard; after all, some of the simplest Christmas traditions are also among the most effective when it comes to instilling holiday cheer in your home.

One of the most prominent of these traditions is in the Christmas tree. Aside from actually having a Christmas tree in your home for the month of December, the tradition of decorating a tree with the entire family is one of the most festive activities you can partake in.

You can increase the festive factor even further by singing Christmas carols while decorating the tree, or by playing Christmas music in the background. At around the same time you get your tree, you might also consider placing Christmas lights on your house. Similar to the Christmas tree, a home lit up with Christmas lights is a representative holiday tradition – not to mention one that’s sure to add Christmas cheer in your home.

Another way to boost the holiday ambience in your home is to make certain foods or drinks that are particularly popular during the holidays. For instance, making mulled wine alongside gingerbread cookies will bring the flavours – and aromas – of Christmas into your home.

Enjoy your holiday treats in front of a roaring fire, and you’re sure to feel like Christmas is on its way. If you want to keep that gingerbread spice aroma around for longer, simply light spice-scented candles in your home. Finally, don’t forget to hang the mistletoe – an unmistakeable symbol of Christmas cheer.

Of course, no Christmas is complete without Santa Claus – even if you don’t necessarily believe in him. Santa Claus is an iconic figure of Christmas, and the reason that countless children view it as such a magical holiday. If you have children, or are planning to host families with children this Christmas, you might consider picking up a Santa costume. The kids will take delight in having ‘Santa’ visit, while the adults will take joy in the magical tradition.

So, there’s no reason to wait; Christmas is just around the corner, so why not set the Christmas atmosphere in your home by decorating a tree, baking holiday treats, or engaging in a variety of other Christmas traditions.

With so many simple ways to invite holiday ambiance, your home will be full of Christmas cheer in no time.

How to Make a Splendid Pumpkin Pie for the Holidays

Posted by admin on January 23rd, 2010

Diabetics and others watching their sugar intake can afford to indulge over the holidays just like everyone else when you serve this “Splendid” Pumpkin Pie. Top with sugar free whipped topping lightly sprinkled with cinnamon for a festive holiday touch. Grab a cup of coffee and a slice of pie just like everyone else in the group. Just remember not to over indulge, one piece is enough! If there are leftovers, refrigerate them and have another slice tomorrow or the next day. One of the keys to diabetics managing their diets is moderation!

A SPLENDID PUMPKIN PIE

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

3/4 cup Splenda Granular

2 tbsp corn starch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 egg white

1/3 cup fat-free half & half

3 tbsp heavy cream (or fat-free evaporated milk)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp sugar-free maple-flavored syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend pumpkin, Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix until all ingredients are well blended. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, egg white, Half & Half, heavy cream, vanilla and syrup; stir well. Add egg mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir well to blend. Pour filling into the pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until set in the center and the crust is golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings. Per serving: 160 calories, 17 g carbs, 4 g protein, 3 g sugars

Enjoy!

How Did the Fruitcake Become so Popular For Holidays?

Posted by admin on January 21st, 2010

Who hasn’t tasted a fruitcake? If you have browsed through a holiday gift display in your local department store, you have most certainly seen a fruitcake or two in the offering. A fruitcake is almost always included on a holiday dessert menu and can usually be found tucked away in a corner at a holiday office party. Chances are, you will find yourself presented with this sticky sweet fruity confection at some point during the holiday season. But what makes the hearty sweet cake so popular?

Fruitcake is not at all a modern concoction, but rather, dates back to the early medieval period when the cooks in rich families began experimenting with sweet breads. Old World cooks would hoard their most expensive cooking ingredients so they could be combined into a particularly special treat for the holidays. The basic ingredients include the finest wheat flour, white sugar, eggs, sweet butter, and exotic dried fruits. Certain sweet breads might also contain rich fruit filling such as almond paste, which is known as marzipan.

In Germany, the fruitcake is known as Stollen, and is credited to the city of Dresden. A traditional Stollen is oblong in shape, with each end tapered and a ridge running down the middle. It contains raisins, currants, rum or brandy, candied peels and almonds. The Stollen is first baked, then melted butter is brushed on and sugar is sprinkled, then additional fruit pieces are sprinkled over the finished loaf.

In New Orleans, the fruitcake is called King Cake and is traditionally served as a Mardi Gras treat. Although similar in its ingredients to the traditional Christmas fruitcake, the Twelfth Night cake originated before Christian times and was developed from ancient Arab recipes. It contains a basic yeast-based brioche and fruits and nuts. The cook often adds a dried bean or coin to the cake batter so it can discovered by one lucky person who will enjoy good fortune throughout the year.

Regardless of what it is called, the fruitcake is known as an international symbol of holiday abundance and tradition. It has been said that the fruitcake lives forever, and there are a number of anecdotal stories of fruit cakes being passed on from one generation to the next. An article appeared in the New York Times on Christmas Day 1983, written by a man who claimed to have inherited a fruitcake baked by a relative in 1794 as a gift for George Washington, but the President thought the cake was inappropriate and refused the Christmas gift. It is a tradition in some families to pass a traveling fruticake back and forth between themselves, with each family “babysitting” the cake for a year until it is passed on.

In Anglo countries, the traditional holiday fruit cake may be served on Christmas Eve by a family member dressed in a Santa Costume, making the evening both traditional and memorable.

Because of its deep cultural roots that span hundreds of years, the fruitcake will undoubtedly remain a symbol of holiday abundance for many generations to come.

How to Make a Healthy and Delicious Carrot-Fruit Bundt Cake

Posted by admin on January 20th, 2010

This tasty Carrot-Fruit Bundt Cake is made with a healthier for you dessert in mind. Most cakes of this type would contain about a cup of oil. This cake only has a quarter cup of heart healthy canola oil while the remainder of oil is replaced with applesauce. The carrots add beta-carotene to this dessert. The glaze is made from fruit juices and honey topped with nuts. Enjoy a slice of this cake, without regret.

CARROT-FRUIT BUNDT CAKE
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried apricots, finely diced
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
4 cups shredded carrots
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a small bowl, set aside 2 tablespoons of the apricots and 1 tablespoon of the currants.

Combine the remaining apricots, currants, and ginger into flour mixture.

In another large bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, egg whites, applesauce, canola oil, carrots, and vanilla. Stir together well, using the back of the spoon to break up any clumps of brown sugar. Stir the sugar mixture into the flour mixture to blend. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn pan upside down and turn out the cake to cool completely on the wire rack.

GLAZE:

1 can (6-oz) pineapple juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp toasted, chopped pecans

While cake is cooling, combine the juices and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently boil 12 to 15 minutes until glaze has thickened and has reduced down to about a third of a cup. Pour glaze into a small bowl and cool for 15 minutes. Stir the reserved (from the cake recipe) apricots and currants into the glaze mixture. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, pressing fruit so it sticks to the cake. Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the cake, pressing lightly to stick.

Yield: 12 servings

NOTE: This cake is even better when baked a day ahead of serving, allowing the flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Favorite Foods of Christmas

Posted by admin on January 18th, 2010

Favorite foods enjoyed by Americans for any given holiday, season or special occasion will likely include some ethnic dish, given the many ethnic groups that reside in the country. Despite this variety of melting pot cuisine, there are some similarities in dishes that will be a part of most meals during celebrations such as Christmas.
Christmas in the United States comes almost one month after another big holiday, Thanksgiving, in which the traditional meal must consist of a turkey as the main dish. This dish also carries over into Christmas as roast turkey is one of the main dishes that may be served for Christmas dinner. But unlike Thanksgiving, which is solely devoted to turkey meat, Christmas dinners may also include other birds or poultry. These include roast goose or duck. Roasted ham may also be served. Cranberry sauce, vegetables, pumpkin pie and a plum pudding or fruity Christmas pudding for dessert tops off traditional Christmas dinners. Mince pies and pastry that is filled with a mixture of chopped, dried fruit may also be added to the menu.

For drinks at Christmas dinner, a bottle of champagne is very popular, as well as wines. But the everyday beverage of beer is a must for many people to make a meal truly enjoyable.

Before Christmas Day and the big dinner arrives, there’s also another type of food that Americans enjoy in large quantities during the Christmas season. The consumption and sales of candies, gingerbread and other cookies and holiday treats increases rapidly during the holidays. Similar to how department stores seek to attract shoppers to buy items for Christmas gifts, candy manufacturers also put out special boxes and types of candies for Christmas and the holiday season.

A survey done the National Confectioners Association found that many adults derived much pleasure at Christmas from giving and receiving candies and other treats. In their responses the survey participants said that giving decadent boxes of chocolate to friends and family, placing candy canes on the Christmas tree and hiding candy treats in Christmas stockings were favorite ways to give and receive candies, cookies and treats during the holidays.

Sweet treats remain popular at Christmas despite a constant message about dieting that is present in everyday life in the media, in billboards and from some food manufacturers. At Christmas time, people feel free to enjoy the festive season without constraints. But they also know that they can enjoy candies and cookies that are health conscious by eating ones that are targeted to the low-carb dieter by having ingredients that are sugar-free and fat-free or both.

Cookies that are enjoyed at Christmas are often home-baked ones and usually include gingerbread items. The tradition of gingerbread cookies at Christmas is also believed to have originated in Germany and brought to America by German immigrants.

German bakeries began baking very fancy gingerbread houses with icing as edible snow and other decorations after the Grimm Brothers published their children’s story, Hansel and Gretel. That story had a description of a house that was made of bread, a roof of cake and windows of barley. The popularity of the creations by German bakeries gave rise to cookie cutters that were made in a variety of shapes, enabling small gingerbread cookies of various shapes to be baked at home. Some of these cookies that had the shapes of little people and animals were used to decorate Christmas trees.

More than one hundred years ago from today, German homes in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania would have cookies that were up to one foot high in the front of windows of their houses as decorative items during winter. The cookies were often giant gingerbread men and women that had colorful rows of buttons and big smiles. Passersby were often cheered and intrigued by the sight and brought the idea to their homes on a smaller scale.

Being able to enjoy special dishes, candies, cookies and other goodies during Christmas and the holidays adds a sweet
flavor to the season and also helps to create warm and cherished memories.

How to Make a Yeast Bundt Cake with Fruit Preserves

Posted by admin on January 17th, 2010

If you are tired of making the same old cakes every time you entertain or treat your family, give this recipe a try for a cake that will be different yet tasty. This bundt cake is sure to become a favorite at your house. You can change the cake by using different flavors of preserves to suit different family members.

FRUIT PRESERVES BUNDT CAKE

3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (5-oz) evaporated milk
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs at room temperature
1 cup fruit preserves at room temperature
Powdered sugar icing
2 tbsp toasted sliced almonds

In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and undissolved yeast. Heat the milk, water and butter to 120 to 130 degrees. (Butter does not need to be melted.) Add hot mixture to the dry mixture; beat 2 minutes at low speed of electric mixer. Add eggs and beat two minutes at medium speed. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface around 4 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place 45 to 60 minutes until about double in size.

Punch down the dough then divide in half. Roll one of the halves to an 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Spread with half the fruit preserves. Roll up from the long side like a jelly roll. Pinch edges to seal. Place the roll, seam side up, in a greased 12-cup Bundt pan. Seal ends. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough and preserves. Place this roll in the pan, seam side down on top of the other roll; seal ends. Cover pan and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes until about doubled in size.

Bake cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until done. To prevent over-browning cover with foil after the first 20 minutes of baking. Remove cake from pan for cooling and cool on a wire rack. If desired, pour a powdered sugar glaze over top of cake and sprinkle top with the almonds.

To make a powdered sugar glaze, mix powdered sugar with enough milk to make a drizzling consistency. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of vanilla extract, lemon extract, or butter extract based on the flavor of preserves you are using. Serve with a fruit butter, if desired.

To Make Fruit Butters:

1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup preserves (same flavor you used in the cake)

Gradually beat the preserves into the butter until blended. Spread on pieces of cake before eating, if desired.

Enjoy!

Fruitcake Sauce in 3 Simple Steps

Posted by admin on January 16th, 2010

Is that fruitcake I smell on your breath?! No…just the new fruitcake sauce.

Good fruitcake is hand prepped, gently baked for hours then doused with generous quantities of fancy liqueurs. The flavors of the particular liqueurs infuse every morsel over the months of cool storage ahead so you can savor the flavor! It sounds perfect but can be improved on if you find a piece of fruitcake still in storage at the back of your fridge.

At Old Cavendish Fruitcake, we developed our fruitcake sauce recipe when we had to bring a locavore dessert (locavore means local or home-grown) to an impromptu party. Naturally we had fruitcake on the top shelf of our very tall fridge!

We also had local vermont-made butter and not-so-local sugar (shhh, don’t tell). Looking in the cupboard we also found a bottle of Sapling, a maple liqueur. Made in Saxton’s River, Vermont, only 20 miles from us, it is delicious. Not too sweet and leaves a lingering reminder of the Vermont spring time ritual of sipping maple sap slowly converting to syrup in the sugar house.

We simmered the sauce, added some more fruit and took the cake, warm sauce and remaining Sapling liqueur (!) to the party. It was all so well received! Lets say there were zero leftovers. And no hangovers.

When you tuck that last piece of fruitcake away in the fridge, leave a little Sapling left in the bottom of the bottle so you can make a really fine fruitcake ever finer and whip out a dessert with just a few minutes notice. Enjoy!

Here’s the Fruitcake Sauce Recipe

You’ll need these ingredients:

* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup water
* 2 Tbsp butter
* 3/8 cup Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur
* 1/4 cup minced apricots

Simple Directions:

1. Simmer sugar, water and butter together in a small sauce pan until thick.
2. Remove from heat and add Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur and apricots.
3. Spoon over sliced fruitcake for an elegant dessert.

That’s it! Enjoy, your fruitcake and fruitcake sauce.

The Amazing Story Behind Pumpkin Pie

Posted by admin on January 16th, 2010

Did you know that at the first original Thanksgiving feasts in the colonies of the new world, none of what we call traditional thanksgiving foods were served? So how is this known? It’s known because these foods simply weren’t available to them with one exception. That would be squash, including pumpkins. You see pumpkins are native to North America

So do you suppose that they had pumpkin pie back then? Well they might have made something close, being that this day of thanks was a very important celebration to them. In fact some food researchers suggest that early colonists would fill pumpkins with cream & honey and bake them. The honey was used because sugar was very expensive and reserved for use in tea, if it too was available.

Nutmeg was available but only to the very wealthy, as it was the Dutch who controlled the small group of islands where nutmeg was gathered. In fact nutmeg was so expensive that unscrupulous colonists in Connecticut would actually spend the time that it took to carve fake nutmeg pods out of wood for sale to unknowing traders. This is how the Connecticut got its nickname “the nutmeg state”.

Pumpkin pie purists will tell you that only the best pumpkin pie recipes require you to cook down and puree fresh pumpkins. The problem here though, is that pumpkin pie is a holiday dish and there are just so many cooking chores to be none on the days leading up to the big day. So the truth, is that canned pumpkin pie filling will suffice, just as long as it’s a high quality canned filling.

Renowned Southern chef Paula Deen advises to try mixing 8 ounces of cream cheese into your pumpkin pie recipes. She also advises not to substitute margarine for butter. Hey! This is a special treat and if you’re worried about calories or cholesterol, simply don’t go back for seconds.

Christmas Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Posted by admin on January 15th, 2010

Christmas decorating is a must, to some degree at least, for most of us who celebrate the holiday season. For some there is no such thing as too much. The more lights and glitter the better. Others prefer a more limited display of Christmas holiday decor, but rich colors and a bit of shimmer usually still prevail.

In many neighborhoods the displays, lights, and sounds grow larger and more complex every year. If that is what you enjoy, go for it. But Christmas is a time of joy and good will and not a competition for the grandest display, so there are lots of ways to decorate your home beautifully without the expense and time involved in large displays.

The most important thing is that you choose Christmas decorations that have meaning to you and that suit your family’s lifestyle. If more formal or traditional holiday decorations are not your style, go with what you love. Christmas is a time of celebration with family and friends, so if snow globes, a riot of color and a mass of glitter are your cup of tea, go for it.

Of course Christmas is fundamentally a celebration of faith, so if the nativity scene is central to your Christmas, then by all means be sure to include it. If you decorate around your preferences and convictions, you might find that the process is a joy rather than a chore.

Christmas decorating usually involves adding color to your home. Personally, I am a fan of colorful Christmas decorations and love the multicolored lights and the beauty of the greenery mixed with bright shades of red and gold. I love the fact that 200 houses can be decorated for Christmas, and no two will look the same.

Here are some holiday decorating ideas and tips to get you started:

First of all, think about what you most love about Christmas holiday decor. Do you love the monotone themed look, where all of the decorations in the home follow a color scheme, or do you prefer the riotous mix of wonderful colors that comes from decorating using a variety of Christmas colors?

If you prefer the more toned down look, choose your color scheme first, then shop for just those colors. Red or blue, mixed with gold or silver as accents, all gold or all silver are popular choices. Pink is a lovely color to choose if you want a soft allover look in your holiday decor and looks great with silver. Burgundy works well for a more dramatic look and is best paired with gold accents.

If you are looking for that pulled-together, uniform look, make sure that you stick to the color palette that you have chosen, rather than starting to mix in other elements. For example, if you have chosen soft blue and silver, maybe the bright red ribbons on the fireplace could use a change to the a color that blends with the new theme.

Some ideas for traditional Christmas decorating themes and decorations can include cherubs, angels, Santa Clauses, snowmen, birds, candles, wreathes, grape clusters, snow globes, and ribbons. Childrens favorites include cartoon characters, gingerbread men, gingerbread houses and stockings hung on the fireplace mantle waiting to be stuffed with goodies.

Here is an example of using a theme to decorate you home for the holidays. Make or buy a gingerbread house, complete with candy roof and windows. Add gingerbread men and women to the Christmas tree decorations (either real or made to look real), then sprinkle a few gingerbread people throughout the house to tie it all together. If the gingerbread people are “dressed” in green and red, pick up those colors for the rest of your decorations, throw in a bit of gold for shimmer, and your house will look beautifully pulled together for the holiday season.

There are so many gorgeous Christmas decorating ideas and items around that choosing can seem confusing and you can end up with a mixed bag of elements that you don’t think work together. Selecting your theme and color scheme first, then shopping takes much of the guess work out of it.

The greatest thing about decorating your home for Christmas is that nothing is set in stone. You can take what you love from previous years and build on it to create a beautiful new holiday decorating look for this year. The most important thing is sharing it with those you love.

Christmas Décor Idea Utilizing Old Ornaments And Decorations

Posted by admin on January 12th, 2010

Christmas is the time of year where one can get away with using ostentatious decorations. Many people agree that the more the merrier when it comes to decorating for Christmas. One problem with decorating for this season is the expense that it entails. One Christmas décor idea to lessen the blow of expenses is to recycle old decorations and ornaments.

Altering The Décor

Many Christmas décor and ornaments look old and worn out due to dust, dirt and grime. Cleaning them up can improve their appearance and make them look brand new. This Christmas décor idea of cleaning also applies to Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands. For decorations that have lost their shine and glitter, adding glitter can suffice in making them shine again.

You might like to change the color of the glitter to make them look different. Silver is the glitter that basically goes well with all other Christmas colors. This Christmas décor idea of adding glitter is not limited to ornaments. Adding a dash of glitter on the tips of some Christmas tree leaves or branches is a great Christmas décor idea. This will alter the look of your old tree and make it look shiny and new.

Groupings

Another Christmas décor idea that will help you have sort of new Christmas décor is to make groupings of your current décor. You might like to group together some balls of different sizes with the same color and hang these as a single ornament on the tree. This Christmas décor idea works best with groupings of the same color with about more than eight balls per group. This will have a sort of bunch of grapes look to them.

Another Christmas décor idea which can recycle old ornaments is to connect them on a single line and hang them from the ceiling. Fine, thin string works best for this Christmas décor idea. You can use same size ornaments or a layered look depending on what is available. Hanging about four or five strings embellished with Christmas ornaments will make a corner more interesting. This Christmas holiday décor can also be done with different lengths of string to create an uneven look.

Another Christmas décor idea is to fill up clear crystal vases with smaller balls or ornaments with ether same color or different colors. This Christmas décor idea is not limited to clear vases but also for shallow bowls or dishes.

Reusing old Christmas décor is a great way to save money and be more creative. You can probably think of more Christmas décor ideas by just imagining what looks best for you.