mango on an apple

No Sugarplums, Just Butter

on Sunday 6 December 2009

in baking, nothing really

I have emails in my Gmail inbox from Spends2Much from November 2007, October 2008, and again October 2009 trying to get people organized to sign up for the Visions of Sugarplums workshop at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. After two years of not being able to get into the little workshop, this year we finally got in, with 6 people, no less! According to Wikipedia, a sugarplum is “a piece of dragÃ©e candy that is made of sugar and shaped in a small round or oval shape”. How cute does that sound? Therefore, with my own visions of sparkling fairy lights and candies in a fancy castle, I was super excited to make these legendary candies this morning.

We got to the castle, and were warned before descending to the basement (the servants’ quarters) about how dark it is down there. They weren’t kidding. However, it was totally quaint and cute and full of kitchen gadgets and a cool oven/stove thing that I think is referred to just as the “hearth”. We got to use the hearth for our baking. I could totally get used to baking in the dark with a hearth.

The hearth! And a pump! I don’t think any of us heard any explanation on the pump – it was too cool of a novelty for us to notice what the worse alternative might’ve been.

Sugar in a packaged in a cone! A cup measure was actually a tea cup!

Under gas lights and candles, we read the recipes of the day: gingerbread, shortbread, pudding, other British-sounding desserts. Finally, Lori piped up for all of us: “Where are the sugarplums?”

Oh, it’s a misnomer. Yes, they apologize, but they will change it next year. O-kay then, we were a little disappointed, but we were also immediately distracted by the Ginger Pudding – something that is tied up into a cheesecloth ball and boiled. Seriously, that goes against everything we know about having ovens on for hours during baking marathons over the holidays, so we had to try it!

Many inappropriate comments were made about these balls prior to dropping them in the boiling water on the hearth. When they came out, it was even funnier with the steam. Schwetty balls, anyone?

These tasted like semi-cooked wet dough, full of ginger and brown sugar and butter. Nothing wrong with that, especially with a buttery brown sugar and cider glaze!

We also made Scottish shortbread with one of these fancy Springerle molds, and as if that didn’t offer enough butter, we also made flaky cheesy cookies.

Afterwards, we did a tour of the castle. First of all, not a real castle – a large estate is more like it. The castle was decorated for Christmas, and it was neat to see some of the traditions being observed in Victorian times.

I thought this tree looked kind of tacky at first, but now, looking at this picture, it makes me happy.

That’s right, the original Easy Bake oven!!!!! This one probably functioned better than a lightbulb, too.

This totally reminded me of James Garfield.

Being silly with the cookies after they were done – love the sugar high!

It was a fun time, but a little part of me feels unfulfilled about not having anything in my bag about sugarplums. I have located a recipe from Saveur.com that I would like to try before Christmas. I’ll keep you posted!

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Where Grey Hairs Come From

on Saturday 21 November 2009

in design

I’ve been unable and uninspired to use my own kitchen for the past three weeks (has it only been three weeks?) due to our bathroom renovations.

This is the “before” photo. Someone really loved the 90’s with the big hair and the pastel colours. And possibly an obsession with dark showers and Jaws.

Last year we renovated the majority of the apartment when we bought it, but left the bathroom alone because “it’s easy to shut the door and pretend it’s not part of the place.” Aside from the kitchen, the bathroom is one of the most expensive investments in a home, so we wanted to save up and do it nicely.

However, renovations never go as planned. So here we are, three whole working weeks later…and only two working weeks actually involved work. Complications with shutting off the water for the building and contractors getting sick have delayed us slightly. It’s been tough because there’s no secondary bathroom, and so we’ve had to go upstairs to the gym to use the bathroom and shower. FOR THREE WEEKS. I’m nearly the end of my patience…and this weekend we’re still toilet-less.

It’s a bit of a big job…

I wouldn’t panic that much about missing a toilet or shower for, oh, you know, a couple of days…but it’s been THREE WEEKS. On top of the construction dust everywhere and the piles of stuff, the curve ball is that Alex’s brother is visiting next week.

The tiles we picked – I keep on feeling like something doesn’t match…ugh, we’ll see when the bathroom is painted and rescued from its beige-ness.

So, yes, in conclusion there will be three people (four, including his girlfriend coming in later) living in this place next week without a bathroom at all. Help me.

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Seven

on Thursday 12 November 2009

in two cents

As of today, Alex and I have been dating for 7 years. We met in first year university while living on the same floor, and just haven’t gotten tired of each other yet. I think that’s a good sign.

Since our backpacking trip to Europe in the summer of 2004, we’ve been calling ourselves a “team”. (Nerdy, I know, but apparently I put nerds to shame so what’d you expect?) We have seen each other through all kinds of challenges, and have created our own independence since graduation. We’ve traveled together without killing each other, and last year we also bought our own little home together.

We have our moments, of course…like putting objects next to where they’re supposed to go, or hiding receipts in the most remote pockets so we get lint rain from the dryer when laundry’s done.

As mentioned earlier, we went to California about a month ago over the Thanksgiving long weekend – that was our annual trip together this year.

We stayed in a farm house with its own organic garden in Sebastopol. There, Alex surprised me with a proposal that was the most unexpected turn of events ever! I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen this year (or next), let alone on this trip. In fact, I said “No” because I was so flustered and taken aback. Note: I don’t deal with surprises very well. Plus, I hadn’t even figured out what kind of ring I liked, and there he was, with one in front of me that I obviously didn’t pick out. Those few minutes = a very overwhelming time in my life.

Anyway, it’s been about a month now, and we’ve been trying to tell our friends and family in the most one-on-one way, so no grandparent had to find out from Facebook or random neighbours. I hope we did OK, and no, there are no wedding plans/dates yet! I was fine being the girlfriend, so give me some time to get used to this new status!

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