…………………..Some of you have asked me for the Stollen receipt again….so here it is! ….Don’t forget step #5 to take the dough out of the bowl….spray it with PAM, put the dough back into the bowl and then flip the dough so both sides have PAM on it……..It may be too late to make one for this Christmas, but there is always NEW YEARS MORNING!…..you just have to prepare it on the day before.
……………………….The world is in turmoil…….Mother Nature is pounding many states across the country even as far south as Florida and the southern borders with freezing weather….So many people are missing Christmas with their families due to cancellations! You simply can’t turn on the news without hearing horrible stories. The people of Ukraine are spending their Christmas by candle light because the power grids have been destroyed……but they ARE celebrating…..and they do have HOPE!……We all need to have hope that the good will win out over the evil, and things will get better……..We all need HOPE…..we all need a little CHRISTMAS!……………..MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
………………….HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!………..The ELVES have been very busy backing cookies for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!….There are…..GINGER COOKIES!!!!……..PEANUT NUTTER COOKIES with MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!!!, and one CHOCOLATE KISS on top……..Then there are………BUTTER SUGAR COOKIES with MACE!!!!………I’ve taste tested each one, and all I can say is………….YUMMY!…………Today I am preparing my……STOLLEN, and a process it is…….It takes three rises and kneading the dough between each rise before making the dough into a three tiered braid…..Then the final rise overnight………..On Christmas early morning into the oven it goes………When it comes out of the oven lots of melted butter is brushed on!!!…..Then when it cools it gets a hefty dusting of POWDERED SUGAR!!!!!! Then it will be ready to slice and EAT!……This is a tradition that Jac and I have had for years and years, and I will continue to make my Stollen once a year as long as I can!
……………………..I had to post this picture of my Mom and Dad, and my brother John and goofy me. As you can see I was very happy with what Santa brought me, but actually by then I didn’t believe in the old guy. I remember asking a million times if we didn’t have a fireplace how would he get in??? My father would take me outside and show me the chimney! He’d say “that’s how Santa gets in”… I guess that was enough for me. Then it happened! I don’t recall what year it was. My brothers gave me the horrible news….there was NO SUCH THING AS SANTA CLAUS!!!!, and Mom and Dad bought the presents for me and put Santa’s name on them. At that moment my world collapsed! Did that mean there was no such thing as the Easter Bunny? the Tooth Fairy? all of those mythical creatures that colored my world!…..It was a rude awakening, and nothing was the same anymore It was traumatic! Sometimes I wonder if it’s the right thing to do feeding children these stories only to find out they have been lied to for so many years!!!???…… My brother Mauro must be taking the photo since he’s not in it…..What I love about this picture are my parents expressions!!!! I could write a million captions why they both look so unhappy! Maybe my mother was still mad that my father cut two feet off the top of the tree???? LOL
I’m not sure what year this was, but all of my nephews and nieces are here at my Mom’s house for Christmas…..There are eight in all. My brother Mauro had four children, and my brother John also has four children….Two boys, a girl and a boy….both families in that order….From the left back row .Jeannine, Danielle, Johnathan, James, John, and the three in front….Mathew, Peter and Christopher [who I took to Africa last year!]……My beautiful nephew John passed away at the tender age of 21 in a tragic accident. He would have been 52 years old….He is very missed…..always in our thoughts…….I’m very grateful to have this picture when they were all young and still innocent!……Though I’m not sure how many still believed in SANTA!