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St. Lucia Day Buns

December 12, 2016

Today’s recipe comes to us from reader Naomi Suchan.  Celebrating St. Lucia Day is one of her family’s long-standing traditions and it wouldn’t be the same without this delicious S-shaped bread!  Spoiler alert: I managed to get my act together and make this recipe correctly.

For those of you not familiar with St. Lucia Day or its customs, a very quick history lesson. . .

st-lucia-buns-naomi

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

https://www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Recipes Tagged: Baking, buns, Christmas, recipe, St. Lucia Day, traditions

St. Lucia-Inspired Cinnamon Buns

December 9, 2016

What do sea cucumbers, cinnamon buns, and bulk barn have in common?

The creation of these St. Lucia Day inspired cinnamon buns.

slcb3

I pride myself on being a pretty experienced bread maker by now and figured that I would have no problem whipping up traditional St. Lucia Buns (which are not cinnamon buns, but do share this lovely S-shape). Pride cometh before the fall.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

https://www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Compromises, Ermagerd, Recipes Tagged: Baking, Christmas, Cinnamon, Cinnamon buns, lessons learned, mistakes, recipe, St. Lucia Day

Kid-Friendly Snowballs

December 6, 2016

snowballs
Today’s recipe comes from reader Toni Campbell.  It’s easy to make, uses ingredients you likely have on hand, and kids can’t resist rolling the snowballs in the sugar!  Whip up a batch of these today and make some memories with the littles in your life.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

https://www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Recipes Tagged: Christmas, easy, family-friendly, kid-friendly, shortbread, simple, snowballs

Easy & Delicious Christmas Fudge

December 1, 2016

easy-delicious-2
Over the next two weeks I’ll be featuring my readers best-loved Christmas recipes.  Today’s contributor is Andrea Johnson and her recipe is a winner!  I’ve made a lot of fudge over the years and never been happy with the recipes I’ve tried.  Some have been too cake-like and others too runny, but hers is perfect.  It freezes well and would make the perfect gift to butter up your next-door neighbours.  Not that ours need it, but we do have a super-slammy front door…

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

https://www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Recipes Tagged: Baking, best-loved, chocolate, Christmas, condensed milk, easy, fudge, recipe, simple

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Instagram post 2192292281407280453_2204272319 DAY 4:  12 Days of Christmas Baking⁠
⁠
Sometimes, I feel like I am a terrible neighbour.  The Hermit and I rarely get to the communal shovelling of the winter snow for our neighbours first.  There's always some weird garden experiment going on, and it feels like we've been renovating forever.  How do I make up for it?  Fresh tomatoes, jars of jam, the odd bouquet of flowers, and finally, a box of this fudge that magically shows up on their doorstep at Christmas.  I make about 8 batches of the stuff in all different flavour combinations, cut each batch into 8 large chunks, then I package them up in little sampler packs that I give out to said neighbours, Dominic's teachers, Aulaire's babysitters, or whoever I want to give a little Christmas gift to.⁠
⁠
The recipe is super simple and it's fairly idiot-proof.  No crumbly fudge here!⁠
⁠
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels⁠
1 can Eagles Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk or homemade recipe (which I used)⁠
Dash of salt⁠
1.5 tsp vanilla⁠
⁠
Optional toppings/decorations⁠
1/2 c nuts (stir in, or crush and sprinkle on top)⁠
Mini marshmallows⁠
White Chocolate chips to melt and drizzle for decoration⁠
Coconut flakes⁠
⁠
Melt chocolate in a bowl over a water bath. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, salt, and vanilla. Combine until smooth.⁠
⁠
Add any additional optional ingredients you want IN the fudge (nuts, marshmallows). Pour & spread evenly into an 8×8 pan lined with wax or parchment paper. This is a great time to add optional toppers.⁠
⁠
Refrigerate 2 hours, or until set, and then remove from pan & paper and cover tightly with plastic wrap to avoid it drying out. If cutting into several pieces at once (& sometimes mini cookie cutters are nice for this), set it out on the counter for 20 minutes or so to soften enough for neater, easier cuts.
Instagram post 2191567720172943549_2204272319 DAY 3: 12 Days of Christmas Baking⁠
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So today's recipe isn't actually baking that you would put on your tray per se, but it is super crucial to many recipes you might want to make and will save you money.  It's. . . *drumroll please*. . . Homemade sweetened condensed milk!⁠
⁠
Seriously, this stuff is worth the extra effort and it tastes so much better!  You'll want to make a batch for tomorrow's recipe, where I share my no-fail fudge. (Well actually, it's one of reader's no fail fudges, but I feel like it's mine now because it's been my go-to for 3 years!)⁠
⁠
1 cup powdered milk⁠
2/3 c white sugar⁠
1/3 c water⁠
1/4 c butter⁠
⁠
Combine in blender until extremely smooth⁠
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Also, let me know if you make any of this stuff.  I would love to see your pictures of any of your creations during the 12 days of Christmas baking.  Tag me @shifting_roots and I'll be sure to share your baking in my stories.
Instagram post 2190842732075560326_2204272319 DAY 2: 12 Days of Christmas Baking: Rice Krispie Trees⁠
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Back in the day when I baked for almost 200 people over 4 Christmas recitals with 60 students, plus one choir that required some baking too, my goals were this: make things that are pretty, tasty, and kid friendly.  Because what's the point of making all this baking if the kids in my music studio don't eat it?!?⁠
⁠
That's how these Rice Krispie Christmas Trees were born.  They are a tiny bit fussy in the fact that there's melting chocolate and sprinkles, but they make the eater feel like they are getting something really special.. . and they are!⁠
⁠
If you use big enough cookie cutters (you don't have to be limited to just trees) you could even use them as a classroom present for your students, as these should be free of most common food allergens.  Just get the gluten-free Rice Krispies if you have any kids with Celiac.⁠
⁠
Ingredients⁠
⁠
6 cups Rice Krispie cereal,⁠
40 large marshmallows,⁠
1/2 cup butter,⁠
1 tsp vanilla,⁠
1 1/2 cups white chocolate melting wafers⁠
sprinkles⁠
⁠
Instructions⁠
⁠
Melt butter, marshmallows and butter in a large bowl in the microwave for approximately 5 minutes, setting the microwave one minute at a time and stirring in between.⁠
Add Rice Krispies and press into a large cookie sheet. Allow to cool. Cut Christmas tree shapes with cookie cutter.⁠
Melt chocolate wafers and dip in Rice Krispie treats. Add sprinkles if desired. Work fast, as the chocolate dries quickly!
Instagram post 2190118109285570760_2204272319 DAY 1: 12 Days of Christmas Baking⁠
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Let's start off the season with one of my favourite, easy, I-keep-coming-back-for-more-even-though-I-probably-shouldn't Christmas treats--Almond Roca.  You may also know it as Christmas Crack, or in our family, "that thing that Auntie Sandy makes."⁠
⁠
Whatever you call it, make sure you make an extra batch, because there won't be leftovers!⁠
⁠
Ingredients⁠
⁠
1 sleeve soda crackers (2 for a large cookie sheet)⁠
1 cup butter,⁠
1 cup brown sugar,⁠
3/4 cup slivered almonds,⁠
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted,⁠
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted.⁠
⁠
Instructions⁠
⁠
Line cookie sheet with tinfoil. Spray with Pam.⁠
Layer crackers.⁠
Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring often.⁠
Pour over crackers and bake in a 325 oven for 10 minutes. Turn off oven. Sprinkle with almonds and return to the oven for 5 minutes.⁠
Cool. Drizzle melted milk & white chocolate chips, alternating colours.⁠
Cut in squares and serve.⁠
Instagram post 2189707999618969478_2204272319 Get ready friends, tomorrow is the start of my 12 days of Christmas baking!  I’m sharing all my favourite recipes—most of them simple and a few of them more complicated but worth the extra steps.  Until then, what’s your favourite Christmas treat?
🎄
On a more personal note, today would have been my Grandma’s 96th birthday.  Back in the day when my voice studio involved 60 students in 4 different communities with multiple recitals, my Grandma and I baked 2 or 3 things every Tuesday from November to mid-December.  While sometimes I got annoyed that she was constantly reminding me to do this or that, I really miss her help with the recipes that are better with two people, her insistence on doing the dishes as we go, help decorating, and her silly little jokes as she loved to tease me.  Baking will never be the same, and I’ve always felt a little bit lonely every Christmas as I make my recipes.  Hopefully my kids will someday enjoy baking with me, and I’m sure that I’ll constantly make them check if the cookies are burned or not.
😉
#12daysofchristmas #christmasbaking #christmasbakinghasbegun
Instagram post 2188987970396974336_2204272319 Nobody cried, I deem this Santa photo a success!  Poor Dominic has either been too afraid or cried for every Santa picture except the one when he was a baby.  He was still a little scared, but he told me that he would be brave for Aulaire.
🥰
#santapic #christmastradition
Instagram post 2186776470932643960_2204272319 Decorating with live greens doesn’t have to be complicated.  A gold hoop (grabbed this one at the dollar store) a bit of florist tape (also purchased at the dollar store) and you’re done!
🌲
Does even a wreath seem too complicated?  No worries!  Set your clippings straight on the mantle, or in a blown with a candle.  I’ve done this some years when I’m pressed for time and it works just fine.
🌲
I’ve found greens last about 3 weeks indoors, but you can extend their life by misting them every day or two with water.  The more you know...
🌲
Do you decorate with live greens?  Or is it more of a pipe dream for you?
🌲
#evergreens #christmasdecor #naturalchristmas #naturalchristmasdecor #imadethis #dollarstorefinds #minimalistchristmas
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