Welcome to the 2012 advent calender!

Aniseteph

New member
Safran - I love the webcam, even if nothing's happening - snow!!! (it's raining solidly here). Webcams are awesome. I tell my husband something along the lines of "it's snowing in Estonia!" and he laughs at me for being impressed.

I see what you mean about the noises. I'm sure I just heard a plane going over. ooh, someone just put food out. (this is staying on, much better than telly)

Mosaic - the Jacquie Lawson link reminded me - someone sent me their Advent Calendar this year and it's really cute. Treat yourself if they do one next year.

Minor festive contribution - I came home from our last class before Christmas last night, and daughter insisted on making me pancakes (awww, warm fuzzies). Sprinkled with vanilla sugar and a little cinnamon... WOW, how come I hadn't tried that before? I am so slow sometimes. :rolleyes:
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Aaaaaannnnnnd Shanazel comes in with the post for the 20th right behind Walladah with the 21st! Darned old times zone differences! :D

A recipe you might not see every day, seasonal pictures and a photo of me. :D

Happy holidays to everyone on OD.

Antelope/Deer/Elk Cordon Bleu
4 pieces round steak; pounded ¼ inch thick
4 pieces Swiss cheese
4 slices smoked ham
1 beaten egg
2 T flour, ½ t salt, ¼ t pepper, ¼ t allspice, mixed together
Fine bread crumbs
Thyme, savory, parsley mixed in 3 T melted shortening in a heavy-bottomed skillet
Place one slice each ham and cheese on each steak and roll up like a newspaper, securing with a toothpick.
Coat in flour mixture then dip in egg mixture to coat. Roll in bread crumbs.
Brown in hot shortening, about 5 minutes to a side.
Add 3 T HOH, cover and simmer approximately 45 minutes. Remove the lid for the last few minutes to crisp the meat rolls.
Served with mashed potatoes and gravy made from the drippings.

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Mosaic

Super Moderator
Just to let everyone know - we are still here ... it's the 21st Dec 2012, and no we haven't disappeared in a puff of smoke or anything else:lol: So folks over there in the northern hemisphere, you can stop holding your breathe, you'll be OK tomorrow. Maybe someone translated said Mayan calendar incorrectly & it is actually 21/12/3012, could be 40 or 50 that matter, or maybe the Mayans pulled the date out of a hat ( did they wear hats?) or maybe just liked the sound of 21/12/2012.
So folks have a Merry old time this winter solstice (or summer solstice), Christmas, or whatever time you are celebrating.

So light the old yule log - eat drink & be merry & you can decorate the tree now:lol:


~Mosaic
 

Shanazel

Moderator
  • Nice try, Mosaic, but the Mayans didn't live in Oz. We have to wait until midnight hits the Central Time Zone before we can be sure. ;)
 

Mosaic

Super Moderator
  • Nice try, Mosaic, but the Mayans didn't live in Oz. We have to wait until midnight hits the Central Time Zone before we can be sure. ;)

Oh does that mean this 1/2 of the world gets to live on, while the other 1/2 disappears? or does it mean that this 1/2 of world's time is up tomorrow:lol: No biggie we get an extra day nearly:D
~M
 

Amulya

Moderator
Maybe they just ran out of stone, or wanted to mess with future generations :D or sadly maybe they couldn't finish it because the qonquistadores whipped them out?
 

Aniseteph

New member
More pics from Shanazel - :D :D :D :dance:

Still enyoying the webcam Safran - I've seen two deer, birds, and a bunch of wild boar, and forest noises in the background are very restful!
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Oh does that mean this 1/2 of the world gets to live on, while the other 1/2 disappears? or does it mean that this 1/2 of world's time is up tomorrow:lol: No biggie we get an extra day nearly:D
~M


I don't know. I'll let you know tomorrow. Or later today. Or some time. If we don't all disappear. Or explode. Or something.

Of course, only the Mayan Calender ended. My checkbook calender goes on through 2015 so personally I'm not too worried.
 

Daimona

Moderator
So, during the winter, you can often hear really funny noises from the office computers. That is because we are all closely following the forest-cam. It shows a live picture from a feeding place for wild animals. Of course, they don't have a regular schedule to visit, so you have to keep the camera open all the time...
Metsakaamera | looduskalender.ee (click on the picture to see the cam)

If you are really lucky, you'll see wild boars

Oooh! Wild boars on the webcam right now! 5 or 6 grow-ups an 7 cubs.. (can you say cubs about wild boar youngsters?)


ETA (1725 CET): And now they're gone, but they were feeding for app. 2h... Ok, some are still feeding..
ETA (1830 CET): A venison is caught by the webcam.

Fascinating!
 
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walladah

New member
I hope that the funny picture is attached. No, Greece can only be destroyed on its own time (we are not good in being in time, we are always late), so, I am writing to you again! We are so bad with time, that we can even escape all calendars...

Shanazel! i love the interchange of Advent dates, thanks for the recipe! i used to eat only hunted meat when i was a child, then i have eaten my share on this earth! i will try the recipe with something less in danger of extinction!

By the way, i just passed my viva exam today, so I am also sending you a cifteteli i love very much to celebrate!
Ροζα Εσκεναζυ Η Μπολσεβικα.wmv - YouTube
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
Oh, Gisela, how cool. I've had a passion for paper snowflakes since I made my first one in Kindergarten about 1960. :D The first year my husband and I were married money was tight and we couldn't afford decorations. Roy cut a tree on the mountain (imagine the saddest Charlie Brown tree in the world!:lol:) and I festooned it with construction paper snowflakes. It was beautiful.

I paid 10 bucks tonight for a Charlie Brown Christmas tree at work. >.>;;; But it's so cuuuuuuuute! :D

Would you believe I couldn't find this thread when I came here tonight? :confused: I just about panicked before I realized it was a sticky! :confused:

Anyway! :D This is supposed to be Fried Shrimp Day and Bah, Humbug Day? Here's something I'm adding to my post, along with my intended share for today:



Here's an offering for "Bah, Humbug! Day" (also known as the official theme song for retail workers, snork!):



Now, here is my intended offering for today. I first discovered this song on a bellydance video of all things! :lol:



Enjoy! :D
 

Silverfyre

New member
23/12/12

Hey everyone :)

So today I want to share a favourite recipe with you all. Every Christmas my Nana (Grandmother) would come over and me, her and my sister woud always bake Christmas treats. Unfortunately she passed away almost 10 years ago now but I always feel close to her when I bake...and so...I bake..ALOT. So I share with you today my favourite Christmas cookie recipe :). I was lucky enough to stumble across this reipe online while googling for gluten free Christmas cookies and they are just YUM!! My fiance LOVES them and from the first of December he nags me to make these. We have our own little tradition of making these together on Christmas eve, and then snuggle up in front of the TV and watch The Gruffalo (it's not Christmas without The Gruffalo) and stuffing our faces with cookies :).

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
a few drops lemon juice
300g icing sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or mixed spice
350g ground almonds or other nuts
ground nuts for dusting

Method:

1.Beat egg whites until very stiff. Add a few drops of lemon juice. Sift icing sugar and fold in one spoonful at a time. Remove 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture for the glaze and chill.
2.Add the cinnamon or mixed spice and ground almonds to the remaining mixture.
3.Preheat oven to 170 C / Gas 3.
4.Dust a work surface with ground almonds. Roll dough out to a thickness of 0.75-1cm. Cut out star shapes and then transfer to a baking tray. Brush evenly with glaze.
5.Bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes.
6.EAT!!!!!!!!
 
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Jeanne

Member
Merry happy! It's Christmas Eve!

I promised something special for Christmas Eve, so I hope that you find it so.

Shrimp Creole was my family's traditional Christmas Eve dish for many years. We're all scattered to different places now, but I for one still make it just about every year

My brother likes to call me San Francisco Jeanne (even though i actually live in the East Bay), and he says that my recipe (not the one our mom used -- no one has it or is sure where it came from, although I suspect it may have been an old Joy of Cooking) is the best of several he's tried. So a few years ago he sent out the recipe to the rest of the family with this title:

San Francisco Jeanne's Shrimp Creole

1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato juice
1 1/2 lbs cleaned and cooked shrimp
2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Tbsp minced parsley

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to blend. Gradually add tomato juice and cook over medium heat, stirring until thick and smooth. Add shrimp and tomatoes, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes. Just before serving, stir in parsley. Serve immediately. Serve over plain boiled or steamed white rice.

Variations are definitely possible. I usually use canned rather than fresh tomatoes since this is not a good tomato time of year. If using tomatoes canned in a large amount of juice, consider adjusting the amount of tomato juice added in the recipe.

Also, if you like more kick to the flavor, you can increase the amount of chili powder. I used a full tablespoon today, although I should point out that the chili powder I had on hand was kind of old and probably not very potent.

Also today I added a stalk of chopped celery, which is more in keeping with actual Creole-style cooking.
 

Darshiva

Moderator
A Christmas Story

When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother… well, no, I didn’t really ask her anything and certainly not about this. You see, when I was a little girl, I was absolutely convinced that Christmas should be on the longest day of the year because Christmas is special and so is the longest day. I just knew it deep in my soul. So each year the days would get longer and longer as Christmas approached and each year I thought that this year would finally be the year when Christmas would finally be on the right day. But no, the year always peaked early and although I enjoyed the presents, I was always bitterly disappointed.

When I met my husband, he shared similar feelings. Christmas just didn’t make sense to us. Why was it on the wrong day? So we started celebrating all the sabbats & esbats and suddenly the world felt right. But the dead silence on the 25th of December started getting to us. Eventually we decided that we had to get out of the house. It was driving us crazy. So we drove and drove and drove. And we got hungry. And we drove until we found an open take-away. And so a tradition was born...


First, we start the day with a hearty breakfast of pancakes with fresh cherries and home-made ganache.


Then we set out on our road trip.



A pub. To prove that we are actually Australian. This one is notorious for accepting pay cheques from the local abbetoir as legal tender.


Past some farms. Lots of farms.



And a local cow-themed tourist trap.


Leaving Tonny.


And being stunned by a flock of sheep. The reason for this shock will become readily apparent.


To be continued...
 

Darshiva

Moderator
See! We do have water around here! (This is an irrigation channel running parallel to the road)


More farms.





More road.





To be continued...
 

Darshiva

Moderator
And entering the town before our destination. Locals show complete disregard for traffic rules and meander across the road like the local mascot.


Past an old water tower.


Across the Goulburn river.


Approaching our destination now. Gotta love the seasonal flags flapping in the wind.


Hooray, after 50-odd minutes of travel, we're there!


Touristy stuff.


This is one of the most important services in rural Australia - the Country Fire Authority. These guys keep us safe during bushfire season (NOW!) and they volunteer. They provide an invaluable service to the community and are often taken for granted. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work they do. :) Thankfully, my little neck of Victoria is currently under a moderate fire danger (which is next to nothing comparatively) so they are thankfully very quiet today.


To be continued...
 
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