#gronickchristmas

as i sit here today - munching on a ham and cheese croissant watching the snow flakes fall and listening to the boys playing on the xbox - i am reflecting on our christmas this year and how it was NOTHING like how i had pictured it. this year i felt like we were in such a rush. other commitments came first and the real traditions of the holidays got pushed aside.
there was no baking.
there was no blogging.
there was no skating.
there were no gingerbread houses.
there was NO SANTA. {we never got to see him and get a photo. :( }

there were, however, snowstorms, work and colds/flu. lots of all three and they consumed all of our time. work took over our time. snow took away our visit with santa. the flu commanded it's presence on christmas day. we did still do some christmasey things this season but it was nothing like in years past.

i just hope we can navigate this new rhythm of our life, master the beat and dance our way through 2014 effortlessly.
together.

that's my resolution.
what's yours?

all the best in 2014 - HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

these are all photo's from instagram. are you on instagram? i'm @jengronick if you want to follow along on our adventures!!

christmas shortbread made in january and not eaten as one would expect it to be.

at christmas time there were grand plans. days were to be set aside for baking. enjoying . merriment. in reality though the days were spent shopping, finally getting the decorations up, caring for those who were puking. one little girl finally decided on the 23rd what her wish might be - 7 stores were then combed on christmas eve for said gift only for the wrong thing to be bought and since returned and a newer shiner version will be bought as a collaboration for christmas AND her birthday. so this being said not all good plans are done...is that the saying? i can't remember. who cares.
this year christmas came too fast and too furious. before we knew it - it was over.
{i still haven't sent out my cards...epic fail!}

since those days of cheer i have had a lump of dough staring me in the face everyday tauting me - what's going on here? are you going to make me or what?

then came one morning as breakfast was being made where enough was enough. i was tired of feeling like the christmas failure in where the only treats consumed over the holidays were store bought. this house was going to smell like christmas dammit...even though christmas was over weeks ago. the oven was cranked, the dough pulled out and tony looked at me puzzled "you're baking?" yes. in the middle of everything this was going to happen.
by hook or by crook.

they were made, cooled, sliced, photographed and devored. not like you would expect - settled with a mug of something hot for dipping, a nice conversaion or just watching the snowflakes silently fall. slowly. delicately. with care and thought.

nope.

they were scoffed down amidst the screaming. crying. pandemonium of everyday.

but they were delicious. i long for more.

maybe today is a good day for more.....

shortbread.
this recipe was written down and placed in my binder cookbook so i really do not know where i got it from. i am not going to claim it as mine but i can't give credit either. but it's delicious..trust me. 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp + a little extra for your pan
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup sugar {you could use icing sugar as well.}

pre-heat oven to 325F degrees. butter a 8 or 9 inch round or square cake pan. set aside.
sift together the flour and salt.
in your electric mixer cream butter until light and fluffy. add sugar and beat together for about 3 minutes. scrape down side, beat another minute, scrapes down sides again {i know i know, enough with the scraping!} and add flour mix, pulsing till incorporated as to not fling flour everywhere!! {i am NOT speaking from experience here...this is just a tip.} halfway through give the bowl a scrape and beat together a few minutes more till it holds together once squeezed.

press your dough into prepared pan, score into wedges and prick it all over with a fork. this is delicate, do not picture your bosses face or react to your kids constant screaming.....poor dough.

bake until firm in the middle and slightly brown around the edges - about 50 minutes. be your own judge - it may take longer depending on the oven. once done place on wire cooling rack till cool, pop it out of the pan, cut it into wedges and please eat it properly. do not do as we do.

;)

holidays.

this year i decided to take christmas holidays.
best decision ever.
we have surely had a time.
we wrote letters to santa. we went and SAW santa. we slowed down. we finished our shopping. we enjoyed each others company. it really was the best.

so happy with christmas this year. everyone was calm. everyone was happy. we spend it with my mom which was nice. she was here for christmas eve and morning.

we then went for our traditional christmas day outing - this year it was down to the lake to see if it was frozen enouh to walk on. IT WAS!!! So much fun.
there were a few spots that looked a little dicey but we followed others tracks and were just fine. phew. it was a great walk and i was so happy that we hauled ourselves outside.

we once again had christmas dinner on boxing day and it felt so right. no rush. no fuss. casual and easy.

this holiday we just hung out - spent time as us. since tony has been working on his game so long and hard it really has been a while since we did that. it has been wonderful. it would have been more wonderful if i had gotten things together to whisk us all away to some beach somewhere but maybe next year.....definitely next year!

also during all this tony has been hard at work at his masterpiece in the back/side yard - the rink! and yesterday it was open for business!! so awesome. we have already {well tony and the kids} have already had two skates on it!

for now i am going to sit like coop up there and think about what is to come for the next two days of life together...well we are together always - just two days left of real vacation. are we going to go skiing on new years eve? are we just going to hang out? catch up on things? bang pots and pans? eat a fancy dinner?
not sure but i am so happy that we are ringing in the new year together!

happy 2013 to you and yours!!!

:)

i have picked my word for 2013...have you??

santa's workshop.

today is the day.
teacher present day.

every year i make the presents and every year they are very well recieved. the principal of the kids school tells me that she meticulously eats the granola i give her at end of year and christmas so "it lasts her six months till the next offering." since hearing such a nice comment i decided to double her bag - cause now it's from two kids! ;)

the school my kids go to is kind of amazing with the teachers giving their all and completely loving their job and the kids. it kind of helps too that they think my kids are pretty rad. in my books, anyone who thinks that deserves a big bag of sweets!

some of what i made is from yours truly and some has been inspired from pinterest.

hot chocolate kit.

i have seen many of these around - single serving and enough for a group. i combined a few i saw into what we gave out. hot chocolate mix on the bottom, then mini chocolate chips, then mini marshmallows and finally some crushed up candy canes {i put these in a little baggie as they are for a particular taste.} and to add that something extra  some chocolate dipped wooden spoons for stirring and striped paper straws for sipping!

whole wheat pancake mix.

my secret recipe. this, my granola and my cupcakes were the first thing i started selling when i started my business. i have been handing this out for years and the recipe is off limits...sorry!!

maple granola and cranberry crunch granola.

maple granola pictured.

big hits! and again...top secret recipe. i wouldn't even give it to my mom! ha!

honey orange cranberry sauce.

in late november i made a large batch and canned it for this very purpose. to can the sauce - sterilize your jars and lids. pour warm sauce into hot jars and place in canning pot. process for 20 minutes, starting from when the water starts boiling again. perfect for christmas dinner!

hot fudge sauce.

my new secret weapon! this sauce is amazing and i will be letting you in on it in the next couple of days. come back for it - you won't be sorry!

shortbread. {not pictured.}

last year we handed out this version but this year i went plain, simple, classic. and nobody does it better than martha!!
{i did the fingers but didn't dip them.}

cranberry almond bark.

this is something i have been doing for years! like i think about 15 years. i started out using white chocolate because it definitely looks more festive but since i can't stand the stuff i have changed to milk. when this recipe was first developed it was determined by price not measurement. i knew what i wanted to spend so i mapped it out that way. a few years later i went with my dad to the store to get the ingredients and as we approached the bulk section he asked my what i needed. i answered him "$6 of chocolate melting wafers, $3 of whole unsalted almonds and $3 of cranberries." he stopped dead in his tracks, looked at me and proclaimed "that is the craziest recipe i have ever heard." in turn i said "well - that's all i want to spend." yes i could have said 1200 grams of chocolate, 200 grams of cranberries and 200 grams of almonds...but where is the fun in that? plus a girl has to budget - especially at christmas time!!!
{please don't judge the recipe by my picture...my kitchen got hot so the chocolate heated a bit causing some white colouration!! oops!}

cranberry almond bark
1200 grams choclate melting wafers or your favorite chocolate
200 grams dried cranberries
200 grams whole unsalted almonds

first toast your almonds. pre-heat the oven to 375. spread the almonds out on a tray and place in oven for 5 minutes. pull out toss on tray and place in for another 3 minutes. pull out once more and if you think they need a little more {like me but i don't know that strength of your oven!} place them in for two more minutes. remove from oven and let cool.

once they are cool melt your chocolate. place your chocolate wafers or chopped up chocolate bits into a heat proof bowl and either use a double boiler or microwave. i use the microwave. i heat it for 30 seconds, pull it out, stir it and then place back into micro. i then repeat this in 15 seconds intervals. yes this sounds horrendous but it doesn't burn your chocolate and you will be happier for it. once it's all melted add in your cranberries and almonds {you may have to upgrade to a larger bowl at this point.} then pour onto a pan covered in parchment - sides too! - then put it in a coerner of your kitchen and forget about it. let in harden. once nice and hard, lift it off the parchment slightly and smack it down. keep doing this till it breaks into your desired sized and number of pieces. bag it up and hand them out!!

cinnamon stars.

these were something i saw on pinterest and had to do them ourselves. each one of our packages will have one of these with them as well. and did you see the ribbon? it was such a score from pick your plum - merry christmas from the gronick family - personalized ribbon? yes please!

our tags.

i love christmas cards. i love the design and the sentiment behind them. what i can never do  is bear to part with them so i thought if i turned them into something else and spread their cheer that would be awesome. so i came up with this - using the covers of old cards as new tags for our gifts.
perfectly festive and to quote mooseletoe... so perfectly perfect.

what are the teachers on your list getting this year?

happy holidays from us to you!

xoxo