HOLLY BLOGGY CHRISTMAS-TRADITIONS GALORE

So much means tradition to me playing that 1st carol mistle toe . . . . .
Putting up my xmas tree way up early with my hand made bows of ribbons i truly had to hunt for , me living in a place that aint a shoppers paradise in this category
ever so very rarely do i stir towards outfits or grooming, im more of a track pant tshirt gurl and satin pyjamas will be more likely on my personal wish list than a little black number or silletoes. . .

I love cute personified bt yeah a farahniet or pleasure intense does make me weak in my knees. . .u hve steered away frm the highway again u remind me. . .but suprising no,i reali havent coz ws hoverng around gift buying = shoping,nw dats an all year round tradition i know. . . . .i could go on n on about traditions beyond food but foods just round the corner as is moms assado de galinho e salada de bacalau and my stuffed turkey with reducd sauce n a great fruit cake n yeah loads of cookie exchange too...

Whats a traditional dinner w/o hollow pilar candles lendn a warm goldn glow with d help of doz amazing tea lites,frangranced with a good dose of real vanila,their flames go on n on,i think tealites is an amazn discovery,i mean invention ie


Christmas time would have me collecting all thats green n red ,gol and sive and all things that look like a dream n well watever gives me lite with the help of a tealite is mine for the season....and this is tradition to me too coz it means the world to me....

Collecting glasses,holders n what have you is a passion too-aint that a tradition as well.......
Last time round i got sme kinda glases,very cute mind u.ie after i was done workin with them.
I spary painted 'em golden with a spray paint,glitter ing beautifull ribbons in hues of red & ofcourze my by nw infamous tea lite completed my take aways,not w/o the help of some bamboo baskets n golden tool-
u lite ur takeawy as u take it away 2ur home sweet home from ours on Christmas day and yeah take aways are a part of our tradition too....

Now i wasnt writng abt Christmas,was i?oh wat did i begin with?tealite n all tings spice?
Wel dats me i begin2write n jus go with the flow n before i know it am at d north pole at santa s door
So muc for writing with my heart-and yeah ofcourse we were talking Christmas traditions here so i dont need to tell myself---write w ur mind gurl,go strait

The Christmas flames of traditions are always alive
n i simply cnt stop or should i really...
October end or even earlier all our cutlery,linen n what have u begins 2 scream red white green n cream?And it happens every year in a regular tradition kinda fashion.....
No hustling n bustling n jostling for space,after all in a big big heart there's space for everyone....
Love the feeling that it feels like xmas......
fragrance of pine n hollies fills the air.........
sounds of bells n jingles rendering.....
sip of sweet wine(though i prefer a chilled pepsi in my wine glass) with all dat u dine........
And oh kissing under the mistletoes(best left to the magical christmas movies).....
Hasn't d fragrance of it all begun working its magical suprises.....
well m more then set2 welcome behold a month of carols n xmas ryhmes,
marzipans n sweetys.....
and candies and cookies.....
n ofcourze ur superspiced stuffed turkey with a pudding so well flambey'd......
oh h o o la la la
There's so much of red u'll find all around my home,red sheets n curtains n linen
cups n saucers,plates n serves, d wipecloths n catch cloths wish u merry xmas2!
N ofcrz a fair share,very big fat fair shair of laces n nets n satins in golds n reds.......
not an eyesore but a squeal of delite i assure u.....
Aint all this tradition-to my world-yeah it so muc is......

And my fav corner w marzipan,macron cookies,chocs n walnut bals in oversized transprnt cookie jars, tie'd up wit ribbon over a red checkd cloth, hog d limelite till a few very hungry tummies take over..................
Brandied butter n pates share a good space in d cold ladder(read refrigeration)Aint that tradition too?


lods f wreaths n snow filled sheaths round n around
n my xmacy xmas tree wit my hand made,not v fancy bows n 100 of twinkling lites make me wndr,hey m i reali ms claus?
Wel u saw d head wit d red claus cap pop from d car window?Thats so muc a tradition to me too......coz...
Hey hey dat was me u c....wishing u cheers....
THESE AND MANY MORE ARE A PART OF ME-THE TRADITIONS OF ME AND MY LIFE...
Loved that u tk d time to read and thank u for that.....
AND A VERRY MMERRRRYY CHEERRYY CHRISTMAS...
BOAS FESTAS.......
AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS....

WILL BE ADDING PICS HERE SOON-MY UPLOADING TAKES A WEE BIT TIME...SORRY..

HOLLY BLOGGY CHRISTMAS-DAY4-GREENCY CREAMCY CHRISTMAS DREAM....

GREENCY CREAMCY DREAM....this is a what i came up with for the 3rd day of the HOLLYBLOGGY christmas thats really so dang cute and its so good to share and be part of this wonderfull world ,all thankx to JERRI, of SIMPLY SWEET HOME...
I love here so dang cute Mousey ornaments coz to me they are mickey mouse in a bead....

CHRISTMAS RECIPES...rings a bell here....sounds familiar there...is on ur mind since end oct or thanksgiving or putting up ur beauty CHristmas tree ,whichever came earlier.....different flavours to different people but at the end of the day the same emotions-warming the heart to the core...sharing love topped with laughter & songs(carols here) round the table......sharing a heart 2 heart chat w mom over hot chocolate when evrybody else;s is fast asleep with only the twinkles from the christmas tree sending a warm glow all along the hall way....
Oh does it all have to do with food-an universal language of love the world over!!!!!

We have many a traditional recipe and many a tradition too and a few additions evry year that are here to stay....
THis absolutely elicious broccoli alomond soup has a stori to tell too and i love the memory behind...

A few Christmas's ago or more like in school i read somewhere(wish i knew where but it mus have been a mag of moms),i read about this brocolli almond soup as a traditional Christmas soup somewhere in the world (suprisingly i havent googled yet),wish me knew where and ever since evry year i make a really big pot on 25th and every guest stoppin by gets a hug-in-a-mug and before me knows its gone....

I dont really remember the original recipe but one thing i can say is i have tried many a variation in this and it always tops.....have given this recipe too ,to many who requested n it never ever fails to cheer....

OF course the main players or stars are broccoli and almonds with some seasoning and u can really play with the variation like try equal amount of almonds and broccoli or say for 500 grams ,300 grams of almonds...it jus tops....
Here am re creating this warming magic again with only a bunch of broccoli thats sits in the refrigeration and yeah a new addition is spinach and yellow pepper.(psst psst-this will be up again before christmas or around Christmas and with a cute twist...will tell u all abt it...stay tuned)
U can season it with cinnamon/cloves/pepper/star anise or any of ur fav spice or jus some stock powder.
Personally we dont really fancy pepper/pepper pwder in soup coz it adds to a spicy hint but feel free....

Put all of the below in a pressure cooker and let it work up on a slow fire for half an hour...
SO HERE GOES WHAT WENT IN
----BROCCOLI
----POTAT0
----ALMONDS
----YELLOW PEPPER
----ONION
----SPINACH
----a few cloves of garlic
----SEASONING(u can make a little bag here with ur seasoning as in spices or even add a carrot and celery)


1)LET THIS COOL AWHILE(honestly right here we had some,mashe it with a big laddle ,spponed into our waiting cups,added some butter ,cheese and cream-microwaved and.....bliss.....the whole almonds taste is fantastic too here)
AND WHATEVERS LEFT GOE THRU A BLENDER-STRAIN IF U WANT-I DIDN....


2)BRING TO A QUICK BOIL AND ADD IN LIGHTLY STEAMED OR SAUTE'D MUSHROOMS,SWEET CORN,BABYCORN ,CHIVES,RED PEPPER...

Actually u can garnish it with whatever u fancy and a blob of butter/cheese/cream is fantastic too!!!!And some parsely and chives too!!!
GRated parmesan and linguine rock here too.....the options are endless.......
Will be blending up this soup agAin with loads of brocolli this time round.....coz broccoli gives in a nice deep green color and u can skip the spinach ...
But this turned out real elicious even w/o any cream...we all loved it ....

Garnish with any i did or jus steamed broccoli-ur choice....

HOLLYBLOGGY CHRISTMAS-CRAFTY IDEAS-DAY3

Christmas & me get along like a home on fire(i prefer not to use house coz to me its a wee bit impersonal) and as i take a stroll around and walk down memory lane,so much of goodness & joys & laughter & songs spring my mind-more loke flood my mind and so do a couple of crafts i've indulged in...
THis year besides the bows & decking the halls & drive way and every where i could & those little bows for our tree,the only 'craft',i have indulged in is hampers and i do hope these qualify...
I ran outa hampers ,givin 'em with love to smiling faces-oh love the joy that floods...
And needing some more ,got to work again with the few cookies & brownies (will post this one soon)we had and loads of curling ribbon ,trying to curl 'em curly......

the cookies and brownies first in cling wrap,some glitter net fabric & the ribbons curling away....

 

My sweetie Kitchen Santa standing gaurd to a few of jus ready hampers done with shinny wrap.......

 

the cookies all dressed,yeah they went into the hamper too!!!!!

 

 

brownies and cookies with curling ribbon to make ur day....

cookie craft with ribbony craft....

 

and a few pics of my 'crafting moments'-noticed how i fitted craft in to everything here.......

th

and finally these gorgeous candles-i didn make 'em but i did create 'em-d idea ie and i love 'em...

put tea lites or the thick candles in and tried it with sand and little water below so that the heat does melt 'em in....

i love the glow these lend when i sit on this mat below that spreads around place & sip on hot chocolate on a cold nite..... 

HOLLY BLOGGY CHRISTMAS AND CHRISTAMS TREES -DAY 2

TWINKLING TWINKIES ON MY TREE...

YEAH I LOVE THAT IS SO CHRISTMASY.....

AND I LOVE OUR CHRISTMAS TREE.....

TODAYS THE 2ND FUN FILLED,ROCKING HOLLY BLOGGY PARTY DAY AND WE SURE ARE SPREADING THE LOVE AND CHEER,I CAN FEEL IT...

 JERRI OF AMAZINGLY CUTE SIMPLE SWEET HOME  IS A DARLING TO BRING US THIS CUTE 5DAY FESTIVAL...IM LOVING IT!!

MY CONTRIBUTIONS MAY PALE IN COMPARISM TO THE OTHER FANTASTIC BLOGGERS WHO JOIN IN THE PARTY BUT MY HEART IS SWELL & I FEEL THE JOY BUBBLING THRU.....

Now before u read any further and stop by and visit JErri(u must),put on the Christmas carols...let the music catch u in the mood b4 we catch up with some more gorgeous Christmas trees at TERESA'S  @A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING,oh im so in love with her so dang cute disney Christmas tree-oh how much id love this one-its going to top my wishlist next year(mommy ur the best....)

Christmas trees-i think we can have a whole blog for this so so so so special tree that delights,enthralls,creates a festive air around it,twinkling like the stars in the open sky,with its whole concept,idea ,origin,bows and danglers,angel tree top,little tiny gifts ,baubles & cherrys,mistletoes et all and here ,that big pile of gifts ,that seem so perfectly strewn all below,form a tree high pile ,and all the little take aways for all the kiddies that pop by throughout the day!!!!!

So many a tradition and memories and emotion surround that one single special tree ,thats up,once a year for a month or 2 (or if ur like me 3)and i love every single one of 'em....

Christmas tree-this tree we have has seen many a Christmas(think its almost 10 years old-will check wit mom) but as far as i can remember i've always been involved wit the putting up et all,before slowly,as i entered my teens ,the entire 'Christmas show'was on my shoulders & i loved evry moment...

I dont really shop for a new outfit or shoes @ Christmas(never did-love my keds..:-))) ),i rather went & go shopping for putting together my beloved tree,hampers for all,diy take aways & giveaways & adding to the deco every year....
Alongwith ,as much as possible everything,i hand make the bows for our Christmas tree,i dont travel to metros and the shopping scene here ,aint too excitiing but i mange to source what i have scrouging all around place......

here u have a peekabo of a few bows with the focus actually being on few of the hampers placed here

the Christmas table that'll soon be laden with goodies for all.....

this is my fav santa on our kitchen counter who keeps me company thru all my caroling jingles and baking....
he's so dang cute aint he?

a pic in the dark with jus a glow of santa-land!!!

so this is christmas ....

lets all have fun.....

a merry meryy Christmas ...

And a happy new year......

WHATS UR FAV CAROL...CLIFF RICHARDS'MISTLETOE' OR CELINE DIONS 'SPECIAL TIMES'

I LOVE 'EM TUNES THAT IN A MOOD FOR WHITE CHRISTMAS SET ME IN...

HOLLY BLOGGY CHRISTMAS-GIFT(COOKIE)EXCHANGE-DAY1

There's nothing as heart warming as Home-made or hand made Christams gifts this season!!!!
I love Diy's so handmade or rather here ,home baked cookies are no exception.....

TO begin with ,begining today ,we are having 5days of pure fun & good cheer at SIMPLY SWEET HOME, and today,14th is the day of handmade gifts.
Honestly its the best to begin with-i have always loved indulging & my shopping to resource stuff-all from scratch begins way ahead to the last min....
Whether its give aways for all or take aways for all that stop by at our home on Christmas ,its all so exciting for me to do it myself!!!!
I love putting up my tree and all red,green and god hued linen by mid -nov latest & belive it stays put till feb,around valentines,jus the red remains and then i love to plunge in to the summery hues of yellow,green & creamy tones....
This time its a wee bit different coz our homes are under remodelation ,we have moved (temprly),and are finalizing on another place too....
so till then ,most of our linen has been ,laundered pressed and packed in(a lot given away=more shopping but later)with sandalwood sticks & some with napthelene balls and sheets to keep 'em safe.....
Most of our cutlery,crockery and home stuff has been cleant,polished ,wrapped individually and packed up too.....
Plus we as a family are going to be admist beautiful nature ,far away from the hustling ,bustling life for a few days ....am i making a excuse for the lack of putting in my best....no no...jus the whole situation and i still haven gone down to the city shopping for colored papers et all ,so this post is jus with what i have in at home which me picked up awhile back.....
I did so try 12 cookies @ christmas and by 24th belive i should complete 'em all....and have a few bigger hampers....
Ok so lets begin today by working on a few hampers and build it up step by step....instead of a goody basket filled with local goan portuguese sweets i tweaked it to cookies this time round and boy ,was it fun....
Read on ......

SNICKERDOODLES
My most fav sugar rolled cookie with a good sprinkle of cinnamon

GET THE RECIPE HERE FOR THESE SWEETY CUTEY COOKIES

CURLING RIBBONS IS SO MUCH FUN & LOOKS SO FESTIVE IN THE HAMPER TOO!!!!

AND GOLD WRITTEN ,ON BUTTER PAPER IS WHAT EXACTLY EACH COOKIE IS ABOUT....

OH THESE SNOW FLECKED BROWNIES ARE THE MOST GORGEOUS ,GOOEY,FUDGY CHOCOLATELY BROWNIES EVER......

PLAYED WITH THE TOPPING ET ALL AND U HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFULL BROWNIE HERE...MUST ADD IN UR CHRISTMAS HAMPER...

LOVE YA HAZLENUT TRUFFLES!!! -these easy peasy truffles are great-u'll be loved more for 'em!!!

A GORGEOUSLY CHOCOLATEY PINEAPPLE CASHEWNUT COOKIE ADDS TO THE FESTIVITY WITH THE GREEN SPRINKLES

THUMBALINA GOES TO A CHRISTMAS PARTY...

WHILE I SHOW U HOW TO MAKE THESE TO ADD TO UR LOVE FILLED GOODIE HAMPER.....

OH A RED AND GREEN CHRISTMAS COOKIE,AND SOME EXPERIMENTS AND RIBBONS LATER....

I HAVE ONE FOR EACH HAMPER......

OH CANT FORGET A BON-BON EACH TOO

AND this time w real chocolate!!!

these INTENSELY CHOCOLATE CHOCO CHIP COOKIES(recipe here) are so so good that u'll need to bake quite a few batches of these...

They have a snappy welcome crunch and are crumbly and melt in ur mouth.....dont miss on these

A repeat of my intensely gorgeous brownies but with twist-they are now CHIPSTER BROWNIES,

ie with a topping of choco-chip cookie...a brownie and cookie ,in one....yummy yummy yum...these rock and i baked a really small batch jus for these hampers and will bake a bigggg batch in a few days...

Oh yeah ,these cookies are absolutely special,

my first cookie with reall good chocoate(callebaut),and they are truly the best chocolate cookies..imiss 'em as i write this...

RECIPE FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES..

And these are the white chocolate cookies with a twist yeah...they rock too with loads of chocolatey goodness....

RECIPE FOR DOUBLE ZESTY,TRIPLE CHOCO COOKIES..

Now individually wrap each one in cling wrap and let ur creative juices flow-i have detailed pics on each link with their respective recipes....i love a variety....and then all these with some britely hued confetti go into local wicker baskets(picked 'em from our darling local folk fro a weekly market...red celephane paper,fabric..some more ribbon and ur done...

OK SO HERE ARE A FEW HAMPERS READY TO MAKE MANY SMILE.....

USING FABRICS AND RIBBONS IN SATIN AND LACE....

AND CANDLES AND TEA LITE'S GALORE I HAVE A FESTIVE LOOKING SANTA LAND....

A FEW GARDEN FLOWERS FOR AN ELDERLY,LONELY LADY.......

GOT A FEW SMALL JARS OF HOME BREWED SWEET WINE TO GO WITH THE HAMPERS....

AND USED HOLIDAY PRINT TISSUES AND RIBBONS TO PACK A FEW JARS OF HOME-MADE MANGO JAM & BALCHAO DE CAMARAO....

OR A JAR OF LEMON CURD...that everybody will welcome after an overdose(in a good way yeah!)of chocolatey goodies!!!

SANTA CLAUS CANDLES ALL WRAPPED UP TO BE GIVEN TO SPREAD THE LOVE & CHEER!

Now i really wanted to make one of those 'MUGGY HAMPERS', with a hot chocolate mix(minus the marshmellows),christams candy & holly leaf but havent found cute enuf christmas mugs yet & if i do will add them on later.....

NOW http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/ IS HOLDING TODAYS LINKY PARTY AND HAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING GIFTING IDEAS GALORE SO DO DO ,STOP BY AND U'LL BE AWED AT THE GORGEOUS & SUPER IDEAS THE REST OF THE GANG HAS!!!