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For the first time in about 5 years, I have felt more like my old self. Even though I have not written many blog posts since summer, that is all about to change. I started canning this year again after a long and dreadful absence from my life.

 

Now it is Christmas time, and like everyone else around it is time to bake, as I write this I have the first of three Applesauce Cakes in the oven, you can see the recipe here Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake (my grandmothers) recipe. Though this year I have added Craisins to the recipe, back in 2011 when I posted the recipe I added re-hydrated dried sour cherries.

I also have three Rum Cakes to bake, the recipe for this will follow in and up coming post. I have already started baking Molasses Crinkles which you can click here for the recipe, Molasses Crinkles, as well as Snicker Doodles, recipe in an up coming post. Today I am making the dough for Crunchy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, you will be taken to the recipe by clicking on the name. This year I will make a batch with toasted walnuts and Craisins as well.

Back when my mother was living, she found she really liked Velveeta Fudge, (I know many of you are turning inside out. however it is like she always said Velveeta is about as far from “REAL” Cheese as you can get, it is a cheese food that has all the same ingredients in that we commonly use in baking and cooking anyway. I will be posting the recipes for Velveeta Chocolate Fudge as well as Velveeta Peanut butter fudge. This year I am using a 90% European Chocolate in the fudge.

The last thing will be Chocolate Truffles (Chocolate Ganache) made with 65% European Chocolate (otherwise known a Bittersweet) That recipe is to come as well. 

The only thing that I had planned on making and posting the recipe for was to can Mincemeat, yes the real stuff, not green tomato, not meatless (Mince ) I am hoping in the coming year to try and get the ingredients together to make and can it and post the recipe, this was my grandmothers recipe.

Also in getting back to a normal life is working on art, I am in the process of buying Winsor and Newton professional watercolors, as well a supply of Daler-Rowney watercolor papers, Gamblin Oil Paints, and Pan Pastels. I am looking forward to getting back into and enjoying creativity once again with working on art projects. This was a very important part of my, much like Perennial gardening, and yes even basket weaving, however in the past 5 years basketry seems to have dried up for a time, that is why we need to put our creative energies into art projects like painting (you can do thee much more easily in very confined spaces)

See life is all about learning, a constant learning process that aids in living life, to cease to be creative is to die, or to just Exist in life (I have never been one to just EXIST) I tried the last several years, never to be repeated in this lifetime.  So let the creativity begin! 2016 is a new and glorious year for learning and creating!