Holiday Baking

Christmas is nigh! December 25th, that holy day many of us celebrate with tons of food and family time, is in just two days.  My family always celebrates on Christmas Eve, though, so tomorrow is the big day for us.

I usually make at least one turkey every December, and this year is no exception--I have been charged with roasting a 15 pound bird tomorrow.  'Tis the season....for slaving away in the kitchen!

The real fun began today though. I've been baking all day.  I don't believe in making cakes out of boxes either, so all of that soft, fluffy goodness in the photo is scratch-made.  I made a carrot cake for my step dad and I spent the rest of the day making my great granny's famous hummingbird cake.  The humming- bird cake is three layers of near magical deliciousness that takes a few hours to make.  I only make it once a year.  'Tis the season!

 I will be trapped in the kitchen tomorrow too. I'll  be spending my morning making goat's milk & rose organic soap for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, and then I'll get down to the real business of cooking. Tomorrow I'll be roasting a turkey and making some homemade cranberry sauce (if I can find a store that still has cranberries--I went to four places today looking for them and had no luck).

Then on Christmas Day Kenneth and I will be having a romantic night in, complete (of course) with a home cooked meal by moi!  And we mustn't forget his scratch-made carrot cake!  We might even go to the movies to see Les Mis.  I'm sure it will be a wonderful day.

Finally, on the 29th I will have both of my beautiful daughters here to celebrate our family Christmas.  We will have a big dinner (yes, I'll be making ANOTHER turkey--my third in two months) with my best friends and nieces and nephews, and then that night we will have our special family celebration.  The next day I will be baking Ava's birthday cupcakes and getting things ready for her birthday party!

It is definitely going to be an incredibly busy week, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am really looking forward to it.  I don't even mind the cooking, really, since all this food will be enjoyed by the people I love most. I am blessed to have so much food, and I am blessed to have so many loved ones.

Happy holidays dear readers!  I suspect you won't be hearing from me again until after the new year!