Canadian Christmas Blog Hop

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I was in Saskatoon last weekend and we visited the Festival of Trees at the Western Development Museum. Part of their display was old Christmas displays taken from the Eatons store windows. You probably remember them as elves, animals, little children and Santa made toys or were part of a song....it reminded me of gazing for what seemed like hours watching these wonderful displays at Christmas time-long ago!

Here's a recipe from my childhood to share with you:

Toad in the Hole

We have this every Christmas morning after the stockings have been looked at, but before the gifts are opened! I cook the sausages the night before so the little ones don’t have to wait too long….

Ingredients
Makes enough for 4 people, I usually triple the recipe for Christmas morning.

• 8 links pork sausage
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.               Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2.               Pour the oil into the bottom of a baking dish, and arrange the sausages over it in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

3.               Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, and half of the milk until smooth. Gradually mix in the rest of the milk until a smooth batter is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.

4.               Remove the sausages from the oven, and ladle the batter over them until the sausages are 3/4 covered. Return to the oven, and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the center is risen and browned.

I like to serve it with maple syrup or chutney, a fresh fruit salad is a lovely accompaniment.

Merry Christmas!

Blue Glue Batik Blast

Since I've been working on a number of surface design projects, pattern for you is a little different!

This is a great technique to use with kids or the whole family can join in and be creative over the holiday season.

You can achieve great results with this simple technique and Elmer's School Glue Washable Gel as a resist! This gel glue can be found in most office and discount stores. I like to use the gel with prepared fabric and Dye-Na-Flow™ paint or diluted fabric paint. You can use any natural fiber such as cotton, linen, hemp or blends.

°        Lay fabric on wax paper or the shiny side of freezer paper and draw a design onto the fabric. Think of lines, wiggles, circles, simple shapes, landscapes flowers and more....

°        Remember that the fabric will not colour under the glue so those areas will remain white. Let the glue dry for 12 hours.

°        Place dyes/paints in a styrofoam plate or egg tray and dilute if needed.

°        Colour the open areas with paint or dye. Try blending the colours, playing with lines or shapes, be open and have fun with the adventure. (If you are using Procion MX dye, cover with plastic wrap and batch in a warm place for 12-18 hours)

°        When the fabric is dry, soak it in a warm (almost hot) water bath. Depending on the fabric's weight this soak can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 an hour, (heavier fabrics take longer).

°        Use fabric in your next project! This is also great to do with kids or as a craft day.

°        Try drawing the glue onto dark fabric and using discharge paste to take the colour out, this yields amazing results!

© 2010 Susan Purney Mark www.susanpm.com

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