Christmas Baking/Joulutortut ja piparit

Missy finished baking the gingerbread cookies on our last day in Virginia, we filled a tin of them, and brought it north with us. (Don't worry, we left plenty for my sister's family, too:)

One day last week Little Miss decorated them for Christmas. So pretty and yummy!




Sunday after church and after cleaning house we put K-Love Christmas radio on, and started baking Joulutorttuja. A favorite for Finnish Christmas.




What can I say? It was a lot of fun, and the music was catchy! Haha:)




You can find a recipe here, we didn't follow one. I pureed the prunes and used them the same day, didn't strain them. I added a little water when I cooked them, and a little honey when I pureed them. We had store bought puff pastry.




We brushed our joulutortut with egg wash before baking them for 15 minutes in 450F.




Once they've cooled enough, we sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top. Best eaten right away!

I think that is all we will bake this year. We have a ham defrosting, I found some herring in Portland, Maine (what else could you possibly need??), and will probably simplify all other dishes. Rice porridge in the slow cooker - so easy. Remember how the Captain arrived in Maine sick?

Yup. I woke up with a cold yesterday. Praying hard it doesn't get as bad as the Captain had it.. It could be worse though. Always. (Do I have any readers who remember the Christmas of 1999? Or was it 2000? A nasty stomach bug that went through all the babies and caregivers, including one who only stopped by for a few minutes?) That was a rough Christmas.

Good thing Christmas isn't about food or baking, or even about being well. It isn't even about lovely traditions, or beautifully wrapped presents. (Which, of course, are all wonderful things.) Christmas will come no matter what.

Because what it really is about...

... is celebrating the birth of a Savior, who brings us Good News! And that you can do quietly in your own heart, whatever your circumstances may be.

Little Miss and I have been following The Jesus Storybook Bible this Advent (here's a schedule of readings). Every day we read a story. Yesterday's story read:

"And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby Son."

And that is what makes Christmas Christmas.



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Toimme piparit mukanamme Virginiasta (jäi osa siskollekin:), Pikkuneiti koristeli täällä Mainessä, ja sunnuntaina leivoimme joulutorttuja. Siihen taitaa jäädä meidän leipomiset, ja jouluateriakin tehdään niin simppeliksi, kuin mahdollista. Kinkku on sulamassa ja sillejä löytyi skandikaupasta. Mitäpä sitä muuta kaipaisi? Riisipuuron laitan pataan. Siivoukset on nyt tehty.

Minä nimittäin heräsin eilen kipeänä - Kapteenin tautia, todennäköisesti:( Mikä oli raju ja pitkä flunssa.

Onneksi joulu tulee kipeillekin, vähillä valmistautumisilla ja (kääks) ehkä ilman joulukuustakin - ellemme sellaisen vielä saa. Kaksi pientä pöytäkuusta on olohuoneessa.

Joulu tulee kaikesta huolimatta, koska joulu ei ole kiinni näistä ulkoisista olosuhteista. Niin ihania kun perinteet, koristeet, juhlat ja lahjat ja ruoat ovat, niin joulu ei kuitenkaan riipu niistä. Joulu on Vapahtajan syntymän juhlimista - ja tämän juhlimisen voi tehdä hiljaisesti omassa sydämessäkin.

Eikös?