Christmas

Gingerbread House

From the pictures take a look and see what one is the gingerbread house I made, you can only get better!


The gingerbread house began in Germany in the 1800s going back to the tale of Hansel and Gretel. The witch’s house was built of bread, roofed with cakes, and the windows were transparent sugar. It became a tradition that was handed down thru the generations.


Now the houses can be made from graham crackers, pretzels, and lebkuchen (spiced honey biscuits).

Most are still made from the gingerbread cookie recipe:


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup light molasses or dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons water

Mix and chill for an hour then cut out the shapes.

Preheat oven to 375 and bake for around 15 minutes.


For assemblage and decoration: Melted white chocolate or Royal Icing, recipe follows:

1 pound (3-3/4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy

1 to 2 large egg whites, or substitute 4 teaspoons packaged egg whites and 1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon almond extract, vanilla or lemon juice

Gumdrops, licorice, and peppermint, as desired.

Christmas

Outdoor Farmhouse Christmas Decoration

Simple outdoor farmhouse Christmas decoration that you can use from everyday items is called traditional farmhouse Christmas décor. Using an old sled or vintage crate with some greenery and bulbs will make your front door inviting.

Outdoor Christmas Decoration using an Old Ladder
Outdoor Christmas Decoration using an Old Ladder


An old wooden ladder with homemade garland strewn around it or a garland of juniper boughs with apples hung. So, this year give your “outside” a farmhouse Christmas.

House Plants

African Violets

Got room on a dresser or counter and the area needs some color? Try African violets. I used a 3-foot fluorescent light on a counter and grew over a dozen plants. My plants came from Marion Burtz the violet lady that sold milk west of town years ago.

They grow around 8 inches in diameter; however, some will grow up to 24 inches in diameter. There are miniature varieties getting around 2 inches in diameter. Also, there are trailing varieties for spreading in larger pots or hanging baskets.

Miniature Violet in a teacup
Miniature Violet

Use room temperature water as you should for all houseplants, watering when dry. When grown they require a 4-to-5-inch pot. So, you can grow a lot of different varieties in a small area. Give artificial light or a partial sunny east windowsill for healthy plants.

Leaf propagation of African violet
Leaf propagation

To propagate, remove the leaf and stem and insert in moist sand or peat mix. In around a month a new plant (like the parent plant) will form to be transplanted. Violets will sucker a little when they do remove the sucker to maintain the parent plant.

They are native to the forests of Tanzania (Africa) and Kenya and are at risk of being endangered by deforestation. They were found by a German botanist and brought to Europe in 1884. The original violets had purple flowers. This plant has a habit of mutation which produced different flower colors, leaf colors and textures, and size differences.