Thank you all who have entered their names in the recent Book Walk. There's still a little more time as the winner is slated to be drawn tomorrow night.
And I'm already thinking of the rest of you whose name will still be sitting at the bottom of MeMama's cake bowl.
<Sigh!> I wish I could send a book gift to all of my readers. It'd be such fun to read and talk together. Oh, and bake too. I love to bake. Guess you've all noticed that. ;)
We are now standing on the edge of the Christmas tree forest...on the edge of the biggest baking time of the whole year...the time of year when even non-bakers bake...because they can't help themselves! This is my favorite part of Christmas preparation.
Perhaps, like me, the season of Advent is arriving too fast and you are ill-prepared for its festivities. Yet you want to make it special. You want to make it festive. You want to make it joyful. You want to make it work.
Most of all you want your kitchen to smell good!
I want to help you all to get into the holiday spirit.
I want to "sweeten the pot".
I'd like everyone to be able to get a lick of the cake bowl.
I want to help make your kitchen smell good!
That's why I'm sharing the "picture-perfect" December cooking/baking list (scroll down to view).
What's so special about these books and the holiday season?
Each of these books, after you have shared their whimsical inspiration with your children, has an extra incentive at the back of the book. A featured recipe (listed below) is included in the book that assures your kitchen will indeed smell very, very good!
How yummy is that?
The rest of the year-long list is found in A Picture Perfect Childhood. Each month features a special selection of foods:
- January: Gumbos & Soups
- February: Pancakes
- March: Breads
- April: Sweets to the Sweet
- May: Cakes
- June: Thirst Quenchers & Summer Snacks
- July: Variety
- August: Cultural Foods
- September: Apple Harvest
- October: Autumn Treasures & Pumpkins
- November: Thanksgiving Time
- December: Holiday Yummies & Christmas Cookies
I worried it was too early to send this out. I know we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet and, I for one, don't do Christmas until after Thanksgiving has been respectfully carved and tasted.
But, in my defense, the purpose of this early-bird post is so you can get a head-start in checking out these books from your library.
So if you're already feeling overwhelmed and have no baking plans to date, see how many of these books your library carries (or treat your children to a few new ones on the feast of St. Nicholas: December 6th) and enjoy making warm kitchen memories during the month your kitchen should embrace you and your family in floury warmth and sugary smells.
Pick up the book, purchase the ingredients, and you will be, in part, ready to greet the arrival of Advent.
It'll be a special time. It'll be a festive time. It'll be a joyful time.
You can make this work!
And, Yes!, I promise, your kitchen will smell very, very good! :)
* * * * *
Tony's Bread by Tomie dePaola (Christmas Bread: Panettone Recipe)
Happy Winter by Karen Gundersheimer (Fudge Cake Recipe)
Hot Fudge by James Howe/Jeff Mack (Mr. Monroe's Famous Fudge Recipe)
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto/Ed Martinez (Christmas Tamales Recipe)
The Runaway Latkes by Leslie Kimmelman/ Paul Yalowitz (Hanukkah: Latkes Recipe)
Grandma's Latkes by Malka Drucker/ Eve Chwast (Hanukkah: Latkes Recipe)
Latkes & Applesauce by Fran Manushkin/ Robin Spowart (Hanukkah: Elaborate Latkes Recipe)
Inside-Out Grandma: A Hanukkah Story by Joan Rothenberg (Hanukkah: Potato Latke Recipe)
Latkes, Latkes Good to Eat: A Chanukah Story by Naomi Howland (Chanukah: Latkes Recipe)
Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin (Maggie's Favorite Cranberry Cookies Recipe)
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert (Popcorn Ball Recipe)
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie dePaola (Stelline d'Oro or Star Cookie Recipe)
Mother Grumpy's Dog Biscuits: A True Tail by Becky Wilson-Kelly (Mother Grumpy's Chocolate Chip Bumpy Cookies Recipe)
No More Chocolate Chips by Linda Michellebaron (Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe)
The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth/ Barbara McClintock (Make Your Own Gingerbread Man: Gingerbread Cookie Recipe)
Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington (Cookie Recipe)
The Christmas Cookie Tree by Ruth Hershey Irion (Gingerbread Cookie Recipes)
Christmas Turtles by Sara Ann Denson/ Tara McMillen (Christmas Turtle Candy Recipe)
(*Brand New*)The Gift of the Christmas Cookie by Dandi Daley Mackall/ Deborah Chabrian (Christmas Cookie Recipe)
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