Well baking has been taking a bit of a backseat in my house lately. My husband is recovering from major cancer surgery so he is on a very restrictive diet so baking would be just downright mean. So instead of baking I have been cooking up these really cute Cookie Cutter Ornaments. The reason they are called Cookie Cutter Ornaments is that I used cookie cutters for the pattern as I can not draw worth a bean.
As 2016 comes to a close I thought I would look back over the recipes I have posted over the past 12 months. 2016 seems to have gone by in a flash, but once I was looking back some of these posts feel like they were ages ago! Then I started adding them up- 47 posts in 2016. Wow- hard to believe there were that many when some weeks time was flying so fast I hadn’t posted anything at all.
So I hope you enjoyed at least one of my recipes in 2016 and here’s to many more in 2017.
Here is a list of some of our family’s favourites. Click on the name to find the recipe. The Baked Sticky Chicken Wings would make a great New Year’s Eve treat…wink, wink.
Spiced Brown Butter Shortbread
Pumpkin Bars with Brown Sugar Fudge Frosting
Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
Looking forward to sharing more recipes and stories with you in 2017!
Tammy at Chateau Elma.
I can’t believe that I have been blogging for one year already and I totally missed Chateau Elma’s First Birthday! Not sure how that is possible, first that a whole year has gone by and second that I forgot when I started- must have something to do with turning that half century mark! But the centre of my kitchen is still there and flour is everywhere so some things haven’t changed.
When I first started this project of a baking blog I wasn’t sure that I would be able to come up with at least one new recipe every week- turns out that most weeks I was able to post two recipes. Now if I can only keep it up next year. The most difficult thing it turns out is taking the photos of the final product. If I have made the baked goods for a dinner or a special person it seemed a bit rude to cut into it to take photos while the daylight was just perfect. But I got over that and now no one seems surprised to see a piece missing and it is usually sitting on a pretty plate out in my sun room. That is where these Buttertart Squares were photographed.
Speaking of photos I have learned a lot about the different computer programs for optimizing my photos and most of the info is thanks to my Graphic Designer son Matt! I have really enjoyed watching and listening to him explain things to me- he actually learned things in college and he is brilliant at his craft. It is so nice to have an interest in common and something we can share that has definitely been the bonus of this blog. It isn’t every mother who can say that she can sit down with her 21 year old son and spend an hour together on a project. Not that he agrees with me- he usually doesn’t, but then I go ahead and do it my way anyway, after all I am the mom and I like girly stuff like cursive script and pink.
Thanks go out to all of my friends and family who have shared my blog on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. So great to see all of my daughter’s fellow law school students visiting my blog. If I can encourage young adults to cook and bake I will consider this adventure a success.
Hope you have all enjoyed the first year as much as I have and here is to a second year of blogging- let’s see where it takes us!!!
Well 2015 has been a year of firsts for me…my first blog, my first posts, my first comments…the list goes on. I have learned a lot in this first year of blogging. The most important thing I have learned is that there is always something new to learn! Today writing this post I learned how to make a collage in Photo Shop! My son Matthew has been an invaluable resource for me- from teaching me how to navigate through Lightroom and Photo Shop to critiquing my photos! My daughter Elizabeth has been there to cheer me on long distance from law school and to share my posts on FaceBook and Twitter . Then of course there is my husband who has been the chief taste tester and dishwasher- the most valuable of all resources!
When I look back at the Winter of 2015 when I took the leap and started this blog I wasn’t sure if I would be able to come up with enough ideas to create one blog post per week, but in fact I ended up doing almost 2 every week. I still have some of my favourite recipes to share with you and hope to discover some new ones along the way. Perhaps even branch out from baking..who knows where 2016 will take this little blog of mine. But for now I hope you have had a fantastic holiday so far. Be safe and enjoy your time with friends and family.
Welcome 2016- Wishing you all a wonderful New Year and here’s to learning even more!
Well I have finally done it! My first blog post! This is a very big day for me as I have been contemplating this venture for about a year now. I have loved baking for a very long time and making yummy treats for friends is my passion. The centre of my kitchen is my butcher block. It is used for prepping, rolling dough, cooling cookies and making peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
It is also the dropping place for lunch bags, the mail and dirty dishes for the kitchen fairy to take care of. I don’t know about your house, but the kitchen fairy is always busy when she comes home from her work day cleaning up after “not me”. I like to start with a clean slate so counters wiped, dirty dishes in the dishwasher and then the fun starts.
So I thought I would start with the centre of the kitchen chaos- the butcher block and see where we go from there! So stay tuned for more goodies and recipes to follow.