It Snowed!!

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know what I'm going to say next.  When it snows for the first time each season we make gingerbread.  Not just any gingerbread, but Laura Ingalls Wilders' gingerbread.  We stop everything we are doing and make the gingerbread.

 

 

This stuff gets better every year!!  If I do say so myself.  It's so easy to make I should make it more often.  But I think that would take the fun out of the first snow. 

 

 

So what did you do today?  Any snow where you are yet?

 

 

It snowed....which means Gingerbread!!

We didn't get this much but I forgot to take a picture this morning of the snow.  It wasn't much but enough to say we got some.  The reason everyone in our family is excited about this is because we bake gingerbread on the first snow of the season!!  This is a tradition we started 5 years ago when we started homeschooling.  It is now something everyone looks forward to.  Even my parents who stop by for some warm gingerbread after work.  This is a recipe I got from Laura Ingalls Wilder's cookbook.  I love old recipes!!  If you are not familiar with recipes from the 1800's and early 1900's you might be a bit confused.  As well as the way they are written out.  They are written in paragraph form rather than in recipe forms we know today.



LAURA'S GINGERBREAD
 

1 cup brown sugar blended with 1/2 cup lard or shortening.
 

1 cup molasses mixed well with this.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons of baking soda in 1 cup boiling water mix well.  Do not worry about the way it looks in this step.  The first time I made it I thought something went wrong.  When you add the baking soda it will foam up...it's OK.  That's a good thing.

In a separate bowl mix 3 cups of flour and one teaspoon each of the following spices: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves; and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sift all into molasses mixture and mix well.

Add lastly 2 well-beaten eggs. 

The mixture should be quite thin. Raisins and, or, candied fruit may be added.  Personally I like it just the way it is!

Bake in a moderate oven (I set my oven for 350) for thirty minutes.

I hope you enjoyed your visit!  Let me tell you it is GOOD!!!

Let is snow, let it snow......

It started snowing here last night around 6 pm and dumped a lot of snow on us!  I think so far we got around 10 inches of snow.  Every school in the area was closed, with the exception of some larger colleges.

This is looking off of our side porch.  Our road has been very quiet, not a soul on the road. 

This is our dog "Gloria".  She LOVES the snow!  I love the snow on her face...LOL!  She will roll and push her nose in the snow like a plow...it is SO funny!

This is looking out of the front door.  Can you see why I LOVE living in this area?  It is so peaceful!  I was watching Mansfield Park last night really enjoying many of the beautiful scenes, dresses and the homes.  There was one scene where "Fanny" was sitting in her room and was asked why there was no fire....just then the wind blew outside and the neighbor's wood stove smoke came this way.  It was JUST like I was sitting there in "Fanny's" room.  Thank you Sandra for making me a Jane Austen addict.  LOL!!!

Let it snow let it snow......Enough already!!

Not that we didn't already have enough snow, this is what we woke up to this morning.

This is our side deck, notice the grill? The snow is almost half way up!

Front of the house looking up the road. Can you tell where the road it? We can't either.

This is our pine tree in the side yard. This picture you can still see the snow coming down...it is almost 5pm! We are all snuggled in the house safe and sound....OK at least we are safe...LOL!