Advent, Day 3

[wiseheart]

It's the third day of Advent and I've been -what else?- busy all day.

We won't discuss the early morning spent in a specific room of the flat. Let's just state that it wasn't my bedroom and leave it there.

When things calmed down a bit, I went down to the Chinese drugstore next corner to make a mass acquisition of household paperware and things like washing powder, shower gel, talcum powder, deodorant and the likes. It's my obsession to always have one bottle/jar/whatever more than the one we are currently using because when it runs out I won't get exactly what I want in a last minute run.

On my way back I dropped in to the next best grocer's and bought a box of completely unnecessary cookie decorating pens... basically small tubes of coloured sugar. I felt like doing something for myself, even though years-long experience has taught me that the things aren't as easy to use as one might think. But I want my fancy biscuits to look pretty!

After that, I asked my neighbours for cookie boxes and returned said boxes filled with the cookies and biscuits I've baked so far. Neighbours were duly impressed. But I had a surplus, and they are nice, helpful people, so they deserved it.

Since Adrienne phoned that she won't be coming today with her own boxes, after all (we postponed the big exchange for tomorrow), I could start baking after that. I made the Karlsbader Krapferl (yummy shortbread biscuits with chopped and roast almonds on top) and Almond-chocolate stars. The latters basically serve to use up leftover egg whites and are, unfortunately, stone hard. Just like cinnamon stars. But I found a recipe on the Net for cinnamon stars that are made with added butter and flour, and they turned out very yummy, so I've modified the chocolate star recipe similarly. I ended up with incredibly soft and sticky dough, but putting it into the freezer helped.

I always try cleaning up while the biscuits are in the oven, so that I won't be facing a huge mountain of dirty dishes. During this process I've managed to put away somewhere the whisks of the electric hand mixer - and now I can't find them. Mum and I even went through the garbage bin separately, but the things haven't turned up. I hope I haven't managed to pour them into the WC with the dirty water - I would have noticed that, wouldn't I? I only hope that Mum will prove right and we'll find the things in a totally unexpected place. I really don't want to buy a new hand mixer, and spare parts aren't available in these wasteful times.

I cooked a simple lunch then, which we ate fairly late, even later than usual, then managed to overcook the milk, so that the entire hearth was covered with it, just because I mixed up the buttons... so yeah, not exactly my day. But at least the biscuits turned out pretty and yummy.


I told you it was deadly boring, didn't I? With the positive addition that my friend Evie dropped by with some apples. We had another one of those masked exchanges in front of the house. I'm sure the Secret Service has a spreadsheet about those by now.

Comments

[noadvertising.livejournal.com]

Boring day? Do I even want to know the way a busy day would be in your opinion?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

It was a busy day — full of (mostly) boring things. *g*

[meathiel]

Oh dear, I hope they turn up again!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So do I! I'll need them next week again!

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

Misplacing essential things and burning food sounds like a regular kitchen experience for me :/

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

On the same day?

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

Burning stuff is mandatory..

[red-day-dawning.livejournal.com]

Losing the whisks — that sort of thing drives me insane. How frustrating. Hope you find them soon.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So do I — they'll be needed yet! I can't understand where they could have gone in such a small flat as ours!

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

It's my obsession to always have one bottle/jar/whatever more than the one we are currently using because when it runs out I won't get exactly what I want in a last minute run.
I totally agree.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

One always has to be prepared. Like the boy scouts. ;)

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

if cookies are too hard you can always dunk them in hot tea or coffee or milk and then take a bite.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid it's not done over here. We like our biscuits separately.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

SS officer (lowering binoculars): We need to get hold of one of those boxes. I'm sure they're smuggling anti-virals in those biscuits.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

But of course! Everyone knows that biscuits have wondrous healing properties!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I didn't bake yesterday — I wrote!! I have gathered a lot of ingredients and now need to organise myself a bit. I think I will make the dough for chocolate crinkles, ball it, and then put them in the freezer so all I need to do nearer the time is roll them in icing sugar and bake them.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That's a good method to be prepared. What are chocolate crinkles, BTW?

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

These are — I have just realised their 'proper' name is not quite the same as our family name :)

Totally unrelated, but I have just posted the chapter where I realised how to solve the problem of Oropher, in my journal.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks! They seem yummy — perhaps next year I'll give them a try. I've already too much on my to-bake list to add more. ;)

And I've just read the new chapter; I like where you're going with it!

[medievalrosalie.livejournal.com]

Definitely cleaning up while things are cooking is the best way to go. I try to do that with cooking too so then by the time everything is done, there's no mess- or minimal. It's not like I can go out and leave them in the oven anyway!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Very true. *g*

[amedia.livejournal.com]

It may have seemed boring to you but I found it interesting! Thank you for sharing your day with us!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you found it entertaining. :)