I Haven't Been Sewing, But I've Been Baking!

So... I haven't been doing a lot of (blogable) sewing lately.  Which is probably because I have been doing waaaaaaaaaay too much baking for the holiday festivities.  I've been trying a lot of new recipes, both from new cookbooks (that I really should review, because they are fabulous), and from the internet, with mixed results.  The good thing is, I've found some really delicious things to make for holiday treats.  The bad thing is food prep is cutting into my sewing time.  But, well, trade-offs.  I'm inexplicably proud of the way things turn out when I follow instructions.  Or, well, when I don't follow them, exactly, but things turn out anyway.  So, allow me to entice you:

Yes, that is a Darth Vader gingerbread man.

Firstly, I've been baking a lot of cookies - for gifts, for birthday parties, and just because.  Some of the recipes went over better than others, but mostly they have been well liked!  I've also been having fun with some of my new cookie cutters that I got on Think Geek.  I used a really awesome gingerbread recipe and a surprisingly awesome sugar cookie recipe for most of these.

I used so much almond flour!

Only the chosen one can pull the sword lightsaber from the stone gingerbread.
(Side note: chopsticks are super helpful when making uncooperative cut-out cookies.)

Prepping the gingerbread cookies with some of my new cookie cutters!

The came out so cute!  The little Darth Vader is my favorite.

The Sonic Screwdriver worked much better on the firmer
gingerbread dough than it did on the softer sugar cookie dough.

Some of the other cookie cutters in action on the sugar cookie dough.

Firefly cookies!

Serenity!

Mal's pistol.

More Star Wars characters.  And... a Dalek?

I really liked the Dr. Who cookie cutters - they worked very well,
except my first round of Sonic Screwdrivers totally burned.

Nextly, I was doing a lot of holiday cooking, including my favorite Thanksgiving stuffing.  Also, I've been playing around with some original recipes, which I may share on the blog in a future post.

So good stuffing!  I love it!

Seriously, it is deliciousness.

My own invention - cauliflower pesto!  Invented using several other recipes
as jumping off points, it is a great topping for meatzza, or for dipping mushrooms.
My friends can't believe it is "healthy" but it totally is.

Another invention - clam chowder!  Ah, I hear you say, what is so special about clam chowder?
Well, mine is dairy-free, soy-free, and coconut-free, AND it is delicious.

Thirdly, I've being testing out a lot of recipes from one of my new cookbooks, Real Life Paleo by Stacey Toth and Matthew McCarry.

Soufflé!  But made from eggs, bananas, and cocoa powder.
Definitely a hit with the family members.

Chocolate chip cookie dough dipping mush.
Very tasty, especially on apple slices.

Chocolate chip cookies, which are, obviously, yummy.

 And, the pies de resistance, my sister's birthday cake!

It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake...

Double layers!

Layer one: topped with vanilla frosting (also from the book)
and lots of berries.

Layer 2: More frosting, more fruit.

A holiday fruit cake that everyone loved to eat!

So, no sewing.  But having a bit of holiday fun nonetheless!