The post may not be the top one but it’s there all three days.
Hi there, I’m Elf Sparkle
My job at the North Pole is decorating the wrapped packages with ribbons and bows or silk flowers or glitter. <giggle> I love glitter, and I love this job because I like making things look pretty.
Playing holiday music while I work keeps me energized. I switch between vocals like Celtic Ladies Christmas or carols by country artists and instrumentals like Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas in the Aire.
My favorite holiday snack and drink. I can’t decide between pfefferrnusse cookies (spice cookies coated in powdered sugar) or thumbprint cookies (cookies rolled in chopped nuts with a dab of jam in the center). But I know my favorite drink is hot chocolate stirred with a mini candy cane.
I’m the Secret Santa for Elf Annie, who works in the kitchen concocting decadent hot cocoa for Santa’s sleigh ride and helping Mrs. Claus bake cookies. I’m giving Elf Annie a mini-grater for the final flourish of fresh cinnamon or nutmeg on top of the whipped cream Santa loves on his cocoa.
This winter/holiday recipe I got from my mother (although she was Midwest born and bred).
New England Cranberry Custard Pie
Ingredients:
4 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
2/3 cup undiluted evaporated milk
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
9” unbaked pastry shell
1 8-oz can whole berry cranberry sauce
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
¼ cup chopped nuts
Combine eggs, salt, 3/4c sugar, evaporated milk, water, vanilla and nutmeg. Beat well. Pour into pastry shell. Bake in hot oven (425°) 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350° and bake 20-30 minutes more, or until knife inserted hallways between edge and center of pie comes out clean.
In small saucepan, stir cornstarch into cranberry sauce then add 2 T sugar. Heat until boiling, then boil one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in nuts and orange rind. Cool cranberry mixture before spooning over the custard. Cool 3-4 hours before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.
My holiday gift to participants on this blog tour is that each task completed in the attached rafflecopter earns a chance in a random drawing for a print copy of One Winter Knight, a medieval winter holiday anthology of 8 stories, or an electronic copy of Silent Signals, a historical western novella.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
TAG LINE: Will the valley’s feud between cattlemen and shepherds keep Konrad and Anora apart? BLURB: After losing half his herd in the Great Blizzard of 1886, rancher Konrad Werner needs to safeguard his cattle. Tomboy Anora Huxley trains the Australian Shepherds and Kelpies that run the family’s sheep herd. Although cattlemen and shepherds are at odds, the pair discovers common interests. A threat is overheard, and Konrad rides out to Anora’s ranch to protect her. The tense situation reveals their true feelings. Will Anora be swayed by family loyalty, or will she listen to her heart that responds to Konrad’s silent signals? Buy link for all electronic formats: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/681040 Here are the sites for the other participating authors. Visit them for more holiday fun, recipes and giveaways. http://transcanadaromancewriters.blogspot.ca/2016/12/highway-cafe-christmas-blog-tour.html http://www.findingthewritewords.blogspot.com/ http://www.tenastetler.com/my-blog/ https://barbaraburkeauthor.wordpress.com/ www.writerknapsack.com http://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com/ http://www.maureenbonatch.com/blog/ http://www.sorchiadubois.com/
http://casimclean.com/casis-christmas-…cal-mystery-tour/ https://kaydenclaremont.wordpress.com/ http://mariahlynneauthor.blogspot.com/
http://kkweil.blogspot.com http://www.clairdelunebooks.co.uk/