Since technically, we can consider as part of the Christmas season anything up until the Feast of the Presentation (especially if we are the kind of people who need to un-decorate the house slowly, and if we are, may I recommend doing a little each day, rather than completely neglecting it until Mardi Gras forces our hand), I want to show you a couple of other crafty things.
I also finally made an almond cake I really like, so I want to tell you about that!
{By the way, the Presentation and Candlemas are the same day, February 2. This isn't a case of random piling up of feasts -- it never is! I fully realized how the tradition arose last year, when we worshiped with our favorite Anglican Use parish, St. Athanasius. The Anglican hymnody (which these Catholics are allowed to use) is rich in choices for any and every feast, and the hymn we sang that day taught me the connection between the blessing of the candles and the presenting of Our Lord in the temple.}
Anyway, on to crafting.
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| Please ignore old grout. |
For a while I covered them with pot holders, but two problems -- pretty pot holders aren't that plentiful in this day and age of seasonal kitchen linens, and also they get dirty up there, and when you wash them, your ugly tiles are exposed again, for however long the laundry takes. I realize some folks might be into late-70s kitsch but I am not. It's the comments to this post that made me see this sad reality, and also that the pot holders might be a lesser, also somewhat kitschy, solution than I thought.
So in the back of my mind I was thinking about a solution... but Habou beat me to it with this awesome owl board. If you follow me on Pinterest you know that I love birds and especially owls!
She painted it herself, of course, and poly'd it so that it can be easily cleaned. It just fits beautifully! As it has to hang quite low to completely cover the three ugly tiles so cleverly strewn across, I decided to embellish with the pear branch. I think it adds balance overall. A branch and a piece of driftwood. And owls. Sigh of happiness!
Also, I don't know if I've shared this tip with you, but have you ever noticed the freezing-cold air pouring in your kitchen via the hood fan? I do use my fan and lights, but I keep these two foam plates tucked in there when the fan is not in use. You just remember to take them out when you turn it on (trust me, you will get a reminder :)
And then Rosie had made me this owl pot holder! How cute is that! She saw one on Etsy and thought, I can do something like that! She says that she actually struggled quite a bit with the design to wrestle it from concept into actuality, and perhaps its somewhat anxious, droopy-eared expression belies that process. But I can relate to him! My ears don't always point up either!
Now, on to the cake, which, due to some serious craziness on Sunday, we didn't eat for the Epiphany. No matter, we had it last night for the Baptism of the Lord. It's just so good! Like a light almond pound cake. And super simple.
I used a recipe from Jacques Pepin, but I did change it. For the simple reason that it just doesn't make sense, when a tube of almond paste is 7 ounces, to have a recipe that calls for 4 ounces. I mean, what are you going to do with the rest? Eat it? Which is just what I would do, too, because I find that stuff irresistible. That hardly seems prudent. So in the cake it went.
I used a bundt and crushed up some almond cookies, sprinking some in the bottom of the pan and also on top of the batter. I just wanted more almond flavor, as the cheaper kind of paste I bought wasn't satisfactory, really. Buy the more expensive one, I guess. I also added almond extract and poured Frangelico over afterwards. All delish.
The cake is moist and tender and foolproof. We didn't even have time for any of the extras he calls for (I can't pretend that pouring liqueur over the cake is the same as making a sauce for it), although I did have raspberries in the freezer. Just no time! Didn't matter. It was lovely.
