Rain, Cuddly Cats .... & Warm Spiced Gingerbread

It's been raining again .... every day, in fact - I love the rain ... and the damp, misty coolness which it brings .... the view above was taken from our bedroom window this morning ....

Below, you'll see the rain from our front veranda ..... the last time it rained this much was almost 2 years ago - you can read about it over here (& see a similar photo to the one below - note how both the grass and the bougainvillea have grown !)

The stepping stones leading to/from our front door do not look too inviting today ... unless you're 5 years old of course, and Mummy lets you put on your raincoat and gumboots and take your butterfly umbrella out to play ........... (click on 'gumboots' to read a funny & heartwarming African farm story !)

My darling Ollie (my extra 'special' rescue cat - although he doesn't feature on the blog that much ... he's rather shy, you see) finds a cozy corner to cuddle in ......

As does 'That Tessa Cat' .... cuddling with my son on his 'baby gym' below .... you can see all the other baby places Tessa loves to snuggle in over here. (I swear, she thinks she's a human baby with whiskers & fur !)

And .... what better way to warm up on a cool rainy day than with a nice, warm slice of freshly baked spiced Gingerbread (you can see when I last baked it - and who I baked it for - and find the recipe in my post over here) .... it filled the house with the smell of Christmas as it baked .... mmmmmm ......

I'm off to put the kettle on now, am making myself a nice cuppa tea to enjoy with the Gingerbread ..... 2 weeks to go until Christmas ..... I can't wait ;)

'Food, Fun & Farm Life' Christmas Recipe Round Up - Sweet Treats

Christmas for me is a very traditional time of year and because of this, you'll find the same things on my Christmas table year in and year out. I do experiment with a couple of new recipes each year, but my 'core' Christmas treats remain the same - and probably always will ! Most are made from scratch as we cannot simply go out here and buy ready made Christmas treats ('homemade' is always better, anyhow !) So, I thought I'd do a 'round up' of sweet Christmas treats that will be appearing in our home again this Christmas - all of which I blogged about last year and by clicking on the links below, will take you back to each specific post / recipe. Enjoy ! (My 'Round Up' of favourite savoury festive treats can be found over here).

Last year I made these brightly coloured 'Christmas Cupcakes' (above) for my daughter's school Christmas concert - they went down a treat with both the children and parents alike ! You can find my recipe for these over here.

I love making my Christmas Cake from scratch (see a photo of last year's cake below) & after experimenting with many different recipes over the years, finally found one which I simply love, love, love (thanks to my mother in law as she makes this recipe each year, too !) It's Marguerite Patten's and you can find my step-by-step instructions on how to make it over here.

We're not great fans of marzipan in our house, so I've come up with another great topping/icing for the cake which I make each year .... Santa (below) seems to approve of it, too ! You can see that over here.

What is Christmas without a fully stocked biscuit barrel, 'eh ?! (Or a Cookie jar - depending on whereabouts in the world you live !) These 'Christmas Cookies' below are easy to make, and go down a treat with a nice cuppa ! You can find my recipe for these over here.

Frosty the Snowman (who just popped down from the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro !) enjoys nibbling on these boozy 'Mince Pies' to warm himself up. Brandy and Christmas go hand-in-hand in my book, and the brandy added to the fruit mince in these pies makes them .... very moreish ! The recipe for these *hic* is over here.

Crisp, buttery 'Shortbread' .... made with real butter ..... mmmmm ........ there's nothing quite like it and this has to be one of my all time favourite Christmas treats .... this melt-in-the-mouth recipe can be found over here.

Since becoming a Mum, I've added a few fun kiddies festive treats to the table each year .... try these 'Festive Chocolate Crunchies' below (recipe over here).... sprinkled with red & green sugar strands & served in colour co-ordinated cup cases, the littlest members of your family will just love them !

The 'Treacle Toffee' below makes a great hostess gift .... if it lasts that long ! Try my recipe for this sticky treat over here.

Christmas only comes around once a year, so I wouldn't worry too much about over indulging and all those extra calories .... make one (or all !) of the tasty sweet treats above, and I guarantee you that you won't regret it ;)

Happy Christmas baking, everyone !

My Weekend In A Nutshell ......

Have been busily preparing the old farm house for yet another Christmas .... dusting off the boxed Christmas decorations, draping the tinsel and decorating the tree ...... above is our front door ..... the brass bells tinkle delightfully whenever it is opened/closed ....

Decorating the tree with my daughter yesterday afternoon was great fun ..... baby son sat & watched us from afar .... next year he'll be old enough to join in the fun !

Nelson, our resident Handyman, worked all day yesterday (above) fitting new kitchen countertops for me (the old ones were looking decidedly tatty !) .... look out for the new counter tops in food shots being featured in upcoming recipes on the blog - ha ! (They're an odd grey colour, but all that were available in the city so it was either grey - or nothing at all).

The view from our veranda this afternoon ..... so green ! It's been raining on & off all day today, too. Off to bath the kids now and then hubby and I will be settling down to a light supper of Leek & Potato Soup (recipe to follow soon) and watching a bit of telly ..... hope you're having a lovely Sunday wherever you are in the world as you read this :)