Christmas is coming!

Wee....Christmas is only a week away! Time really flies. I'm beginning to feel the Christmassy magic as we remember the day of Christ's birth.

This year we're having a big Christmas celebration event at church on Christmas Eve. Am really excited about that.

Also, I'd finally got down to baking my fruit cake (as Christmas gifts - oops, forgot to mention that when giving them out). Was a bit heavy-handed on the alcohol though. My mum & bro tried them & I gave some to my colleagues, as well as 1 to a friend I met tonight. I myself ate 2 this morning, which was a bad idea on an empty stomach (felt slightly "high" thereafter, not seriously lah). The effect of the alcohol only comes at the end, so be careful if you're not used to it. You might want to heat it up in the oven 1st to dissipate more of the alcohol, although I think the baking process should have done what it could already.
On the whole, it was successful as my 1st attempt of a liqueur fruit cake. It might need more flour though. I baked a "non-spiked" one a couple of years back, which was not too bad too. Actually, fruit cakes are 1 of the easiest cakes to make. I might bake more again for friend(s) I meet next week if I have time, but I'll have to steep some more fruit in wine first.

Well, let me end with this story our pastor shared on Sunday (a condensed version):
A woman was rushing around buying Christmas gifts and all the "neccessary items to prepare for Christmas. There were queues among queues and it was a very tiring day as she walked & waited around with her heels and bags of shopping. 
At the end of the day, she was so exhausted as she waited for the elevator to come. to her dismay, it was full! She gave a (rather loud) groan. As if the people in the elevator heard her, they "tucked" themselves tighter together a little to let her in.
When she got herself in, with all her bulky baggages, she gave a complaint that whoever started this Christmas thing should be arrested and shot for creating all these trouble. Some of the people in the lift agreed. Then a voice said, "Don't worry, they've already crucified him."
Suddenly, there was silence.

Many have forgotten the true meaning and purpose of Christmas. It's not about the festivities. In fact, on the night Christ was born, it was a pretty quiet night (that's why the song "Silent Night"). Many times, people get super busy with the preparations, forgetting the meaning and spirit of it all.

D.O.M. Black Cake?

As some of you might know, I recently became an aunt and now, my home has a few bottles of D.O.M. which my sis-in-law isn't keen on drinking (she prefers Yomeishu). So what are we going to do with the 3 bottles of D.O.M.? The only way is to use it for cooking.

So I'm having this crazy idea to make a D.O.M. cake! Well, basically, I shall try using it in place of rum and see what the taste would be like. If it's good, it'll be what I'll make for Christmas this year. If it's not, don't worry my friends, I will make a proper Christmas fruit cake. :P

Christmas baking 2007

Did some Christmas baking which I planned to give to friends, like I did 2 years ago (I made fruit cake then, which wasn't too bad). However, it didn't turn out too nice...looked nice, but didn't taste nice.

They were supposed to be some variant of snickerdoodles, but think my experimentation didn't turn out too well.

Think I should stick to more conventional stuff and casseroles.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday, my sis-in-law & I baked some cookies.


It looks pretty nice doesn't it? It tastes not too bad too, except that it was slightly too sweet....maybe we put too many choc chips! The recipe's pretty simple too. :)