Christmas Books by Grace Livingston Hill Part 2

Back in 2017 I shared some of my favorite Grace Livingston Hill Christmas stories. Since then I have discovered a few other Christmas books by Mrs. Hill  that I thoroughly enjoyed. I hope you will too!

The Prodigal Girl was quite the story! It follows the Thorton family during a rather tumultuous Christmas season. Mr. Thorton has spent his years climbing the corporate ladder and spending little time with his family. One day, just after reaching his highest professional achievement, he over hears a rather surprising conversation regarding his eldest daughter. He is stunned, and upon further investigation realizes that while he was pursuing his dream career his family had been terribly neglected. Mr. Thorton makes the decision to remove his family from the city and relocate to his childhood home in rural Vermont. 

As can be imagined his worldly wise offspring are less than thrilled with this arrangement. Mr. Thorton meets with a great deal of opposition from his family, especially from his oldest daughter. As the story unfolds we see the Lord's redemptive plan for the Thorton family and it is beautiful! I loved the description of the old homestead in Vermont, and I especially enjoyed reading of the old-fashioned preparations for Christmas. The Prodigal Girl was a book that I found hard to put down and one that I would highly recommend.

Astra is a sweet story. In the first pages a wintry storm, as seen from a train, is described so beautifully I felt as though I were there! I could imagine seeing the little towns covered in snow, Christmas lights gleaming. The main character, Astra, is a lonely young woman. She had lived with her cousins family since the passing of her parents. Her values don't always align with those of her worldly cousin, so when her cousin and family take a trip out of state Astra sees her means of escape. Life on her own is difficult, she isn't sure were to turn when all of the old friends she had counted on are out of town for Christmas. Astra finds a friend and help in a most unexpected way. A beautiful story of Christmas romance unfolds in a wholesome and engaging fashion. Astra is a book I will definitely read again. It was cozy, sweet and pointed to Jesus, which is my favorite kind of Christmas story.

Partners is the story of Dale, a young woman out of a job and alone in an unfriendly city. Trouble seems to meet her at every turn. Utterly despondent and without hope she calls upon God for guidance and help. She is amazed at the answer to her prayer, and the unusual responsibilities that come her way. 

On a stormy evening, a young man that resides at the boarding house where Dale lives discovers a baby left in the vestibule of the boarding house. The poor little baby is covered with snow, blue with cold and terribly sick. Unable to find help in the ladies running the boarding house he seeks help from Dale. From that point forwards they become "partners" in seeking to save the precious little life of the baby he had found. Partners is a lovely story. I was blessed with the story's ultimate theme of God's goodness and guidance in the lives of the characters.

Brentwood: Upon the passing of her adoptive mother, Marjorie discovers a letter describing her history. Much to Marjorie's surprise she discovers that her birth mother is still alive. With Christmas soon approaching Marjorie decides to seek out her birth mother, so she will not have to spend Christmas alone. Marjorie is met with  quite a surprise when she finally finds her mother. Not only does Marjorie have a mother, but she has a father, an identical twin sister and three younger siblings! Her parents are both terribly ill and the entire family is living in poverty. Thankfully, Marjorie's adoptive parents had left her with a small fortune, so when Marjorie discovers the situation her family is in, she is able to help them and bless them with a truly wonderful Christmas! 

 

Brentwood is a story of family, and how a loving family is of more value than any amount of money. It was fun to read the accounts of Marjorie's generosity, and how she was able to forge a true friendship with her stand-offish twin sister. I truly enjoyed this unique Christmas story.

 

As you well know Grace Livingston Hill is my favorite author, and I am so happy that she wrote such a wonderful variety of Christmas books! If you would like to read my previous Grace Livingston Hill Christmas book post here is a link. 

 

Christmas Cookies

 

Today I would like to share with you some new cookie recipes my daughter and I have recently enjoyed baking. This year I decided to try some new cookie recipes, as I tend to make the same cookies every Christmas season. All three new recipes were well received and have been added to my cookbook for future reference.

This summer one of our favorite read aloud books was Pippi Longstocking. In the story Pippi is forever baking and eating pepparkakor cookies. Jemimah was shocked by many of Pippi's antics, including when Pippi rolled out her cookie dough on the kitchen floor. After baking a batch of pepparkakor cookies we could easily see why Pippi would bake such large batches of these cookies, they don't last long. Pepparkakor cookies are delicious and have a wonderfully spicy flavor.

 

Pepparkakor Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened 
• 3 1/4 cups flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoons ground ginger
• ¹/₂ teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used all brown, but I think the recipe recommend white)
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  
• 1 tablespoon water 

 Directions: Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Cream butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Add egg, maple syrup, and water to butter and sugar mixture. Beat until fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Cover bowl and chill dough for at least an hour to make the dough easier to handle and roll out. Once chilled, roll dough until about 1/8" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out dough into shapes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned on the bottom.

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Jemimah discovered this recipe in her Club House Jr. Magazine. They were a lot of fun to make and the finished cookies were scrumptious! The design and flavor are perfect for Christmas. I know that from now on candy cane cookies will be part of my Christmas cookie rotation each year.

 

Candy Cane Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• red food coloring

Directions: Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, peppermint, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Gradually add flour, mix well. Set aside half of the dough. Add red food coloring to one half of dough. Chill dough for at least one hour, so that dough is easier to work with. Once chilled pinch off a piece of dough, about 2 tablespoons, from each color. Roll each dough into a rope that measure about 5" long. Twist both ropes together and  then curve top to create a cane shaped cookie. Bake in a 375 degree oven 9-12 minutes.

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During the Christmas season I often think of my grandma and all of her wonderful baking. Each Christmas she would give our family a shirt box filled with an assortment of homemade cookies. My sisters and I were always excited to see what grandma had baked that year. One of my favorite cookies were grandma's mincemeat cookies. They tasted so old-fashioned and festive. Unfortunately grandma never shared the recipe and after her passing we were unable to find the recipe in her cookbooks. However, awhile back I read a recipe for mincemeat cookies shared by Jennifer that sounded similar. I finally tried baking her recipe and it tasted just like the cookies I remembered grandma baking! They are truly a special treat. I encourage you to visit Jennifer's blog and try baking her recipe for mincemeat cookies.

I hope you will enjoy trying the cookie recipes I shared today. Have you tried any new cookie recipes this season? If yes, do you have a new favorite to recommend?

P.S. A few years back I shared some favorite Christmas cookie recipes. If you are interested in seeing the post here is a link.

 

"O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens." Psalm 8:1

Apple Pie and October Memories

October was truly a lovely month. I don't remember an autumn with prettier foliage. The picture above was taken while driving down my grandpa's driveway. Grandpa lives down a fairly long driveway, tucked back amid the woods. The entire driveway was lined with golden foliage, this picture doesn't do justice to just how beautiful the golden leaves looked in person.

We were able to take a couple of day trips in the month of October. Our favorite was our visit to Letchworth State Park. The trees were just beginning to change color, the weather was pleasantly cool, and it was such a treat to see so many amazing views of God's marvelous creation!

 Letchworth is often referred to the "Grand Canyon of the East". While there we saw the actual home of Mary Jemison, a rustic log cabin. She is buried at Letchworth and they have a monument honoring her, as well as a historical display of her life.

The three waterfalls were truly splendid! Our little girl was absolutely delighted by the waterfalls, as she had never seen a waterfall that large or impressive before.

Not far from Letchworth is Mount Morris, the town where Lamplighter Publishing is located. We were pleased to have the chance to visit Lamplighter and tour their book bindery and recording studio. It was a treat to see how they create the beautiful books in their collection. We were deeply impressed at all the hands-on work that goes into creating each volume.

When the days grow cooler I look forward to baking my favorite Autumnal recipes. Nothing say "fall" like apple pie. I thought I would share my favorite recipe. It is the recipe my mom always made when I was growing up. It is simple, but delicious.

Apple Pie

6-7 cups apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Top with crust or crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

Blend well. Sprinkle over pie evenly.

We didn't have our first frost until nearly the end of October. It gave us ample time to enjoy the flowers in Jemimah's wild flower patch. She was bringing in little bouquets nearly every day. The wild flowers brought us all much joy this summer.

The zinnias were my favorite in the mix. I loved the combination of vibrant and soft colors.

I had to snap a few pictures knowing that these would be some of the last fresh flowers we would enjoy until spring.

A sample of how the daily mini bouquets had a tendency to take over the kitchen table.

I hope you have all enjoyed a beautiful October as we have. May you have a blessed week!

"O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." Isaiah 25:1

August

This bouquet of flowers came from our wildflower garden.

August has been a busy month of gardening, canning, home improvements and beginning our homeschool year. It feels as though we have accomplished a great over the past few weeks.

We have been so pleased, blessed and grateful with the success of our garden this year. Adam tripled the size of our patch dedicated to growing corn, and it was wonderful to enjoy homegrown sweet corn so often this summer. We even had enough corn that I was able to freeze several quarts for the winter ahead.

Adam has compiled a collection of  garden pictures that we hope to share in a post here soon. As you can see from the picture above Adam grew almost everything this year! The cantaloupe has been a favorite. The flavor is so sweet and special during the last of these hot summer days.

As I type this I have over a dozen jars of spaghetti sauce and a dozen jars of pepper jelly resting on my kitchen counter - all made with produce from the garden. It is such a joy to know that come winter we will still have a taste of this beautiful summer to enjoy!

Earlier this week I made plum jam. It remains a family favorite. I am always delighted when I am able to find locally grown plums. They are so delicious and they make the perfect jam!

In the evenings I enjoy sitting back with a good book or some handiwork. Currently I am reading Duskin by Grace Livingston Hill. Reading a Grace Livingston Hill book is like meeting with an old friend, some of the situations are similar book to book, but enough is different to be entertaining. The theme of God speaking through His Word is woven throughout Duskin in such a natural and beautiful way. The main character has promised her mother that she will  read her Bible daily while away from home on a business trip. At first she is annoyed by her mother's request, but as the story progresses she realizes that God is using the book of Proverbs to guide and direct her course.

The evenings have been cooler of late and I have been finding some time to knit again. This summer was quite hot, so my knitting sat tucked away until now. The blue yarn is being knit into a cardigan for my daughter. The natural yarn is a scarf.

Earlier this month I canned several quarts of peaches. While I had fresh peaches on hand I made peaches and cream kuchen, a recipe that my grandma shared with me years ago. It is one of Adam's favorites, so much so that I made it twice in one weekend.

Peaches and Cream Kuchen

Crust:

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 butter

Combine flour, sugar, salt  and baking powder. With pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Turn mixture into lightly greased 8"x8" pan. Pat firmly against bottom and sides of pan.

3 cups of sliced peaches (fresh, frozen or canned may be used)

 3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Arrange peaches over crust. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over peaches. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Beat 1 cup heavy cream and 2 egg yolks together. Pour over peaches. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to stand 10 minutes, serves warm. Yum!

My mom, daughter and I visited a lovely greenhouse/farm market one day this month. Jemimah was excited to discover this stunning display of pink petunias. We had to snap a few pictures of her among the flowers.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Ephesians 3:20

Sour Cream Berry Pie Recipe

During the summer months I love to enjoy the fresh fruits of the season through pies. Recently I had used some black raspberries for jam and didn't have quite enough left over to make a pie with, but still wanted to incorporate them into my baking. Then I remembered reading a recipe for a sour cream berry pie in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. It seemed a somewhat unusual recipe and at first I was hesitant to give it a try. My curiosity got the better of me! Sour cream berry pie is a recipe I will keep on hand to bake often since it doesn't require as much fruit as a classic fruit pie. The texture is delicious and I found that the berries were still the main flavor of the pie.

Sour Cream Berry Pie:
2 1/2 cups elderberries or blackberries*
1 cup sugar**
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream
Pastry for 1 (9 inch) crust

Wash berries and place in an unbaked crust.
Combine sugar and flour.
Add sour cream and blend thoroughly.
Pour mixture over fruit.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 30 minutes.

*I used 3 heaping cups of black raspberries.
**I used 3/4 cup of sugar. My berries were quite sweet and I felt an entire cup would be too much.

I look forward to baking this pie recipe again using different berries. I think red raspberries would be wonderful. Come September I hope to make the elderberry variation too!

 This recipe can be found in the Mennonite Community Cookbook. I purchased the 65th Anniversary Edition a couple of years ago. It is a lovely cookbook. Some of the recipes are a bit more old-fashioned than what I would typically cook, but there are still many that are timeless and delicious!

What new recipes are you enjoying this summer?

Black Raspberries and Clematis

This summer we have been abundantly blessed with delicious raspberries, both red and black. Ever since I was a little girl black raspberries have been a favorite. For many years they grew wild along the edge of my mom's yard. My sisters and I loved to pick and eat blackberries on hot summer days. Very often we had enough for a pie too.

About four years ago Adam planted both red and black raspberries at our home. In the picture above you can see the row of black raspberries to the left and red to the right.

It has taken time, but it is certainly a blessing to see the bushes reach their full potential and produce enough berries to be useful.

We had enough berries to make two batches of jam (20 jars). I love making lots of jam each year. Family and friends are always pleased to receive a jar of jam. I feel like it is a way to preserve some of summer for the winter months.

Each year my clematis brings me so much joy! The previous owners of our home planted the clematis. It was a lovely surprise the first summer we lived here.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Elderberries and Bluebirds

 It has been a while since I last posted here. Life has been busy and my blog always seems to take last place on my list of priorities. Between finishing up our homeschool year, gardening, homemaking, sewing and just enjoying my family, the months have moved along too quickly for my liking!

 Today I thought I would share some pictures of our elderberry bushes. Some may remember back to when Adam first planted the bushes in 2017. I am amazed how they have grown so huge in just three years! We will have to use a ladder to reach the uppermost berries.

 The blossoms are as large as my hand and they smell absolutely heavenly! In fact you can smell their fragrance several feet away, especially on these warm summer evenings. We are excited, and hopeful, for a grand harvest of elderberries this September.

 We have been delighted with our little family of Eastern bluebirds that have nested in one of our bluebird boxes this year. It may be hard to see them clearly in this picture, but there are four babies. The baby on the lower left hand side is beginning to show blue feathers.

Eastern bluebirds are very special to me. My grandma and mom were some of the first in our area to place bluebird boxes in their yard, about 30 years ago now. Both studied bluebirds and were very attentive to each bluebird family that nested on their properties. I remember one year a family of baby bluebirds had become wet and dirty due to a tremendous rain storm. My mom and grandma worked together to gently clean the babies and create a fresh nest from grass clippings that had been left from mowing the lawn. At the time it seemed a bit risky, but they did a great job. All of the babies survived and eventually left the nest.

 Hopefully I will share a post dedicated to our garden in the near future. Adam had outdone himself this year! Despite the lack of rain we have had in our area, our garden is thriving. Praise the Lord! We are all eagerly anticipating the first tomatoes and corn on the cob of the season.

 The lettuce in the picture above was found in one of my flower beds. The seed must have been carried there by the wind. It made for a delicious salad.

 This was our best year yet for rhubarb. I was able to make two batches of vanilla-rhubarb jam. If you have yet to try this jam recipe I recommend you make a batch soon! It is by far the most delicious and unique jam I have ever tasted.

We love to sit outside in the evenings and watch the sunset. I thought this sunset was a beauty, however my picture pales in comparison to how the sunset looked in real life.

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful summer surrounded by God's great creations!

"For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.
 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." Psalm 33: 4-6