Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Traditions

For my family, holiday cooking is about traditions. It is that time of year where family recipes passed down from generations kick in. One of them is my late mother-in-law's orange donuts. Although, these days, there are a lot of varieties of donuts readily available, I still make this recipe because ... what else, it's a tradition! lol My family agrees that it is the best!

Cut-out cookies is another recipe that is a must-have around Christmas. Even though I double the recipe each time, my family can not get enough of it. What makes it more fun is to have my kids get involved in the preparation. Below is my daughter rolling out dough and cutting them out using her great, great, grandmother's Christmas cookie cutters.



I used to take time and decorate them using my cake decorator... this season I got lazy and just frosted and sprinkled colored sugar on them. The finished product ...



And of course we always have deviled eggs, which is a fairly new tradition, since I started it myself. No family gatherings are without it ... they disappear like hot cakes! This season, I started teaching my son how to make them. This should be a nice memory for him, about his mother, that he can take pride in.



Now doesn't this tray look yummy? lol

32 comments:

Mari said...

Oh my gosh, that's a lot of cookies. I wouldn't know which one to eat first. You do love to bake, Nance. My hat's off to you. Now I'm going back to bed. Lol.

Yes, those deviled eggs look good.

Nance said...

That is just one kind, mari ... i also baked choc chips, gingersnaps, and kolachy to give away :)

sweet dreams, dudette!

Nini said...

nance, your kids inherited a lifetime cooking wisdom from the mom. it is something that will be transferred from one generation to another.

nance, would you have an easy baklava recipe by any chance?

thanks,
nini

Nance said...

Thanks, nini.

as a matter of fact, i do. i will email it to you right this minute.

Anonymous said...

thats the spirit of xmas,Nance!family bonding!isnt it nice to make the preparatrions with your kids?

how old are they btw?they look great!came from their mom? ;)

i wanna taste your cookies!!they all look yummy!its your turn too ionvite me now :)

Happy Holidays!!

ghee

Nance said...

ghee, you got in! are you all settled to your new place, now?

my daughter is 21, 4th yr college, and my son just turned 16 and is now bugging us to teach him how to drive.

come on over, we'll have a cookie parteeee! lol

Anonymous said...

Hi Nance! Thanks for visiting my blog. That's how I've found so many mommy or pinay bloggers :)

Cooking traditional dishes together is a ritual at our house too. I think the act of doing and preparing for the holidays is the best gift to give our children, better than anything that you can wrap.

I'm linking you, btw.

Happy New Year to you and your Family!

Nance said...

I totally agree, JMom ... aside from making memories with our kids, we also, are preparing them to be independent.

Same here ... happy 2008 too, to you and yours!

You're linked ... :)

ev said...

hmmm..yummyyy!I love cookies!!that's a very good tradition nance...your kids will even pass this on to your grandchildren some day.

i like the way you designed them...nagutom tuloy ako!slurrrppp!

Happy New Year!!!

Nance said...

You're right, ev ... someday they will be doing the baking and I will be doing the eating! :)

Happy 2008 to you & family, ev!

Norm said...

wow! I like that cookies, I'm hungry then..thanks for the visit and I got tag for you in my creativity site..thx and care for exchange link?

Pepe said...

Have a happy new year Nance....! Wow, food....! Enjoy the celebration and good bless you and your family....! =D

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

nice meeting/knowing you Nance,

ang sarap ng mga bakes nyo....balik na lang ako rito, to read your Post.

Thanks for visiting and curious that makes you to visit my blog....lol

Schweinfurt,is a little bit far from us, somewhere over Frankfurt pa, siguro 2 hrs-more to drive from us.

Sigi, dito muna, pero balik ako dito.

Have a Happy New Year, more blessiing to you n family.

Nance said...

norm,
me too, i gained 4 lbs from those cookies! lol ... oh well, 'tis the season.
sure, i will link you to mine.
pls. visit again as i do the same.

Nance said...

pepe,
Joyous and wealthy 2008 din sa 'yo!
sorry, late ang mga sagot ko, sobrang party. :)

Nance said...

vk,
medyo malayo pala kayo. bisita ko yong sis ko noong 2006, maganda dyan sa germany! pasyal pa kami sa Switzerland... sarap ng choco!

sige, bisita ko yong blog mo don sa tag.
take care!

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

hello nance,

oo malayo kami kaunti, pero who knows next yong visit sa kanya, baka we will meet there or maybe you have a plan to visit, Heidelberg, yon malapit kami.

Thanks, i add your site too, saka na nag-update pa....nawala ang xmas site ko....lol

meron ginawa si bernie, may gusto siyang ipakita sa akin, yon nawala, natawa na lang kami...hindi na nya mailagay yon gawa ni Carlota, yon Xmas looks....

saka ko iadd pag balik dati na...

thanks again ha?...happy weekend na lang....

sorry, bc kasi this week, kaya ngayon lang ako napasyal....

regards

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

ay oo swiss ang pinakasarap daw ng choco....lahat naman siguro ano?
belgium din....germany din...

lahat siguro sa? sa taste lang....pero Swiss daw ang pinaka...

sigi, bye muna, thanks again....

balik pa ako dito, basa sa mga post most, balik talaga ako.

Nance said...

vk,
natutuwa ako sa 'yo... siguro maganda kang kasamang lumabas, laging masaya ang barkada! lol sige pag napunta ako dyan ulit, i will let you know.
kung mahilig ka sa arts, bisitahin mo yong isang blog ko eto
click here

Ann said...

Hello Nance! I thought your kids are pre-schoolers, ang lalaki na pala.

Norm said...

nance! vote for me here http://salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com thx

Nance said...

ann,
yup, my kids are no longer pre-schoolers. My youngest is now 16 and is much taller than i am ... i used to carry him on my back on our way back from a walk ... sniff, sniff... pretty soon, he will be carrying me! lol

Nance said...

norm,
you surely have my vote ... i will vote for you daily.
congrats on your nomination and good luck!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy 3 Kings :) Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

All are so yummy! How are you doing Nance? kharlota.com still down i switch to http://sweet-carlota.blogspot.com for now.

how i wish i have the power so Julie will not grow fast. hehehe.

Take care Nance enjoy your week.

Dennis Villegas said...

wow sarap! nagutom ako ah! happy new year nance!

dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 said...

Hi, Nance!
Surely, those cakes taste delicious! It is wise of you to let your kids inherit your baking skills.
Happy New Year to you and the whole family...

Nance said...

junelle,
Happy three kings to you too! stay safe!

Hey Carlota! i voted for you again...noted on your other blog. i think the "dashing" it up, right? believe me, u don't want them 2 grow fast ... spec. girls! he he he

Dennis, i enjoyed your blog. happy 2008 2 u 2!

dodong, i wonder if we are somewhat related? my 2nd cousins are Flores. i will link your blog, if u don't mind?

Thank u all, 4 ur visit!

Carlota said...

good morning Nance. would you mind if i ask your email address? here's mine carlotz@charter.net

Unknown said...

Hi Nance,thanx always for the visit :)

hows your weekend so far?me...always busy :)

enjoy the weekend!

ghee

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

sarap sa mga xmas cookies nyo, self made pa.

ako ngayon tamad na magbake, last xmas, kim baked alone,....
thanks kim is fun in the kitchen....
she helped her grandma, baking xmas cookies too, last xmas.

sarap ng egg menu mo, sa tingin ko pa lang, sarap......

bernie´s father was a baker n pastry-cake baker?....only andrea, bernie´s sister got the technique but bernie, not so....

hay sorry, ako talaga, madaldal...

thanks again....

dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 said...

Hi, Nance. Thank you for linking me up. I linked you up too...

I'm from Mindanao. But my father came from Cebu...