Christmas Gingerbread Sheet Cake + December Update

I'm combining my usual Christmas baking post with my monthly update post. So scroll down for the December update. :)


Christmas Gingerbread Sheet Cake

For Christmas this year (or last year now!) I baked a gingerbread sheet cake using a recipe from Handle the Heat. You can find the recipe here: https://www.handletheheat.com/gingerbread-sheet-cake/

It came out quite nice, although perhaps a bit heavy on the spices! Here's a picture:

Yule 2019

Last Sunday it was Yule/the Winter Solstice. As I mentioned in the Yule Inspiration post, this year I had a go at making my own Yule log. I've done it once before but mostly I buy them because that's easier, lol. That was in 2014. I also baked red velvet Buche de Noel for Christmas 2014. And I made a Christmas vanilla roll cake for Christmas last year (and previously in 2013). But it took me 5 years to make another Yule log!

This year I made a spiced Christmas Yule log using a recipe from the Co-op magazine. It has a white chocolate buttercream frosting. You can find the recipe here: https://www.coop.co.uk/recipes/spiced-christmas-yule-log

It's vegan but mine wasn't because I used butter for the icing instead of dairy free spread. You use chickpea water and it's the first time I've used that in a recipe. It didn't come out flat so I had trouble rolling it up, but I managed to roll it up a bit! I don't think it was the best Yule log I've done and could have come out better, but it tasted quite nice. Here's a picture:

Yule Inspiration

 

I normally post on Sunday or Monday but been a bit behind recently, so I'm posting today instead. :)

It's almost time for Yule aka the Winter Solstice/Midwinter. This year it's on Sunday 22nd December. The date varies each year but it's always around 21st December

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it will soon be Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer solstice. Here are my Litha celebration ideas posts:

Litha/Midsummer Celebration Ideas (also a post about no-yeast dinner rolls): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/06/baking-no-yeast-dinner-rolls-and.html

Celebrating Litha/Summer: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/06/celebrating-litha-summer.html

Litha Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/litha-inspiration_17.html


In the past two years I've done posts with ideas for celebrating Yule. You can see them below:

Yule Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/12/yule-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Yule/Christmas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/12/celebrating-yulechristmas.html

During 2019 I've done a series of Inspiration posts for the sabbats, so here is the  post for Yule! :)

As I said in last year's post, Yule is either the first sabbat of the new cycle on the Wheel of the Year, or the second,  depending on your point of view. (I think of Samhain as the beginning and end, so count it as the second). It's definitely the final sabbat of the calendar year.

More Winter Inspiration + Winter Tag

 

Winter is starting now, so it's time from some winter inspiration! In past years I've done a post on getting ready for winter, and a round-up and inspiration one. You can read them below:

Getting Ready for Winter: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/12/getting-ready-for-winter.html

Winter Round-up + Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/12/winter-round-up-inspiration.html

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere you might like this post about celebrating summer and Litha/the Summer Solstice:

Summer Round-up + Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/summer-round-up-inspiration.html

So here's some more inspiration for this winter! Plus a Winter tag. (Scroll down for the tag). :)

As I mentioned in the Getting Ready for Winter post, there are two "official" starts to winter- the meteorological one (1st Dec) and the astronomical (around 21st December), which is the shortest day of the year, aka Yule/the Winter Solstice. This year Yule will be 22nd December.

November Update

Time for the November update! I know I just did October's but I was behind with that, lol. And now we're getting towards the end of Nov.

You can read previous monthly updates here:

Jan: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/02/january-update.html

Feb: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/02/february-update.html

March: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/march-update.html

April (+ Beltane Inspiration): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

May: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-update.html

June: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/june-update.html

July (+ Lammas Inspiration):  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/july-update-lammas-inpiration.html

August: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/08/august-update.html

Sept: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/10/september-update.html

Oct: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/11/october-update.html


At the beginning of the month I went to a belly dance fusion workshop with Lianna Greene. We learnt a dance to Sonne by the German metal band Rammstein! I also went to two Meetup events, coffee at Tom Foolery in Shoreham and brunch at Cote Brasserie in Brighton.

It's still been raining a lot but we've had some nice, sunny days (although cold). Here's a picture I took when I went to Tom Foolery:

Coronation Green and River Adur, Shoreham-by-sea.

October Update

Time for the October Update! I'm later doing it again this month because I did two Samhain posts first. :) Read previous monthly updates here:

Jan: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/02/january-update.html

Feb: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/02/february-update.html

March: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/march-update.html

April (+ Beltane Inspiration): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html

May: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-update.html

June: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/06/june-update.html

July (+ Lammas Inspiration):  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/07/july-update-lammas-inpiration.html

August: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/08/august-update.html

Sept: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/10/september-update.html

During October I attended a two week mindfulness course at my local mental health resource centre. Last October we had some good weather and I wore my flip flops still but this year it was too cold. I've officially put them away now, lol.

I tried out a new belly dance class and also went to my first event with a new Meetup group, brunch at a local tearoom called Teddys.

The day before Hallowe'en I went to a local firework day display for Bonfire Night. (It's always the Wednesday before Bonfire Night). Here are a few pictures:

Fireworks at Lancing Beach Green.

Hallowe'en/Samhain 2019

Last Thursday (31st October) it was Samhain/Hallowe'en. I celebrated with a pumpkin and having some food and drink, including my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice and dyed green!), a recipe I got from Kate West; and potato salad based on a recipe in The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya.

This year I actually had two pumpkins, a little one and a bigger one. Here's a pic: