Humm Online Exclusives - December 2014

Local Gift Giving Guide

Find the best, locally-inspired gifts for everyone in your life using our invaluable gift guide. What are you waiting for ?

Featured Artist - Mary Lou Devine

Read the profile and view the photo gallery for Fabric Sculptor & Instructor, Mary Lou Devine. Read more >

Christmas Decorations are the Last Straw

Sue Betcher (also known as the sister of Humm Reever/Reporter Glenda Jones) published this piece in the December 22, 1975 issue of the Creston Valley Advance (Section 3, Page 13). Sue writes: The Advance was famous for its Christmas issue, which usually ran to 72 pages or more and almost always won prizes from the BC and Yukon Newspaper Association.

Everyone has seen the glossy Christmas magazines with their articles on how to make a gilded wreath with “trifles found around the house”. You've read the recipes, too. “Into one quart of heavy cream, beat one cup of Grand Marnier and sprinkle with anise seeds.”

Have you every tried to construct any of those crafty little projects? How about the one that began: “Cut 100 paper drinking straws into three and four inch lengths”? The gaily written insructions then continued “String them together with fine sewing thread to make a smashing-looking star. The illustration showed dozens of stars festooning a window.

What they should have said was “Take the first straw and put it into a glass of egg nog. Give the other 99 straws to your children and leave star-making to a higher authority.”

Another little project best let alone is making a Christmas tree with chicken wire and several pounds of unshelled nuts. You've seen it in the book, but you can't do it yourself, unless you have the patience of Job and your husband's Dremmel on hand. After you have the chicken wire bent so that it no longer resembles a tree, and have broken the nuts trying to put little holes in them, take a nutcracker, break the nuts, pick up your glass with the straw it in and forge t about the whole thing.

Here's another super one that your children can help with. Make Christmas tree decorations out of felt. This is really a dandy—two dimensional bird shapes glued together, stuffed with foam chips and decorated with sequins and sparkles. The possibilities are endless and horrendous. The foam chips get away, one of the children will undoubtedly spill the sparkles and the other will spill the glue on your only completed bird, and if you have a dog, for sure, you will be vacuuming until the First of July...Take your glass with the straw in it...

Children like to make little animals for the creche. Use almonds, walnuts and peanuts, all of which will break under the weight of the drill; the kids will either eat the nuts, or throw them at each other. However, you can take the straws from the previous projects and try to make legs for the animals. It won't work, so take one of the straws...

Why do things the hard way? For decorations,use the Santas the children bring home from school. You will always remember the love that they put into them to decorate the house. For refreshments, fill a glass and put a straw in it...

Local Gift Finds from Miss Mills

Miss Mills (the puppet reporter for the Town of Mississippi Mills) found so many amazing gifts that are both made and sold in Almonte and Pakenham that she couldn't fit them all into her article!

Music

Find local music at Mill Street Books, such as the new CD by Tracey Brown and Randall Prescott: Songs Our Daddies Sang. Prefer live? Buy tickets for Folkus and Almonte in Concert, or perhaps the December 21 David Francey concert. Prefer to make it themselves? Let George help you find just the right thing at Mississippi Mills Musicworks.

Note Cards

We may not have a devoted card shop anymore, but you can find Cathy Blake’s hand-painted note cards at the General, as well other locally-made cards at Tin Barn and Tony Mihok’s.

Adult Stocking Stuffers

Tin Barn carries locally-made Bay Run shave bars… and want a fantastic-smelling stocking? Stuff it with a bag of freshly-roasted, fair-trade, organic coffee from Equator. Mmm…

Flowers/Plants

Granted, this time of year does not lend itself to much growing of greenery in these parts… but a lot of the cut flowers at Acanthus (in Heritage Mall on Mill St.) are grown in Ontario, down near Niagara: gerbera daisies, snapdragons, roses, lilies… Of course, there is a long-lasting alternative to the cut flowers — have you seen the beautiful, intricately-crafted paper flowers of Linda Hamilton? General Fine Craft carries her blooms, from large to tiny.

Of course you need a Christmas tree! Well, I got mine years ago at The Hub… but if you want a fresh one, I hear Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm is the place to go!

Great reads for under the Christmas tree

Suggested by Meriah Caswell, Manager of Library Services, Carleton Place Library

Adults:

• Still Life – by Louise Penny
• Revival – by Stephen King
• The Bees – by Laline Paull

Kids:

• Press Here - by Herve Tullet
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul - by Jeff Kinney
• Plain Kate - by Erin Bow

Dig In - Cooking Without 14 of the Most Common Allergens (Cookbook Review)

A Cookbook by A Littlestones Collaboration, Forward by Dr. Jennifer Armstrong BSC, MD, DIBEM, FAAEM

Get the tools you need to make stunning and exceptionally appetizing allergen-free recipes for you and your family! With the holidays just around the corner, it can feel a little overwhelming to stick to a regular allergen-free routine. Asking friends and family to host a “safe” meal can sometimes be quite intimidating. In fact, most people have no idea what gluten is; or that soy, corn, eggs, nuts and cane sugar are pervasive in almost all pre-packaged items. When one is not accustomed to thinking about food sensitivities on a daily basis, trying to eliminate more than one of these common allergens at a time can seem like an impossible feat.

Well, I have just the right tool to help you navigate the holidays safely and successfully! With the help of one of the region’s sought-after specialists, Dr. Jennifer Armstrong, I have developed a new cookbook that contains over 125 recipes that are free of wheat, gluten, corn, soy, cane-sugar, sesame, cattle-dairy, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish, mustard, egg and sulfites, but that are definitely not taste-free. All recipes have been tested not only on individuals with these sensitivities, but also on those who have never been exposed to gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free or egg-free foods. The reason? I am a firm believer that allergen-free foods should taste exactly the same as “regular” food. This way, one meal can be prepared for all to enjoy. No one should ever feel like an outsider because of food allergies or sensitivities! Also, I feel that having food allergies and sensitivities should never equate to having to eat bad food. These have been my goals since I began working on this book.

As a person with first-hand experience with allergies and sensitivities since early 2000, my hope is to offer a new and comprehensive cookbook that addresses many of the food challenges that have only been partly dealt with. With my undeniable love of great food, my unstoppable imagination, plus my thirst for innovation, comes the need to deliver a truly exceptional product that I hope will meet your culinary expectations.

So, for the holidays, why not try the following allergen-free menu:

Appetizers:

Hempus with veggie sticks, Bruschetta Dip with your favorite chips or crackers

Main Course:

Country Bread, Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Root Vegetables, Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts

Dessert:

Squash Cake with Zesty Frosting, Maple Pie

Late Night Treats:

Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Chocolate Mint Cookies, Date & Fig Squares, Super Chocolate Brownies

If you’re not sure what to do with all your holiday leftovers, why not make Poultry Stock, Individual Turkey Pot Pies, Turkey & Rice Soup or Focaccia Pizza?

Check out my website to find out more, or join our new Facebook Community Page to stay up to date on new recipes. Dig In is available at Almonte Natural Foods or by ordering online at www.digincookbook.ca.

Don’t forget that Christmas is just around the corner. This is a terrific gift idea for any cook on your list or for those with food allergies or sensitivities! With blessings, gratitude and good vibes, Maxine - A Littlestones Collaboration

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