Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone!  Are you still there?!  Do I still have a few readers?  I don't blame you if you've gone awol as well.  But I'm happy to hear from those of you who still check.


I'm back, but I don't make resolutions so I promise nothing about posting regularly.  I do really miss having this little record of what we do in this house.  Without it, it seems sometimes as if we do nothing.  I know that can't be true, but we have just finished an extraordinarily lazy Christmas break.  

There's always a bit of crafting.  These snowflakes are all that is left of our Christmas decorations.  The kids said that they are snowflakes, suitable for about 8 months of the year.  I love them, so I let them stay.  

Beth was sick over most of the holidays, so it wasn't perhaps as busy as usual.  No toboganning, skiing, or skating.  We were hoping to do those things with Beth when she got better.  She's finally better, but now she's in school.  That could have been timed better.  Maybe we needed the rest.

We didn't suffer for food though.  We hosted two small parties, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve, and that gave us the excuse to buy special cheeses and use our new deep fryer to make these yummy treats.

Croquettes!  And these were exactly as I remember them from childhood.  Grandpa's croquettes, except gluten free.  I've increased my wheat intake a lot, but Yvon really can't.  When you make rock hard GF biscuits, croquettes are an awesome use for those breadcrumbs.  Just so I don't lose the recipe, this is the one I used and it worked perfectly. Next time I'll double the batch to freeze some but I didn't know it would be so worth it!

Croquettes

Brown:
    1 lb ground meat (pork, beef, chicken, whatever)

Make a roux:
    2 Tbsp butter
    4 Tbsp flour

Slowly add:
     1/2 c milk
     1/2 c broth

Add:
     Browned meat
     1/2 tsp chilli powder
     1/2 tsp paprika
     1 tsp curry (I didn't have this)
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/4 tsp pepper
     1 tsp worchestershire sauce
     1 tsp parsley

Cool in your fridge or freezer until stiff enough to form balls.  I set the pan outside in the snow for an hour or so.

Form balls quickly.  Flour, dip in beaten egg and then bread crumbs.  Deep fry until golden.  

Of course we had Oliebollen to go with them and those turned out great too.  I didn't try the wheat ones, but the gluten free ones were perfect.  No picture for some reason, but before I lose the recipe, here is my grandpa's oliebollen recipe too.  Thanks to my sister for testing the recipe and sharing it before Christmas!

Grandpas' Oliebollen

2 tbsp. yeast
3 tbsp. sugar
½ cup lukewarm milk
3 eggs, well beaten
½ tsp. vanilla
1cup beer (optional – or use water)
1 tbsp. salt
4 cups flour
3 apples, peeled and diced
2 cups raisins or currants

Soak together yeast, sugar and the 1/2 cup milk for 10 minutes. Mix with eggs, remaining milk, and vanilla, salt and beer. Beat in flour, proceeding slowly. Add raisins and apples. Cover bowl and let dough rise for 1 ½ hrs. Drop by teaspoonful into hot oil. Turn, if necessary. Remove from oil. Sprinkle with sifted icing sugar.

And the ones we're more likely to eat around here:

Gluten Free Oliebollen (from www.Schar.com)

225 g GF bread mix
5 g dry yeast
65 g sugar
200 ml lukewarm water
75 ml lukewarm milk
1 egg

 Mix everything together (don't worry if it looks too thin - it'll work).  Let rise for 1 hour.  Drop spoonfuls into hot oil, turning once.  You can add apples and raisins after the rise if you like.  Always sprinkle with icing sugar. 

Do we have to wait until next New Years to eat these again, or can I can them apple fritters and get away with it?  Silly Dutch tradition!