Holiday Baking.....

December 9, 2012

It's fifteen days until Christmas and I need to do some baking.   Christmas is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ.  It is a time to gather with family,  to share stories of the year gone by as well and remember the Christmases before.  Family, friends and sharing is what this holiday means to our family.  It has been many years since our immediate family shared Christmas with Mothers,  Fathers, Brothers and Sisters.  We grew up having a full house, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and those that were  'adopted Uncles, Aunts and Cousins'....this meant lots of laughter, singing and of course   comforting  food.  Traditional food, such a Borscht, Pyrohi (Vegetable filled tarts), Mushroom Crepes became a favorite as did many breads and salads. I remember the last Christmas we shared in the Kootenays, after dinner the whole extended family would get dressed in our warm winter coats, we then would start our  Caroling, walking from house to house (we lived in the country and the homes were not very close together) so we definitely worked off our dinner.  We would walk up to a home and start our singing, the door would open and the smiles on the faces brought joy to our hearts, the home owners would join in and sing with us - refreshments were offered and then they too would join our group and we would continue on......by the end of the evening  the wintry road would be filled with family and friends, singing our carols  (in our  Russian language and later we would sing them in English as well).....the stars shining down on us, our cheeks nice and red and we would all return to our respective homes  filled with memories of another Christmas with Family.

Today I baked a few 'Savoury Christmas Loaves' that we can share with friends who may drop in over the holidays and of course the family coming home for Christmas.  I always have feta cheese  a jar of  roasted red peppers and Kalamata Olives in the pantry.  I am also fortunate to have lovely Greek oregano in my garden that I have dried and ground - the flavour is amazing!  This is not a traditional recipe but  it just may become one for our immediate family.

SAVORY CHRISTMAS LOAF

Savour Christmas Loaf right out of the oven

 

Ingredients you will need

 

The wet and dry ingredients, measured and ready for the

chopped feta, olives and roasted red peppers.

The batter in the loaf pans ready for the oven....

 

Bake this for 55 minutes at 350 degrees

The kitchen smells wonderful and the boys are asking me

"What smells so good?"

They are my taste testers!!

 

RECIPE

 

Savoury Christmas Loaf

 

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 roasted red  bell pepper (I used a jar of roasted peppers)

1/2 cup olives (I used Kalamata) sliced finely

3/4 cup feta cheese, chopped finely

2 tsp dried oregano

1/3 cup olive oil ( I like to use extra virgin)

5 Tbsp milk 

4 eggs, beaten

butter for greasing

salt, pepper to taste.

 

Directions:

Line a loaf pan ( or two small) with parchment paper and grease each pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, oregano, salt and pepper.

In a smaller bowl  add the eggs and beat with whisk, add the olive oil, milk and the chopped vegetables.

Combine the wet into the dry, stir just until mixed and  spoon into loaf pans

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

Serve with cheeses, Greek salad or just as a snack on it's own.....enjoy