Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a day filled with joy, with lots of good food and memories, and everything that is happy and good.

Merry Christmas to all of God's creatures.

Treat yourself at the Big Timber Christmas bazaar

Many people look forward to the annual Big Timber Woman's Club Christmas Bazaar, the first holiday event of the area. Vendors expect to sell a lot of their products, the Woman's Club raises money for their philanthropic activities, and customers have many wonderful items to look at and buy.

The bazaar is so big that it fills both the Big Timber civic center and the American Legion. The season's first snow began falling today, but that didn't stop the shoppers.

This year there were several fundraisers going on. The Friends of the Carnegie Library in Big Timber offered a cart of book selections, along with an abundant table covered with handmade cookies and candies.

The First Congregational Church also had a table with tempting homemade goodies.

The Big Timber chapter of an organization called PEO was raising money to provide scholarships to help women of all ages get the education they need. Their lovely slogan is: "Women helping women reach for the stars." Along with a pile o' yummy homemade foods for sale, they were raffling off a dollhouse made by a member's father. I hope they raised a lot of money from that raffle because the house was amazing. I just wanted to stand there drooling over the detail.

And no event in Big Timber seems complete without the Sons of Norway selling lefse and Norwegian cookies. I've said this before, but I really think they should change their name to Daughters of Norway because I've only ever met the hardworking women.

Nor does any event seem complete without a few regular vendors, among them one of my favorites, Jolie. She usually has her handmade lollies for sale, but unfortunately she didn't have enough time to make them this year. So the choices on her table were lefse, cookies, and caramel corn. Good choices, of course, but we want your lollies, too, Jolie!

Another vendor I look for each year at this bazaar is Liz with her Windy Wheat Bakery inventory. I was especially looking forward to the Buckeyes, but Liz said they hadn't been selling well, so she skipped that this year. Buckeyes were new to me the first time I tasted them, but then they became a top hit in my book. Who can resist peanut butter and chocolate? Next time you see Liz (the rest of the year she's making great-tasting lattes at the Crazy Bean in Big Timber), tell her we want our Buckeyes!

Another ever-present and much welcome vendor anywhere there's a food event is Tumblewood Teas. Riza has some clever new products that would make nice gifts.

Her new line of tea accoutrements includes wooden-edged tea strainers and honey stirrers, all made of cherry wood. I really like the honey stirrers, which are a small size (most are too big for the little taste I usually want) and have holes in them the shape of the comb. "Bee-friendly," Riza calls them.

She also now offers honey sticks, which will be sold in a high school fundraiser later in the year.

There were a few new products, including truffles by 70-year-old Norie, who makes them by hand in Belgrade. You can also find Norie's Candies at her new shop near Albertsons, 7001 Jackrabbit Lane, Suite D, Belgrade. Norie has been making these candies all her life, but successfully went commercial 4 years ago.

Jill Gibbs of Billings was kind enough to remember that dogs like treats, too. You can buy her Jillcookies online via Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Jillcookies.

And last here in the list, but not at all least, was a fun find: Dalonda's Western Country Gift Baskets. Her table was a feast for the eyes, with baskets bursting with all sorts of delightful treats. Many items could be bought separately, of course, and I zeroed in on the red velvet cake pops and brownie bites. From what I've been reading on the Internet, cake pops are quite popular now (with special thanks to Bakerella), but I'd never tasted them. Verdict: red velvet cake pop is yum!

Another item was Dalonda's homemade dip mixes and beverage mixes, including one for bacon cocoa. Dalonda explained this mix has bacon powder in it. I haven't tasted it yet, so I'll have to give a report in a later blog.

Well, there was a whole lot more to eat and look at. You're just going to have to come and check it out yourself next year -- the first weekend of November, 9 am to 5 pm.

Another delicious bazaar

Every year I look forward to the popular Big Timber Women's Club bazaar, which takes place on the first Saturday in November.

Vendors are smiling, customers are smiling, and everyone is just, well, happy.

Of course there are lots of artisan things to buy like handmade dolls' clothes (how about a kimono for your Barbie?), wooden cutting boards, and Christmas trees formed from barbed wire. But for me, it's the food.

Downstairs at the Legion you can buy homemade pie or a light lunch, which are fund-raisers for the Women's Club and St. Joseph's Church.

Jolie and her mom and grandmother (three generations of cooks--what a lucky family!) were at the bazaar again, selling Jolie's tasty lollies and grandma Sally's sweet-faced dolls.

Lucky early shoppers got to taste Windy Bakery fresh-from-the-kitchen scones, buckeyes, caramel rolls, and cheese bread.

The Friends of the Library were selling books as well as homemade cookies.

The Sons of Norway (who I am certain should be called the Daughters of Norway since I have never seen a Son at any public event; where are they hiding the guys??) had a table covered with lefse and Norwegian cookies. This year one member is sharing the secrets of making lefse through the adult education program at Sweet Grass High School (November 16, 6-9 pm).

Two new varieties of Tumblewood Teas are available this season: one flavored lightly with orange and another redolent of pear. Tumblewood Teas are always fresh, always tasty, and always so healthy. I like the clever names, too. (In case you're wondering, the shortbread bites are provided to cleanse your palate between tea tasting; there were plenty to taste at the bazaar.)

Since the bazaar is divided between the American Legion building and the Civic Center, shoppers must walk two blocks. Luckily, today was warm and sunny. (The area is expecting snow on Monday.) Even luckier, the kettle corn man was there to warm tummies with delicious popcorn.

Some nonedible items were tempting nonetheless. I have long enjoyed the "flavors" of Nature's Bliss soap (made in Bozeman). Today I bought a jar of Vanilla Sugar and Cinnamon Body Butter. Oh, so very nice on the skin, but I hope it doesn't drive me to craving cinnamon toast every time I use it. If you missed the bazaar, you can sample these products at the Gallatin Valley farmers market next summer.

And last, but certainly not least, is a new business called It's A Wrap, where you can order candy bars, bottles of water, and even dog biscuits wrapped in a customized label. Email Lisa in Big Timber at ljcberg@cablemt.net if you want to order something for a special occasion (or make a dull occasion special).

Have a sweet day!

Cookies . . . with music

Today the American Bank held its open house, with handmade cookies by the talented cook at the senior center.

Every hour or half hour, music was provided by various groups around town. I stayed to listen to the Senior Center Kitchen Band.

This musical group is particularly relevant to my blog because their instruments are things they found around the kitchen: an old washboard, teakettles (brightened with kazoos stuck in the spouts), a plunger, a washtub, and -- clever Marian for thinking of it -- a handful of metal cookie cutters strung together and shaken.

The Kitchen Band began each song with an instrumental first verse. Then, the singing was hearty and often in tune. Just kidding -- they sounded great!

I think this idea could be carried into your own home. Set aside old pots and utensils to be picked up at whim and, when the mood strikes, start singing to the jingle jangle. Cooking dinner and then washing up afterward would be a whole lot more fun.

More cookies!

a few sandwiches appeared alongside cookies
at the Congregational Tea

My question of why there are so many cookies in town during Christmas has not been completely answered. But I believe the place you can find the most cookies is at the annual Congregational Church Tea.

Right before the big event, in the kitchen were piles of cookies, tins of cookies, platters of cookies, all homemade by generous members of the congregation. "How many cookies are there?" I asked. "Oh, maybe thousands," came the cheerful reply.

Upstairs in the sanctuary, guests enjoyed a Christmas program of stories, Scripture readings, and song. A preschool group exuberantly sang off-key, Silent Night was strummed on a guitar, and a dulcimer brought life to other carols.

Then the crowd eagerly gathered along a table where an endless supply of cookies and elegant cups filled with tea or coffee from silver pots brought much joy.

And a special thank-you to those who washed up afterward . . .

Time to deliver cookies

It's that time of year when some of us bake and bake, give other people treats, and hope we get lots in return.

I say that with humor, because this time of year we know we'll all be getting lots of goodies one way or another, even if we have to hang around the bank lobby until they put out store-bought Lorna Doones.

Yesterday I spent the entire day in the kitchen. There are so many people I wanted to thank for being kind to me, or else to cheer up because they had a rough year.

I didn't get photos of the trays because I was so busy wondering how I would deliver them all on icy roads today, but in the photo above you get an idea. That plate is going to a neighbor who lives alone. Some of the people have 3 and 4 kids, so their gifts were more like Christmas bags.

I also hoped to get more photos of the process, but what with one thing and another . . . My kitchen resembled one of those sitcoms where a budding entrepreneur tries to make enough cupcakes to fill an unexpected order for 5,000 -- inevitably the family starts throwing things at each other, although the order does get filled. I can attest that this is a tiring process, even without throwing things around, so not many photos.

I did finish off a 5-pound bag of flour.

I also enjoyed melting chocolate and peanut-butter chips together and adding chopped peanuts to fill some truly delicious Chocolate Peanut-Butter Snowballs.

I was briefly tempted to eat the stuff right out of the pan. But I remembered my friends and controlled myself. Instead I followed the recipe directions and formed them into balls and wrapped them in shortbread dough. The snowballs were then rolled in powdered sugar and baked. (See upper left corner in top photo.)

I also made Fruitcake Bars, which are really, really tasty, but I would call them Fruit and Nut Bars myself. "Fruitcake" definitely gives you the wrong impression here. These are mostly nuts (your choice), dried apricots, and dates. With only 6 tablespoons of flour, you can use a substitute and make them gluten-free.

A few people who were very, very good this year got homemade English muffins and Amish-made dandelion jelly that I bought at the Eureka farmers market. Its light, delicate flavor is quite nice.

I also made two longtime favorites: Apricot, Orange, Cranberry Bread from Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking and Sparkling Citrus Triangles (shown in top photo) from a Land O'Lakes cookbook I picked up at the supermarket years ago. The latter were already in the freezer waiting to be sliced and baked. This is a handy make-ahead tip, by the way: almost any cookie dough can be rolled into a log, frozen for a month, and then sliced and baked.

I feel kind of tuckered out, as my dad used to say after a long day. Still, it was heart-warming to hear the surprised thank-yous. As I keep pointing out, people do a lot of baking around here, but they are just as pleased to be on the receiving end.