Silvan Lady's Advent Calendar

Title: Three men and a Dragon
Author: silvan_lady
Pairing: Vigorli
Beta etc: Beta: gattodoro thank you ♥
Rating: R
Wordcount: words
Warning Crack, crazy Christmas poetry,
Disclaimer:This is fiction, all made up, it never happened, no profit is made from it, and no offence is intended.
Author's Note: Craziness written for my 2016 Advent Calendar

(Three men and a Dragon)

Title: A Christmas Tree-t!
Author: silvan_lady
Pairing: Vigorli
Beta etc: Beta: gattodoro thank you ♥
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 390 words
Warning AU
Disclaimer:This is fiction, all made up, it never happened, no profit is made from it, and no offence is intended.
Author's Note: Written for my 2016 Advent Calendar

(A Christmas Tree-t!)

Title: First Christmas
Author: silvan_lady
Pairing: Vigorli
Beta etc: Beta: gattodoro thank you ♥
Rating: R
Wordcount: 1,218 words
Warning AU
Disclaimer:This is fiction, all made up, it never happened, no profit is made from it, and no offence is intended.
Author's Note: Written for my 2016 Advent Calendar and bluegerl’s birthday!

(First Christmas)

Silv’s Christmas cake

8 oz (225g) margarine or butter
2 oz (55g) SR flour (or plain plus baking powder)
8 oz (225g) plain flour
8 oz (225g) soft brown sugar
8 oz (225g) raisins chopped
4 eggs 8 oz (225g) sultanas or currants
8 oz (225g) mixed peel
4 oz (110g) cherries
2 level tsps mixed spice
2 oz (55g) almonds
Pinch salt



Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add slightly beaten eggs gradually, beating well after each addition. Fold in the sieved flour and salt with a metal spoon. Lastly add the fruit and flavouring and mix all well together. This is best mixed with the hands, as it is heavy with fruit. (Unless you have a Kenwood Chef – that beast could mix concrete!)

Bake in a 9 inch cake tin lined with greased grease-proof paper. Bake at 140C for about 3-31/2 hours.
(My oven cooks it in 2.5 hours so I’d test at that point.)



This cake is improved by the addition of a wine-glassful of brandy as it is a very rich cake, and improves by keeping. The best method of adding this is to make holes in the bottom of the cake the next day with a skewer and pour brandy into the holes.

When cooked in the fan oven, the top of large cakes remain lighter in colour. Test after the recommended cooking time by inserting a warm skewer into the centre of the cake. If clean the cake is cooked.

NOTES:

Needs 2 x 8 oz (225g) packets of marzipan to cover)

Several plants are associated with Christmas - here is some information about them.

( Mistletoe and more )

Title: Christmas Shopping List
Author: silvan_lady
Pairing: Vigorli
Beta: gattodoro & weepingnaiad thank you ♥
Rating: R
Wordcount: 482 words
Warning AU
Disclaimer:This is fiction, all made up, it never happened, no profit is made from it, and no offence is intended.
Author's Note: Ficlet written for my 2016 Advent Calendar

(Christmas Shopping List)

History of shortbread

Shortbread resulted from medieval biscuit bread, which was a twice-baked, enriched bread roll dusted with sugar and spices and hardened into a hard, dry, sweetened biscuit called a rusk. Eventually, yeast from the original rusk recipe was replaced by butter, which was becoming more of a staple in Britain and Ireland.

Although shortbread was prepared during much of the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread is credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. This type of shortbread was baked, cut into triangular wedges, and flavoured with caraway seeds.

Shortbread was expensive and reserved as a luxury for special occasions such as Christmas, Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Eve), and weddings. In Shetland, it is traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake over the head of a new bride on the entrance of her new house.

Shortbread originated in Scotland, with the first printed recipe, in 1736, from a Scotswoman named Mrs McLintock. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay festivities in Scotland, and the Scottish brand Walkers Shortbread is exported around the world. Shortbread is baked at a low temperature to avoid browning. When cooked, it is nearly white, or a light golden brown. It may be sprinkled with more sugar while cooling. It may even be crumbly before cooled, but will become firmer after cooling


( Shortbread recipes )