Monthly Munch: December

Cakes! Christmas! Snow! Family visits! It's been a packed month all right.

Toby

- was a very sweet shepherd in his preschool nativity play, and seems to have that part of the Christmas story pretty well sorted:

"The shepherds saw angels, they were just floating around. They said, 'Don't be afraid.' Then oodles more angels came and they all sang a song."

- impressed one of the preschool staff by identifying 473 as four hundred and seventy-three, rather than telling her the individual numbers.

- loves the carol A Partridge in a Pear Tree (is that the actual title?)

- wanted an ice cream even when it was freezing cold outside

Quotes:
On seeing some Christmas lights: "Wow! That's delicious and fabulous."

Playing doctor: "I'm a good doctor... just sometimes I do bad things."

And a joke to finish: "Why did the chicken drink lots of coffee? Because it had to cross the road so many times."

Theo

- wanted some ice cream too!

- does have a balanced diet really - in fact we haven't found much he won't eat.

Mmm, Quality Street!

- can stand up without holding on for a few seconds, and is starting to cruise around the furniture.

- was 19 lb 9 oz at his 10 month checkup

- enjoyed his first snow!

Thankful for

- beautiful winter sunrises, rainbows and snow!

- time spent with family over Christmas; we got both sets of grandparents together which was great.

Family photo taken by Toby

- being able to keep up regular blogging - I have averaged one entry a week this year, and I hope you've enjoyed reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing.

Recipe of the Month - pizza

Hmm, I don't seem to have taken any photos of food this month. But we have enjoyed making our own pizzas a couple of times, and you all know what pizza looks like, don't you?

Pizza base
12 oz strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp fast-action yeast
1/2 tsp salt
8 fl oz milk
4 tsp olive oil

Pizza toppings
1 jar pizza sauce
grated cheese (Cheddar or mozzarella)
Peppers, tomatoes, olives, ham, mushrooms or whatever you fancy

Stir together the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Gently warm the milk and olive oil until it just feels hot. Pour into the flour mixture and mix to form a soft dough. Knead for ten minutes. Cover and leave to rise for an hour or two until doubled.

Punch down and knead for a minute. Divide into four and roll or stretch each piece into a circle or rectangle. Spread the pizza sauce over the bases and add cheese and toppings. Bake at 200 C for 15-20 minutes until crispy and golden.

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