A Christmas Tea with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Me

 Note: This post was composed last Christmas!

~Hello everyone~

Welcome to Day 2 of our Tis the Season Blog Tour.
Thanks again, Jemma for including me; it's been fun!
I'm your hostess today, and I'm so happy you're here!

(If you wish, click on each image to enlarge.)

Santa and Mrs. Claus have already arrived.

I thought they could use a little break 

from all their busyness;

Mrs. Claus baking away the days,

 while Santa tackles the stack of mail, 
as elves load toys on to his sleigh.

 Please, make yourselves at home.

 

In the kitchen, the teapot is filled with chamomile,
and a fluffy, orange cake awaits!

Into the dining room, we'll go,
I've dimmed the lights for a cozy glow.

 Have you looked out the window?

We've had snow! 

 I remember,
during Christmas holidays in Toronto, the
playful snowballs little Liberty liked to throw.

And in the calm after the storm,
we'd roll, and pack, and form
a snowman of our very own.

Christmases in Crete, meant trimming the tree with me, 

then topping it with a star, with a little help from her daddy.

From top left to right: my sister, Cindy, my mom, Rita, my aunt, Jane and me

This year, more than any other,
I long to be with family in Canada, and my daughter.

Wherever you are in the world this year,

may your Christmas days be full of cheer!

Thanks for sharing this Christmas tea
with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and me.

 xo
~Poppy~

Don't forget to visit everyone else 

on our Tis the Season Blog Tour.

Monday December 9, 2013
Jemma of At Home With Jemma   

 Chris of The Cafe Sucre Farine

Tuesday December 10th, 2013
Poppy View
 
Wednesday December 11, 2013
Sherry, Jess, and Nel of Red Rose Alley
Patty of Home and Lifestyle Design
 

Thursday December 12, 2013
Melanie of Comfy House
Brenda of Cozy Little House

Friday December 13, 2013
Melinda of The Refeathered Roost

 
Saturday December 14, 1013
Kathryn of The Dedicated House
Dewena of Across the Way

All images: Poppy View,

except backgrounds (Google),

and Tour Collage (Jemma)

Sharing at: 
Saturday Sparks, Teacup Tuesday, Home & Garden Thursday,
Make it Pretty Monday, Sunday Showcase Party, Amaze Me Monday,
Inspire Me Monday, Mosaic Monday, Seasonal Sundays,
Flaunt it Friday, Show & Tell Friday, Feathered Nest Friday,
Sweet & Simple Fridays, Home Sweet Home, Be Inspired,
Open House Blog Party, Home, Wow Us Wednesday, Friendship Friday,
Be Inspired Features & Link Party, Tweak It Tuesday,
Inspire Me Tuesday, Tuesdays at Our Home, The Scoop,
Brag About It,  A Return to Loveliness, Tuesday Trivia,

A Coconut Treat for Christmas

Welcome back to my kitchen!

Thought I'd give you and your oven a little break

today, by sharing my most popular recipe,

Coconut Cream Pie, as promised.

This particular recipe comes from the magazine, 

Ladies' Home Journal, May 1991 edition. The recipe calls

for a ready made, baked, pastry crust, but because this is

not available here on the island, I always substitute it with my

own digestive cookie crumble crust, which only requires

ten minutes of baking. The rest of the pie is cooked on the stove top!

 To make the crust: 

1 single 9-inch baked pastry crust
 

or

 ½ cup digestive cookies
 (or graham crackers)

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tbsp sugar

To make the filling:

⅔  cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

2 ½ cups milk

½ cup heavy or whipping cream

3 large egg yolks

1 ⅓ shredded coconut (I add a little more)

    1 tbsp butter or margarine

     2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the topping:

¾ heavy or whipping cream

2 tbsp icing sugar (my addition)

1 tbsp rum or brandy (my addition)

 ½ cup shredded coconut, toasted

 Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.

Crumble cookies, stir in butter and sugar 

and press into pie plate.

Bake 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in large 

saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and cream

until smooth. Bring to boil over medium-high 

heat, stirring gently, boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. 

Beat egg yolks lightly in a small bowl.

Gradually whisk in 1 cup hot filling mixture, 

then return to saucepan, whisking constantly.

Boil 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Immediately pour filling into baked pastry/cookie crust.

Cool on wire rack 15 minutes, (I bring it to room temperature).

 Cover filling and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.

Add icing sugar and rum, (optional, but adds to

that exotic essence!).

Just before serving, spread pie with

whipped cream mixture, and sprinkle with toasted

coconut. Makes 8 servings. 

I made this tasty, tropical pie recently for 

some dear friends, for a Sunday luncheon

 I had the pleasure of hosting, here at the house.

Now, this family is quite traditional, and

they don't stray too far away from their Cretan 

cuisine, but as soon as they tasted this pie's creamy,

coconut flavour, it was love at first bite!

Eva, the lovely daughter, and a student of mine,

carefully noted down the recipe, while her parents

indulged in the tropical luxury of a luscious coconut treat!

Thanks for visiting!

Sharing at:  
The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Found & Foraged,
Be Inspired Features & Link Party, Home, Friday's Five Features,
Brag About It, bebetsy.com, Tweak It Tuesday, Tuesdays at Our Home,
Tea Cup Tuesday, Inspire Me Tuesday, The Scoop, Tea Time Tuesday,
 A Return to Loveliness, Make it Pretty Monday, Amaze Me Monday,
The Sunday Showcase Party, Mosaic Monday, Inspire Me Monday, 
Seasonal Sundays,  Feathered Nest Friday, Be Inspired, Flaunt it Friday,

Show & Tell Friday, Home Sweet Home, Sweet & Simple Fridays, 

At Home With Jemma on Monday the 9th
The Cafe Sucre Farine  on Monday the 9th

Poppy View on Tuesday the 10th.

Red Rose Alley on Wednesday the 11th

Home and Lifestyle Design (that's me) also on Wednesday the 11th

Comfy House on Thursday the 12th

Cozy Little House on Thursday the 12th

The Refeathered Roost on Friday the 13th

The Dedicated House on Saturday the 14th
Across The Way  on Saturday the 14th

- See more at: http://www.homeandlifestyledesign.com/#sthash.OHZjGEeJ.dpuf