Rosca de Reyes

I am a very bad Mexican. I don't always have beans in my fridge. I don't speak Spanish to my kids. I hardly ever cook or even eat Mexican food. I don't celebrate Mexican holidays... But I do selectively hold onto a few traditions I grew up with... Like eating Mexican King Bread--Rosca de Reyes (with hot chocolate!) on Epiphany. Sidenote: it's an excellent way to derail any weight loss resolutions early in the year. 

Anyway, I love Rosca. It's a yummy, lightly sweet yeasty bread topped with just the right amount of crumbly sugar and dried fruit, and I have been inviting friends to join me in eating some for the past few years (you know, so I don't end up eating it all myself). I didn't really know how to bake one, so I had been buying my rosca at a little Mexican bakery not far from home. Then last year, I needed it a day or two early for our little gathering, so I went in, asked if they would have one ready when I needed, ordered it, paid a deposit, and waited for the agreed-upon day. You can see where this is going, right? Yeah, they hadn't started making roscas yet (crazy bad Mexican me for wanting rosca too early), and they clearly didn't want to be bothered (or my business ever again), so after demanding my money back and panicking ever-so-slightly, I improvised with a buttery pound cake from Kroger (so not the same thing) with a plastic baby I had from past years stuck in through the bottom. It got the job done for the day, but I swore to never go back to that bakery again. 

Thanks to that experience--and Pinterest, I was moved to look for a recipe that would tell me how to make one myself, and the one I found took me right back to Mexico. It was perfect! This is it, in case you want to try it yourself: http://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/2011/01/rosca-de-reyesthree-kings-bread-recipe.html (Sorry for the long URL; the blogger app doesn't let me make pretty links--or I haven't figured out how to do it yet).

Making it was as easy as making any other yeast bread... The only part that was more time-consuming was making the candied fruit. I just did plain orange peels and orange peels with maraschino cherry juice/cherries for the red ones. I also got my measurements wrong on the sugar dough... I put in too much sugar and not enough flour, so it melted away a little (and made a huge mess in my oven).

Another thing I hadn't anticipated was how much it would grow (duh) as it baked. Next time, I will roll out the dough into a thinner log so that the center won't close up after baking. I ended up taking a round cutter and cutting out the merged middle to keep the donut shape. 

Then I stuck two plastic babies into the bottom. 

In the end, it could have been prettier, but it tasted exactly the way I remembered. I ate too much of it, shipped some to my parents, and watched my delighted kids find the plastic babies inside. 

Gingy Demo

All good thing must come to an end, so as we traditionally do on Epiphany, the gingerbread house was destroyed. And we do it with gusto. 

And hammers.

 And teeth. 

It's fun and delicious and oh-so satisfying. 

The pieces go everywhere. 

I like finding the tiny details amidst the rubble. 

Goodbye, gingerbread house. Thank you. 

Last bit of Christmas break

Schoooool's back! For! Springtime! No? Not quite the same... Anyway, we fizzled out at the end of winter break, and "mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again" was a reality here! The three kids really bonded and loved each other and played together A LOT... So much that they were ready to kill each other by January 3. Good thing school started Monday/today! We did get a few activities done in between the holidays, the fun, and the fighting. 

Like a melting, bubbling snowman. 

(Baking soda, soap, water dough, plus accessories... Then vinegar!)

And glitter slime bubbles

(Glue/borax slime... That we discovered can blow up like a balloon). 

And painting. 

(Liquid water colors on mini canvases). 

And crystal-making. 

(A kit the girls got for Christmas). 

And now that we're getting into the swing of things, there is pretty much zero time for crafting. Which makes me a little sad. 

Gingerbread House 2014

I am really pleased with this house. I haven't made anything like this before, and I love the way it turned out. Paul did an awesome job on the outside, and he also made me all the "glass" pieces on the inside because I am not very good with crazy-hot isomalt. My favorite part was adding all the tiny details, like the mistletoe above the door, the toilet paper roll, the wine bottles on the wall... Well, just see for yourself! Here is the Gingy family home:

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Hallway 

Kids' room

Bathroom

Kitchen

The Attic

The outside

We actually aren't sure what will be on the agenda for next year. We're thinking about venturing into other types of architecture... Maybe a cathedral?