January 2021

RMHL Newsletter Volume 1 | Issue 5

January at a Glance! January 13th @ 1:00 pm - RMHL Bundles of Books book club for K-Gr 2 (contact Brenda for details) The aim is to inspire imagination, ideas and the love of reading within a group setting. We could read several books as a group and then incorporate a craft that goes with those books. The idea is to meet every week or two. Right now, it would be outside, such as Maple Ridge Park where there is cover and enough space. January 13 @ 7:30 pm - RMHL zoom mom meet up *Unfortunately due to the Public Health restrictions there is no scheduled gym times or group events planned at this time, we will keep you posted! Happy New Year and Welcome back! I hope that everyone has had the opportunity to recharge their batteries on this much needed and welcomed Christmas break. As we embark on this new year I look forward to the future with hope. In the last few years I have decided to no longer create resolutions at New Years and instead focus my attention on creating intentions, at the risk of sounding like a downer, I have found that resolutions are somewhat disappointingly disproportionate to my reality and I suppose as I get older I realize that simple is much better. My intention this year is simply to live in the moment as much as I humanly possibly can maintain. This last year has taught me a tremendous amount of the true happiness one can create in our own lives, even when it seems that the world is tossing constant curveballs. This last year has also afforded me the chance to prove to myself that anything is possible and I am capable of overcoming very hard things. I tiptoe forward with cautious optimism and the intention of doing it truly one day at a time. I challenge each and every one of you to come up with one simple intention and see where it takes you in 2021. The beauty of intention is that it is an ever evolving concept that can change as we change, evolving as we evolve. Cheers to a new year! Community in Action I am so excited that we have had so many great submissions to puzzles, crafts and baking. Thank you to everyone who participated in the online challenges in December. The winners will be receiving a $50.00 Gift Certificate of their choice. THE WINNERS ARE.. Great puzzle Brenda & Family! Nice job Leah! Nicely done Janelle & kiddos! Great job on all these baking entries! Melinda & family were super busy making all kinds of goodies..... .....they donated to both the salvation army..... ....and a shelter in North Van! Elijah and Eva baked sugar cookies on their own for the first time in an online baking class. They set aside some for their nana and neighbours to enjoy over the holidays. Awesome jt Chocolate Bombs. Scroll down to see this delicious recipe! Ginger snaps donated to Salvation Army by Kaitie and Karen Mikaela’s Christmas Wreath Sandwich Cookies. Scroll down for recipe! Look at these kiddos learning and building on their unique and creative skill sets with these beautiful crafts. Evangeline has made a skiing snowman made out of pine cone and a beautiful tree ornament. This 5 year old tried her hand sewing skills out for the very first time making a beautiful felt stuffy!! Making pasta angels to gift to family. So Cute! A big shout out to all those who volunteered at the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign this year. I love the sweater and the great attitude! Mikaela’s Christmas Wreath Sandwich Cookies Shortbread cookie ingredients and recipe: https://www.soberjulie.com/2013/11/melt-mouth-shortbread-recipe/ Cinnamon white chocolate ganache ingredients: 1/2 Cup + 1 Tablespoon cream 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons white chocolate 1-3 Teaspoons cinnamon Icing ingredients: 3/4 Cup powdered sugar 3 Teaspoon water Green and red food colouring Instructions: Cookies Prepare dough as the recipe states, but do not bake or shape the cookies. Rather, take your prepared dough and place it on top of a large piece of parchment or wax paper. Then place another piece of parchment paper of the same size (or use a larger piece to begin with and fold it in half) on top of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Remove but don’t discard the top piece of parchment or wax paper from the dough. Using a round cookie cutter, glass, or bowl, cut out round cookies with a diameter of approximately 2 inches (I used a shot glass). Then, using a smaller round cookie cutter, glass, bowl, or back of a piping tip (I used the last option), cut holes in the centre of the cookies that are a tiny bit larger than 1/2 an inch across. Place cut cookies on a baking sheet with parchment paper on it. Place them about 1/2 an inch apart. You’ll probably have a lot of dough scraps left over from cutting the cookies, so I’d recommend combining them all into one mound and re-rolling it. Repeat the rolling and cutting process until you’ve used all the dough you can. If you’re like me, you can’t fit all your cookies on one baking sheet. So you may need to bake multiple batches. Bake for 6-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Then cool them for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cookie rack to cool completely. Cinnamon white chocolate ganache Pour the white chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe medium bowl (err on the side of larger, for the cream bubbles up when it cooks). Place in microwave oven and cook for 1-2 minutes on 100% power. Remove from microwave (use caution, it may be hot), and let sit for 30 seconds. Stir with a whisk. If it does not look completely smooth or melted, return to microwave oven and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Once it is smooth, add cinnamon, combine, and place in the refrigerator to cool. Once cooled but not hard, whip with a whisk or hand mixer until pale, fluffy, and opaque. Be aware though, if you whip it too much you might make cinnamon white chocolate butter! If it is somewhat lumpy and separated, it is most likely over whipped. You can still use it, depending on how separated it is, though it might be greasy and have a odd texture. Once whipped, it is completed! Pour the ganache in a plastic or piping bag. This will be used for piping the filling on the cookies. Store in the refrigerator. You can store it in a container with a lid for long term storage (more than a couple hours). Icing In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and water. Set aside 2 spoonfuls of icing in a separate bowl. Add the green food colouring to the main icing, 1 or 2 drops at a time, until it is your desired colour (I think I added 7-10 drops in total to my smaller amount, but PLEASE don’t start with that). In the icing you set aside, add the red food colouring, 1 drop at a time, until it is your desired colour (I think I put in 2-3 drops in my smaller amount). Assembly Before you move on, make sure the cookies and ganache are cooled! You will have a melty mess if they are not. To assemble, dip one face of half the cookies you have baked in the green icing, this face will be your top. If you want to add sprinkles or candy on top, do so while the icing is still wet. Otherwise, set them aside so the icing can harden a bit. Once the icing has somewhat set, take a chopstick (or you probably could use a toothpick, though I haven’t tested that) and dip the tip you would eat with (or the wider end of a toothpick) in the red icing, and dab dots of red icing evenly dispersed on the top of the “wreaths”. These will be the wreath “berries”. Cut a small hole on the tip of your plastic bag filled with cinnamon white chocolate ganache. On the un-iced cookies, using the hole you cut in the bag, pipe your prepared ganache all around the cookie. Then, press the iced cookie with the decorated side facing up on top of the cookie with the ganache. And you’re done! Repeat with remaining cookies, and enjoy! You deserve it! Hot Chocolate Bombs Ingredients: Almond Bark Chocolate or White or Candy Melts Mini Marshmallows Hot Chocolate Mix Sprinkles or Decorations Silicone Sphere Mold Silicone Pastry Brush Muffin Pan Directions: Melt Almond Bark in a microwave bowl for 30 seconds, take out stir 15 seconds. Repeat stirring each time. Very important to take out each time and get to an easy to stir consistency. If using candy melts use 50 percent power and 15 seconds to start and 15 seconds each time until easy to stir consistency. When chocolate melted use pastry brush to brush chocolate onto molds making sure completely covered but in a couple of layers not letting chocolate pool in bottom. Put in freezer for 5 minutes. Remove from freezer and gently break the seal at top of mold all around and then gently push out of mold. Put on upside muffin pan as a holder. Put one and a half teaspoons of dry hot chocolate mix into each bottom and several mini marshmallows. Take a microwave safe plate and heat for one minute thirty seconds in microwave. Take top and rub in circular motion on plate for count of 5 to 7 and then place on a bottom, using finger to seal melted chocolate around seam. Decorate top of chocolate bomb with chocolate piped out of a Ziploc bag end or sprinkles. Keeps for two weeks or can freeze or refrigerate. To use… pour heated milk or water over a hot chocolate bomb, give a stir and enjoy! Merry Christmas from the McCaffrey/Prokop Family!!! If you have any questions, ideas, inquiries or just wish to chat and connect about all things home learning please reach out and drop me a line. Thank you for reading my little newsletter every month. NICOLE NIEUWHOF nicki.rmt@gmail.com IG @home_teach_mama