Christmas 2013 ● by Jon and Jess

Advent and Ebelskivers ● by Jess

Although most of my (and Jon's) ancestry is English, our most recent ancestors to move from Europe were Danish. For me, my most recent immigrant ancestor Ane Sophie Hansen, came over in the 1890s. She immigrated to Utah where she married Walter Francis Bingham, and then had my great-grandfather. Ane brought several Danish traditions with her, but one of the few that has really withstood the test of time in our family are Ebelskivers, which are little puffs-- kind of like a mix between a doughnut hole and a pancake.

Traditionally, Ebelskivers are eaten on Advent. Jon and I have resurrected the holiday somewhat in our family and celebrate in December.  Last year we celebrated with a big party, and this year it is just a quiet holiday with the two of us.



The image above shows my great-grandmother Nona (who learned how to make Ebelskivers from her immigrant mother-in-law, Ane) and her Ebelskiver pan, which I inherited. 




So now here is my Advent present to all of you... the official Bingham/Young Family Ebelskiver recipe:

Bingham/Young Family Ebelskivers

3 Eggs

2 Tbs Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 cups Flour

2 cups buttermilk

3 large bowls

1) Take the first two bowls and yolks and whites. Mix the yolks with a fork and set aside. Next, whisk the egg whites until you have stiff white peaks, then set aside.

 2) In the third bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Then, add the dry ingredients to the bowl with egg yolks, then add the buttermilk. Mix until ingredients are just barely blended together. 

3) Take a small amount of the batter and add it to the egg whites (this allows the whites and batter to mix together more easily). Then gently fold in the remaining batter into the egg whites. 

4) Pre-head your Ebelskiver pan on the stove. Melt a half stick of butter and brush each cup thoroughly before pouring batter in. 

5) Let puffs cook for a minute or so until they start bubbling and the edges get slightly brown. Using a knitting needle, toothpick or other similar long, thin tool, push the tip into the middle of the batter to the bottom of the cup and gently lift the ebelskiver so that it turns and the cooked part is lifted out of the pan. Flip it so that the golden cooked part is on top and the raw batter is underneath. 

6) Make sure your pan is not to hot, otherwise you'll end up with puffs that are a little raw in the middle. 

7) Serve with syrup, berries, nutella, or anything else you'd like!

The way we celebrate Advent (which may not be totally authentic, but who cares! Its fun!!) is to have each person light a candle while someone reads the book of Luke. I love this holiday because it gives us a chance to focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. At least for me, the glitter of Christmas makes it hard for me to give little baby Jesus the attention he deserves, so this is one of my favorite days in the season. :)

Happy Advent!

Christmas Concert ● by Jess

Last night Jon and I went and volunteered at St. Paul's church at Covent Garden with an organization called NYMT (National Youth Music Theatre-- the organization Jude Law started his career in). It was INCREDIBLE! The kids that are apart of the symphony and choir all seemed to be prodigies. Jon and I were both really impressed by the caliber of the performances. Afterwards we handed out mince pies and mulled wine to the guests and mingled. 

Carnival at Night ● by Jess

Is there anything better than spending oodles of money on carnival rides? Maybe, but not when you are hanging out with the coolest French couple in all of London! We've been trying to plan this night out with Clément and Sarah (specifically to ride the much anticipated 'Blizzard') for awhile now, and it was definitely worth the wait! Such a fun night!

Yes darling friends, the image above does indeed show a woman unwrapping a KINDER CHOCOALTE BAR onto an enormous crepe (be still little heart!). Basically it is heaven all bundled up in European yum-ness. 

Jon has a pretty serious fear of heights, so I was very proud of him for braving through this ride! The Blizzard is by far the most terrifying ride in the park. The large arms swings you round and around while you do flips. Crazy! Also a very fun way to see the entire city all lit up at night. 

When Diplomats Elope ● by Jess

I just had the weirdest day.

Around 2:45pm an email pops into my inbox from a really fabulous designer friend of mine, Chenca. She wrote, "I HAVE A BRIDE THAT URGENTLY NEEDS A PHOTOGRAPHER!! SHE'S GETTING MARRIED AT 3:30PM-- CAN YOU SHOOT IT?"

Since I was just editing images, and conveniently had a full set of lenses rented (after last weeks debacle), I happily hopped around the corner to Chenca's shop. I walk inside, past a small crowd of security and a wide-eyed Chenca started gushing-- apparently the groom was a well-to-do diplomat and the couple was eloping (Intrigue!).

I slipped in the fitting room to find the bride-- a sweet looking girl, who very much had the soft pudge of youth still about her. She was spouting French on the phone excitedly as Chenca and her assistant put together the finishing touches.

Almost as quickly as I was brought in, I was ushered out-- out the door and into a private town car where we were whisked across town the courthouse.

Once inside the hall, I realize that, despite the superb flowers and gown, this was REALLY an elopement. No family, just two or three friends from each side of the bride and groom had come.

After a quaint civil ceremony, we are off the reception, but the groom wanted to make a stop at Selfridges to pick up a gown for his new wife. She has apparently already had it fitted, so while he went in, I chatted with the bride in attempts to squeeze out a few details to the seemingly tabloid-worthy day.

Without much time, I received little more than the fact that she was a trilingual student studying International Business. Soon, we were off to the Four Seasons for an intimate dinner in a private room.

In the end, despite numerous attempts by yours truly to get either the bride or groom's contact information, no one would give it to me! Ultimately, I was handed a giant wad of cash and was told that I would be paid half now, and half in a week when the diplomat's private driver would come to collect the disk of images. All my communication with the bride and groom is to be with the driver alone.

It was crazy. After a whirlwind of a day, I finally got home sat down at my computer. I realized that today is Friday the 13th and somehow that fact makes every bizarre thing that happened today feel exactly perfect.