a healthy meal

Tonight my husband asked for enchiladas. I just couldn't bring myself to make them. I wanted vegetables! Lots of them. Lashings of vegetables and just a wee bit of protein. I knew my husband would need more. This is what I came up with:

Rib-eye Steak cooked medium rare.(about two ounces for me and six+ ounces for my husband)
Twice Baked Potatoes with Hazelnuts & Blue Cheese
Curried Carrot Soup

To be clear this is not a "pick-up" meal. The steps, though simple, take some time. I was in the kitchen for about 90 minutes. The results were delicious and there are leftovers. Tomorrow we're having beef stew (to use up the other rib-eye steak in the package I bought). If you're feeling an itching to be adventurous in the kitchen then read on . . .

1. Place potatoes in an oven at 325 deg Fahreinheit. I used three medium potatoes per person. Personally I slice almost all the way through the potatoes, then wrap each in aluminum foil.
2. About 60 to 90 minutes later take the potatoes out of the oven to cool. Turn the oven up to 400 or 425 deg Fahreinheit.
3. Chop up 5 cups worth of carrots (about 1/2 lb of carrots) I used four small carrots (the kind sold with the green tops attached) and two large carrots and two large yellow carrots. Peel and slice 3 tsp of fresh ginger (about 1 1/2 inches). Also chop up half of a large red onion (or a whole small red onion), four garlic cloves, and two celery stalks.
   
4. To a large skillet pan add 1 Tbsp butter, half the carrots, the red onion, the garlic and 2 whole cloves. Cover with lid. Turn heat to low and "sweat" the vegetables. This brings out their natural sweetness.
5. In a second pan place the remaining carrots, celery stalks and ginger. Add 4 cups chicken stock (or 4 cups water and 2 bouillon cubes). To this add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cardamom.
6. Rip up dried pepper (or chop up a fresh one). Discard/save the seeds for a later purpose. Place pepper in a bowl with 1/2 - 1 cup of apple-carrot juice. 
   
7. Use small bread pans/ramekins for individual potato servings or use a single 8 x 8 (or larger as necessary) pan. Butter bottom of pan.
8. Roughly chop blue cheese. About 1 1/2 ounces per person. Place a thin layer of blue cheese along bottom of pan and then dump back out. Set this aside (the butter will help it brown up later and a few bits will be left clinging to the bottom of the pan).Roughly chop 1/3 cup hazelnuts per two people, mix with remaining blue cheese.
   
9. Unwrap potatoes. Scoop out flesh. Place a layer of potato in pan, follow up with a layer of half the cheese & nut mixture. Add another layer of potato and the remaining half of cheese & nut mixture. Add a final layer of potato. Place the reserved cheese on top. Cover with alfalfa sprouts (or bean sprouts). Add some small dollops of butter (optional). Place in heated oven.
10. Add carrots in chicken stock & pepper in apple-carrot juice to the carrots and onions. Turn heat of skillet up to medium.
11. Chop up a few sprigs of cilantro leaves. Remove mint leaves from a single stem. Roughly chop these leaves.
12. Using a blender and working in batches, puree the soup, mint & cilantro. Add vegetable stock (or water) if needed. Pour the completed soup in the soup pan (not the skillet). Place on a burner on low.
13. Wash the skillet out, place on a burner on high.
14. Place some olive oil & butter in the pan. When the butter melts sear the steak on both sides. Cover and cook on each side about six minutes.
15. Set table.
16. Allow the meat to rest 3-5 minutes before cutting.
17. Cut meat into portions. Ladle soup into bowls. Dish up the now browned potato "casserole."
18. Enjoy!
    

after - Christmas blues

Meh. (psst: seriously check out the link to the "Meh"cartoon by Savage Chickens)

That's how I feel today. How 'bout you? Although you may be inclined to think that the current funk means that life is futile and Christmas IS a humbug, it isn't true.  All that's going on is a post vacation/sugar consumption/adrenal high-induced coma of sorts. Nothing to worry 'bout it'll be gone by the middle of January. Really.

Okay so sardonic humor aside the after Christmas drop in high levels of EVERYTHING can make for a very unpleasant reality check. Of course it isn't actually reality but I don't seem able to convince myself of it at the moment, even though I know that life isn't futile there are some parts of me that still believe it is true. I mean come on, so much excitement, so much anticipation, so much planning and this is it? This is all the change that's happened?

What's a person to do?

I say keep celebrating! That's right. I think the original way of celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas- Christmas and the eleven days following -was by far the smarter way. For the remaining eight days of the yuletide seek only to cross a very few items off your monumental to do list. The rest will keep or blissfully dissipate of their own accord.

Today at my house the to do list (among other items) included:
Go grocery shopping for the week (we just came back from being out of town yesterday night).
Purchase stud finder, level, and crescent wrench.
Return crescent wrench that's too small.
Contact doctor's office.
Attach water filter hose to faucet.
Unpack presents and clothes.
Decide on shelf width & lengths.
Eat a healthy dinner.

What was actually accomplished:
Grocery shopping for a few days & snacks.
Enjoy the wind, moss & rain of home.
Purchase stud finder, level, and crescent wrench.
Return crescent wrench that's too small.
Shop with girlfriend at favorite store (spending gift card my husband gave me).
Pick up books from the library.
Visit with girlfriend.
Enjoy the fleeting sunshine.
Putter online.
Write in journal.
Eat really yummy (and fairly healthy) dinner.
Play new game.

All around a productive day, don't you think?

what Christmas is all about

Charlie Brown: Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?

Linus van Pelt: Sure, I can tell you what Christmas is all about . . .

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. . .

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Can you hear the angels sing?

the most magical day of the year

image courtesy krazy dad
Tomorrow is Christmas, it's practically here! 

~ Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas

My favorite day in the whole Christmas season is Christmas Eve. For me that's when all of the plans and efforts of recent months come together. There are no more presents to purchase or make because even if there were I won't make them anymore. The turkey is cooking in the oven and the wassail is bubbling in the crockpot filling the house with "yummy smells." Presents fill the space under the tree. Snow -if there is snow- covers the ground. The stockings are hung and the air is thick with the aura of secrets. Soon there will peals of laughter and merriment as we sing Christmas carols, eat delicious holiday sweets, whilst we read through again the wonder of that first Christmas night long, long ago. Lastly we shall stay up long into the night talking with excited anticipation about the coming day. Tomorrow morning the home will be littered with ripped paper, the presents will be exclaimed or sighed over, the sugar rush will lead to its annual sugar slump and the carols will take on a bittersweet quality. That's tomorrow though, for today we've learned to live in the moment. Today the bows still beckon, the lights still twinkle, the air is still thick with possibilities.
Today is the most magical day of the year.

a last minute Christmas tree

Some of you may remember my post last year on a Victorian Christmas tree - here's a little more.

The Victorians sort of "invented" the Christmas we now enjoy. Between Queen Victoria, King Albert and Charles Dickens and Clement Clark Moore Christmas took on a new life. With an evergreen Christmas tree, strolling carolers, a jolly elf to come down the chimney, the taking off of Christmas by businesses and the large Christmas feast including figgy pudding and roast beef was all influenced (or invented) by the Victorians.

Because there were not specially made Christmas lights Christmas trees were not lit up continually as they are now instead the candles were lit only on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day whichever day there would be a party. As a dry tree was liable to catch flame the trees were not cut until a few days before Christmas to ensure that they were as wet as possible. These trees were then decorated with an assortment of gifts and sweets and a few heirloom baubles that glistened in the candlelight.

If you've yet to get a tree and you don't want to have many ornaments to pack away this is the perfect sort of tree for you.

A few days prior to Christmas or on Christmas Eve go and get a tree. If possible cut it down yourself to have a very fragrant and moist tree.  If you haven't any heirloom glass baubles pick up a package at the store - they'll be on sale.

Place your tree in a tree stand. Wrap it with lights, far inside in the tree, near the trunk. Come outward only in a few places otherwise any chocolate candies you hang might melt. Hang your stockings by the fireplace flue (or wherever you happen to hang them). Then it's on to the decorations. Of course you may purchase candies but you may make them too.

Popcorn balls wrapped in crinkly cellophane.
Homemade (and pulled) candy canes.
Chilled chocolate truffles or fudge.
Chocolates formed from candy molds. (Half way through the chilling process place a toothpick in the candy where you'll run a ribbon through to hang it up).
Candied citrus peels (orange, lemon, tangerine, grapefruit).
Nuts whole in shell or candied.
Gingerbread men.

Add to any of these some holly sprigs or a cranberry garland and a few cinnamon sticks.

For the finishing touch, after the children are asleep in their beds hang/place some Christmas presents in the tree.

Eat the sweets over the next few days. Enjoy the scents of Christmas and when it's all done save your few glass baubles and the lights and tree stand and throw everything else away.

What a yummy last-minute tradition!

try this: coded gift tags

This is a picture of Yoshi courtesy of Randy Son of Robert. 
Yoshi leaves the gifts under the tree alone - not like my siblings and I.

I come from a large family: two parents, nine children.  This results in a lot of presents under the tree because there isn't any more room in the closet or under the bed.  We were the type of children to sneak looks into our gifts.  Resulting in small tears on the wrapping paper (or large tears for those less careful).  To curb this habit of ours my parents came up with using a code instead of names on the gifts.  Though we're now past the age of surreptitiously unwrapping a corner of our gift the coding continues as a game. Each Christmas Eve we continue to sit down with the code and a clue and try to figure it out.

           Past years:

• Year of birth divided by age.
• Random numbers where the position of the number matters. Hence 1 in the first position for my older brother; 2 in the second position for myself; and so on through the, I believe, seven numbers at the time (the two youngest weren't born yet). An example might be 1893457 and 9287654 and so on to 7734907.
  
• A different wrapping paper per person. This one was done a few different years because each year they just changed up the relationship between the wrapping paper and the person.
• A different color ribbon or set of ribbons: green, green & white, red & gold, red, white & gold.
• A different Christmas carol that represents each person. I remember some of them: "The Little Drummer Boy," "Silent Night," "Away in a Manger," . . . and I can't remember anymore.
• I think another year was Christmas goodies for our name: oranges, cranberries, sugared nuts, sugarplums, candy canes, fudge.

Anyway you get the idea.  It may make the suspense before Christmas morning a wee bit more bearable - or perhaps it'll be worse. After all, who is "peppermint"? The reciepient of that large box.

gift-giving: for the "in betweens"

 

image courtesy jek in the box

A reader, Mary, commented, "I'm always in a bit of a bind trying to figure out an 'in between' gift. It's the gift that's not for someone really close like a spouse, parent or sibling, but also not as generic as a neighbor gift. 'In between' gifts for me are grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. Do you have any suggestions?"

Why, yes, yes I do. As I was brainstorming for this I thought of three general categories. psst: These could be applied to not only distant relatives but friends you see less and neighbors you are close to.

The Usual Suspects

It's amazing how many tidbits of information we file away about people. Do a little brainstorming and if you come up empty try these:

• favorite consumables: drink, jam, syrup, nuts, chocolate, candies, pasta, deli meats, cheese, and so on and so on. Do you know a favorite thing of theirs to eat?
• small "treats" or luxuries: these are those things that they would love to have but either never get for themselves or can never have enough of: a massage, lunch at a special restaurant, cashmere gloves, bubble bath, a new book or new shoes. What is their preferred mode of relaxation?
• hobbies: almost everyone has a hobby of some sort or other: decorating, sewing, video game playing, dancing, movie watching, tracking down the perfect hotdog, you get the idea. What is so-and-so's hobby?
• collections: lots of people collect things so get them something for their collection. Don't be afraid to get input, my Mother collects Snowbabies, periodically I'll send her an email with several options for Snowbabies and ask her which one(s) she'd like. It's predictable but she likes it anyway.
• favorite color/flower/author/musician/store/accessory etcetera: people like their favorites. that's why it's a favorite, so don't think of it as a cop-out when you are giving them something they love (and they'll love you for it).

Friendly Reminders

These gifts give someone something to smile about every time they use/see your gift.

• framed photo: something significant to the two of you (like a reminder of the time the two of you dared each other to run up onto the stage and ring the bell on the set to see if it was real); or a picture of the two of you (remember when we dyed our hair purple?), or even something just significant to them (like a photo of them at age two stuffing their fist and an entire cupcake into the mouth; or their engagement photo.) It's always better to present a photo framed; however if you know the receiver to be finicky about decor opt instead for placing it inside a refrigerator sleeve or place it in a plain frame with white matting.
• voice message: Grandparents and Parents in particular are fond of being able to replay a message just for them - in your voice. Anything that will record your voice is a good option. Why not make a photo montage video and narrate for them? Sometimes you'll even come across a photo frame that lets you record a message too!
• remembrances: Closely allied to the photo idea above this is anything that could conjure up a pleasant memory including such things as a blouse to remember sharing clothes; a board game you used to stay up all night playing; a sandwich from the place you skipped school to go to; a basket of s'mores supplies because you always got sick off of them on camping trips; a keychain of a cello in memorandum of the duets you'd play; anything at all. Pick something that represents that and be sure to include a note to jog their memory.
  
• monogrammed memorabilia: I don't know what it is about us that loves to see our names/initials on things, but we do. You can monogram just about anything: stationary, mugs, pencils, candies, necklaces/bracelets/rings, pillow cases, dish towels, tee shirts, aprons, journals, tie tacks, anything leather (book covers, book marks, belts). My personal philosophy on monograms is either to request a preferred "font" from the person you're giving it to or stick with consumables (like pencils or candies).
• talent gift: basically take any hobby of yours and see if you can turn it into a gift. Some examples include a framed "artistic" photograph, a painting, a charcoal sketch, dish towels/handkerchiefs you crochet an edging onto, a favorite quote written in calligraphy, a poem/song, a bound short story . . . you get the idea. Include a handwritten note explaining the way in which you were involved with the gift.
  

Tried 'n' True

The basic premise of this category is that gifts acquire oomph over time. Quick story to illustrate the point: we had an elderly neighbor growing up, Annie, who one year gave us a tin of popcorn for Christmas. We ate it as we watched new movies received as gifts. Then the next year she gave us a tin of popcorn which we ate while watching new movies received for Christmas.  This went on for multiple years until she moved away.  It doesn't quite seem like Christmas unless there's a tin of popcorn - and I always think of Annie while I'm eating it.

• consumables: popcorn, cookies, jam, pie, tangerines, cheese & crackers. Make it fun and frivolous.
• ornaments: I wish there had been a specific "liss" box growing up for all of "my" ornaments to go into because they regularly came from some family member or other. Be sure to include specific names (if you get one for each member of the family) and the year. These are, by nature, kitsch, so just have fun. Provide a box for each person (by the third or fourth year you do this) so that they can always keep "my" ornaments in a single place (plus it means they'll have ornaments when they move out of the house).
• arts tickets: Tickets to any arts event you happen to like. It can be for a specific show or at a specific theatre or gallery ( or the movies.)
• game: video game, board game, card game. Pick a game and include gift receipts.
  
• movie: the latest craze or a Christmas movie, include gift receipts.
• book: this can be trickier than the preceding two. You can go at it in one of two ways either pick a genre/author and always give that sort of book (classic, children's book, dr. seuss, c.s. lewis, religious, Christmas, science fiction, art tome) or give a book based on what the receiver reads, the latter will take more planning and getting-to-know-you time.
• calendars: I stopped buying calendars about five years ago because it was the fifth year in a row that I received a calendar as a gift. They were always based on something I liked (Audrey Hepburn, dolphins, pithy sayings) then suddenly two years ago it stopped. I finally had to get a fill-in calendar because the leftovers were so awful.
  
• money: this one is rather boring, so always include a card with a personal message. Or donate in "their name" to a preferred charity, or apply it towards a college/study abroad/marriage fund (you may not be very cool now but you'll be a favorite later on).
• other category: really anything can be a continually given gift. You could give pajamas or scarves every year. Throw pillows or a new tool. Pick wisely, you don't want to become a byword in your family, "Oh look it's a bunny suit from Aunt Clara."

Hope that helps!

sick days

The posting dropped down for a very simple reason: ickiness.

First my computer caught a virus, then I caught one (or at least a reasonable facsimilie.) 

All is better now.