A Tasty Christmas Day

.

We're heading into the last of 2011. Today was a time for me to tidy and clean and reflect on what a Merry Christmas I've had: my kids at home; delicious food and sweets, lots of wonderful gifts, some great sale shopping in the city, visits with friends-- all the makings of a great Christmas.
.
This morning I tucked the rest of our Christmas turkey into turkey pot pies; this turkey was a most delicious one. I cooked it a little differently this year (a la Jamie Oliver). So I wanted to share the recipe with you.
.
Christmas morning while the youngens' still slept, I put some festive music on the CD player, poured myself a glass of apple cider and began. I chopped fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, sage, marjoram) with a handful of dried cranberries; this was kneaded into a generous lump of soft butter. Using a soup spoon, I loosened the skin from the turkey breast (much easier than it probably sounds). The herb/butter mixture gets inserted under the loosened skin and gently worked around the top and down the sides. (As the turkey cooks, this will baste the meat and keep it moist.) I stuffed the cavity of the turkey with half an apple, orange, lemon, onion and more herbs. Skewer it firmly closed and roast as usual. .
Here is the beautiful result.

.

I let it rest for an hour or so. When I carved (and those nibbly bits dropped off), I can attest to the fact that it was soooo delicious and moist and fragrant.

.
I pre-made the dressing a week ahead and froze it. We are a bread stuffing family here; but I added a little cooked ground turkey for flavor, generous portion of bread cubes, and some chopped onions, apples, cranberries and herbs, as well as melted butter and chicken stock. (I also pre-made and froze a mashed potato, cream cheese, sour cream, chives casserole.) I thawed these 16 hr in the fridge; and after the turkey was cooked and while it was resting, I cooked these for an hour in the oven.
.
The dressing was very good but does need some further tweaking.
.
But overall, this was the best Christmas dinner I've ever made! And my guests all agreed that this was the best Christmas turkey they'd ever eaten! High praise indeed!
.
These new recipes will definitely all become part of my Christmas dinner menu for future.
.
Hmmmm! What'll I'll prepare for New Year's?
In spite of the delicious turkey, I think I'm ready for beef again!

Thursday at the Market

.
The potato casserole, dressing and Xmas Bombe are prepared and in the freezer; the cranberry sauce has been made; Rugelach and Gingerbread are finished and stored for the big day; girls are tired of being "Xmasie" and just want a regular day where they sleep until noon. So, today I did something I've wanted to do for years.....
.
I went to the Farmer's market in Lunenburg which I never get to go to because I'm working. What a wonderful time of year to visit the market! It is full to the rafters with Christmas -- smells, tastes, sounds, signs!
.
After visiting a bread stall (where I got a big fat pretzel), I visited Grand Pre Winery's stall (where I got 3 tiny samples of wine -- red, white and dessert). Yeah! Sure! I know it was only 9:30 AM. But if bread and wine are good enough for Jesus (who's birthday is very soon, ya know), then they're good enough for Sandy! And I'm sure that big fat pretzel soaked up any alcohol I might have imbibed!.
There were gorgeous displays of local cheese. (The Gouda was very gooda!) There was fresh haddock, salmon, lobster and sole; there was grain-fed, organic beef, pork and chicken. There were at least 4 different stalls selling breads and fruit pastries. There were several tables of jams and jellies and pestos and dips and pickles etc etc etc. -- with sampling! Be still my heart! Sampling! (I bought a Red Pepper Pesto and spiced mixed nuts. The middle Eastern pesto with dates & spices was divine too. Oh for goodness sake! It was all divine!)
.
There was one lovely booth full of fragrant Spanakopita, Mini Quiche, Tourtiere, Meat Pastries and such -- so lovely and fragrant and enticing that I bought their variety box for Xmas Eve dinner. With a green salad and a bottle of red, won't it be ducky, darling, delicious!.
There was greenery everywhere, and the smell of pine and fir was intoxicating.
.
And then there was this .....
The German Cake Lady! Have you never had traditional German baked goods? They are so good! (But a little pricey too! As much as I wanted that Chocolate Hazelnut Torte, I couldn't bring myself to pay $28; but I did get a sample!) I settled for a small plate of cookies -- Cinnamon stars, Almond stars, Linzer Torte & Sand crescents.
.
Why, even Santa and Mrs Claus were there playing harp and mandolin. When I asked if I could take their picture, Santa insisted that I come and sit on his lap and have my picture taken. (Ya know; Santa looks remarkably like Dr Abriel from Mahone Bay. Isn't that strange!)

Santa "Ho, ho, hoed" and said that it was probably a long, long time since I'd sat on Santa's lap: and I said yes, and that I hadn't been a very good girl since then!
.
But he said not to worry; he'll be here Saturday night!
.
.
PS: Santa did not say what he would bring me. But if he remembers my letters from the last 14 years, there'll be a 6' tall package named Carlos under my tree and 2 tickets to Guada la Hara in my sock!
.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

.
Today is cookie making day for the girls and I. So, while we create enormous amounts of delicious and hugely fattening goodies that will immediately be transferred to my butt, thighs and abdomen (but I'm smiling while it happens), here are a few memories of Christmas from my youth.
.

• My earliest Xmas memory was the year (circa 1963) I received my Tammy doll (instead of the Barbie I'd asked for which my Mom thought was too racy for a little girl). I loved Tammy dearly, and we had many years of happy play in her house at the bottom of my wardrobe.



• I remember a few years of transister radios and Nancy Drew books .... and many, many nights hiding under the covers with a flashlight, my earplugs and my latest book.



• I remember the Xmas my older brother built my excited anticipation daily by telling me about the wonderful gift he had for me under the tree. In the early hours of Xmas morning, I snuck out of bed by myself & without even looking at what Santa had brought, I found his gift, opened it ..... and discovered it was a potato! I was broken hearted! I crawled back to bed and cried and cried. .......... I remember sneaking back out to the tree, finding my gift to him, opening it ..... and eating every Turtle in the box (all 6 of them)! I then rewrapped his gift and went back to bed and cried some more. ..... But only after I'd washed off all the evidence, of course!



• I remember my Nanny always gave us flannel pyjamas, homemade mittens and our own individual little bags of candy --- every year! And I remember the year she made my dream come true and bought me a flannel nightie instead! Tres chic!



• I remember the Christmas dinner table. Few of the dishes matched, and not everyone could have a knife. But there'd be Mommy and Daddy, 4 sibblings and me, and my Nanny and Poppy ..... my Mom's wonderful turkey and savory bread pudding ..... tube-shaped cranberry jelly ..... and my Nanny's gorgeous Xmas pudding with caramel sauce.
  

.

So many happy childhood Christmas memories!

How about you. Do you have some favorites that come to mind automatically when you think of the Christmas' of your youth?

.

Christmas Menu: Breakfast

Yesterday was my last day of work until next year. So am I a lady of leisure? Not quite. There's menus to be planned and cookies to be baked and gifts-from-the-kitchen to be assembled and spit'n'polishing to be done.


In our house, we pretty much have the same menu for Christmas. But I do like to try change things up periodically with different variations of our basic menu. Last weekend, I got out my Christmas binder food book and began perusing. 'Cooker-girl' (as 8 yr old Molly used to call herself) was right in there with me. 'Texting shlumping-on-the-sofa-'cause-I'm-a-struggling-student-who's-home girl' (as I sometimes call Libby) has always been the type who's only interested in eating food - not making it. And 'Brazilian Beauty' is so agreeable about everything ("I don't know!" "Whatever you want!") that she's happy just to eat something yummy!


'Cooker Girl' is a joy to cook with; she's adventurous and learns quickly. But this mild-mannered child also has some dictator tendencies that only arise in the kitchen. "I'm not sure if I want that this Xmas, Molly". "NO Mom! We're making that this year!"
.
So, here's what Molly and I have decided on for Christmas breakfast this year:

• Mimosas - Berry or Campari or just simple orange juice? Unsure as yet.



• Soft-boiled eggs and glazed sausage & bacon - You simply fry 'em up, leave about 2 Tbsp of drippings in the pan, add 1/4 cup ea of apple juice & apple jelly, stir and add back the sausage and bacon to coat.



• Scones (served with real butter!) - Something simple with raisins and almonds perhaps.



• Fruit Salad - Strawberries, mandarin oranges and bananas.

.

The fruit salad recipe never changes. I found this wonderful recipe years ago that's different and delicious; so it's our standard special occasion breakfast fare. Here's the recipe.

.

Will You Please Make that Fruit Salad?

2 or 3 bananas

1 large can or bottle of mandarin oranges

2-3 cups strawberries (or a large can of fruit cocktail)

1 small pkg instant Jello lemon flavored pudding

.

Put the dry pudding mix in a large bowl; add the juice (only) from the mandarin oranges and stir. It will be thick. Slice the bananas and stir them into the thickened pudding. (This will keep them from turning brown.) Add strawberries (or fruit cocktail) and stir. If it seems very thick, stir in a little of the reserved juide. Place in the refrigerator to cool and thicken slightly.

Enjoy!

.

Merry Christmas to Me

.
In between dropping babies at the airport and picking other babies up at the bus station, I did manage to get some Value Village shopping in. I had raided my coin piggy bank and came up with $78! And surprisingly, Value Village was not crowded nor was it picked over. What up wit dat?
.

• Xmas was 50% off so these were $3 total. This cute Noah's ark is a box with the roof opening (this now houses the remote for the DVD); 2 side plates to add to my small but still-growing collection of Petal dishes (a cheaper version of Fiesta ware); and another Mr and Mrs Claus for the hallway shelf collection.

.

• I love this Argyle print sweater ($6)
  


• 
  Both these items are brand new, tag-on. A gorgeous shawl sweater (expensive at $15) and Northern Reflections pants ($8)

• This jacket was $10. La-la-love it!




• The shops are full of bling and glitter clothing (usually worn by skinny, long legged women that don't really exist in real life 'cause really! Have you ever seen anyone who looks like that in your neighborhood?). Anyhow, I've had my eyes peeled for something similar for New Years (and all the other black-tie events I attend.) My peeled eyes did the trick on Sat because I found 3 pieces: on the left, a long sleeve chiffon beaded top ($8); and on the right, a shrug ($3) over a sleeveless chiffon top with built-in bling broach ($6). Now that I've got the clothing, I expect the invitations to be flooding my inbox -- at any time -- now!

After little sleep (due to a 3 AM wake up call and 2 cuties snoring/snuffling in the other bed) and this full day of successful shopping, this Mama put her feet up once she got home.

• But what's this on my aching feet? Why it's my brand new pair of Naturalizers picked up for $13 at Value Village!

.I do believe I was in the right place at the right time!

Tea and Thoughts

.
It's Dec 16th at 6:45 am. I'm sitting here with my tea and rice crispies listening to the quiet of the household and checking Facebook for updates from my youngest. She's on her way home for Xmas!
.
Outside is still darkness interspersed by a few Xmas lights; soooo pretty! And it only adds to my sense of joy and excitement. My baby will be home soon!
.

Soon Libby's laughter will ring through the house! Soon, there'll be lots of hugs and kisses (she's very affectionate). Soon, there'll be non-stop talking at the dinner table. Soon, there'll be more dirty glasses and bowls than I thought possible! And yes, because we are so much alike, soon, there'll be minor squabbles and bickerings that will be forgiven and forgotten almost as quickly as they started.

.

I've been thinking about that here in the dark and the quiet: about how we love them so deeply and ache to have them near and pine for the days when they were younger and the house was full of them and get so excited at the prospect of seeing them again! But after they're here for a few days, we find ourselves thinking about when they'll leave and we can return to the "NEW normal" we'd come to know while they were gone. And there's this little struggle that happens inside between wanting them near and wanting them gone. We are such strange creatures.

.

But because I've lived a few years on this earth, I know that life is constantly changing and there really is no "normal". There is just grabbing the joy that comes your way and running with it for as long as possible.

..

Besides Xmas here hasn't been "normal" for a lot of years. The faces and the numbers at my Xmas table are always changing. My tall, slender, creative daughter is not coming home this year :( And my little almond-eyed beauty with the wonderful sense of humor leaves today for Xmas in Korea.

.

So I gladly welcome my loud, messy, affectionate daughter and her intrusion into life here at our little home. She can join the nerdy, introverted, messy daughter downstairs, the soft-spoken, messy Brazilian daughter upstairs, and the long-suffering, outspoken, nut-case of a mother who tries to keep this all together. .

FAMILY! There's no telling what it will look like; but ain't it grand!

.

.

The Fab 4 - Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

.
A little foolishness for Beatle lovers! Enjoy!