On the 6th day of Christmas: the Charlie Brown tree

As much as I adore the Christmas season, there will always be a day or two of what I think of as the Charlie Brown down in the dumps day;  the Christmas blues.    Missing my dearly departed parents, worried about the economy, especially mine:  re-running faded old images of Christmases past, worry about a friend who is not well. Worry, worry, worry.

Then I stare at this ridiculous little fake tree I bought somewhere years ago, crinkled and somewhat tattered, and think how it cheered me up one sad day as I was shopping in a big box store just before Christmas.  And instead of chucking it in the trash, I place it front and center, where I can see it.   I wink at my Finnish elf with the blue, blue eyes, and then think about making Gingerbread Stars tomorrow, and putting out an extra cup of safflower seed for the cardinals and chickadees, who always greet the day with joy and excitement.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening, and new day tomorrow!

on the 5th day of Christmas: ultimate chocolate brownies and the Dolly Llama

Today's doings in the kitchen?  Mixing up the most delectable chocolate batter for Maida Heatter's brownies, and listening to Dylan Thomas read his glorious Christmas poem, A Child's Christmas in Wales ( which you can hear him read in his plummy voice here).  

When my children were younger, they would suffer through this poem every Christmas season, but they have now escaped parental obligation ( though I'm waiting for the day when one of them says to me, "Remember that cool poem about snowball fights and firemen on Christmas Day? ".  I expect it will be a long wait). Dolly Llama smiles her mysterious smile on the tree, humoring my fantasy.

Shepherd's pie on the menu for tomorrow, with lots of butter and fresh rosemary.  I've been hearing the *snow* word in the weather reports!  Are you ready?

on the 4th day of Christmas: hearts and sugar-roasted walnuts

As Christmas represents love,  our Christmas tree abounds in that valentine symbol of hearts.  Airy Swedish ones, deep Christmas red, delicately cut from paper that was once a Christmas advent calendar for the children, twinkling plump fabric hearts, and a favorite:  a Southern shout out from my niece, Tracy, from years ago.  Isn't it a hoot?

Today adding to the boxes that have to be sent soon:   these crunchy, slightly sweet roasted walnuts, tossed in cinnamon and brown sugar, with no butter or oil, and a favorite for Christmas gatherings.  You can find the recipe here.

on the third day of Christmas: the Christmas cats and a healthy salad

I think I have not found all the cats on the tree and still in the two ornament boxes, but these are among my favorites:   Puss in Boots was from a tag on my son's present from his Auntie Noa when he was a wee little one, and the carved wooden pussycat has a mouse attached to a wire - can you see it?  The chewed up folk art pussycat was snatched away from Lulu, our shepherd-lab puppy, who thought everything, including the Christmas tree, was food.

All these cookie tastings were making me feel wan, so I made another batch of that 
crunchy baby bok choy salad with mandarin oranges.  Slice up mostly the whites of the bok choy, mix with some canned mandarin oranges, and a sliver of red onion, and dress with 1 T. fresh orange juice, 2 T. fresh lemon juice, and fresh pepper. Salt and oil are not needed.

Joyeux Noel!

on the second day of Christmas... sweets!

These little houses are teeny tiny, and made of a featherweight material , easily bent, but treasured.  My father's mother died when I was a month old, so we never met, but I was told she made Christmas villages under the tree, and I assume these were some of them.  And what else did we get excited about at Christmas?  CANDY!

Ribbon candy is made right in Massachusetts, my home state.  It's the prettiest candy you can imagine as a child, and shattering the "ribbon" is half the fun.  Marzipan has always been a favorite treat, though not half as intricate today as the marzipan you could get in New York City when I was a child.  I remember being taken to a fantastical German candymaker's store with the most delicate and lifelike fruits you could imagine.  And the foil covered chocolate coins were always in our stockings, along with the orange .

Carrying on the tradition with my own children always reminded me of my own childhood, and my parents and siblings , but also brought a little bit of magical fairy dust into Christmas Day.  What are your traditions at Christmas?

on the first day of Christmas....Stuart Little and spice cookies

For me, Christmas begins when the tree goes up.  And so, today is the first day of Christmas!  There is always a joy, lots of memories, and the peace of sitting next to the tree, remembering bits and bobs of all those years.  Did I tell you about Stuart Little?  He's always the first to go on the tree, and I panic if I can't find him.  He's the memory of my father, reading Stuart Little to me.  I always hope my love for E.B. White and Stuart are firmly embedded in my two children, and my grandchildren.  His adventurous spirit has led him to riding this canoe down the chilly river - who knows where he'll end up?

Today I made these delicious Spice cookies, beloved year round, but especially at this time of year: boxes for sending, cello bags for giving to neighbors, and setting aside plenty enough for me to nibble on.  The smallest spring-loaded scoop I have is 1 1/4", if you go even smaller, they can be spice buttons.

Spice cookies:

This makes about 3 dozen cookies:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Fit two or three baking sheets with clean foil or parchment.

2 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking soda

pinch kosher salt

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. cloves

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 t. ginger

1 cup sugar plus a little more for sprinkling

1/2 cup light olive oil or canola oil

1/3 cup molasses

3 T. water

1 large egg

Mix flour, spices, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In mixer bowl, mix sugar, olive oil or canola, molasses and mix.  Add the egg and water and mix again.

Add the flour and spice mix in 3 or 4 batches to the oil mixture , mix until it comes together.  Using a scoop, or your hands, plop balls of dough onto the baking sheet, about 2-3 inches apart. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Slide the first baking sheet on the upper third rack in the oven, bake for 11 minutes, remove to a cooling rack, and slide the next rack in until all the cookies are baked.

Package in cello bags or boxes lined with wax paper, but make sure they have completely cooled first.  These are sturdy cookies, so perfect for mailing.

Merry greetings of the season!

Irish scones beside the fire

Apologies for the long between-posts.  There is always much to do, and when we had several very cold days, I spent hours wrestling with a cranky woodstove, taking lovely long hikes, picking up pine cones and fallen branches, courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, to add to my basket of kindling for that blue enameled beast that sits in the kitchen.  Early mornings, I run up the hill beside the house and greet the sun, and then?   I'm not quite sure what goes clattering through my head:  I think a lot.  As a sometime poet, I start with a random glance at a photograph of my grandmother-I-never-knew, and end up thinking about the Irish/Welsh/English threads that run on both sides of my family.

Today, instead of falling into a book, I made these charming, delicious scones again, happy to be mixing the dough, and, 25 minutes later, eating those hot, flaky bites, with puddles of melting butter, scented with lemon and nutmeg, juicy raisins, and a swift small sprinkling of sugar on top;  wondering if my grandmother-I-never-knew was as pleased with them as I am.  

To make about 8 scones:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Fit a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

6 T. cold butter, cut in small pieces

1/4 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

pinch nutmeg, or 8 scrapings from a whole nutmeg

1/4 t. freshly grated lemon zest

pinch salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup raisins

Place flours and cold butter pieces into a mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. It should look crumbly.

Add the nutmeg, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.

Mix well.

Pour in the buttermilk and raisins and mix until it just holds together.

Using a normal size ice cream scoop, scoop batter out onto the baking sheet. This should make 8 scones. Sprinkle with a little sugar, if desired.

Place in oven for 25 minutes - they should be golden and craggy looking.

Remove to cool on cooling rack.

Serve with soft, sweet butter and marmalade or jam, as you wish. Delicious alone, too.