Holiday Memories Open House

[kiwilady]

Holiday Memories - An  Open House for All of US!

What's the best Christmas or Holiday you can remember from back in the Good Ole Days? We hope you will come  right inside out of the cold and share those memories with us - beginning Dec.1   T'is the season to wax nostalgic about Christmas past - and all the  holidays you celebrate this time of year.. Every party needs MUSIC!  Let us know your Holiday favorites...we'll link them here for you. Remember this one? "Blue Christmas" - Elvis "Blue Christmas" - Elvis (no  screaming girls) "O Holy Night" - The Priests  Surprise Hallelujah in a Food Court "Hallelujah Chorus with the Wanamaker organ in Philly "I wonder as I Wander" -  Dulcimer & Guitar "In the Bleak Midwinter" - Gloucester Cathedral Choir Aberdeen Christmas Carol Concert - Rosemary's daughter, soloist Our Favorite Holiday Recipes What's a party without  GOODIES? Let's  fill this buffet table with your favorites!  What's your best  Holiday  recipe ever and  the story behind it? Do you still bake like you once did? Shall we have a contest for the OLDEST RECIPE?   And what's a gathering of BOOK LOVERS without Books? We all have our seasonal favorite STORIES and POEMS. What are yours?  Each week in December we'll focus on two of your favorites.  Do you remember these two?   A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas Audio - Listen to Dylan Thomas read it to you himself! The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S Buck The Poor Relation's Christmas  by Charles Dickens

Rosemary- I trained a German Shepherd but cannot get this wee one to be consistent. This is my third bichon frise and the difference is temperament. The other two were very eager to please this dog is NOT! This girl is all out for herself. She is not a cuddly dog and does not cling to me. She will obey only if there is something in it for her. I am still using tiny pieces of treat bar. She never will come on command even indoors if there is nothing for her. She will run off until you produce a treat. I doubt a dog trainer could do any better. Vet says she is EXTREMELY smart. She does appear to listen in to conversations and know what is being said. You have to be VERY careful what you say. That includes phone conversations.

Carolyn

[BarbStAubrey]

Ouch Rosemary - to loose a pet just before Christmas - difficult - Oh and your Christmas's in Ireland - how wonderful you make the memories sound  - My mother always remarked that no matter how poor or how many floors were scrubbed there was always money earned to go back to Ireland for a visit. Your remembering "Ah, the smell of Ireland" says much...

Oh Ann - f-u-n-n-y and yet amazing - I was surprised to hear such melody - I was waiting for some joke from the lady playing the Scotch bottles but they turned it into a show piece that was kind and yet so humorous.

Spent the day at my son's – When I left this morning it was much colder than it looked out the window - had to quick run back in the house and find warm socks and put a turtle neck under my zip neck sweatshirt - the wind was blowing so that it felt good back in the car after filling up - just out of town I noticed it was overcast - not dark - that silvery overcast - all the way not a break in the sky - however, it was coming home that was spooky.

Magnolia is north of Houston next to the Woodlands - I noticed when I turned on the Farm to Market road that leads to 290, the road from Houston to Austin, in the distance it was as if the sky was cut in half with a rosy and clear evening sky that went on forever on the other side of this dark foreboding sky that blanketed the sky eastward, probably all the way to the Coast –

The closer I drove towards 290 [about 30 miles] the lower the dark sky appeared - it felt like the sky was going to trap everyone under its canopy - it was dark and frightening - I just focused on the edge - it was a hard edge - just east of Brenham we broke free - reminded me of a story something about a jail space where the walls close in squeezing the prisoner to death - Maybe an Edgar Allen Poe? - Instead of the ‘walls closing in’ it felt like the ‘sky was closing down’. Brrr

Back to fun and games - Ann the humor of the YouTube reminded me - years ago when my daughter first moved from Austin to South Carolina - followed 3 years later to their home in this mountain community in North Carolina - they came back to Austin for Christmas and New  Year's - it was a difficult visit - too many memories and so many friends to visit that the boys were worn to a nub and Katha and Gary were not in their best shape - the Canadian Gas and Oil company Gary was associated with closed their Austin office and  joined forces with infamous Enron - Katha lived and worked in Houston for a year after college and she flat refused to live there again and so Gary changed careers - the visit included some of these old work buddies who were living in high cotton with Enron.

All these confused feelings going on so I decided to take the two boys - Ty had just turned 8 and Cade was 5 - down the hill to the stores just to get out – It was already dark [they were not used to walking at night so that was new] while down there, I thought it would be fun for them to pick out a video - remember video stores? - Well, a norther was blowing in and before we left I quick scrounged in my drawers to find them each a sweater that could pass as boy’s sweaters -

I had an old 1950s argyle pattern wool sweater in black and white with a red line going through the diamonds - it had shoulder pads that I couldn't pull out - Ty was cranky - everything was beyond his ability to cope and he just complained and complained about the itchy sweater - he had on a long sleeved shirt so half or more was his being out of sorts - I explained that was the best warm sweater I had and we just could not allow him to get a chill and get sick - I forgot what sweater I found for Cade but it was a rolled up something so frankly they did look like a pair of rag-a-muffins.

We are trudging back up the steep hill with our purchases - they each carried one thing and Ty was close to tears one minute the next he would join Cade and I as we sang to the top of our lungs a hiking song - I was hoping the singing would help Ty forget his misery – half way we look up and there was Dad - they realized we were gone and Gary drove down to pick us up. – like the old TV ad – ‘how do you spell relief’ – back home Ty got to take a shower - he always took baths - in my bathroom and - we put hand cream on every spot he said itched - yes, he just needed 8 year old boy attention.

By the next Christmas, he had adapted and was comfortable in his new home. Katha found a Montessori school that took children till the 6th grade so Ty was comfortable in 4th grade - I had visited in the summer and the fall - met his teachers - we hiked a park with a small mountain in the summer and we went apple picking in the fall and here I was back for Christmas – all was well and so I decided it was OK to joke with him - wrapped among the gifts was a package for Ty - he opens 'THE' sweater - everyone howled but best, Ty got a chance to re-live and re-tell from his point of view his awful experience of wearing 'that' sweater.

Well, Lo and behold the next year un-suspecting me – cool as a cucumber he hands me one more wrapped gift - yep - 'THE' sweater - it has become part of Christmas – we worry who has the sweater – Last year I was sure I had it and forgot where I put it – I was devastated thinking I had to explain how I broke the cycle – nope – he had it and watched me fret for the two weeks I was there before Christmas telling Katha how mortified I felt - here he is, just turned 20 in his second year in college and he still enjoys the joke - now it is about how to wrap it so the other does not suspect.

This year I have the sweater I think I will place it in the plastic bag I packed where all the air is removed with a vacuum - the bag full ends up flat, stiff, very thin, sorta bubbly where the bag is vacuum sealed around the shapes - wrap that and even when he picks it up he will think it is another gift.

[Steph]

Oh me.. My birthday is Monday the 20th.. I am another Christmas baby and always hated it.
Puppies.. Dont get a puppy... Get a rescue.. If you want breed specific,, google your breed. You will find lots of hits for rescues.. Both of my corgi are adults and were rescues.. Both housetrained, neutered and some manners.. Both are great joys. They love with such heart when they finally get a forever place to be.

[rosemarykaye]

Steph, that is a really good idea, thanks.  I keep looking on the Edinburgh Dog & Cat Rescue Home site, but unfortunately virtually all they have is Staffordshire Bull Terriers - this is because unscrupulous breeders sell these poor animals to all manner of dreadful people at the moment - the dogs are very fashionable for people who want to look "hard".  My vet told me that they are wonderful dogs and very easy to train if you have them as puppies, but that any who have been owned by these people will need very careful handling as they will have been taught to fight.  Much as I would like to rescue such an unfortunate animal, I can't be in the house 24 hours a day, and I would not want to come home to find one of my cats being shaken to death (and vet agreed it would not be a good idea).  So I will look on the breed sites - we did try the Golden Retriever one a few years ago but they never got back to us, I thin they were inundated.  However, I think i could now want a smaller dog, so I will have a look around.  Thanks again.

And Happy Birthday in advance!

Rosemary

[Babi]

CAROLYN,  I consider we have been fairly warned;  bichon frises are not subject to mortal
control! 

  I have the Buttermilk Pie recipe.  I should say 'a' buttermilk pie recipe as there are many
versions. I like a lemon flavored one, and yes, it is similar to chess pie.

  Lemon Buttermilk Pie
  1c. buttermilk
   1/2 tsp soda
   1/2 c. butter, melted
   3 eggs, beaten
    1/2 tsp. salt
   1 & 1/2 c. sugar
    2 tbs. cornstarch
 1/4 c. lemon juice
    grated rind of 1 lemon (optional)
  1 unbaked pie shell
   Mix ingredients in above order. Bake @ 450 deg. for 10 min., then reduce heat to 350 deg.
and bake until firm in center. (20-30 min. )
 
  I don't like buttermilk to drink and you can't buy it by the cup, so to avoid wasting the rest of
the buttermilk, go ahead and bake more pies!   
 
 

[BarbStAubrey]

Ha ha - yes! Just make more pies!! - No cornmeal to thicken the Buttermilk Pie must be one of the differences Babi between it and a Chess pie.

When I was a kid my Dad had chickens that sometimes a good laying hen would get old and stops laying - in order to be able to eat the tough old bird rather than always stewing them Mom would soak it in Buttermilk and honey overnight followed by baking it.

Years ago, we went through a phase of making Buttermilk biscuits and like you; we ended up with Buttermilk that no one liked to drink. In winter, I used some of the extra to make an Avocado loaf filled with dried fruits - it was quicker than a fruit cake and not as dense.

Here it is - it breaks the pattern from 2-1-1/2, this one is 2-1-3/4

• 2 cups sifted flour - add while sifting the usual  baking powder leavening only this one is half baking soda to sweeten it so 1/2 teaspoon of each and a good dash of salt.
• 1 cup of the liquid - again a half to half measure - half mashed avocado and half buttermilk
  Mix in 1 slightly beaten egg
• Then instead of a half a cup, it is 3/4 cup of sugar
• Mix all that together - anything that has baking soda I mix extra well so it does not clump causing someone to bite into that sharp mouthful.
• Finish the batter by stirring in the nuts and candied fruits - a cup each so that there are three cups of pretties added to the mixture.
            Since pecans are so prolific, we use a cup of cut up pecans - Walnuts would give it a very different flavor that would over-power the avocado but a cup of almonds or hazelnuts could work

• • A cup of candied cherries and a cup of pineapple – Two cups of mixed cut up candied fruit would work.
    

• Bake it as a loaf – butter the pan and tap a bit of flour on the greased pan to prevent sticking –
            Bake for nearly an hour - when the toothpick or broom straw comes out clean and it is just pulling a bit from the sides - could be as little as 45 minutes but an hour is a good bet. In a medium heated oven as if cooking a chicken. 350 degrees.

Dogs - I understand that several states are considering legislation to crack down on Puppy Mills - Austin is not waiting - no longer are any dogs or cats sold from any retail establishment or from street vendors - the only place to buy a dog or cat is from a registered breeder or the humane society (Rescue) that set up cages and bring dogs every weekend to those pet stores that used to retail dogs and cats.

All dogs and cats when sold must be neutered - I am sure next, they will be stiffening the requirements and inspections for breeders. The abusive conditions with so called mills that were often backyard breeding grounds and the over use of bitches to their death is at the bottom of this - along with so many feral cats living in drain pipes all over town so that a heavy rain washes them into the lake as well they draw coyotes into the area.

Remember when it was popular to give a child at Easter a live bunny or baby chick or even a lamb - the child would loose interest and not take care of the animal so they were set loose where wild animals had a field day with them. I no longer remember - was it new laws or an ordinance that stopped it or was it simply public awareness through TV announcements that stopped the Spring fantasy of baby farm animals being brought to town and given to a child.

What seems like a cute part of life’s happy times can be a cesspool – too bad – I see we have a new story to read and then since our overcast sky won today - a good nap is the plan.

[rosemarykaye]

Barb - we did not have that, but we did have travelling fairs that set up at Blackheath (near my grandmother's house) every August Bank Holiday.  We would take the bus there, and would inevitably return with a poor goldfish in a plastic bag - the prize for the hoopla, I think.  It would usually last about 24 hours after I had persuaded my parents to go and buy it a new glass tank, etc.

I used to love going to that fair - not sure why really as I have never liked scary rides like the Waltzer, and in those days they were probably not even properly maintained - I think it was something to do with the thrill of the slightly "rough" boys who ran the rides, the being out in the dark, the music and the smell of hotdogs.

These days you just win horrible orange teddy bears or plastic cowboy hats.

R

[BarbStAubrey]

Had to find out what a 'waltzer' is - here we go - is this like your waltzer Rosemary? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfe8yy6S7uk

Ah yes, the poor goldfish - oh and don't forget the tiny turtles with their shells painted - there was a craze for awhile with all sorts of exotic fish housed in these monster tanks built into the walls of upper middle priced homes - don't see it much for the last few years - the fish and water was supposed to bring luck - I think when the bottom dropped out of the average person's investments the fish were doomed as were many toys where we sank our money.

Rosemary here, puppy mills is an expression for the most unsightly and despicable way of mass producing pets in deplorable conditions - usually by folks who have no experience or knowledge of animal husbandry - it has become a national story and one by one states and communities are doing what they can to stop it. http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/

I never quite understood the reason and popularity of the Merry-go-Round at Christmas time in Leicester Square - the best I have ever read is it has something to do with Medieval Fairs that were popular at Christmas - do you know anything about either Christmas Fairs or the popularity of the Carousel at Christmas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10847993@N06/5159942500/

[rosemarykaye]

Barb - that is indeed the waltzer, although in real life they spin round at incredible speeds whilst flying around the track - even my daughters, who like things like roller coasters, don't like waltzers.

we do have the same problem with puppy breeding here, but the places are referred to as "puppy farms" - again, the government and various animal charities are doing their best to stop them.  The issue with Staffordshire bull terriers is not only the breeding, but the selling of these puppies to what we would call "neds", who buy them as a status symbol, put horrible collars with spikes sticking out onto them, train them to be aggressive, then get fed up with them and abandon them.  it used to be rottweilers (another breed that I understand is a great dog if properly trained and cared for) but I think these now have to be muzzled in public - so the ned brigade has moved on to the poor Staffies.

I don't know much about Christmas fairs.  In Europe lots of places have Christmas markets - you can go on trips to the ones in Germany, and some cities in the UK are trying to follow suit.  Edinburgh has a big set up every Christmas - Princes Gardens has a ferris wheel, ice skating rink, lots of little craft stalls (overpriced IMO, but popular), etc and in Castle Street there is an Eco/Fair Trade market.  There is also an "international market" that appears in Aberdeen (and various other cities) every so often throughout the year.  When it first came it was a great novelty and had some interesting, if expensive, stalls - there are a lot of people selling pastries, preserved fruits, sausages, olives, cheeses, breads, soaps, bags, scarves, etc.  Lately, though, it has become much more down market and is increasingly full of tat.  I don't go to it unless I happen to be passing through.

Rosemary

[salan]

Steph, I will be thinking of you on "our" birthday.  I, too, hated having a birthday so close to Christmas.  This will be my 3rd birthday/Christmas without my husband (he died 2 1/2 yrs ago)--so we also have a loss in common.  It makes the holidays harder, doesn't it?  However, I will be leaving Sun. to spend a week with my daughter & her family in Dallas.  My 9 yr old grandson will bring much joy and laughter to my holidays.

Speaking of random acts of kindness--my mother lived her life that way.  She was always doing random acts of kindness--it was second nature to her.  When our Christmas dinner was ready (usually around 1:00), she would load up various plates and send several of us on rounds to deliver meals to older people who lived alone.  When we returned from these errands, then we were all allowed to load our own plates and commence the meal.  It was served buffet style, and the sideboards were brimming!!  The left overs were covered, but stayed on the cabinet; so people could go back throughout the day & evening re-load their plates.  It wasn't until later years that we were more educated on food safety and refrigerated everything.  We never got sick, and I think that was because of the way foods were produced and processed back then.

If I don't post again before I leave, I want to wish all of you a very merry christmas and happy holidays!   I am glad to have found new  friends on this site.
Sally

[rosemarykaye]

And a very happy Christmas to you Sally - I have only been here a little while but already feel like I have made lots of new friends - and the great thing is, they are all interested in what interests me (books, food, life, finding pleasure in small things...)

Sometimes I would like to do the sort of thing your mother did, but I always feel people will think I am being patronising - my mother lives alone and is so infuriated if anyone whom she sees as a "do-gooder" approaches her or invites her anywhere ("Now I'll have to go"!), that I am a bit wary.  I do however bake cakes for my elderly neighbour (whose daughter lives with her and other family close by), and she always seems to appreciate that.

As for food going off - yes I agree, it's partly how it is now prepared, and also partly that houses are now so over-heated.  Far fewer things used to be kept in the fridge when I was a child (in fact my parents didn't even have one when they were first married, just a "food safe" in the garden - they used to bury the milk in the snow, I think).And I'm sure some younger people now just don't understand basic food principles - they are obsessed with those ridiculous "use by" dates (which I of course ignore completely and go by instinct) but they don't understand about cooking things properly.

Rant over (for today  )

R

[Steph]

Silly story... I agree about health hazards and food, but my very first Thanksgiving as a new bride, we went to my husbands.. I am and have been a good cook since about 12.. To my horror on Thanksgiving morning, I found my new mother  in law in the kitchen washing the turkey with Ivory..She said she always did since she knew they were dirty. Ugh.. Then I began to understand why my husband had declared that his mothers cooking was not edible.. She never changed. Everything she cooked was bland and overcooked. Ah well.. She never liked my cooking.Said it was too spicy.. and besides she always served her food at room temp and I insisted on serving mine hot or cold depending on what it  needed to be.

[rosemarykaye]

Steph - my MIL and yours must be twins.  When I was about 3 months pregnant with my son (ie first baby) my husband's sister got married - this involved a marquee on the lawn on a very hot summer's day.  The coronation chicken was left out all day, then in the evening MIL brought it into the house and said "that'll do fine for tomorrow" - somehow I managed to avoid that.  Also one year she had a whole chicken that I found her washing in a bowl of vinegar - "because when I took the wrapping off it smelled terrible".  Yum    When my husband went to university, she told him that so long as he always had mince and milk in the fridge, he'd be fine.  He now thinks he actually had scurvy in his first year - these days he's a manic fruit and vegetable eater.

despite this, MIL and I get on very well, as she has been very "liberated" and independent from a young age, does not think women should be anyone's doormat (though she is v happily married), and likes to read - though both FIL and MIL are scientists, and enjoy nothing more than chatting to my husband about equations and engineering problems, so I have to take a good novel with me when we visit!

R

[salan]

I have told you about my mother's pies---we lived in a small town and my mother was an elementary school teacher; so she knew just about everyone.  She was affectionately known as the "pie" lady.  She was always baking pies and sharing them with others.  No one seemed to resent it.  She was well loved and people would repay her in small ways.  One lady in town always bought her a 5 lb bag of sugar when the store ran a special on sugar.  Another lady would strain her bacon grease into a coffee can and when it was full, would bring it to mom and dad.  My father would fry up a batch of catfish and hush puppies using the bacon fat.  He liked using bacon grease for his fish fries and he & mom didn't use enough bacon, so...Of course, mother would always fix up a plate of fish & hush puppies to take to her.  Another family always brought her home made tamales on Christmas Eve.  She had taught a number of their children thru the years and had shared toys and clothes  that we had out grown with them.  Sometimes, I really miss those simpler times, but sad to say, I don't carry on her tradition.  We are all so "busy" with our own lives/problems and few of the younger generation do much cooking.  When my husband died, my sil (who is 9 yrs older than I) commented that it was nice for all the people to bring over food; even if most of it wasn't "home-cooked".

Christmas Eve tradition--When my grandparents were alive, we would spend Christmas Eve with them.  My grandmother was a really good cook and would lay out a feast--smoked ribs (from their own smoke house), home made yeast rolls, pot roast, loads of vegetables and her famous fruit cake and home made egg not (one bowl with "nog" and one bown without for the kids).  She did all the cooking and then she and my grandfather would come over to our house  for Christmas dinner.  After they died, our Christmas Eve always consisted of various dips, chips, crackers, sandwiches, home made tamales and all the sweets.  All presents were opened on Christmas day, except for those we exchanged with the grandparents.

Sally

[Babi]

 BARB, my chess pie had no cornmeal in it, either.  I love cornbreads in just about all
it's forms, but it's had to imagine it in chess pie. I haven't heard of soaking tough
hens before; sounds like a great idea.
  The puppy mills are horrors. They can be shut down now simply by identifying and proving
the horrible conditions in which the dogs are kept under cruelty to animals laws. I was
astounded to learn...from watching Animal Planet...how many cats could result from onemother cat and her offspring in the course of just a few years. I think it was 400,000 in
seven years.
  Oh, dear, ROSEMARY. Plastic cowboy hats?!! As a Texan, I cringe. I am greatly puzzled,
tho', as to how your MIL can be a scientist and not know a spoiled chicken when she smells
one.

 I've ridden in one of those 'waltzers', tho' I don't believe it was called that. Didn't
much care for it.  I can't think of any outings associated with Christmas. For us, it was
all family with the Valley cousins joining us a big get-together. There were six cousins up here,
from three families, and six cousins down there, from one family.  Made gift-swapping so simple. 

[ginny]

So interesting here on the food preparation! I've seen people store cooked food actually on shelves in the pantry instead of the fridge, admittedly a long time ago: this must have been an old tradition which somehow people survived. I loved the Ivory and vinegar washing because ...well... I don't use Ivory or soap on a turkey but I do wash them. When we get them of course they've been pretty much sterilized, still you have to check them carefully. I do use soap on things like grapes bought in the store,  the seedless green kind because the stench of pesticide (if they are not organic) is overpowering. (Can we tell who grows organically?)

Some fruits are worse than others and some are almost impossible to grow for supermarkets without pesticide. Take a bunch of green seedless grapes and put them in a bowl of water. See the film? The smell  even gets on your hands and you can't get it off, this cannot be good for anybody to eat. I pull them off the stem and...well.. you don't want to know, perhaps.   Peel those apples.

I'm afraid I am a bit of a nut about it and probably will be the first one to go. The other day my grandbaby asked when he was presented with grapes  at the table, "did you wash them, Gammie?"  I answered yes, with soap and I thought his parents were going to fall over. hahahaa They didn't know that. Some people think the soap is worse than the pesticide.

Our food processing,  at least in this country, has changed quite a bit, but having had here poultry flocks for years I can attest the birds by nature are definitely not "clean." Martha Stewart poultry houses notwithstanding. Makes you wonder how the ancients survived sticking the feathers back on for presentation.

Speaking of the old recipes, I recently got a book called 97 Orchard which is about the edible history of 5 immigrant families in NYC. It includes recipes from the 1800's to the early 1900's. I am fascinated by this book and the recipes, and want to try some, but how can we alter them?

For instance, a recipe for Cranberry  Strudel includes: (that sounds holidayish, right?)

"Take a glass of fat, a glass of sugar, 2 eggs and stir together."

Ok those of you who can cook, how much would you say this "glass of fat" translates into in 2010 ese? As the recipe progresses it refers to "two glasses of flour." I need to know what a "glass" was at the turn of the century? How many oz?
Ho Ho Ho!

[BarbStAubrey]

Salan  you bring back memories - I think it was the way - to make extra - and the kids brought it over to this one and that one because kitchens were almost like small food factories - there was no prepared this or that in a package, can or frozen - everything was made from scratch - I am remembering the big deal look down  your nose attitude after WWII when package cake mixes hit the market and if you used one especially for a Birthday cake  you were deemed not acceptable - the uhum better homemaker made her cakes from scratch.

But then few women worked 40 hours a week outside their home - also many women built their identity and self esteem around how well they could master the kitchen, cleaning the house, the garden, children and for some even caring for animals. I think most of us are in that swing generation where we knew about the way it was but live, many of us actually joined the lifestyle, as women of today whose measure is not their prowess in the kitchen. Some enjoy their time in the kitchen but it is not their identity.

However, I do remember the sharing - food, preserves, baby things from bassinets to bonnets, clothes were always passed along, most were handmade...sharing was a way of life.

Oh and tamales - Since I go to my daughter's for Christmas - I am trying to figure out for how many years - I think it is over 10 years now - wow time flies - anyhow, I miss Christmas tamales - and another friend always made and shared with us Bunuelos - I used to fix a buffet for Christmas eve - once Paul, my youngest, was no longer 'needing' to believe [I always suspected he knew far before he let on] we all decorated the tree on Christmas eve. Rather than sitting down to a meal I had a buffet and there were the Bunuelos with a bowl of honey for dipping. Rather than a table cloth I used my collection of rebozos - I finally parted with them last year and passed them on to my daughter along with the large Trees of Life Candelarias.

Babi the Chess pie I learned when I lived in Kentucky and it was thickened with a tablespoon of cornmeal - that was a 4-2-1/2-1/4 -- 4 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter and a 1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk then a tablespoon each of vinegar and cornmeal along with a splash of vanilla - if  you only have 3 eggs than replace the cream with a cup and half of milk and a quarter cup of cornmeal.

Ha the mother-in-law stories - oh dear we all have them don't we - being a mother-in-law I was always confused and realized I just did things differently and it is hard to be a daughter-in-law when you know this mother-in-law raised the man you love and in one breath realize she is as close to him as your mother is to you and  yet, you cannot feel towards her as you do  your own mother - and so it is just plain confusing. And then to realize that some of what you love about  your husband was learned at her knee - it is like we do not even want to go there. Ah so... I also observed that at times I was not a me I was the fantasy of what a mother-in-law was supposed to think - for awhile it hurt because I thought we were friends then I realized it had nothing to do with me - it was all about something that my daughter-in-law had to work through.

But then as daughters age there is another set of changes - Life was easy and fun when they were young but as grown adults, with one foot in memory of their childhood and the other a maturing women who thinks of responsibility for future care and all the hype in the media about caring for older parents it is easy to imagine all of us over the age of 65 are less able to take car of ourselves.

That to me has become my challenge - sometimes even with my kids but mostly from the world at large - to be treated as if I am capable and to maintain independence with the freedom to make my own choices - I could go on - but there are so many that lump you into a paper doll conception of what you are supposed to think and feel, what your health is supposed to be and many react thinking they can take advantage of what they assume you are helpless to understand - astounding. I have even had doctors who assume I should have this or that because they look on the chart - see my age and without checking they assume a diagnoses.

Ah so...   to use Rosemary's expression - my rant for the day...

Ginny it is difficult to imagine only three ingredients in the recipe for the Cranberry Strudel - usually there is a ratio so that those old recipes were dependent on the cups and spoons you had in your kitchen plus measuring is different in various countries - if the recipe came from a family in Europe the actual measure is not only using a different system but their cups contain more than ours. So it is valuable to know the ratios - that way if  you are using the coffee cup in  your cupboard or the tablespoon  you use to eat  your stew than the ratio keeps everything in balance - there are some typical ratios that can help when you are trying new ideas for combining foods. And so a glass does not have to be an exact measure - it is what ratio to the other ingredients.

As to using soap - well we all have our favorites and with our food so covered in what gets it to market with the least amount of spoilage trying to clean it up becomes a challenge - my choice is to fix a pot or bowl of peroxide water and place my fruits and veggies in the water before I put it in the frig - the Lettuce is what I have had the most problems with in the past - I am convinced they flood those fields in seed stage with water that contains sewage - I have purchased so many heads of loose leaf lettuce that when I broke it apart there would be mats of various color human hair - the grocery store's response is they are only the middle man and they have no idea who the grower is.

Also vinegar in water is a wonder for a dip and wash of what we used to call 'store boughten' foods.

I buy more and more at my local Farmer's Market where the small local growers do not use the chemicals used by the large commercial farms. Not juggling the food budget of a family I can pay the extra and shop Whole Foods which I understand not all the Whole Food's locations are the mega for healthy eating as they are here - but most towns now do have at least one grocery that features foods grown or packaged without pesticides.

Whoops running late again - shoot the days are just never long enough are they...of course when you cannot say anything without using a thousand words  

[rosemarykaye]

Babi - you would need to meet my MIL to understand!  She has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Manchester - and she gained this at a time when few women even went to university.  The thing with the chicken - and with a lot of her cooking - is that she is just so slapdash - she has zero patience and can't be bothered fussing with things.  I'm sure she knew as well as we did that that chicken had gone off, but she couldn't be bothered thinking what else to serve up.  With her it is not a money thing - she was brought up in an affluent household and has always been extremely generous with money - it's just a "bother this, I'll just dish it up anyway, then I can get back to what I wanted to be doing " (these days usually her painting - she is a good artist and sells her paintings - or doing the Guardian crossword).

Which reminds me - MIL kindly gave me her collection of Posy Simmonds "Wendy Webber" books  - does anyone else know these?  They were comic strips published in the Guardian for years in the 70s and 80s, Wendy Webber being the hapless mother of six, wife of George (college lecturer) and children's author.  The strips are just observations of their daily lives - their attempts to be left wing, eco, PC - all Guardian reader stereotypes, - and the determination of their oldest child Belinda to get away from all the muesli eating, sandal wearing, protest marching - she goes off with a suave company director, much to her mother's chagrin (we always say our eldest daughter will follow in Belinda's footsteps).  More recently Posy Simmonds has published two or 3 full length comic strip novels - including Gemma Bovary, a take on Madame Bovary, transposed to the wealthy middle classes who move to rural France.  Posy is a fantastic observer  of the quirks of what we would now call the "yummy mummies".  It always cheers me up just reading a few pages of one of her collections.

Rosemary

[pedln]

We lived in Puerto Rico for ten years (my husband/ex was born and raised there) and I very fondly remember the Christmas customs.  It was only at that time  of year that we had pasteles -- how to describe them -- a meat filling in cornmeal, wrapped and cooked in plantain leaves. Yummy.  It would take all the women in a family a couple of days to make enough for the Christmas holidays.  Then there was lechon --  roast pig (the whole pig) cooked on a spit.  We were fortunate enough to be invited to a few parties where they were served. 

And then there were ASULTOS -- spur of the moment parties, usually started after midnight, when friends would gather outside someone's house and sing Christmas songs and make noise until the homeowners invited them in for food and beverage.  Then they would gather the homeowners with them and go on to another house. (I heard that this was tried in Omaha, but didn't go over very well.)

The Christmas season started early in December and lasted until Three Kings Day on January 6 (Epiphany).  That was the traditional gift-giving day.  Our children would put grass and carrots in a box under their beds, for the camels.

Newcomers to Puerto Rico, myself included, often had trouble with bugs -- in the house, in the food, in the furniture.  Mahogany and teak were about the only termite proof woods for furniture.  The first time you found bugs in the flour or the rice or whatever, you threw out the whole thing.  The next time, you picked out the bugs.  After that, well  .   .   .    .  My in-laws lived in the Virgin Islands and my Puerto Rican step-MIL kept just about everything in the freezer. And she kept the sugar bowl free from ants by making it an island in a sea of water.

[CallieOK]

My house smells like gingerbread.  I've baked cookies to take to a party tonight.
I could get more cookies if I cut out Christmas trees instead of gingerbread people - and they were easier to frost and top with multi-colored sprinkles.

I'll make a pot of Earl Grey tea as soon as you get here.  

[BarbStAubrey]

Pedln  hadn't heard of or known of the pasteles - is this a good picture and recipe?
http://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/pasteles-recipe

I remember my father brought home a baby pig for my mother to cook one year - she was so excited and  proudly showed off this whole roasted pig with an apple in its mouth and its neck encircled with greenery for the New Year's dinner

The ASULTOS sound much like the Mexican tradition of a Las Posadas - difference sounds like the Las Posadas is more religious with children dressed as Mary and Joseph knocking after dark looking for a room - they go from house to house singing and picking up the families till they finally reach the house that will take Mary and Joseph and all those that came along into a large open house party. These start on December 12 and continue till Christmas. San Antonio has a public Las Posada on the RiverWalk with a large pinata party for those massed along the route.  Puerto Rico's ASULTOS sounds more like an adult Christmas sing-a-long that ends in a party.

Oh Pedln yes, the bugs  - we have to keep anything made with flour in the frig or the weavels that are in most flour come alive and sugar ants are a problem as well as a host of other tiny wildlife - before refrigerators there was a screened cabinet in most kitchens to keep food safe from mice and other wildlife that found a way in the house. For awhile the antique stores were filled with those old 'pie safes'.  

My euwwahouchrrr are what we politely call 'water bugs' - they are giant roaches at least 3 to 5 inches long - not a sign of a dirty household - they live in the Bermuda grass and Live Oak trees and come in looking for water BUT the big deal - in summer - THEY FLY -  ohhhh and I am allergic to bug spray so it is a last resort - I end up running from the room and hope they will crawl into a hidey hoe so that I can yes, squish them - ohhhh. euwww on top of all that when they walk around on furniture or picture frames they leave a dirty black stain - some years ago I wrote a poem about them...

There’s this elephant walking across my floor
you know the kind,
it skitters and hides in the dark
looking for water and crumbs.

When sighted my single approach
is to storm and splat
winged bodies del cucaroachas
into two or three inches of gore.

One look at these creatures, my tongue does a curl,
my mouth a sour jaundice pinched arc
as I squish and mash them, e´uwe
their black legs and wings pressed askew.

In August they fearlessly whirl
flying, I’m chased from the room,
a coward I reach for spray power,
prothrin and methrine them dead.

Periplaneta, these giant water bugs
six legs majestic on stilts,
my prejudice look, tempers my tread,
I cower before the stately walk of this elephant crossing my room.

They live in the trees say neighbors and friends,
their forty knees too many to hide.
Mata al contacto the spray can approves
but no, mi cabeza me duele - estoy enfermo.

And so like the elephant afraid of the mouse
I sit on the sofa and grouse
as this five inch tree monster strolls a walkway
to dine on what ever my vacuum no el finde.

[Janice]

So relaxing to come here and read all the wonderful words. 
I have a list of things that don't have to be bought organic and things that do.  I use free range everything.  I like to know that pigs get to bask in the mud and chickens get to run around the barnyard.  Mostly I don't eat the meat though. 
I'd love some of that Earl Grey tea...I'm all out of tea and waiting for a ride to the grocer because the battery in my car is frozen solid.
Today I am wrapping presents and I'm using a code for the names...thanks for the suggestion!

[BarbStAubrey]

Oh Callie  - wish I could join you - how wonderful it sounds - gingerbread and earl grey tea. But a frozen outdoors with a car that won't budge - no fun there...

[CallieOK]

Janice and Barb - here's a cyber tea tray all set for a cozy chat.  Help yourself.   

[pedln]

Barbara, the picture looks as I remember pasteles.  And I just checked my falling-apart Art of Caribbean Cookery  The recipes are very similar. (I don't know how I came up with cornmeal, except that the dough seems similar.)  I never made them and probably never will, unless I can talk my youngest daughter who loves to cook and doesn't mind a lot of chopping, into making them sometime.

I'll be in Seattle over the holidays and there is a Puerto Rican restaurant not too far from my daughter's house.  Pasteles would probably be a long shot, but they do have Bacalao-itos -- cod-fish fritters and rice with pigeon peas.

Juany, my step MIL was a wonderful cook and I treasure her recipes.  Here is one that frequently accompanied holiday turkeys or hams.

Juany’s Plantains or Sweet Potatoes in syrup

3 large ripe plantains or 5 sweet potatoes (half-boiled)
4 Tbs. butter
2 C sugar
1 ½ C water
½ C wine or rum
2 sticks cinnamon

Peel and slice plantains or sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes – boil a little;  not the plantains.

Melt butter in deep frying pan.  Add plantains.  Turn heat to moderate and brown approx. 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Sprinkle with sugar and pour water carefully over them.  Boil 10 minutes.

Add rum and cinnamon and cook slowly for 20 minutes.

Increase heat to moderate boil for about 20 minutes longer or until syrup thickens.

[Janice]

Callie thank you for the tea...it brings a smile thinking about it.

[Steph]

Amazing. I did not know anything about Mexican or spanish food until I was an adult.. I lived in Delaware.. Our traditions were mostly Germanic.. Since we went to a German Lutheran church and Christmas revolved around the church. We went both Christmas eve and Christmas day.. Most of the families opened presents on Christmas eve. We did not. My Dad came from an old upstate New York Dutch origina family and they celebrated Christmas on the day and opened presents then. We were taught that you had a big big breakfast, went to church and then... opened presents.. Only our stockings were touched. My parents did the tree Christmas eve.. So we woke to it.. and our stockings always had an tangerine in the toe. To this day, I associate Christmas with a tangerine.There are some in my fridge now.

[Babi]

 I've never noticed any smell of pesticides on my fruit, GINNY. I wonder if that's because
we're so accustomed to it we don't recognize what it is? I'm going to try that test with
the grapes and see if there is a film. Val and I happily eat the grapes right off the stem
without a notion of a problem. I believe many stores here spray their fruit and vegetable
displays regularly to keep them fresh. Perhaps that is also removing the pesticide.
   On the old recipes, maybe a 'glass' was the same measure as a 'cup' now. It's the glass
of 'fat' that really throws me. Do we put that much butter into a strudel? I've never made
one.

  BARB, I remember those first cake mixes. They really have improved enormously since then.
The original ones definitely weren't in the same class as a homemade cake.
 My aunt down inthe valley (Rio Grande) put up jellies and preserves commercially. I liked
to get her cactus pear jelly as Christmas gifts for friends and colleagues. Something
different..and really good.

 ROSEMARY, I applaud your kind defense of your MIL, but serving your guests something
that could put them all in the hospital with botulism is taking impatience a bit too far.
My own reaction to a problem of that kind, is toss the spoiled meat and phone for pizzas!

(I heard that this was tried in Omaha, but didn't go over very well.)

LOL PEDLN, that's priceless!
 
 Speaking of tangerines, the ones I've found lately have very thin skins and are very hard to peel.
Anyone else noticed that?   What happened to the thicker skinned ones?

[straudetwo]

What a wonderful gathering place  this is !   I have not had the time to actually post a response, but  I've so enjoyed the shared memories, comments and recipes.

The greatest joy for me was hearing that HATS came back, here, which brought sudden sunlight into a gloomy day. Thank you, HATS, I hope we'll hear from you again.

Babi,  My experience with mandarins was the same.  My granddaughter brought some to me one day, and I accepted them gratefully, of course.  I tried one, the skin was unusually hard hard to remove, a pitifully small, hard fruit emerged, hardly juicy and,  judging from the few drops, totally tasteless; also overloaded with seeds.

I kept the rest and thought they'd eventually  mandarins would eventually ripen -  not unlike the tomatoes  the grocervt stores sell us in the summer (unless we grow our own).  
Well, the mandarins did not ripen but shrivelled  and deteriorated.

Ginny,  pesticides are cause for concern.  In California they seem to be applied in such heavy amounts as to endanger the workers.  Yes, I too am a fierce advocate for washing and scrubbing vegetables and fruit thoroughly - so far I haven't used soap.  Perhaps I should begin right now.

While I have not noticed the smell of pesticides on fruits, I have on potatoes, before and after they were cooked. And that has me really alarmed.
One would think that at this time when organic cooking and green living are so deservedly in the forefront, we are still battling such daily annoyances. And how do we know where the "organic" products were grown ?
Sorry, not really a Christmas topic ...
Traude

[nlhome]

The ones we eat here are called Clementines - usually no seeds, small, juicy and easy to peel.

I wonder if some of the smell on potatoes is related to their storage? It seems stronger later in the year. I definitely peel potatoes when they have that slightly chemical odor.

[BarbStAubrey]

just a quickie - pulled into the Asheville Airport at 11:40  - Grandson whisked me into a nice warm car -  brrrr it was cold - Here I worried I packed too many cold weather clothes and now I am worried I didn't pack enough - left Austin in the 70s even changed slax to out of the corduroy and into something cooler - Thanks goodness I slipped the corduroy into the carry-on - It was - granted night time temp - but it was only 25 - that is a 50 degree temperature change and the cold will not go away - burr till I get adjusted.

The young man sitting next to me is 13 and from LA - his mom winked and pointed out his choice was to be comfortable and so he wore flip flops - no socks to put on in the terminal - you know he will be stubborn and not admit he is cold. I told him he will have to sit on his feet during the half hour car ride to his grandmothers.

Katha has one more day of school and then we can get serious about visiting - I plan on sleeping in tomorrow - schlepping carry-ons from one end of the Atlanta Airport to the other and down a while level having to take a shuttle train - oh my -

Has anyone flown lately - have you noticed how serious and isolated everyone stays - no one looks or smiles at each other anymore much less a group spontaneously breaking out in Christmas songs since half of every flight is filled with folks making long distance Christmas visits. With all the messages every 15 minutes about not leaving your bag and all the security it is a very different atmosphere - and the only cheerful comments with smiles I heard was from a few vendors selling at irrational prices water and sandwiches.

I know we can't go back and it is tempting to dwell on the past but I am hoping travel by plane can become a joyful experience again and not just a 'castle in the air' wish for what could be.

Traude glad to see you pop in - now we need some of the discussion friends who are Jewish to pop in and tell us about their holiday traditions. Looks like the Christians have hogged this discussion.

[kiwilady]

Whether you use a cup or a glass for measuring if you follow the quantities in a recipe it should turn out fine. Cooking is a balance of ingredients to fat etc. So in the recipe posted you could just as easily use a cup or a glass.

I never used recipes at all for cookies when I was a mum with kids still at home. My grandmother taught me to make cookies by eye measure and feel. My granny was Scottish. What a baker she was - cream horns, chocolate eclairs, butterfly cakes, Victoria sponge cakes as light as a feather. Light as a feather pastry tarts. Neenish tarts, cup cakes, scottish shortbread. Fruit loaves. I started to learn to bake at 6. When I was 8 I could bake anything. Cant imagine a kid of 8 baking today on their own. We were so very mature for our ages when we were little. I and my friends could take care of a baby by the time we were about 9. The kids today seem so very helpless.

Granny made huge tins of Scottish shortbread for Christmas and the moistest fruit cakes iced in a Christmas theme. She also made plum puddings with money baked inside. I don't know how she did it but she made sure every child got a silver sixpence. You could buy quite a bit for sixpence when I was about 6 years old. You could buy a big bag of candy, plus some pop drink and borrow three books from our lending library which at that time was not free.



Carolyn

[Steph]

Yes, baking is chemical and the ratio is the important thing.. and yes I would guess that strudel has a lot of butter in it.. That is what makes it flaky and not heavy.
Our widows had our Christmas party yesterday. Everyone gets so excited about cooking for more than one, that we end up with tons and tons of food. All good. The men pitch in with some wine,,,, fried chicken..... store bought cookies...etc. They are good now about helping in the pot lucks.. No more,, my wife always did that.

[Babi]

GINNY, I did try putting my grapes in a bowl of water and you were entirely right. While most of the grape appeared clean there was a filming at the stem ends. Even worse, when I removed the grapes to rinse them more thoroughly, the water in the bowl had taken on a yellowish tinge. I am converted, and will now wash everying that won't be peeled. (I think
the bananas are safe.)
  Ah, KIWI,  I wish I had lived near your grandmother!  I can't remember
my grandmother doing much baking, but she was a widow trying to make
ends meet.  She always had some job or other but she loved visits from
her grandkids. She always made sure she had some favorite treat on hand.  I adored Cheez-its and she had a small box just for me when I
visited.  After her surviving son grew prosperous things were, of course, much easier for her. but there is still no specific holiday treat I associate
with her.  What I do remember is that she always knew what we liked best and we could count on finding it among our Christmas gifts.

[JoanP]

Just popped in to wish you and Sally a happy, happy birthday, Steph!

Am rushing madly about, now that sons' birthdays are over for another year. Andrew's 40th was a complete surprise for him -  all the brothers and their families managed the trip into his town and totally surprised him~  It was a really good time.

I've scooped up the recipes for our cookbook and will try to have them added later today.  - let me know if I've overlooked any.  We want every single one!  Barb - did you and Cade try the ribbon candy recipe?  Don't want to include that in the cookbook unless one of us has tested it.

Callie, I'm hoping my kitchen will smell like Gingerbread this afternoon too.

[BarbStAubrey]

Not yet Joan - Just got here late last night or really very early this morning - house is empty today with everyone either in school or working. Just as well I can use the day to nap and get my things hung up etc.

Happy Birthday Steph and Salan [I think Salan is visiting family - hope she peeks back in]

Joan the Birthday gathering for you son sounded so full and rewarding - I bet it put a smile on everyone's face with the memory.

Ginny your eastern ceder came to mind when I read this from Dave's Garden news -

The trees that we called cedar were misnamed, but don't ever tell those who live in the mountains of southeast Kentucky.  The tree is actually Juniperus virginiana, and its most common name is the eastern red cedar.  Aunt Bett had told me many times of the legend of the cedar tree. I thought it was such a beautiful story, and one I have remembered all these many years.  She said the legend was told to her by her Native American grandmother.  I will share it with you.

A long time ago when the people were new on the earth, they thought that life would be much better if there was never any darkness. They begged the Creator to let them have day all the time, and to take away all the night.  The Creator heard them, and took away the night.  Soon the plants took over the world and the people could not control them.  They had to work too hard, and they never had time to sleep.

They decided they had been wrong, and asked the Creator to change the day to darkness. The Creator thought about it, and even though all things were created in twos...day and night, life and death, good and bad, food and famine, the Creator loved the people so much, he granted them their wish for darkness.  Night fell upon the earth.  Crops stopped growing and it became very cold.  The people spent so much time gathering wood for fires, they had no time to hunt meat; with no crops they had no food.  Many of the people died. 

Those who still lived once again begged the Creator.  "We have made a terrible mistake," they said, "it was perfect the way you made it, please forgive us and change it back to your way of day and night."  Once again the Creator listened to the people he loved.  Day and night became as it had been in the beginning.  Crops and animals were restored along with the health of the people. 

The Creator was glad the people were smiling again, but during the long days of night, many people had died. The Creator placed their spirits in a newly created tree.  This tree was named the Cedar tree.  Whenever you gaze upon a cedar tree, you are gazing at an ancestor of the Native Americans.

[CallieOK]

I know we're not supposed to "do commercials" but I do want to share information about the product I use to wash fruits and vegetables.  I find it in the produce section of the supermarket.

It's called "All Natural Fruit and Veggie Wash" and has the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
It <quoting>"safely removes waxes, chemicals and soil (and)uses unique natural organic citrus solvents <end quote>.  Ingredients are: water, natural cleaners made from corn, palm and coconut, citrus oil, sodium citrate ("a natural derivative of citrus fruit"), glycerin ("from coconut oil") and grapefruit seed extract.

It's in a spray bottle and for firm produce (including tomatoes), you spray it on, rub well with a paper towel and rinse thoroughly.  For leafy or soft produce (I do this for grapes), you dilute 1/4 cup in a large bowl or sink half full of water and swish the produce around for 30 seconds; then rinse thoroughly.
Mushrooms are the only produce not recommended - because they're too porous.

I can really tell the difference in the surface of the produce - and there's absolutely no aftertaste.  That's what I objected to when I tried to use soap.

[BarbStAubrey]

Callie I have seen that product or one like it and wondered - you are the first who has shared they have had good luck with it -

I think it is according to the water if you can get the soap taste off - my daughter uses well water and the soap comes off easily - our water at home is not hard but it is not the same as well water either and soap taste is not as easily removed - that is why I use peroxide in a water bath -

Another old fashioned trick I started to use about two years ago - I found the dishes really sparkle if I throw some vinegar in the dishwasher where as most products available that are supposed to make dishes sparkle never have the kind of results as the vinegar - and so I am convinced it is our water - each city has a different water source and different way to purify the water.

For drinking I have a water filter attached to the cold water income line in the kitchen - since I have used the water from the kitchen to water the house plants they have really greened up and look lush.

My nose is cold and has been cold all day - folks who live in cold weather winters how do you keep your face warm - I am serious - it sounds funny and ridiculous but I am getting a headache from my cold nose.

[rosemarykaye]

Barb - my children used to have balaclava helmets - in those days knitted by grannies, but now you can get uber-cool ones from ski shops.  I just get cold 

R

[nlhome]

We wear hats and mittens, with hoods on jackets with collars that snap right up to the chin, and if really windy and cold, we wrap with a scarf. Below zero days are the stocking caps with holes for eyes and nose and mouth - not for me but my husband used to wear them when he worked outdoors on below zero days (or ice fishing days). What I hate is my glasses that steam up as soon as I come indoors.

We're having a bit of snow to add to the white of our Christmas - about 3 more inches. Not too much, but with rain on top, the roads are slippery.

My early Christmas present was a pair of trackers, little chain things to fasten to my boots so I can walk on packed snow or ice without slipping. They are great, yet don't catch on carpet or scratch floors. I think I may get a lot of use out of them this year.