Inspired by Sunshine’s Macro Monday #22
One of the many memorable parts of spending Christmas 2019 at my daughter’s home was her amazing cooking and baking.
The menu: extensive (even included a cheese course!).
The vegetables: fresh…and, in this case…the nutritional powerhouse cruciferous variety.
I decided to document…
The roasted Brussels sprouts (along with cousin cauliflower) were seasoned to perfection and enjoyed by all.
Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Holidays
The challenge for this week is to bring out the magic that you find in the season and share it with one another!
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A good friend of mine has a saying: Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a season.
I would further elaborate.
It can bring out the goodness in people. The willingness to share with those less fortunate. The willingness to share an extra smile. Doing what they can to brighten someone’s day. Bringing real meaning to the greeting Happy Holidays.
I spent the week of Christmas in Washington, DC at my daughter and son-in-law’s home. Surrounded by love-infused holiday festivities…marked by delicious meals, cookie decorating, present opening, cooking and baking side by side. Playing pretend with my grandson. Reading stories. Building Lego cities. Singing Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
One night we all went for an early evening walk…parents, grandparents, 3 year old and two dogs…
Let’s go look at the lights!
A holiday season highlight…
…a once a year magical moment.
Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Christmas Memories
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE ONE OR TWO OR MORE PHOTOS OF YOUR CHRISTMAS AND/OR HOLIDAY MEMORIES.
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Christmas memories fill up my photo albums. All the best ones involve my family…when our children lived at home and we celebrated together.
Choosing just a few was indeed difficult…
One of my favorite memories was the year my son was a fast moving – very curious – toddler. At the tender age of 13 months, he was able to dash from one end of the living room to the other, quicker than we could catch him.
The Christmas tree presented a special challenge that year…as he was fascinated by those shiny things hanging from the branches. As well as the colored lightbulbs strung on green wire. Which he could unscrew, shouting HOT! HOT!
Barricades were in order…
…until we removed them on Christmas morning…
Which presented the perfect opportunity for ornament inspection and removal…while daddy and big sister were opening their stockings and getting their pictures taken…
However, nine years later…
..he was the expert at hanging the ornaments up ON the tree.
One more special memory.
Inspired by:
Lens-Artists Challenge #75: Nostalgic
…I look forward to seeing the nostalgic moments that are most special to you. Past holidays, times with family and friends, travel moments, or just something that reminds you fondly of days gone by – it’s your call. Give us a small peek into the things you’re nostalgic about.
V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #76: Music
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Get out the red and green sprinkles!
And the tiny chocolate chips!
Cookie sheets!
Cookie cutters!
Start the music!
It’s Time!
When I was raising my children – and by the time each was around 2 years old – we made Christmas cookies together as a family. Simple cream cheese sugar cookies.
We used the same aluminum cookie cutters I used when I was a child.
Our tradition? I made the dough the day before so it was easier to roll out.
My daughter – and then my son – learned how to use a rolling pin and press a tree or bell shape into the flattened dough.
Let the decorating begin…
Creativity was serious business.
The teenage years sparked unique decorating ideas such as the occasional anatomically correct gingerbread man. Ahem. All in good fun though…
Every year we were accompanied by the Sesame Street Christmas Sing-Along album pumping through the speakers (yes, we had speakers in the kitchen!)…and the clicking of the Canon camera.
My husband, I and the “kids” continued this annual family tradition for over 25 years…always accompanied by Big Bird, Cookie Monster (of course!) and the rest of the gang.
Cookies in the making. Oven warming. Four voices singing – the muppets’ lines memorized to perfection…
It’s that time of the year
When we all want to hear
A Christmas sing-along…
Or
Count, count, count — counting the days,
Count, count, count — counting the day…
I’m counting the days, ’til Christmas day is due…
(just a sample taste of this fabulous album – released in 1984 – just in time for our family).
A bit of nostalgia I never tire of revisiting…
…both in pictures and in song.
I’ll bring an apple pie!
A few weeks ago, our new friends who live down the hall invited us to share Thanksgiving dinner with them and their extended family. We were honored. Also grateful, as we were not going to be able to spend it with our adult children and their families.
It’s an unusual kind of apple pie...I warned my friend. The apples aren’t peeled. There’s no top crust… I also have to make it gluten free.
She was fine with whatever I wanted to make.
It is also huge…filling a lasagna pan.
At Thanksgiving, there is no such thing as moderation. Ever. Especially when it comes to pie. The turkey? The stuffing? And all the rest?
Just the path to pie.
In Thanksgivings past there were always at least 3 kinds of pie at my table…to go along with family shenanigans and card games (as shared in my 2018 Thanksgiving story). I miss all of it.
The most popular? “Hearty Apple Pie” – each slice 2 inches high by many inches wide.
Well, it has been a few years since I made this pie. After downsizing and moving and spending Thanksgivings by ourselves, there was no need to make one until now.
I still had the old family recipe.
As I assembled the ingredients yesterday, I thought…what could go wrong?
First step: substitute gluten free flour blend for the real thing. Press into the pan.
Doesn’t quite look the same, but should be fine in the end. It’s PIE after all.
Next step: Core the apples. Can’t mess that one up.
Next step: Slice apples in the food processor.
Um…the food processor doesn’t work. I tried a different outlet. Nope. My husband and I tried several variations of blades and positioning of the “pusher assembly” and the cover. Still nothing.
Find the directions!
A fuzzy memory rose to the top of my aging brain. This was the new(ish) food processor we had gotten about 10 years ago. It had replaced the nice simple one from 1978. Back when there were no complicated safety features. When it was your own fault if you stuck your finger in when the blade was running. Back when you popped the blade in, snapped on the cover (the only safety feature) – added the apples through the hole in the top…and voila! sliced or chopped results.
Much simpler.
Not anymore. The current small appliance companies are in the business of saving us from ourselves. Which, in many cases, is necessary. As it turned out, there were 3 different steps and clickings into place that I had to perform before even one apple could be sliced.
I was annoyed for 2 reasons. First that I had forgotten what to do and second, that it had become necessary to make devices so complicated that I had to remember this sequence in the first place. (probably a third reason as well – that I was turning into the old fart I never wanted to be…complaining about newfangled stuff…).
Anyway, after much huffing and puffing and locating the directions…success.
Next step: Mix with lots of yummy spices. No holding back here…
Next step: Transfer to the waiting piecrust…
(fyi: covered apples with brown sugar, almonds and dots of butter which look like cheese…but aren’t)
After baking:
Extra Large Apple Pie ready to share…
(where there’s no such thing as moderation)
Inspired by V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #74: Moderation
Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Traditions
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE ONE OR TWO OR MORE PHOTOS SHOWING A TRADITION YOU HAVE.
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Did you check the bathtub?
Look in the closet!
Behind the couch!
Under the table!
When my two children were growing up (and even when they were grown up and home for a visit), Easter morning meant hunting for Easter baskets.
During the Easter Bunny era, it involved more and more intricate hiding places as they got older. The thrill of the hunt was paramount.
The E.B. had to get extra creative (hence the bathtub)…or else the search was over in ten seconds.
After all, the E.B. filled four baskets with carefully selected jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, candy eggs and small stuffed bunnies. As the years went by…basketball cards, little books, stickers, trinkets & puzzles were added…
…so let’s make it a challenge! (thought the E.B.)
The E.B. was usually successful…and a sweet family tradition was born.
The sister and brother team eventually figured out where to look…every time.
