ll of a sudden, here we are: Christmas is upon us. It has seemed especially sneeky this year, creeping up and surprising most everyone I know. Is it that we've all been so busy, or that the local weather seems to deny December, or some other factor I haven't yet considered? Who knows. But on this Christmas Eve Eve, here are a few things I've been collecting around the interwebs that are particular to this time of year.
Just this weekend the "must watch Christmas movies" mood struck. This post about life lessons from "Elf" made me smile... (part of a separate post about life lessons from other Christmas movies, but truthfully my favorite of their list is "Elf." I'm a big "Elf" fan.). I think my favorite "Elf" lesson is Do What You Love:
"First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle."
Also from Positively Present, a collection of links I thought I'd pass along, all Christmasy, of course. And a Christmas playlist, because you can't ever have too much Christmas music, in my humble opinion. Kind of sad to say goodbye to it for another eleven-ish months.
A number of my favorite bloggers have written posts around the holidays. They are not necessarily full of joy, or cheer. But they are real, and represent the dichotomy of this season, the light and the dark, the sadness and the joy, that I think most people relate to. Holiday Hugs for Holidays Winter Solstice
And, because there's got to be a way to build "Downton Abbey" into just about everything (am I right or am I right?), here's a little gingerbread magic for your viewing pleasure. Fun to watch the construction. Gives me hope that one day I will conquer that Fallingwater gingerbread house that's on my bucket list...
If you read my post a couple of Friday nights ago, you know that Mary Did You Know? is my favorite Christmas song. I happened to read a devotional about how the song came to be (click link above) a week or so ago.
And if you're in need of a reminder of the real reason for the season (as I am, often enough), these little kids from New Zealand do a pretty sweet job.
Merry, merry, all. Wishing you peace this week, more than anything else.
t's been one of *those* weeks... you know, one of those weeks where a whole seven days happens between posts. I'm not a fan of *those* weeks, but lately, with the crush of work and life and family and the holidays, well, it's just going to be what it's going to be.
Meanwhile: Friday evening + my guys + peacefulness + fireplace + holiday anticipation + fondue with a friend today = a very grateful girl.
The glow of holiday lights is something that always fills me with joy. Remember, I'm the possible-eccentric who wants to have twinkle lights up all year long... But I am grateful for Christmas lights (of any color), which impart a holiday feel wherever they are strung.
For the past few days, whenever a decision has been needed or a specific choice has seemed a little overwhelming, my default has been, "let's talk about that at the first of the year." While I'm not one for deferring items of importance, it just seemed--in many cases--to be the best approach, rather than rush through something and have to circle back in 10 days. Between now and then, I'm grateful for the mental space and clarity I'm anticipating. I figure putting it out there to the Universe to manifest is the first step, right?
In that mental space, I want to do some thinking, planning, scheming... all good, of course. I would never use my mental space for evil... or would I? (Cue maniacal laugh, which never really suits me. So, nevermind.) But I have been thinking for far longer than just the past week or so: "When we get to the holiday break, I want to take some time to think about X. Plan for Y. Plot and scheme a way to accomplish Z." Happily this break coincides with the end of one year, the beginning of another--coincidence? I think not.--so my planning may or may not take on the ring of resolutions. I am grateful for new years, for blank slates and clean notebooks.
This time of year is fraught with out-of-whack expectations, dashed hopes and remembered loss. I know many people grappling with very new and very fresh loss as well, and my heart catches in my throat when I think of everything that needs to be processed in the coming days, weeks, months. There is nothing like the holidays to put a magnifying glass over any emotion and just ratchet it up. I just now caught up on one of my favorite blogs, Hollywood Housewife, who is visiting her home state of Oklahoma because of a sick niece. The last paragraph from her post really resonated: "In such a heightened emotional state, it's easy to see God everywhere or not to see him at all. I do both, depending on the hour. That's what faith really is, I think. Seeing the 'everywhere' portion as Truth and doing your damndest to dismiss the rest."I'm grateful when people are able to put into words what I'm needing, and feeling.
I'm grateful for friendships, for new friends that feel like old friends, and for old friends who knew me when. For those who saw me through rough patches, and those that only know the "now" patch, I am grateful for the blanket that is woven over and around me, and keeps me warm in love and affection. I simply could not be more blessed in the friend department.
For my guys, who know me and love me and accommodate me and spoil me, I am also grateful and blessed. Any holiday that includes the two of them is bound to be a lovely one.
Satsuma oranges are the best. I think I have eaten about four boxes of them all by myself this season? Maybe that's why I haven't gotten a cold? Well, regardless, I adore those little orange gems, and am grateful for their season, short as it is.
For color, I am always grateful, especially in this season of gray. Our Christmas tree is always a source of joy for me, with so many beautiful ornaments we've collected or been given through the years. This week the tree was given another beauty (below), and I love it!
I am grateful for quiet. Even though we have not be honored with the blanket of snow I keep harping on about wanting, I am surrounded by stillness at the moment--the only sound is Seth crunching away on baby carrots, and the fireplace. I love the peace, and quiet.
I hope your holiday brings you joy, peace, hope, a little contentment, love and maybe even a bit of chocolate and sparkly prettiness, if that's your leaning.
ith a little YouTube rummaging around, I have managed to find a video for (almost) any Christmas mood. Let me know if I've missed a mood that you're in and I'm sure I can find one for it!
(When I was done with my tagging each video with imagined "moods," it occurred to me that maybe someone needs to write a book about the Christmas elves... you know, Peaceful, Surly, Thoughtful, Tearful, Nostalgic, Peppy... OK, I obviously have too much time on my hands now that the baking is over. On the bright side, I got some absolutely amazing colorful yarn for Christmas, so I should be getting busy with that any moment...)
Peaceful
Thoughtful/contemplative
Surly/cynical (language warning)
Tearful
or
(Sarah's pretty much a surefire go-to for tears, for me...)
Nostalgic for the '80s
Nostalgic for the '70s
Peppy/rockin' out
(I have those mittens, fyi!)
I'm not sure what mood this represents, but I'm in awe of the work that this took...
And special for Seth, who really enjoyed Straight No Chaser this year more than ever:
Merry Christmas, everyone. May the spirit of Christmas be with you, not just today but throughout the year. Wouldn't that be amazing? And exhausting. But amazing, for sure.
he minute I saw these cookies (on Pinterest, of course), I knew I needed to make them. This year. The theme at work for Christmas decor is "whimsical" Christmas, which involves a bit of the Krinkles look, with a touch of Dr. Seuss thrown in. These cookies looked perfect for that theme, and besides, all that green? I love it. I've made rolled cookies before (a cranberry concoction from Joy of Baking, years ago) and they turned out fairly well, so that memory just bolstered my resolve!
And, they turned out to be just as easy as I was hoping. The steps themselves take a little bit of time, but the "wow-cool" factor makes them well worth it.
Colorful swirl cookies
2 cups flour, plus possibly a few more tbsp (the original recipe called for cake flour, but I used all-purpose flour and the dough was amply soft)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of food coloring of your choice(and/or 1/2 tsp of any desired extra extracts; I skipped this)
1 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles
In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended.
Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. At this point, your dough will form a ball on your paddle.
Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. If you are using liquid food coloring, you will need to add a few tbsp of flour to keep the dough from becoming too wet. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.
Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until is reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is 1/4 inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Brush the uncolored vanilla dough lightly with water using a pastry brush. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small pairing knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.
Pour out sprinkles onto a large platter and set aside. Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it's ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style. Now, don't get nervous if the outer layer of uncolored dough tears a bit. It's no problem, just pinch and pat those tears and reseal them, then just keep rolling.
Now gently lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and roll away. Cover the log completely with your sprinkles. Wrap the colorfully decorated log in plastic wrap twice. Depending on when you want to bake the cookies, either place the wrapped dough into refrigerator for about 3-4 hours or you can put it the freezer and keep it there for up to 2 months. (If freezing, give yourself time for the dough to defrost in the fridge overnight before cutting.)
Slice your dough into 1/4-1/8 inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
A quiet afternoon by the fire, by the tree... what could be better? Not much. The house is quiet. The oven is OFF. Goody boxes to be assembled... a bit later...
I grabbed this meme from a blog I read daily, noodleroux... well, I read as often as Cha-Cha posts, anyway. A clever writer with many good stories to be told! She got the meme from another blogger who got it from another blogger, and so on. Like that old shampoo ad... yeah, that one.
Here we go!
1. Have you started your Christmas shopping? Oh my, yes. I'd say it's almost done. A couple more tidbits to go, but nothing major. I have a few kinks to work out on both the boys, but since we're not ripping the wrapping, as it were, until we're all back together the first of the year, I have a moment to pause and ponder.
2. Tell me about your special traditions. When I was a kid we played a game called philopena. You must go look that up, it's a hoot. I haven't played in years, but I think I associate it with Christmas because there were so many whole nuts around the house, with a nutcracker. My mom rocks at philopena. Just try to beat her. For some reason I think I always kind of thought it was a racist game, called "Philipino." Now I feel ashamed I thought badly of my family for playing such a game...
3. When do you put up your tree? As soon as possible after Thanksgiving.
4. Are you a Black Friday shopper? Not much. Certainly not in the 4 a.m. style. If I wander out later, I wander. But the bargains, while I do love a bargain, don't really seem to be aimed at me on Black Friday...
5. Do you travel at Christmas or stay home? Seems like we travel a lot at Christmas. I'm hoping to be here next year and have people come to us. Hear that, people?!
6. What is your funniest Christmas memory? Maybe the year Shelby sliced his finger with the exacto-blade while making a model? No. Not that one. Funny and Christmas don't really seem to go together for me... not that it's NOT a funny time of year, but nothing really pops to mind. I have many lovely memories of skiing on Christmas day, the years we lived practically next door to a small ski hill... and I have a real strange fondness for going to movies on Christmas day, but I can't think I've done that more than once or twice... Now, the Christmas we were on Majuro, when I was 11 or so, and my parents were helping rebuild a school after a tidal wave went over the island... that was a "funny" Christmas, in that we ate all kinds of odd things the Red Cross dropped off for all the islanders--corned beef hash, dry-flake mashed potatoes, Apple Jacks (I had never eaten those before, and frankly haven't since!), and went snorkling on Christmas Day... OK, still not funny in the traditional sense...
7. What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time?Elf. I also like Home Alone. A little Christmas Story is good too. But don't get me started on Love, Actually. Really, don't. I know everyone just loves that movie, but ugh. No thanks, even though there are a couple of cute story lines, the infidelity and crushing on your best friend's wife... not so much my cup of tea. Husband is going to be appalled that I don't mention White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn... but I just wasn't raised with those... that's why he's around, to educate me!
8. Do you do your own Christmas baking? What is your favorite treat? That's a funny one! Ha. Do I do my own baking... hmmm. Just a little. My favorite treats can vary over the years, but the few that really stand out, still, are butter tarts of the Canadian/Grandma Kandt variety, Florentine shortbreads, and this year I made some coconut cake snowballs that I am in love with. All to come in later posts...
9. Fake or real tree? We need a biggun with the living room we have right now, and, well, after the first year where the tree died within a week (I bought a cheapo) and the replacement cost about $150, we decided to go for the fake-o. It's big a beautiful and really doesn't look fake, I swear. I have a great appreciation for the smell of Christmas trees, but I also have a great appreciation for not contributing to the death of more trees and also not burning down the house.
10. What day does the actual panic set in to get it all done? Right around when the tree goes up. I like to get my panic out of the way early.
11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Usually, yes. It's surprising why I wait (procrastinate), since I really enjoy the activity of wrapping...
12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas? Mexican train dominoes. Stuffing stockings at midnight with my mom and sister-in-law (and piling up the stuff that doesn't fit into the stocking somewhere under the stocking!). Undoing the stockings in the morning. Christmas breakfast. The whole day.
13. What Christmas craft do you like best? Coming up with new trimmings... wreaths, stockings, that sort of thing.
14. Christmas music, yes or no? And if yes, what is your favorite song? Oh my yes. iTunes says I have more than 500 holiday songs, which is kind of shocking. I make a Christmas mix every year, as do several of my friends, so there is a lot of music swapping going on and new music to be enjoyed. I do have a few favorites... of the sacred variety I am extremely partial to almost anyone singing "Mary, Did You Know?" and of the merry secular variety I adore Michael Buble's "Grown Up Christmas List" and Alison Krauss' "Only You Can Bring Me Cheer," and of course Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Barielles singing "Winter Song"... the list is quite long.
15. When do you plan to finish all your shopping? Sometime next week, obviously. By Wednesday, I'd say, since Wednesday night I will arrive somewhere fairly remote.
16. Do you know the names of all of Santa’s reindeer {without googling it}? Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen, Dasher and Dancer... Vixen? I was informed by husband that Rudolph wasn't part of the gang, but what about the song? I'm confused and frustrated not to be able to google it.
17. When do you take down your Christmas tree? Sometime the first week of January, depending on schedule and mood.
18. Hardest person to buy for? Husband, brother, father. Men in general. 'Cept Seth. He's easy peasy, mostly.
19. Easiest person to buy for? My mom. We have similar enough tastes and interests.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing right now. Isn't that shocking? We need something that signifies this family... not sure that's an angel. Probably a star!
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The busy-ness.
22. What do you want for Christmas? My two front teeth. Seriously, not much. Just a relaxing time with husband, safe travels for my family, a peaceful time for everyone... and if a few shiny, pretty things find their way into my stocking, well, that's fine too. Here's the blog that started it all: Top 10 Christmas. If you're so inclined, play along on your blog--or post your response in the comments--and link back to her. The more the merrier!
I wandered around the tree last week and just enjoyed the various arrangements of ornaments and bows. Our tree is very very eclectic--no designer colors and trendiness here, just old-fashioned glass and variety and sentimentality. Ah! I thought I would share some of them, new and old.
This is a very new one, a birthday present from my sister- and mother-in-law, a tribute to the shared love of gardening. Isn't it pretty? Surprising light for it's size and heft.
OK, this is a really cheap little thing from Target a few years back. I have them in every jewel color of the rainbow, and love love them. I have always had a thing for snowflakes... how appropriate this year of super snow everywhere!
A leaf, yet another new-ish acquisition from sweet auntie MJ. I love it. This one didn't actually make it onto the tree this year... it hangs out down by my end of the dining table so that I can see it all the time! It has some of my very favorite colors in it, and a leaf to boot!
This one was a wedding present (or was it a gift on the first Christmas of marriage? Hazy memory...) and is a very favored ornament. I got a companion red one for my birthday this year, and can't think for the life of me why I didn't take a picture of it too. I just love them both--there are those gorgeous maple leaves that make me very proud of my Canadian heritage!
This is one of a series that includes Noel, love, peace, etc. Very Christmas sentiments... I love the round typeface and the idea of words on my tree? How cool.
This one is the oldest ornament on the tree. It's my very first ornament, from my childhood. (I can hear the "ahhs" now.) So probably 30+ years old... and probably a Hallmark one as well. I love hanging it every year.
We have lots of different birds on our tree, from cardinals to bluebirds in all forms--glass, wood, carved, etc. This snowy owl is my favorite, mostly because he seems to be watching me no matter where in the living room. While that might seem spooky, it's really not. It's more comforting. I would do a whole tree of birds some day, but keep it really a mixed bag of materials and forms so that it looks funky and natural still. We'll see. I would have a hard time not hanging the ornaments that mean so much to me and bring back happy Christmas memories every year...
Wishing all of you a merry Christmas and a very wonderful 2009. May it be filled with all good things. And if it's not (and, well, we already know it won't be, because it's life, right?), may we have the grace and strength to deal with what comes and be supported/supporting and loved/loving along the way!
Isn't this a Christmas card for the times? Love it. Available at Wondermark, but probably not going to get to you in time for Christmas, much less in the mail, too! Put that one on the to-do list for next year.
Woe is me. Holiday menu planning has gotten more and more difficult over the years. One simple reason: access to an increasing number of recipes online. Isn't that just a trial? Don't you feel sorry for me? Ha.
Those lovely and predictable Better Homes and Gardens special occasion publications at the grocery checkout just don't cut it any more. Which is not to say I don't still rely on old favorites and traditions... I do. But this year is somewhere around the dozenth year that I've done the work-party-catering thing, and I do feel the need to shake it up a little. So no little flourless chocolate bites this year, no pesto-sundried tomato torte. There's time enough for those next year... let's do something different. Something fun! The only problem is knowing when to stop looking and just start cooking. It's a bit of a trick.
First party's on Monday. I think the time to stop browsing is now?
My go-to site for inspiration (at the moment) is http://www.foodgawker.com/. I know that http://www.tastespotting.com/ is over there in my "blogs I love" section, but they are incredibly similar, and I discovered the "favorite" tag on foodgawker first, so I have just been returning there out of habit.
OK, first up is a party for grown ups and kids, about 200+... so the menu needs to be a) easily maintained in a buffet setting over a few hours, and b) family friendly!
So we start out with a big display of fruits, veggies, cheese and crackers. Yummy, fresh, easy for everyone to find something they'll enjoy. Very good for the youngsters. I remember attending these things when Seth was little and he'd go straight for the cheese and crackers... actually, he still does...
Then we move on to the ubiquitous tortilla roll-up (there's got to be a more classy name than that...). Two varieties: cranberry/turkey and cream cheese, and kalamata olive/roasted red pepper and cream cheese.
I found a great recipe for a jalapeno popper dip, with chips. I can see this one disappearing quite quickly...
And hummus with baguette.
So that takes care of the non-sweet... on to the fun stuff!
I found a rockin' recipe for peanut butter "cake" truffles... I am very excited to try it. I think they will be entirely too popable! There's also an option for Nutella ones... I may have to make both...
Orange cinnamon palmiers: a twist on the traditional puff pastry favorite. (Picture above is from epicurious.com.)
Elfin shortbread bites: Don't they just sound cute. A little red, a little green, a lot of butter. Yum.
Candy cane biscotti: I discovered these last year and just loved them. Easy to make, easy to eat! I figure I'm not really repeating, since I've only done these one year... right?
Mini caramel apples. This is another big fun new experiment this year. I had this idea of dipping apple slices in caramel and coating them with nuts or chocolate or something. So I did a little online fiddling around and found that Cat Cora did something really cool on an Iron Chef America last summer, and now it's been recreated and flick'red and it's everywhere! So I'm hopeful that it will work and be as cute and creative as it seems like it might...
So that should keep me busy this week. I'll post for the next, more grown up (employees only!) party, once this one is past...
It was quite a day, last Wednesday. But the pictures (mine, at least, I trust the actual photographers did much better!) don't do it justice, even close. I think it was the waking at 3 a.m.--at least, that's the best I can think of... I was sleep deprived... yeah, that's it.
Anyway, we set up for Christmas first (above), and then ran through Thanksgiving (below, before we set it up all pretty-like). It was fun, kind of like catering in that it moved really quicky and time passed in a flash. Mostly I was pretty pleased with how golden I got the turkey. When you don't have to think about drying it out, is it done? isn't it done? you can just think about the color and crank the oven heat up and go!
One of the fun parts of the set-up was accummulating garnishes for the turkey. In "real life" I am just pleased to get the turkey to the table. But for photographic purposes, I referred to various publications like MS Living, Sunset, Gourmet and Bon Apetit, etc. The settings they featured ranged from quite rustic and bare to very elaborate. I aimed for middle of the road, and let the art directors pull off the platter any items they thought didn't work.
For the Christmas setting, I used sage and rosemary tucked in to the neck area, and bay leaves around the bottom, with halved little key limes and tamarillos and fresh cranberries for red accents (you can see that in the top picture--the tamarillos are the roma tomato-like fruit; I'd never used them before, and they were very pretty). For the Thanksgiving setting I used roasted garlic heads, halved lemons, mandarines and key limes, with lime leaves around the bottom. Oh and persimmons! It had a nice fall feel to it. The picture below is the Thanksgiving turkey garnish, just hanging out and waiting for the turkey...
All in all, a productive day! Next time, though, I will do better at getting some shots of the action...
Ah, finally, here we are at the end of the week. And I have finally given in and accepted that we ARE indeed at the week before Thanksgiving, and thus, at the tipping point into the holiday season. It seems to have come along extra-quickly this fall.
But at least we get the weekend to pause... and be thankful... for: * Seth found one of his missing coats today. This is truly something to be grateful for. He's having a hard time keeping track of all his many accessories in his new-ish, bigger school, with no locker. * A happy 3rd wedding anniversary to look forward to on Monday. Three wonderful years! * Still having some lovely fall days, even though they end (in darkness) too soon. * The prospect of Christmas on Mayne Island has us all quite happy. Ferry boat! * Thanksgiving leftovers--not too early to start looking forward to those! * I am thankful for good health, and some really decent nights of sleep this week (after the way-too-early wake up Wednesday a.m.!). But I haven't gotten run down or a cold yet this season (knock on wood, throw back a little echinacea), and it's been going around something fierce. * A capella music. My newest little obsession, after falling in love with some songs off a mix from a friend. It is amazing what voices can do. Now, if only mine would... ha! Maybe not having that makes me appreciate it more in others? Yeah, that's it. Sure. * Work ended on a good note. Slightly hopeful going into the coming week. (Knock on wood again.) * Friendship, in all its many forms, and all the ebbs and flows over the years; it's wonderful to have people to count on, and to be that person others can count on too. New friends and old, and newly-connected-old-friends, I do treasure. * My grateful list would not be complete this week without cheese. Had the most amazing lunch at a new-ish local place today, Brasserie 4, and had a wonderful curry cocount chicken soup and eggplant, zucchini and blue cheese pizza. Grateful for all good flavors!
Here are a couple of fun ads for your viewing pleasure. Sony has come up with quite a few in this vein; these two are my favorites. Wishing all a peaceful and joyous weekend!
In preparation for the Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner photo shoot on Wednesday, I needed to come up with a couple of different relish/sauce/accompaniments for the turkey. One I knew would be a pretty traditional cranberry sauce, the other took a little more thought, and some creative license!
Cranberry sauce the way Sher likes it:
2 bags of fresh cranberries, picked over and washed
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
1 cup sweetener--you can use sugar, light corn syrup, honey or maple syrup
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 T vanilla
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan on the stove and heat slowly over medium-low heat, to avoid popping all the cranberries. Stir occasionally. When simmering and about 3/4 of the cranberries are open and bubbly, turn off and cool. Taste and adjust sweetener as needed.
The photo above is pretty monochromatic--I'm still working on ye olde food photography, and feel extremely limited with my kitchen lighting, especially with zero sunshine when I'm cooking most days. Anyway, all that is to say that when we're shooting the sauce on Wednesday, I think I'll zest some more orange and maybe even thinly strip off some rind to give some more texture and color to it.
For sauce No. 2, I went rummaging online and found a recipe for a pineapple relish that sounded good, and one for an apricot relish, and so I combined them, threw in a little grapefruit juice for an acid and some habaneros for heat and pomegranates for texture and color and, voila!, a pretty zesty little combo.
Pineapple-apricot-pomegranate relish
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup chopped dried apricots
2 T grapefruit juice (you could easily use lime or orange instead)
1/2 cup sugar
Simmer over medium heat until apricots are softened and mixture is bubbly. Take off the heat and add:
1/2 cup fiinely diced shallots
2 habaneros, sliced cross-wise
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Stir until blended. Serve warm or cold.
When I was tasting I avoided actually chomping on a habanero since I'm kinda wimpy in the heat department, but the overall flavor of the sauce had been warmed through by the peppers and it had a nice fire to it--nothing radical, just tasty and glow-y! This relish would also work well with "other" white meats... not just Mr. Turkey. You could even pretend it's a salsa and serve with chips, or, dare I say it, a cheesey quesadilla!
ll of a sudden, here we are: Christmas is upon us. It has seemed especially sneeky this year, creeping up and surprising most everyone I know. Is it that we've all been so busy, or that the local weather seems to deny December, or some other factor I haven't yet considered? Who knows. But on this Christmas Eve Eve, here are a few things I've been collecting around the interwebs that are particular to this time of year.
t's been one of *those* weeks... you know, one of those weeks where a whole seven days happens between posts. I'm not a fan of *those* weeks, but lately, with the crush of work and life and family and the holidays, well, it's just going to be what it's going to be.
ith a little YouTube rummaging around, I have managed to find a video for (almost) any Christmas mood. Let me know if I've missed a mood that you're in and I'm sure I can find one for it!
he minute I saw these cookies (on 
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