eG Foodblog: Zucchini Mama - A Merry Zucchini Christmas

[JasmineL]

I walked home from Zucchini Mama's house, picked up some sour cream and an onion and ran home to fry up my precious perogies! Oh man, they were fantastic...if I do say so myself. I can't think of a better comfort food for a rainy Vancouver evening.

The beautiful Zucchini Mama and the handsome Ullie made me instantly comfortable. Zucchini Mama had prepped the dough and filling so that my job was to demonstrate the mechanics of perogy making.I won't say too much about that part because it will be illustrated once the photos are posted...but Zucchini was a natural.

We had a great chat, listened to some great music and made some great food! The perfect afternoon.

[Zucchini Mama]

Thanks Perogy Diva! Ullie loved the Thomas Haas treat you gave him (and so did I!). I really appreciate your help and I look forward to seeing you at eGullet events and around the hood. The photos are cooking right now.

In the meantime, here are some more thoughts inspired by UBC Farm:

What's the Buzz? UBC Farm's Blackberry Festival

This morning I have had one of my favorite meal of summer so far. At $2.50, it was also one of the cheapest! I can't think of a better place to spend a Saturday morning in August than UBC farm, especially on a breezy sunny day like today. The organizers in the Blackberry Festival have created an exciting buzz in the air, along with the bees busily making honey while the sun shines.

As usual, I get on the number 25 bus at Ontario and King Edward, and watch the scenery go by until we get to the Westbrooke Mall stop. From there, I head South and enjoy the fifteen minute walk to the farm. The sandy underbellies of swallows flash in the sun and the air is filled with their squabbling and bantering. My eyes search out plump, ripe Himalayan blackberries in the cool shade by the side of the road. The market is busy this morning and throughout the grounds I see families staking out the best blackberry patches and filling up their containers. A woman pumps furiously away on a stationary purple bicycle hooked up to a blender, creating fresh bicycle powered smoothies for the crowd. She is a member of the UBC Bike Co-op, who provide a number of services for cyclists on the campus.

There is honey for sale, lavender, containers of freshly made bean salad, UBC farm t-shirts and hats, as well as interesting produce from the Mayan garden, and the UBC market garden. I notice the food created by the Aboriginal Downtown East Side Community Kitchen looks fantastic, so I can't wait for noon to roll around. I also take note of the blackberry cake and pie for sale. I head off to one of my favorite places at UBC farm, which is clearing containing the apiary.

The bees are the busiest I've ever seen them, filling the air like fuzzy musical notes issuing forth from the mouth of the hive. I try to phonetically transcribe some of the birdsong I'm hearing: One sounds like "tweedle dee dee, tweedle dee dee, the fly has married the bumble bee." I would love to come out here with a real birder who could help take an inventory of just how many birds make their homes on the farm. So far I have seen robins, hawks, goldfinches, raspberry finches swallows, and today two yellow-green canaries, only slightly larger than butterflies chase each other in the air over a pile of culled timber.

The purposeful industry of the bees inspires me and makes me feel a little bit guilty in my role as the passive observer. They awaken twinges of the protestant work ethic guilt deep in my psyche. They pry open those questions I have about my own role and purpose in society. There is also something mystical about bees. I ask myself: who tells them what to do? Do they each have a built in sense of their purpose and role in life, or do they receive orders from some kind of divine voice? Of course, I'm projecting my own burning questions onto the bees. What is the buzz?

We love and protect bees. They are peaceful, productive, and industrious. They have a highly organized society in which tasks are divided among the members and change according to the bee's age. They pollinate our fruits and vegetables, thus helping them to bear fruit. Bees create delicious honey and they're great dancers. They are a matriarchal and female-dominant. They will sting if the hive is threatened, but are not usually malicious. As I ponder the bees, I head over to the market stand for my lunch.

I asked to try three of the salads offered by the Aboriginal Downtown Eastside Community Kitchen made from vegetable picked right from their garden on the farm. I thought they were each $2.50, but my entire plate heaped with three salads was $2.50 in total! There was coleslaw made of green cabbage and dressed in a tangy vinaigrette with a few fresh blueberries tossed on top before serving. There was a rotini pasta salad with another perfect vinaigrette, fresh raw peas, and tiny crunchy kernels of corn. My favorite salad was the stellar potato salad made with a mayonnaise-based dressing, chopped kale and a touch of fresh sage. I sat in the shade of an elder tree and savored every bite of my lunch. I didn't have room left for the bannock focaccia, but liked the idea of this Canadian/Italian fusion. In the farm center, which houses the site washroom, I literally ran into a chef with some amazing aboriginal face tattoos. I peeked my head in the kitchen, which was redolent with sage, and thanked the workers for such great food.

The sunflowers are now out in their full glory, many of them in the deep, rusty colors that are so popular right now. I detected a whiff of smoke in the air, so I headed down the apiary, where sure enough, the beekeepers were at work opening up the hives so visitors could look inside. Apparently the farm rents these hives out to other farmers. It's a sweet deal, because the farmers get their plants pollinated and the farm keeps all the honey. The bees were furious at having their productive day interrupted, but they weren't looking for blood. A few brave souls walked up to the hive without beekeeper's gear, but as the bees became increasingly agitated we were told to keep our distance just in case. My dad said he's had hives with different personalities, some are more aggressively protective than others. The beekeeper showed us a female worker perched on her hand and explained to us that if you get stung, try to gently lift the bee up, so the stinger doesn't break off and continue pumping venom into your skin. Once she had allowed the children watching to have a close look at the bee, she gently brushed it off. It flew away and left a little spot of nectar behind. The beekeeper tasted it and smiled at the sweetness of the insects's gift.

[jayhay]

Thank you Zuke, I'm really enjoying your blog, & your little one is adorable!

Can you say what it is you do in the theatrical (I'm assuming here) world?

[Zucchini Mama]

good morning, zuke!  a wonderful blog so far.  i'm so enjoying the stories, the wit, and the photos.  you do us proud!

yummm, perogies!  an old friend is from dauphin, manitoba, and i loved going there for xmas as we always would have a huge ukrainian feast.  homemade perogies, cabbage rolls (i know how to say it but not spell it...holopchy?!!), sausages and etc.  my other favourite memory from there is going to the local husky for borscht on borscht day.  such a canadiana moment. 

might i bug you for your recipe for the chai shortbread?  that sounds absolutely yummy!

have another fabulous day of food adventures!

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Thanks makan makan! "Holobshy?" I mean it's always a phonetic approximation of the original text, and even "perogy" gets spelled a couple of different ways.

I would love to give you my recipe for chai shortbread. I just use unbleached flour and brown rice flour-it makes them a bit fragile, but I like it. Or you can take any old shrotbread recipe and just add the chai spices, the same way a plain vanilla cheesecake becomes an eggnog cheesecake by the addition of nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.

Zuke-

I wanted to add a quick comment on how captivating your blog is.  The way you use words gives a real texture and pastosity to everything you describe.  I feel like I can touch, smell and feel what you are talking about.  You trigger my sense memory woman...wow!

I've gotta feed myself now, I'll post some of my thoughts and holiday memories that you triggered for me later...

Thanks for the effort!

Genny

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Thanks Genny, please share your Christmas experiences with us!

[Zucchini Mama]

The following is a poem inspired by the barn swallows that escort you to UBC farm as you walk up the treelined road towards its gates. It is inspired by this popular exerpt of a long poem by Christopher Smart called Jubilate Agno.

Jubilate Swallow

We give thanks for barn swallows

for they snatch invisible food from the air

for they feedeth on the dreaded mosquito

for they are the finest of aerial artists

for their flying is dancing

for their bodies are sleek arrows

for their bellies are sandy orange

for their backs are almost black almost blue almost purple

for their backs are iridescent

for their sturdy nests are the opposite of their delicate nature

for their babies have fat yellow beaks

for they maketh shelter from mud

for they describe the arcs toward paradise

for they sew sunlight and shadow together

for they are owned by no one and loved by almost everyone

for even their squabbling is delightful

LDW July 20/05

[barolo]

Zucchini Mama you are bringing back lots of prairie memories for me with all that perogy making. I lived in Edmonton for a few years in the late '80's and early '90's and had my first perogy in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan at that time. I won't pretend that I miss those long and cold winters, but I do miss the warmth of prairie people and their very real connection to the land. Despite the lower mainland's bounty, I felt that prairie people have a stronger connection to the land that feeds them than we do here, perhaps because they had to work so hard for it.

I offer a different kind of Edmonton Christmas story. In my Edmonton days I attended a Paul Kane dinner at Fort Edmonton late one December. Paul Kane was an artist and writer who made two trips along the North American fur trade routes to sketch native peoples and the landscapes. He spent a Christmas in Fort Edmonton in 1847 which he described in his diary:

"On Christmas day the flag was hoisted, and all appeared in their best and gaudiest style, to do honour to the holiday. Towards noon every chimney gave evidence of being in full blast, whilst savoury streams of cooking pervaded the atmosphere in all directions. About two o'clock we sat down to dinner. ... At the head, before Mr. Harriett, was a large dish of boiled buffalo hump; at the foot smoked a boiled buffalo calf ... My pleasing duty was to help a dish of mouffle, or dried moose nose; the gentleman on my left distributed, with graceful impartiality, the white fish, delicately browned in buffalo marrow.  The worthy priest helped the buffalo tongue, whilst Mr. Rundell [Rundle] cut up the beavers' tails. Nor was the other gentleman left unemployed, as all his spare time was occupied in dissecting a roast wild goose. The centre of the table was graced with piles of potatoes, turnips, and bread conveniently placed so that each could help himself. Such was our jolly Christmas dinner at Edmonton, and long will it remain in my memory, although no pies, or puddings, or blanc manges shed their fragrance over the scene."

- Paul Kane, Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America. London : Longmans, 1859.

Our dinner was a partial recreation of this Christmas dinner - no buffalo hump or calf, but moose nose, beavertail, whitefish, goose, potatoes and turnips were prepared in the style of the era. Our drink was rum. We ate at a long trestle table in a room lit by fireplaces and torches. It was cold and snowy and quiet and for a few hours we travelled back in time.

[Zucchini Mama]

Zucchini Mama you are bringing back lots of prairie memories for me with all that perogy making.  I lived in Edmonton for a few years in the late '80's and early '90's and had my first perogy in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan at that time.  I won't pretend that I miss those long and cold winters, but I do miss the warmth of prairie people and their very real connection to the land.  Despite the lower mainland's bounty, I felt that prairie people have a stronger connection to the land that feeds them than we do here, perhaps because they had to work so hard for it.

I offer a different kind of Edmonton Christmas story.  In my Edmonton days I attended a Paul Kane dinner at Fort Edmonton late one December.  Paul Kane was an artist and writer who made two trips along the North American fur trade routes to sketch native peoples and the landscapes.  He spent a Christmas in Fort Edmonton in 1847 which he described in his diary:

"On Christmas day the flag was hoisted, and all appeared in their best and gaudiest style, to do honour to the holiday. Towards noon every chimney gave evidence of being in full blast, whilst savoury streams of cooking pervaded the atmosphere in all directions. About two o'clock we sat down to dinner. ... At the head, before Mr. Harriett, was a large dish of boiled buffalo hump; at the foot smoked a boiled buffalo calf ... My pleasing duty was to help a dish of mouffle, or dried moose nose; the gentleman on my left distributed, with graceful impartiality, the white fish, delicately browned in buffalo marrow.  The worthy priest helped the buffalo tongue, whilst Mr. Rundell [Rundle] cut up the beavers' tails. Nor was the other gentleman left unemployed, as all his spare time was occupied in dissecting a roast wild goose. The centre of the table was graced with piles of potatoes, turnips, and bread conveniently placed so that each could help himself. Such was our jolly Christmas dinner at Edmonton, and long will it remain in my memory, although no pies, or puddings, or blanc manges shed their fragrance over the scene."

- Paul Kane, Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America. London : Longmans, 1859.

Our dinner was a partial recreation of this Christmas dinner - no buffalo hump or calf, but moose nose, beavertail, whitefish, goose, potatoes and turnips were prepared in the style of the era. Our drink was rum. We ate at a long trestle table in a room lit by fireplaces and torches. It was cold and snowy and quiet and for a few hours we travelled back in time.

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That's beautiful barolo, just magical. Thank you. Now I'm really homesick. I think I need a glass of wine.

[Zucchini Mama]

Okay, we coaxed the boy out of the house with a promise of a visit to the YWCA Thrift shop. It is just around the corner of Solly's Bagelry, which is a real hub of activity in our local community. If you want to announce an event, you have to put a poster up at Solly's. Solly's has a little basket of beat up toys which Ullie loves and has been diving into since he could walk.

Golden latkes with apple sauce and sour cream. Ullie had a grilled cheese sandwich at home before we left, so he had a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin.

Monmartre: There are flamenco nights, poetry readings, and funky bands at this neighborhood café. It is in the same block as Mainly Organics where we bought the organic russet potatoes for the perogies.

Next up...Perogy Diva!

[Zucchini Mama]

Perogy Primer

So the recipe I used was in the cookbook I mentioned, by Mr. J. Hofer. I used his "Never Fail" perogy dough recipe. I mean, I don't understand why people always have six recipes for something, in addition to the "never fail" recipe. I guess people just like to live dangerously--if your perogies might fail does that add a frisson of excitement to the process? I don't like to fail in the kitchen, because when I do I fail dramatically. I'll never live down the gnocchi disaster of '99. This year's disaster is recorded in the eGullet home made marshmallow thread--just call me the woman with the smoking beaters....

But I digress. Eggs, flour, water, milk.

And here she is, the woman we've all been waiting for!

Notice how thinly she rolls the dough-about an eighth of an inch on a liberally floured surface. This is to allow for shrinkage when they are boiled.

We use jam jar lids to cut circles out of the dough.

A couple of great tips: Firm up the mashed potato and onion filling so it's easier to handle by putting it in the fridge to cool. Also, use a large melon baller to scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of filling on a plate.

Notice how she pinches the middle of the perogy edge first, then the corners, then goes over the whole edge, gently but firmly pinch it together so that the perogy does not open up when it is being boiled.

raw perogies

A beaming Perogy Diva makes perogy number 55!

The parboiled perogies each have their own ripples and dimples unlike the banal similarity among factory-produced imposters.

So there we have it! I just have this great image of the large potato masher on a broom stick that Jasmine used in a kind of butter-churn? shaped device to mash up the spuds. She will fill in any of the details I have missed. It was fun, like a perogy bee as opposed to a quilting bee!

Here's Ullie with his chocolate hazelnut praline-filled treat from Thomas Haas. Today he turned off all the lights and turned on the Christmas lights and put his toys to sleep under the tree.

Edited December 21, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[snacky_cat]

LOVE the perogy photos, Zuke! It reminds me to get off my lazy half-Ukranian bottom and make my biennial batch. The antepenultimate perogy pile I crafted was back in 2000, when I lived in a funny little place in the Plateau in Montreal. It had zero counter space, so I had to line up the hundred or so little plumpers on the kitchen table and then, when space ran out there, on a wax papered and floured swath of kitchen floor.

Ohhh, Vancouver eGullet perogy exchange.... A carb-laden idea is forming in my head....

[Pan]

A love of pierogies is something we have in common. For lunch, I had a small cup of red borsht and a half-portion of boiled sweet potato pierogies (4 of them) with a bit of sour cream and some fried onions at a place a few blocks north of me called Little Poland. Topped off with some caraway-studded pumpernickel and an iced tea with lemon, that meal hit the spot.

One question (totally unrelated to pierogies): Is the Aboriginal Downtown East Side Community Kitchen in fact run by First Nations people?

[Zucchini Mama]

^snacky_cat,

I like where you're going with that perogy exchange idea--but it's so fun to make them with other people. I say an mammoth eGullet perogy bee and subsequent feast!

I'm beat. My typing shoulder's seized up. I'm working on a Mac 9500--do you know how slow it is...?boohoohoo!

Anyway we had the leftover goulash tonight which I put some red wine and the leftover rotkraut into. I had a dreamy bowl of the rice pudding-those cherries plump up and they're enormous! MMM... a spoon of pudding alternating with a bite of Thomas Haas Chocolate. I really will have sweet dreams!

G'night y'all.

[jamiemaw]

One question (totally unrelated to pierogies): Is the Aboriginal Downtown East Side Community Kitchen in fact run by First Nations people?

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Looks like her Zucchininess is taking a well-deserved snooze, Pan. Yes, some of DECK Kitchens are attenuated to FNP, one specifically for FNP with diabetic dietary needs.

Edited December 21, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[appreciator]

Zuke.... I'm really enjoying your blog.

Christmas is a very special time for me.... no matter how much I try to deny it

In a way though, the best part ended when I was about 13 and we up and moved to Salt Spring Island.

Prior to that, 4 neighbouring families used to get together every year to celebrate. It was very ritualistic. We had the same thing for lunch (particularly remember the clam chowder) and the same thing for dinner. Each family would take a turn hosting either lunch or dinner. After dinner we'd all gather in the living room for a spirited game of charades - though everyone grumbled about this - I know they all secretly loved it.

To me Christmas is all about the rituals: this of course, includes good friends (and family if you choose: biggrin: ), fabulous food, good wine, seasonal traditions and great conversation. That's what makes it special.

After a few years of topsy turveyness due to familial illness (elderly parent issues and, in my father's case, transitioning on to his just reward), I am setting things afresh with new traditions.

This year I'm renting a house on Galiano Island with a few friends. We're all into good food and wine so I am really looking forward to our getaway. Menu planning for my assigned meals is underway - I've got Christmas Dinner and Boxing Day dinner. Just trying to figure out how to incorporate all the foods I love whilst accommodating the food preferences (and dislikes!) of others. How is it that people actually don't like mushrooms? And what about delicious Brussel sprouts? Oh well, to each their own

Do you have any particular rituals that you absolutely must do every year?

Edited December 21, 2005 by appreciator (log)

[~cayenne~]

Pop Quiz: Zucchini Mama once shopped for Christmas presents in this city.

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Perhaps Prague?

[misgabi]

Have just started catching up on your blog after being ill. I know you have made your quince jam already but wanted to contribute. We use a huge amount of quince in Australia and (short of abusing copyright) the following are very similar to those I make:

Quince Paste or Poached Quinces or something different

A great tagine (look at some of the others on this site - yum!!!)

Will check back in after I finish reading - love the blog so far.

BTW - Australian Christmas - still holding tight to the turkey etc but serve with salad, especially my mango/red onion salad. But we start down here with lots and lots of seafood - all cold: praws, oysters, mussels and lobster

[Pam R]

I'd hire you . Always looking for good perogy help.

[jm chen]

"Holobshy?" I mean it's always a phonetic approximation of the original text, and even "perogy" gets spelled a couple of different ways.

My family spells it "pierogi." The cabbage rolls I think we spell something like "glumpki." Which may not look like it's the same word as "holobshy" but I think it is.

[Zucchini Mama]

Happy Solstice from the Goddess of the Feminist Utopia!

I dreamt I was Saskatchewan in my elevating bra.

I am the Goddess of the Feminist Utopia that is Saskatchewan:

Goddess of wheat and teet,

Goddess of flat land and buxom women,

Goddess of bus strikes and uncooperative co-operatives.

I come from an island in the middle of Saskatchewan

There aren't many of us, but we all dress like this,

and we all sing like this:

Mmoooahh ahh!

Calling all feminist outlaws,

Come to Saskatchewan and build your collective dream home.

Make your bed and breakfasts for the revolution.

Get away from the crime, high cost of living, and pollution.

Mmooeeeeeeee! This is the age of post-patriarchal enlightenment,

and the barbwire fences humm with excitement!

Rise up to the glory of the new organic state

We plan to lift and separate

Saskatchewan from her patriarchal bookends.

We hijack semi trucks from Alberta, recycle their products and eat their food.

(We also milk the drivers for their sperm and stock-pile futons, but that's another story.)

Vacation at our feminist theme park

Win a medal at the feminist games.

We interrupt this special bra-cast from the Goddess of the Fem Ut. to bring you back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Well, there you go...someone asked what kind of performing I do and that's an excerpt from an old cabaret piece. I have training in classical singing (I love Schubert leider), visual art, and physical theatre. I have worked in a variety of media, but my earlier work was more like Fringe theatre and cabaret. Peter and I create interactive installations, often with an audio component. I am working on a performance and auditory beehive for next year that will hopefully be installed in a couple of public gardens next summer. I am creating a character that will be an Edwardian theosophist who speaks to bees. Like many artists I been employed in various jobs in the food industry: waitressing in Saskatoon and Glasgow, slinging vegetarian haggis in Edinburgh, and pulling lattes in Vancouver. Let me say I am much better at playing a waitress on stage than I am in reality and I'd like to apologize to all of my former customers and I confess I can't make a decent Americano to save my life!

Okay, that was cathartic. Today we'll be visiting UBC farm, and performing that time old pagan solstice ritual of cleaning out the fridge... because it stinks! Sadly, the solstice potluck was cancelled because of unfinished renovations, but we will still make the pumpkin tart and have it at home. I also want to go out for a surprise treat. I don't even know what it is yet. Okay, wish me luck, this fridge may require surgical maneuvers I am barely capable of performing without being under anaesthetic.

[Zucchini Mama]

Pop Quiz: Zucchini Mama once shopped for Christmas presents in this city.

←

Perhaps Prague?

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Actually, it's Lyon. Peter and I spent a week there about six years ago. Never have I seen a whole city in such a bad mood. There were strikes everywhere, halting the trains that bring in all the visitors from Paris. It was bonechillingly cold and windy. I thought I'd be fine ordering from menus with my grade douze french, but I should have researched all the local specialties which have their own names. Shopkeepers were glum and taciturn. I asked the proprieter of a health food store for "jus de canneberge" and he almost bit my head off. Once I ordered a Salade Lyonaise, thinking it would be greens but it was an egg poached on sweetbreads with lardons. Not a great thing for me at the best of times and with jet lag I almost gagged. We did find a few sweet spots though, most notable a restaurant that served cuisine from the Seychelles called Le Jardin de L'Octopus or something like that. The chef came around and chatted with us because he was a sailor and knew English. We ordered a half bottle of Tavel and they gave us a whole one. That was unique and memorable. I'd like to revisit Lyon under different cirumstances and I would brush up on my French food terms before I went. The light is beautiful though, isn't it? That photo wasn't even taken with my Nikon SLR, just a little point and shoot. Oh, and I love their pedestrian bridges. I wish Vancouver had them!

[makanmakan]

Happy Solstice from the Goddess of the Feminist Utopia!

I dreamt I was Saskatchewan in my elevating bra.

I am the Goddess of the Feminist Utopia that is Saskatchewan:

Goddess of wheat and teet,

Goddess of flat land and buxom women,

Goddess of bus strikes and uncooperative co-operatives.

I come from an island in the middle of Saskatchewan

There aren't many of us, but we all dress like this,

and we all sing like this:

Mmoooahh ahh!

Calling all feminist outlaws, 

Come to Saskatchewan and build your collective dream home.

Make your bed and breakfasts for the revolution.

Get away from the crime, high cost of living, and pollution.

Mmooeeeeeeee! This is the age of post-patriarchal enlightenment,

and the barbwire fences humm with excitement!

Rise up to the glory of the new organic state

We plan to lift and separate

Saskatchewan from her patriarchal bookends.

We hijack semi trucks  from Alberta, recycle their products and eat their food.

(We also milk the drivers for their sperm and stock-pile futons, but that's another story.)

Vacation at our feminist theme park

Win a medal at the feminist games.

We interrupt this special bra-cast from the Goddess of the Fem Ut. to bring you back to our regularly scheduled programming.

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*wipes tears of giggles from my eyes*

thank you for this, zuke! for bringing a big smile to my face. i love it!

oh, and if the perogy bee is going on, please sign me up! i'm a perogy making virgin, but i learn fast. i am all over that idea!

Edited December 21, 2005 by makanmakan (log)

[jayhay]

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I think you & Jamie are in a competition....

Nice looking perogies...

[Zucchini Mama]

Zuke.... I'm really enjoying your blog. 

Christmas is a very special time for me.... no matter how much I try to deny it 

(edit)

Do you have any particular rituals that you absolutely must do every year?

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Hi Sarah, you night owl!

Thanks for sharing your Christmas traditions I hope you have a lot of fun and good wine this year. Ullie loves his chocolate fondue, by the way. We dipped Cape Gooseberries from Columbia in the melted chocolate and they were divine! It's like a tropical vacation in itself-notes persimmon, passion fruit, orange. They had them at Choices and the South Seas trading Co. They are nothing like the ground cherries grown here. Also, talk about an aphrodisiac-hubba hubba!

Christmas traditions:

You know I always used to sing a solo in church at Christmas, since I was very young. However, since I'm a bit of a lapsing Lutheran I've missed a couple of years. I really miss that this year.

Our family is big on stocking stuffing and it would be very strange not to do that. You'll see the stocking booty on Christmas morning. My mom hunts all year for them and if she sees you admiring something she has a magical way of making sure it ends up in your stocking! I make the cookbooks every year and calendars using reproductions of vintage family photos. We often see the lights at Van Dusen Gardens, but I don't mind skipping a year. My aunt in Saskatoon always sends Peter a hunk of her Malaysian Love Cake which is a dense caked with toasted nuts soaked in rosewater syrup. It keeps our love alive! We used to have a hot pot (with hot coals) at Christmas at her house and chicken biryani made with dried cranberries instead of raisins. Dad likes hot buttered rum. I like going toboganning. Board games-my Aunt Mary is a killer Scrabble player. In fact I got Ullie a Junior Scrabble board at a flea market for Christmas. My sister has a WIDE screen tv, so I must admit I have late night binges on movies and the Food Network since we don't have cable. Mom's birthday! December 27, where we will make Schmoo Torte which is her fave. I kind of like one family disagreement, just to give the holidays a little edge-a cranberry tartness if you will. Christmas without conflict is a little flat, don't you think? The Christmas we were all trapped inside in a blizzard for days was a bit scary though.

Gosh, tomorrow we fly. I'm so excited!

So I cleaned out the fridge, which wasn't so bad after all. However, I deduced that the smell is coming from underneath the refrigerator. Made a batch of cookies from some batter Ullie won at a Christmas party. Did a bit of prep for tonight's supper. Now Ullie wants me to do a puzzle with him. He's going to stay here with his aunt Nancy while I treck out to the farm in the rain.

Edited December 21, 2005 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[Chufi]

I am creating a character that will be an Edwardian theosophist who speaks to bees.

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I am enjoying this blog so much. It has an energy unlike any other!

and p.s... I love Sarah Harmer!

[Chufi]

I kind of like one family disagreement, just to give the holidays a little edge-a cranberry tartness if you will. Christmas without conflict is a little flat, don't you think?

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OK I just had to quote this one.. I will try to remember this when I am at my in-laws for Christmas, with my husband and stepdaughter.. always a great environment for family disagreements.. now this year I will just repeat it as my mantra:

"we are NOT having a fight, this is just the cranberry-tartness of Christmas 2005"