Cori

This is a picture of my brother Rocky with his step-daughter Cori.  Cori passed away on Boxing Day after a long and courageous battle with cancer.  She was only 26.  She had been in our family since she was 5 although as things deteriorated between my brother and her mom, we did not see as much of her as we would have liked.  She was a beloved big sister to my niece Samantha and an Aunt to Emery.   She will be sorely missed.  Although it is inevitable, I can't imagine losing a sibling.  I'm very close to mine.

Too Much Food

Ugh, Christmas is over and we had way too much food.  There were plenty of leftovers so my Dad pretty well won't have to cook all week long!  As the table was being cleared, I noted that there was a lot of good food left on the plates.  This annoyed both me and my Dad.  Because some members of the family are vegan, we had two versions of some dishes to omit butter and milk.  Next time we are making just one version (vegan) so that we save table space and don't waste food.  The other reason for the wasted food is the old "eyes bigger than stomach" routine.  People had been eating cookies all day so when dinner came, they weren't so hungry but wanted to eat all of their favourites.  

I kept a bowl of baby carrots (honest!) on the kitchen counter all day and ate those whenever the urge for a cookie came about.  I can honestly say I did not over-eat on Christmas and I think the carrots helped.  Of course the fact that I have a tenacious cold helped as my appetite and taste buds are somewhat diminished.

Other than the over-abundance of food, it was a good day. All of my siblings, nieces and nephews where there at one time or another and everyone was on good behaviour.  We babysat my great nephew almost all day.  He's 4 and a delight.  He loves his Great Papa's house.  Most of the time, he is easy to deal with... It's only when we want him to eat something (other than a cookie) that he says no.  We found if we just put the food in front of him and didn't ask him to eat, he will.  I made him some little banana pancakes, so he could just pick them up like a cookie when the urge hit him.  He also gives us a bit of business when it's time to go home.  I don't blame him.  Papa's house is fun and he's indulged non-stop.  

I was going to start dieting a bit more seriously on Boxing Day but I succumbed to the allure of the mashed potato.  I'm going to make a pot of soup today.  It's good, hearty, low cal and just what I need for my cold.  Here is my recipe (as written, this is vegan but you can add other protein such as chicken or lean sautéed sausage or a tablespoon of bacon bits for a smoky flavour):

2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 peppers chopped (any colour)
1 can crushed tomatoes
32 oz of low sodium vegetable cocktail juice
2 tbsp lemon juice ( I use way more)
1 or 2 can of beans. I used white beans and or black beans.
1 tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (I used the tubed stuff)
1/4 cup fresh or dried parsley

Sauté the onion, garlic and pepper with olive oil in a stock pot.  Then add everything else except the cilantro and parsley.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the cilantro and parsley.  If it's too thick, add some broth.   This makes a lot of soup.  It can be made in a large crock pot but I prefer the stove top as it tastes more fresh.

Take a Deep Breath...

I am drawn to Calla Lilies because they were my Mum's favourite flower.  As I was leaving the grocery store today (at 5:30 a.m.), I walked by a display of them.  I found one with 6 lilies which was just perfect.  There were two taller ones and four small ones which represents my nuclear family.  (I took the photo on the left in a church garden in Paris.)

I miss my Mum most of the time but especially at Christmas.  And not just because she did 99% of the work which has now fallen to me and my sisters.    She made it seem so effortless.  All of the cookies and then the turkey, all the trimmings, the decorating, stocking filling and the present buying.  Never a complaint or a hint that it was all too much.  

It now takes at least three of us to recreate her efforts.  I find that I dread Christmas eve and day because I know I will be exhausted by the time it's done and will have to deal the myriad personalities that make up our extended family.  There are now 17 of us!    Christmas Eve used to be a small casual dinner of tourtière, with my parents, my sister, my husband and me.  After my Mum passed, the dinner grew so that we now have a full house and instead of one pie, I need to make 4!   So that is the reason I need to take a deep breath.  A deep calming breath.  I want to enjoy the day rather than just get through it.   I don't know if that's possible, but I'm going to try.  

Merry Christmas!

Hello Dollies Redux

When I was in Grades 7 & 8, we girls were tortured in Home Economics once a week by a she-devil teacher named Miss Adams.*  It was a mile from our school to the school with the facilities and there were many days when we trudged there with dread.  I can't say Miss Adams taught me anything that my Mum hadn't already taught me about cooking or sewing but she did teach me a lot about cruelty...however, I digress.  

I first heard about Hello Dollies from my sister Lisa who had suffered through Miss Adams before me.  Hello Dollies were the one thing baked in Home Economics that the students looked forward to.  They helped sweep away the unpleasant memory of the dreaded "Tuna-Touchdown Casserole," which contained an odd mix of canned tuna, canned peas, cream of mushroom soup and inexplicably...crushed potato chips.  Honestly, the girls were made to eat that crap and many were sick just from looking at it.  It was not one of the menu items when we cycled through and maybe too many young girls throwing up was the reason.  But again I digress.  

Hello Dollies are simple to make but I have never been able to make them without them falling apart.  The ingredients are assembled in layers as in melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts or pecans and then pour a can of sweetened condensed milk over the whole shmear and bake.  I decided to try a different way which worked out very well.  Instead of graham crumbs, I used whole graham crackers and instead of layering, I poured all of the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, mixed in the milk and spread everything evenly on top on the crackers.  Nothing fell off or crumbled and they taste just the same.  

Hello Dollies are not a diet food but at this time of year and with all the baking going on, I'm not dieting.  In some ways I can't wait for the season to be over so I can get rid of all temptation again.

* Miss Adams aka "Old Biddie Adams"   Miss Adams disappeared from classes midway through our second year with her.  Rumour has it that she was fired when the school board discovered she was using school funds to purchase the fabric for the snappy 60's outfits she sewed for herself.  The fact that she broke a student's nose by slamming her face into a desk may have also had something to do with it. I'm glad she was gone before my younger sister had to endure her.

Can't make this one go away...

I spent most of yesterday in a state of disbelief and grief, as I can imagine did most people with access to any type of media.  The horror of the slaughter in Connecticut will not go away in our lifetime.  This keeps happening and then the arguments over gun control start up.  Hopefully, the hand-wringing and arguments will come up with a compromise that everyone can live with.  Of course there is no legislating the minds of individuals intent on harm...whatever the weapon...but maybe there is a solution that will make it less easy to kill so many so quickly. 

The Joyous Season

The Joyous Season is one of my favourite books.  It was written in the 1960's by Patrick Dennis.  It's about many things.  Family, divorce, the innocence of children...all played out over the Christmas season which is sarcastically referred to as "The Joyous Season" as that is when mayhem reaches a peak.  It is a very funny book and no matter how many times I read it, I always enjoy it.  Unfortunately, the book is hard to find.  I have a two copies as well as copies of almost all of Mr. Dennis' books.  He really was brilliant and with respect to Christmas mayhem, the author had a point.  


I love the Christmas season although it is a lot of work for me.  I have sewing and baking to do.  I haven't bothered to decorate my own house for a few years.  We spend most of our time at my Dad's house and we do plenty of decorating there.  I am suffering from inertia however and having trouble getting going with my projects.  I'd like to at least tidy up my house in case some company stops by.   I haven't even done my Christmas cards yet.  Maybe I'll dig them out today.  

My sister was at Trader Joe's in Rochester, NY on the weekend.  She brought me back a tub of the Dilettante chocolate covered cherries.  They are spectacular and irresistible.  The Rochester Trader Joe's is about 2.5 hours away from where I live, which is too close for comfort.  I see a road trip coming up.  Not just for the cherries, they have lots of neat stuff, including some vegan items for some of my family.  Yeah right!