Snapshots: Here It Comes

Christmas approaches, and the whole house shows it. 

Poppy put one of these in every room. Not particularly decorative, but a good message.

I learned this week that our priest has no Christmas decorations. He said that last year, he found a two-foot tree at the rectory and put that on his dining room table. Without ornaments or anything. And that was his decoration. He mentioned that now that his brother is living there too, he should probably decorate a little more.

You think?

I was depressed by the idea of a bare plastic tree being the only "decoration" in a house. The children were scandalized that a priest of all people had no actual Christmas decorations. So we did something about it.

I don't have a lot of decorations myself, which meant I couldn't just give him something extra of mine. I did have some trimmings from the bottom of our tree, though, with which I made this for his door.

 I don't even attempt wreaths. I don't know what you call this, but it looks festive, anyway.

Poppy, meanwhile, set to work making a paper chain and star for the tree. She was home by herself most of this week. Her brothers were at school helping the teachers move into our new school (yay!), but the younger children were kept at home so as to be out of the way. Poppy was not pleased to be home without anyone to play with, so I really appreciated this project that kept her occupied all of one morning.

The internet told me that a two-foot tree would require a chain of 9-12 feet in length. That seemed way too long to me, but by the time Poppy had used all her paper strips, she had a chain 11.5 feet long.

And there's the star, too.

Father sent a picture of his decorated tree for Poppy.

I think this is more like three feet tall, which means it needs another few feet of chain, but oh well.

She was very pleased with this.

Another project I had been saving to do with Poppy and that we did this week was making candles from all the stubs of blessed candles from church. Because they were blessed, they either had to be burned or buried. Or, I decided, made into new candles.

I bought some silicone candle molds and a kit that contained wicks, stickers and frames (I guess that's what you call them) to hold the wicks in place, a pot to melt the wax, and a small spoon to stir the wax.

The spoon was also useful to fish out the wicks from the stubs.

I liked the hexagonal molds.

Getting the cooled candles out of the molds required some effort, but I did it, and now we have new candles.

Fun.

Unusually, we've had clouds in the morning lately, and that has meant some pretty spectacular sunrises.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: A Birthday-ful Week

Friday 

Short version: Cheeseburgers on homemade buns, oven fries, green salad with vinaigrette, baked apples and cream

Long version: The younger three children and A. were working down the hill on a masonry job all day, so I knew they would want a very substantial dinner. I was making bread, which is why I made the buns. They make hamburgers much more filling. 

We got two five-pound bags of Granny Smith apples from Rafael. Thus, baked apples.

Saturday

Short version: Chicken and chickpea curry, rice, cheese sandwiches later

Long version: I had made stock with the rooster carcasses from Thursday, and then used the meat I picked off the carcasses to make the curry. I also opened one of the giant cans of chickpeas my sister brought me to supplement the chicken.

That's a lot of chickpeas.

One of the churches in our parish was having a confirmation Mass this night for an adult confirmation candidate, at which our archbishop was presiding. We've never met our archbishop--he's in Santa Fe and doesn't come this far very often--and the kids had never been to a Mass celebrated by a bishop and wanted to go. 

Mass was at 5 p.m. The chuch is 45 minutes away. We ate at 3:30 p.m. I knew the kids would want to eat again when we got home, which they did. Cheese sandwiches at 7 p.m. and then off to bed.

Sunday

Short version: Asian-ish pork, rice, collards, pickled radishes, baked fruit with cream

Long version: Another of the Wow! pack pork butts, this time flavored with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and maple syrup.

We had a week of two birthdays and class Christmas parties coming up, which is why we just had baked fruit for dessert. Relatively wholesome. I used one quart jar of canned apple slices and one of canned pear slices, with extra cinnamon and cloves added. 

Monday

Short version: Ground beef gyros, malva pudding with custard sauce

Long version: This was A.'s birthday. I had originally thought to make lasagna for him, as he does love Italian-American food, but then I had the other half of that big can of chickpeas in the refrigerator. So instead, I made (a LOT) of hummus with those, sourdough pita bread, yogurt/garlic sauce, and gyro-seasoned ground beef (onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, thyme). We even had tomatoes and cucumbers.

It's always fun watching the pitas puff.

He was extremely happy with this, as I knew he would be.

His original request for his birthday dessert was tiramisu, but he likes it with all the liqueurs, and I didn't think that would be a great family dessert. His second choice was malva pudding.

Malva pudding was a completely new thing to me. It's apparently a common thing in South Africa, and pretty much only there. A. saw it online somewhere and immediately thought he would like it. I think the apricot jam in it was one of the main attractions.

It's not very hard to make. I used this recipe, because it had slightly less sugar than some others I saw. There didn't seem to be a lot of apricot jam in it, and I thought it would be good with more apricot flavor, so I substituted apricot jam for half the brown sugar in the sauce poured over the baked pudding.

The recipe said you can serve it with either custard sauce or ice cream. We had ice cream on hand, but A. wanted to try custard sauce. I used this recipe for the custard sauce, but I only made a half recipe. This was actually more work to make than the pudding itself, but it was also definitely the right call. Warm custard sauce poured over this pudding is perfect.

The pudding itself was very dense and sweet. The apricot wasn't a dominant flavor, but I think the acidity of it did balance out the sugar even if the apricot flavor wasn't noticeable. The texture of the pudding was much like bread pudding. It caramelizes on the outside and is very soft on the inside. It was delicious, but you definitely would not want to eat too much of it. It's very heavy. 

The amount of custard sauce I made was just right for this amount of pudding. My children thought I should have made a double recipe of the pudding, but I think they would have made themselves sick eating more than one serving of such a rich dessert.

In any case, this will certainly be a repeat dessert in our house.

Tuesday

Short version: Leftover curry and rice

Long version: First Communion day, in which I get home at 5:45 p.m. and heat up leftovers. The end.

Wednesday

Short version: Birthday steaks, pureed potatoes, carrot sticks with curry dip, pots de creme

Long version: Youngest son's birthday was yesterday, but an away basketball game meant we wouldn't all be home to have his requested dinner and party. So we did it this night. He wanted steak with herb butter and caramelized onions.

I have lots of caramelized onions on hand, as I made a big batch of them with the many pounds of onions I've been working through. I have parsley for herb butter. I did not have steak. We're not getting our cow from the neighbor processed until next month, which meant that I had to buy steaks at the store.

I knew they would be expensive. They were. The least expensive per pound, oddly, were the t-bone steaks, which are some of my favorites. I got three of those. They were very good.

They fit perfectly on my two-burner griddle pan.

This child never wants cake for his birthday, preferring instead something dairy-based for his dessert. This year, that was pots de creme. I made a double batch--which is the full recipe as I posted it here--since it was a birthday. It's just solid enough to hold the candles, thankfully.

Thursday

Short version: Subway on the road, leftovers at home, ice cream variety

Long version: This was the youngest boy's actual birthday. I went to the middle boy's basketball game. Because it was in a town only an hour away that happens to have a Subway, youngest son and Poppy came with me and I got them Subway after the game. Sandwiches are the youngest son's favorite food, so this made him happy.

A. and the eldest had leftover steak and potatoes at home. 

I had the last few bites of Poppy's ham and cheese sandwich, and the crust of a grilled cheese sandwich left over from lunch. Such a cliche of a Mom Dinner.

When we got home at 6:30 p.m., I got out the many flavors of ice cream I had purchased for a birthday taste test.

Eight flavors, to be exact.

I spent several minutes looking over all my options for ice cream at Walmart. Most brands didn't have very many flavors to choose from, I was surprised to find, so in the end, I went with a bunch of the Great Value flavors. 

Everyone got a small spoon to try all of these, and then they could take a small bowl of their favorite. Luckily, everyone had a different favorite, so there were no arguments.

Refrigerator check: 

We need to eat more leftovers.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

Christmas Tree Hunting

Per tradition, we have cut our Christmas tree for the year. It's also a tradition for me to take photos and post them here so you can come along on the adventure with us. Let's go!

We always go to a friend's ranch to cut our tree, as the good trees don't grow near our house. I have now discovered the best area for the trees, so we walked right to that area and found a tree within about two minutes.

Camouflaged by nearby trees, but I still saw it.

We left the saw there so we could cut it on our way back to the van and went down the hill to the dirt tank to play.

Also a tradition.

This year, the younger children also climbed this tree.

Poppy is in there somewhere.

We brought the dogs with us.

After suitable play time, back to the tree we went.

Sawing away.

At home, the tree was, as always, deposited in a galvanized metal bucket and anchored with rocks before I started putting the lights on.

I discovered to my dismay that of the four strands of lights I had, one of warm white lights only half worked, one of multi-colored lights didn't work at all, one of bright white lights worked all the way, and I had one strand of multi-colored lights that were fully functional.

Sigh.

Luckily, we get small trees and we put them up against a wall, so I didn't really need to wrap the lights all the way around the whole tree. I wound the bright white lights around the trunk, so the branches would soften their glare a bit, and then used the multi-colored strand and the half-working warmer white lights to kind of zig-zag across the front of the tree.

The children added the ornaments, and . . .

Tree!

Now all it needs are presents under it. Only nine days and counting . . .

It's Woodchuck Song Time!

Today is A.'s birthday! Hooray! That means it's time to honor The Woodchuck Man in song! Hooray!

I've been doing this for a LOT of years now. Thirteen years, to be precise. I guess I used to be better at it, because I used to write multiple verses. Now I consider it an accomplishment to come up with just one lame verse. 

A. does a lot more than the couple of things highlighted in this admittedly somewhat lame song, obviously. But a tradition is a tradition, so here is the one verse for this year's celebration.

(To the tune of "The Candyman Can")

Who can gut the bathrooms,

Then built them back himself?

Who can get an old truck running 

With some parts off the shelf?

The woodchuck man

The woodchuck man can

The woodchuck man can

'Cause he uses what he has and makes it work for him

Happiest of birthdays to A., whose woodchucky ways have served us well for so many years.

Snapshots: A Manatee in a Sweater

In our almost-ghost village, there is a strange cinder block structure that we call the smokehouse. Because that's our best guess as to its original function. The smokehouse is a favorite destination of the children, because you can both go inside of it, and climb on top of it.

Poppy surveying her kingdom from the smokehouse.

Tomorrow is A.'s birthday. Last year I got him an introductory offer for a wine club that included 12 bottles of red wine from different countries. It was one of those things where the first box is like half the price of the others and they're hoping you'll continue receiving the subsequent boxes either because you love getting a dozen bottle of wine every few months, or because you forget to cancel the subscription.

I don't forget to cancel subscriptions, so I just get the introductory one and then stop. I did it again this year. A. loves wine, but won't buy it for himself, so this is a good gift for him. This time there were two extra bottles in with the dozen, plus two stemless wine glasses. 

I had to tell him it was coming because it has to be signed for when it's delivered, so yes, he opened it before his birthday. 

This coming week is the last week of school for the semester. Poppy is the only child having a gift exchange in her class this year. Different teachers handle it differently. Her teacher this year requested a general gift that would be appreciated by any member of the class for a random exchange. These are harder to shop for than when they exchange names and you know which child you're buying for.

I thought maybe I could get a Slinky or a yo-yo. Poppy approved these ideas, and so I entered the daunting Toy Aisles at Walmart.

I don't think I have ever been in these aisles at this store. I was not impressed by what I saw there. 

One of I think six aisles of toys.

I also couldn't find what I was actually looking for in all that junk. However! As I was wandering these aisles, I did spy a little box of mini Magnatiles that were advertised for travel and came in their own tin for carrying. I have never met a child who doesn't like Magnatiles, and as a parent, I appreciate anything that comes in its own storage container. I went with those. Poppy approved. Hooray.

We have decorated the house for Christmas in our own very minimal fashion.

Our few outside lights.

Our small nativity set. Baby Jesus will be put in his cradle on Christmas morning.

The Wise Men wait on the bookcase for their journey to Bethlehem on Epiphany.

My very old chili pepper tree on the table.

Even Coco the Manatee has his Christmas sweater on.

The manatee was purchased in a Dallas airport gift shop. His name is Coco because coconut palms grow where manatees live. I think? Anyway, it was very amusing when we discovered that Poppy's American Girl doll clothing is a perfect fit for him. And a manatee would definitely need a sweater if he came to our northern New Mexico home.

We're going to cut our Christmas tree today--always a good Western adventure--and then the halls will be fully decked for the exciting day.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: My Commercial Kitchen

Friday 

Short version: Chili, tortillas with cheese

Long version: I cooked a pot of pinto beans in the morning and then used those, plus ground beef, to make chili. I also added the bag of pureed squash I had thawed a few days before and never used, plus the drippings from cooking hamburgers the day before, and the turkey stock that had been hanging out in the refrigerator.

The tomato product used in the chili was some of a food-service-sized can of concentrated crushed tomatoes that my sister brought when she visited. She and her friend were on their way home from volunteering at a camp, and they brought me all the giant cans of things from the kitchen that would otherwise have been thrown away.

People think of me when they see food in this quantity. I have a reputation.

I used a few cups of that in the chili, put a couple of quart bags of it in the freezer, and saved the rest in the refrigerator for the next day.

I had just enough homemade corn tortillas left from the night before for everyone to have one with melted cheese to dip in their chili.

Saturday

Short version: Spaghetti with sausage meat sauce, peppers and onions, green salad with vinaigrette

Long version: I used the rest of the tomato sauce to make a meat sauce with a couple of pounds of loose Italian sausage, plus roasted garlic from the freezer and dried herbs. The best thing about sausage is that it pretty much is the seasoning, so you don't have to add a lot more to the sauce.

My mom had left a bag of mini bell peppers, which I used with some of the 36 pounds of onions I've been working through.

No, I did not add a digit there. I have 36 pounds of onions because the commodities delivery last month apparently included more onions than anyone in our community can use. Except me! There was a big cardboard bin with many bags of onions on Main Street when we were there for church. They had been there for four days already, it was starting to freeze at night, and I decided anyone who was going to take any probably already had. So I took a dozen bags (leaving like ten still in the bin). 

I've been working on cooking them down and putting them in the freezer since then. I've gotten through maybe half the bags so far. That's where the onions came from that I cooked with the peppers.

Sunday

Short version: Asian-ish pork roast, porky rice, roasted green beans, chocolate pudding

Long version: Last time A. went to the store, he came home with a truly absurd quantity of pork. This store sells what they call "Wow! packs" of meat for a lower price, which in this case was two pork butts packaged together at $1.49/pound.  So you're talking about 25 pounds of meat per package.

A. bought four of those. In case you don't want to do the math, that's a hundred pounds of pork butt.

So, I cooked one.

My typical method for pork butts or picnic roasts is to put them in my very large and deep casserole with nothing with salt and water, cook covered in the oven until I can pull the meat apart, and then season it when I fry it or broil it or otherwise get it crispy. This then results in unseasoned rendered lard, plus the juices.

This time, I re-heated the shredded meat with soy sauce, maple syrup, and vinegar on the pan with the green beans I was roasting. 

Green beans courtesy of my mother the produce bearer.

I used the mostly-de-fatted juices to cook the rice that went with it.

Monday

Short version: Leftover pork, leftover rice with curried split peas, cucumbers

Long version: We had Mass in the village at 5 p.m. for the Immaculate Conception, and I'm mayordoma this month. Our church and school are in the same village, so I just let my kids play on the playground for about half an hour after school before we went to church. 

We got home just after six p.m. I had already made the curried split peas, except for adding the cream. The pork just needed to be fried to re-heat it. I had to get dinner on the table quickly because A., who had been driving the bus, and the basketball player were leaving at 6:45 to go to the other village for Mass, as they had missed the one at our church earlier.

Somewhat hectic, but everyone was fed.

Tuesday

Short version: Leftover chili, tortillas with cheese

Long version: I went straight to First Communion class with Poppy after subbing at the school, so leftovers were definitely the order of the day. Good thing we had chili on hand. An excellent leftover.

Wednesday

Short version: Sausage, mashed potatoes, leftover pork and split peas, green salad with vinaigrette

Long version: I had some leftover pork and curried split peas, but not enough for everyone. That's why I cooked one package of cheddar-jalapeno sausages. And I made mashed potatoes. 

Everyone had the potatoes and split peas. A. and eldest son had the sausage. The others had the pork.

Thursday

Short version: Roasted chickens, potatoes and onions, roasted or raw broccoli

Long version: I thawed two of the roosters we butchered awhile ago and then just cooked them with salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil.

I don't know if they were actually roasted because I cooked them at 325 degrees. Does it have to be high heat to be considered roasting? Maybe they were just baked. Anyway, I did that because these were pretty small and the home-raised ones don't have a lot of fat on them, so I didn't want to dry them out. They came out well.

I really dislike carving chickens, though, and especially home-raised chickens. They're much harder to cut apart because their joints are stronger.

Taking a break partway through carving the second chicken.

I had my big stainless steel skillet still on the stove from cooking down some of the many onions earlier in the day, so I just put some sliced potatoes in there with another sliced onion, plus olive oil, and stuck that in the oven with the chicken.

Ditto the broccoli. It went in the cast iron skillet I had cooked eggs in, with olive oil. I did turn the heat up after the chicken was out, though, to get that a bit more browned.

Refrigerator check:

I bought a LOT of cream in advance of Christmas. Walmart always runs out if I wait too long.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

On Singing

My brother's birthday was the past weekend. We have a tradition in our family of calling on the birthday and the whole family singing to the birthday person over the phone. I spent all day Friday reminding myself to call and sing when everyone was home after dinner . . . only to forget after dinner.

Boooo.

But! When I texted my brother to apologize, he said no worries, he had been at work anyway (he's an airline pilot) and wouldn't be celebrating his birthday until Sunday. Which meant we had another opportunity to sing.

To make certain that I wouldn't forget this time, I made a note to myself and stuck it on the refrigerator with a magnet.

I suppose a normal person would have used a note in their phone or something.

I sent this to my brother, and he responded that he thought I should keep it up there all the time, like a motivational "Live, Laugh, Love" reminder.

One thing I do not need to be reminded to do, however, is sing.

I love to sing. I do it all the time, often spontaneously. I have a pretty good voice, an incredible storehouse of songs in my head, and a remarkable ability to reproduce a melody. I sing a lot of songs from when I was a kid: songs from the radio, songs I learned in school, songs my family sang. 

I was very happy when our current priest instituted singing at our Masses again. I remember many of the hymns from my childhood and I sing those, too.

My mother is a singer and always sang in church choirs, as did my sister. I did, too, when I was younger, although I never learned to read music or sing parts well like they can. 

I feel like this is not as common as it used to be, however. Both A. and I were required to participate in elementary school choirs around 5th grade. I have never heard of this now, even in places much larger than here. A couple of my children are able to carry a tune, but not because of any formal training.

Do people not sing as much anymore? What do you think? Do you sing? Do your kids?