Our first family Christmas of the season has come and gone.  It was a whirlwind of embraces, teasing, laughter and more embraces.  D’s family is knit together by one amazing women. 

Grandma J came home one day from her son’s basketball game to find that her husband had packed a bag and left.  She had no job, very little education and seven kids to fend for.  So she went looking for a job doing the only thing that she really knew how to do-cook for a crowd.

Fast forward thirty years and J is now remarried, spending her summers visiting various family members, kids and  grandkids and her winters in Texas.  If anyone deserves a quiet retirement it is Grandma J.  But J is not yet retired-she makes Christmas her full-time occupation.  She will start shopping for Christmas 2012, today.

We sat the dining room with three banquet tables (another 12 were sat up on the 2nd floor)

Six members of the family were not present this year and I am sure that she mailed those off to Phoenix last week.  The rest of us (32 to be exact) each opened a very large box and inside were a number of other little wrapped packets.  Mine included a book and book mark, a scented candle, bath gel, an embroidered nightgown and an aloe plant with a hand carved hovering hummingbird.  Imagine going to this much trouble with this much thoughtfulness, for 34 people! 

Part of the gang filing downstairs for grace

Another amazing thing about this year’s Christmas story was that we all fit into our just purchased 100 year old house.  I think D saw us gathered there before we had even signed the offer to purchase.

So this year it wasn’t so much about the secret ingredients in the stuffing (pecans and apricots) or the pumpkin, apple and pecan pies that Grandma J bakes and drives in from the county in a specially designed pie rack.  It was about being together in one place, each of us opening packets of love and remembering the reason for the season.

Kath’s quote: “This aniversary is memorable (apart from all religious significance) because it evokes a great slaughter of turkeys, geese and all kinds of game, a wholesale massacre of fat oxen, pigs and sheep; they envisage garlands of black puddings, sausages and saveloys . . . mountains of plum-puddings and oven-fulls of mince-pies….       On that day no one in England may go hungry …. This is a family gathering, and on every table the same menu is prepared. A joint of beef, a turkey or goose, which is usually the pièce de résistance, accompanied by a ham, sausages and game; then follow the inevitable plum-pudding and the famous mince pies.”-Alfred Suzanne

A gift of love was delivered to all mankind 2000 years ago

Our original plans had been foiled and we were looking for a convenient (parking) but upscale spot to have a celebratory girl’s lunch.  The Current at Inn at the Forks turned out to be a perfect spot.  I have been to this beautifully appointed restaurant a number of times before and each time, I am escorted to exactly the same table.  And so on this day, I felt right at home.

Laura is a chicken and turkey salad aficionado and she declared The Current’s to meet her high standards.  Their chefs include tarragon and toasted walnuts.  I noticed that something was topping the mixture and it was a grilled Granny Smith apple slice.  This came with fantastic french fries and a just- made savory gravy.  I am especially complimentary about the fries to justify my reaching across the table to Laura’s plate on repeated occasions.

Karen went for the Moroccan Chicken Burger which would definitely get my vote next visit.  The spicy chicken breast was accompanied by a green apple and rhubarb chutney, brie and a coriander mayo.  She chose a crisp Caesar salad to go alongside.

When I am dining, I often don’t make a decision until the server comes to the table.  I declare to lunch dates that “I like to work under pressure” but the true reason is that when confronted with a decision, the most spontaneous answer is almost always the correct one.  In this case, I over thought my decision.  I was really tempted by the pickerel and chips but thought that I should make a “lighter” choice.  So I ordered a shrimp omelette that came with spring greens.  

My Dad showed me very early in life, how to prepare perfectly scrambled eggs and omelettes.  The eggs are to be lightly and quickly whisked  so as to introduce air and infiltrate the yolk and white, but not so much so that they are over mixed as they will become tough.  In addition, I like my eggs to always be served wet as a dry egg is an overcooked egg (imho).  Perhaps this was the case with my choice that day.  I twittered the restaurant to ask if they happen to use a pre-mixed product and Ben assured me that they use only vita fresh eggs.  

With our timelines, the choice was perfect as the server was accommodating and efficient and we enjoyed a lovely visit in a equally lovely locale.

Kath’s quote: “I have had, in my time, memorable meals of scrambled eggs with fresh truffles, scrambled eggs with caviar and other glamorous things, but to me, there are few things as magnificent as scrambled eggs, pure and simple, perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned.”-James Beard

I suppose it is no surprize to my readers that I describe myself as a hippie (both physically and philosophically).  I am a peace, love and groovy, kind of person.  Recently, we purchased a big old house where 5 people will live communally.  I purchased a card for them to have in the house and as I reread it today, I realize that the wisdom is applicable to life itself.

How to Build Community

• turn off your TV
• leave your house
• know your neighbours
• look up when you are walking
• greet people

• sit on your front steps
• plant flowers

• play together
• use your library
• buy from local merchants
• share what you have

• help a dog
• take children to the park
• garden together
• support neighbourhood schools
• fix it even if you didn’t break it
• have pot lucks
• honour your elders
• pick up litter
• read stories aloud
• dance in the street
• talk to the letter carrier
• listen to the birds

• put up a swing
• help carry something heavy
• barter for your goods
• start a tradition
• ask a question
• hire young people for odd jobs
• organize a block party
• bake extra and share
• ask for help when you need it
• open your curtains
• sing together
• share your skills
• take back the night
• turn up the music
• turn down the music
• listen before you react in anger
• mediate a conflict
• seek to understand
• learn from new and uncomfortable angles
• know that no one is silent though many are not heard-work to change this

Kath’s quote: “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”-James Beard

This will be the very first time (in my entire life) that I will not be having a traditional Christmas dinner in Winnipeg on December 25.  Instead: we are co-hosting 35 for an early dinner this weekend for D’s side of the family and will be assembling with the 40+ members of my side on Christmas eve at Brother #3’s home.

But on Christmas day, we will have arrived on our precious Isla Mujeres-our home away from home.  It was not a difficult decision, to know where we wanted to have Christmas dinner as Fredy is a member of our Isla family.  I already know this far in advance that I will be ordering his famous pork chop.  But in the mean time, I have managed to find a recipe for his Cilantro Shrimp.  This comes from the cookbook entitled Cocina Islena-a fund raiser for PEACE Isla Mujeres.  If you are a Mexican food lover-you MUST have this recipe book.

Fredy’s Cilantro Shrimp

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

7 ox. white onion, finely chopped

2 T cilantro, finely chopped

lime, salt & pepper to taste

1 t worcherstershire sauce

4 sliced jalepeno chilies

1 t olive oil (important)

1 t garlic

7 oz. manchego cheese (like mozzarella)

In a baking dish, place a layer of cilantro, add a layer on onion, a layer of shrimp, then another layer of cilantro, another or onion and a last layer of shrimp.  Season with lime, salt and pepper to taste.  Add worchestershire sauce, olive oil & garlic.  Once seasoned, add grated cheese covering the entiure surface.  Bake for approxuimately 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove from the oven and garnish with sliced chilies and serve immediately.  Serves 2.

Fredy does not have a website but click here for his Facebook page.

Kath’s quote: “Some writers say the leaves [cilantro] are used for seasoning, but this statement seems odd, as all the green parts of the plant exhale a very strong odor of the wood-bug, whence the Greek name of the plant.”-Vilmorin-Andrieux, ‘The Vegetable Garden’ (1885)

Last night, I did not sleep a wink because of all of the details floating around in my head.  This happens almost exactly at this time every year and particularly about this number of days before Christmas.  It occurred to me at about 4:30 this morning that I would love to know way, way more about my readers, so here goes (I know it is a busy time but I would love to hear from you):

If you could travel anywhere in the world, to taste the food, where would you go and what would you sample?

If you were to prepare a single dish to express to someone, how much you love them, what would that be (and would you be willing to share the recipe)?

Conversely, if someone were to do the same for you, what would you hope, the dish would be (and would you be willing to share the recipe)?

What dish most brings back fond childhood memories and when was the last time that you ate it?

Have you ever volunteered at a soup kitchen or food bank?  Would you?

If you could work alongside one cook or chef, living or late, who would it be and what dish would you most love to learn  how to make?

What recipe are you glad that one of your parents taught you how to cook?

What cuisine do you consume most at restaurants?

If you opened your own restaurant, what would you name it and what cuisine would it be?

What restaurant type is missing most from the city you live in?

Have you ever done a cleansing fast?  Do you fast or eliminate a food from your diet for any reason?

Is there a food that you have never tasted and do not have any desire to ever try?

What is your favourite food-themed book or movie?

Which cookbook is your most used and loved and why?

What single kitchen utensil is your most used and loved and why?

If you were to travel anywhere in the world to distribute food or ensure safe water and sustainable food sources, which place would it be?

I can’t wait to hear from you.  Rest, peace and love be with you.

Kath’s quote: “One can never know too much; the more one learns, the more one sees the need to learn more and that study as well as broadening the mind of the craftsman provides an easy way of perfecting yourself in the practice of your art.”-Auguste Escoffier