Better living through chocolate

It's been AGES since I put a food post up so, in an attempt to assuage the prevailing mood with chocolate, here's a new brownie recipe.  Mr. Mouse and I are attempting to eat a plant-based diet these days which, to us, means not only no animal products but also no oils.  A lot of vegan recipes add fats via oils so I have adapted a "Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe from www.food.com as follows:

CHEWY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP BROWNIES

¾ cup unsweetened applesauce*

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ground flax seed**

½ cup almond milk (or soymilk)

2 cups flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups semisweet vegan chocolate chips***

Preheat oven to 350◦F.  Add ground flax seeds to almond milk and stir for about 30 seconds, set aside.  In a large bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt.  Cream sugar and applesauce in another large bowl.  Add the flax seed/almond milk mixture and mix well.  Stir in vanilla.  Slowly mix in dry ingredients.  Mix in chocolate chips. Pour brownie mixture into lightly greased**** 9x13 baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Note:  the original recipe was for cookies but I found the dough too wet to roll into balls and went the brownie route instead.  They came out very moist and fudgy.

* This is a substitution for ¾ cup canola oil.  The applesauce worked GREAT.

**  I found pre-ground flax seed in the health food section of my regular grocery store; you can also find whole flax seeds and grind them yourself.  Flax seed is somehow an egg substitution in vegan baking.

*** I found non-dairy/non-gluten dark chocolate chips in the health food section and just used a whole bag.  They were actually tasty on their own – not like yucky carob.

**** I used just a tiny bit of coconut oil

This is quite possibly the best thing ever. Ever.

We pause in our interminable Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles coverage to spread the word about this delectable-ness:

BACON S'MORES

I just read about this, which falls squarely in the "why the hell didn't I think of this years ago?" category, on NPR this morning.  It is just one more example of how bacon makes everything better: you take your regular ol' s'mores* - toasted marshmallow on slab of chocolate on graham crackers - and add some crispy bacon in there, probably between the marshmallow and the chocolate.  That is completely brilliant and I am totally doing this on our next camping trip.

*  NPR linked to this site here, which got all fancy-pants with homemade pig-shaped graham crackers.  That might be a little too Martha Stewart for yours truly but the little pig-shaped s'mores are about the cutest things you've ever seen.

Photo credit: NPR.  Oh gawd those look fabulous, even for indoor s'mores.

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime

I finished up preparing for Christmas last weekend - tree up and lit, presents wrapped and sent, card signed and mailed, cookies baked - and I'm feeling so happy about being done with it all that I cannot be bothered to put together a Christmasy post this year.  What I can do, however, is link to winter holiday-themed past posts and invite you to browse, if you are so inclined.

Christmas Spirits
New Christmas Cookie Recipe
More Cookie Recipes
Dog Cookie Recipes (because I always make homemade dog biscuits for Xmas)

There.  Ho ho ho, y'all!

New Christmas Cookie Recipe

It's been ages since I posted a Christmas cookie recipe (over three years, to be precise), so I'm thrilled to have found a new one to share with you.  I don't know where I got it - looks like somewhere online, either the Portland Press Herald or the Salt Lake Tribune or some food blog/site that I visit occasionally - but I love it because it's easy and very tasty and gorgeously colored and Mr. Mouse doesn't like them* so I don't have to share.  So if this is your recipe, THANK YOU!  I've made three batches thus far (it makes small batches, btw) and we still have a week to go for Christmas.

Pistachio-Cranberry Cookie Sticks

3/4 cup whole pistachios (shelled)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)
1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries (or dried cherries)

Combine the pistachios, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until it is a fine meal.  Add the butter and pulse until the dough looks crumbly.  Combine the water, vanilla and almond extract and add it to the food processor, pulsing until it just looks damp.  Add the dried cranberries and pulse until evenly distributed.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a 6x9 inch rectangle that's a 1/2-inch thick.  Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat over to 350.  Using a pizza cutter or long knife, cut 3/8-inch thick slices and place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart.  Bake 12-14 minutes, until golden at the edges.  Don't overbake as they will continue to firm as they cool.

* Mr. Mouse is not being deprived.  Just today I made him a whole batch of Giant Ginger Cookies.

Bacon al fresco

It's been far too long since my last bacon post, I realize.  I don't have any new products or links or restaurant encounters for you, but what I do have is my recent epiphany.

This is how you cook bacon when it's 94 degrees out:

I don't know why I didn't do this before (well, mostly because I never had a grill with a side burner before, but still) because it's genius.  The house doesn't smell like bacon for the next three days; the dog licks up any stray bacon grease splatters on the deck; and I get to be outside with a cocktail.  Brilliant.

The whole reason I was needing to fry bacon - other than, duh, wanting some - was that I was trying out a new recipe for a homemade, non-processed energy bar to take with us on all the hikes we've been doing.  Store-bought granola bars and energy bars can be too sweet and I had seen something on television during the Tour de France where the Radio Shack team's nutritionist whipped this up.  It's cooked sushi rice, a couple of scrambled eggs and bacon mixed together with a little soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and grated Parmesan cheese.  Pack it down into a pan, sprinkle a little brown sugar on top.  Let cool then cut into bar sizes and wrap in foil paper. 

Mr. Mouse and I tried them on our hike today.  Pretty good, although I might go with less soy sauce and more brown sugar next time.  Still, if it's good enough for the RS boys to eat, it's good enough for us.  Plus, bacon!

Recipe: Ropa vieja (sort of)

One consequence of having 90% of your worldly belongings in a storage unit far from your apartment is that you tend to have the same things for dinner over and over and over and over and over because all your cookbooks are tidily packed up in Box #114 at the back of the unit and damned if you're going to dig them out just because you're tired of chicken, broccoli and rice.  Luckily, there's the internet which provided me with a recipe for a variation on the Cuban dish, ropa vieja.  Of course, I didn't have several of the necessary ingredients so we ended up with a variation on the variation, but it was still tasty and wicked easy, so I thought I'd share it with you.  Pluswhich it's a crockpot recipe so you can just throw it together in the morning, go skiing all day, and come home to hot and tasty food.  Which is just excellent apres-ski, by the way.

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 red bell peppers, sliced in 1/2 inch sticks (I used green because they're cheaper)
1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 tsp. oregano (didn't have any; used a little marjoram and a little basil instead)
1 tsp. cumin (didn't have any; used hot chili powder instead, which gave it a nice kick)
1 1/2 lb. flank steak, cut crosswise into thirds (the flank steak was $$ so I got something less $$ instead)
1 cup rice     (1 avocado and 1/3 cup fresh cilantro for garnish)

Combine everything except rice, avocado and cilantro in crockpot, nestling the beef down into the vegetables.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.  Before you're ready to eat, prepare the rice according to package directions.  Shred the beef in the ropa viejo; serve over rice.  Slice avocado, add it and cilantro as garnish.

I was worried that it would be too thick but the juices from the (drained) tomatoes and the other veggies are more than enough to make this into a sort of beef and vegetable soup.  You could add a bay leaf for more traditional flavoring, or add potatoes instead of serving over rice - any number of variations.  This recipe is easily adaptable and will now make its way into our regular rotation.

On a totally other subject: Heroes returns tomorrow in a two hour "event" - God help me with the recap.  And help us all if Nathan Petrelli doesn't stay dead.

Recipe: Grilled Pork and Peaches

Hmm ... seems that not too long ago I was trying to post recipes on Thursday so that they'd be out there for the weekend. How'd that turn out?

So here's one from Men's Health magazine that combines grilling out and stone fruits in a lovely, late-summery, healthy sort of way.

2 pork chops
2 firm peaches or nectarines, halved and pitted
2 Tbsp. pine nuts (or not - they're expensive)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled blue (bleu) cheese
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat grill. Brush pork chops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes per side; chops should be lightly charred but not burned. While chops cook, brush peach halves with oil and put on grill facedown. Grill for 5 minutes or until soft. Remove, slice and toss with pine nuts, onion, blue cheese and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top each pork chop with half the mixture before serving.

Serve with a light salad of fresh arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon.

Recipes for the weekend: Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Soup

Granted, this one's a little early here in the northeast since we won't have good, local tomatoes until about August, but today we actually had sunshine and warm temperatures (after ten days of rain) and I thought something summery would be good. It's vegetarian and comes from The Daily Soup Cookbook - which is just full of awesome soups.

6 beefsteak tomatoes (about 4 lbs.), halved and seeded, seeds reserved
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into very fine strips
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella, about 20 of the 1-inch "boconccini" balls, thinly sliced, OR regular mozzarella cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped scallions

In a blender or food processor, combine half the tomatoes and all of the tomato seeds, olive oil and garlic. Puree 'til smooth. Add vinegar, salt, pepper and process 'til blended. Transfer pureed mixture into large bowl. Chop remaining tomatoes into small dice. Add diced tomatoes, tomato juice, basil and mozzarella to pureed mixture. Refrigerate 'til ready to serve.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with the chopped scallions.

Recipes for the weekend: Strawberry Cheesecake Icebox Pie

This super-easy, no-bake dessert comes to you from my mom (whom I suspect got it from the yogurt container as the recipe specifically mentions a particular brand of yogurt). Mr. Mouse notes that "no-bake" actually means "no-burn" and, as usual, he is absolutely right. I just made it for the impending Mouse in-law visit - and had to use California strawberries since the Maine ones aren't out yet - and thought I'd share it with you.

1 cup "Stonyfield Farm Organic" french vanilla yogurt
1 8 oz. package of Neufchatel (or fat-free cream cheese)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, diced
1 9" graham cracker crust

In a medium size mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Blend yogurt and vanilla into the mixture and fold in the strawberries. Pour into pie crust. Freeze for 2-3 hours or until set. Before serving, place pie in fridge for at least 15 minutes to soften. Garnish with whipped cream and more strawberries.

Note: we had this for a recent girls' weekend (thanks again, Mom!) and recommend eating with forks as spoons tend to send the frozen pieces of pie skittering off the plates.

A toast - to bacon!

Forgive me, readers: it's been thirty-seven days since my last bacon post. I really hadn't found any new, exciting, bacony goodness to share with you. Until I got an email from my California cousin Leah alerting me to the existence of

BACON VODKA

Bakon Vodka. Created by the friendly folks at Black Rock Spirits, this vodka is made with Idaho potatoes and flavored with peppered bacon (or essence thereof). They think it's the perfect vodka for Bloody Marys and have additional recipes as well, including a Bakon Chocolate Martini - of which I would be skeptical, except that I really like chocolate-covered bacon and this would be the same as that ... plus it's a cocktail. Yay! The site has a link for online pre-sales; Leah says Bakon Vodka is not available 'til July.

So what do we do until July? We make our own: Homemade Bacon Vodka [recipe compliments of Brownie Points, a foodie blog I've only just discovered with this recipe and am eager to explore as it seems chockful of goodness]. She also recommends using this bacon-infused vodka in a Bloody Mary (and other cocktails) or mixed with date syrup for a "sweet bacon cordial" (with which I am totally intrigued) or even decanted into a spray bottle for spritzing on, well, anything that needs a spritz of bacon vodka.

Many, many, many thanks to Leah for sending me the links. I owe her bigtime because this is the third time she's hooked me up; the other two are here and here. I don't hang out with her very often - although we obviously have very similar interests - but I'm going to see her in a couple of weeks and I'll raise a glass to, and with, her then.

Titles Nine - #9 - cookbooks

Yes, it's a long-overdue installment of the riveting FMS series, "Titles Nine," whereby I go to my many bookshelves and pick out nine volumes to share with you, my faithful reader[s]. This time we're browsing the cookbook shelf. I have actually used each of these cookbooks at least once in my culinary tenure but you'd have to ask Mr. Mouse as to the quality of the results.

• The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn - with everyday pantry item additions, you too can fancy up an ol' box of cake mix! (I've actually made the Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake several times - mmmmmmmmm)


• Pasta Harvest by Janet Fletcher - given to me by the Mouse Parents who claim there is not a bad recipe in the lot


• Leafy Greens by Mark Bittman - lots of different ways to eat lots of different kinds of leafy greens


• Dishing Up Maine by Brooke Dojny - another one from the Mouse Parents. Gorgeous photos, lots of information on Maine and the recipes are awfully excellent too


• Cooking Down East by Marjorie Standish - a classic Maine cookbook


• Cold-Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase - famous Nantucket restauranteur/chef


• The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith - no-nonsense, tasty and cost-minded


• The Daily Soup Cookbook by Leslie Kaul, Bob Spiegel, et al. - I went through a soup phase a couple of winters ago and used this book a lot


• James McNair's New Pizza - because sometimes you want something besides pepperoni

Recipes for the weekend: Bee's Potato Salad

My old h.s. buddy (we used to ride around in the winter in her bright yellow original VW Bug with no heat and an aerosol can of de-icer for the windshield) and now new Friend of the Blog Kristin has requested More Recipes!!! here at the little blog.

Since I live to please, I offer you this easy one from my Grandma's recipe collection, in honor of my midwestern aunt and uncle who are here visiting the foggy, gloomy, cold, rainy state of Maine. It's an excellent summer-timey dish - too friggin' bad summertime is taking its own sweet friggin' time to get here.

Bee's Potato Salad

4-6 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and cubed
2-3 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and chopped
1 white onion, diced
celery, diced
mayonnaise to bind it all together
small amount of whipping cream (unwhipped) or half & half
salt and pepper to taste

It's the little bit of half & half that makes this so rich and delectable. Srsly, I can consume this by the BUSHEL, it's so good.

I don't know what it's called, but I like it

It has been unseasonably hot here these last couple of days - like 88+ degrees Fahrenheit (friggin' Maine: 50 one day and 90 the next) - so I have busted out a brand new summertime drink recipe, just in time for the long holiday weekend. As you may have guessed from this post's title, I don't know what to call it, but it's tasty and was discovered by my gorgeous friend LyndaLove way out there in Arizona; either she had one herself or it's a signature drink made by the Iron Chef she recently met ... I disremember which. (How cool to meet an Iron Chef, btw?)

Tear up a basil leaf and muddle with lemongrass simple syrup* in a highball (or pint, I like my drinks in pints) glass. Add ice, then vodka and grapefruit juice. Stir and enjoy.

It's like a Greyhound, only the basil/lemongrass mixture takes the bitter edge of the grapefruit juice and adds a whole 'nother dimension to the drink. Very, very nice.

* Simple syrup = 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water; boiled 'til sugar dissolves. Nice to use for mixed drinks or iced coffee/tea because the sugar is dissolved already. To add the lemongrass component, I just dropped a bunch of chopped up lemongrass into the sugar and water when I put it on to boil. Easy-peasy.

It's been twenty days since my last post about bacon ...

This link is provided compliments of one of my most bestest grrl-friends, DCPQ (a/k/a "Blonde Ambition"), who says: "If David Lebovitz were a girl, [my husband] would probably consider stalking her. Instead he just reads his blog." Potayto, potahto, I say.

Regardless, not only does ol' David Lebovitz give us a recipe for Candied Bacon Ice Cream (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), he's also got a whole bunch of further bacon links down at the bottom of the page. Read, drool, enjoy.

Continuing with the bacon obsession

Since there's no new Heroes tonight, I offer you this instead from my California cousin Leah (I'm beginning to think that my overweening love of bacon is a genetic thing):

PIG CANDY

Slice strips of bacon, roll in dark brown sugar (with a little pepper or cayenne to give it kick - or not, your choice). Place the strips of bacon on a cookie rack on top of a deep pan. Bake in oven at 325 for 20 minutes or so, turning once to ensure even cooking.

I haven't tried this yet but you're darn tootin' that I'm gonna. Thanks, Leah!

Oh, the humidity!

I'm seriously, folks - it will not stop raining or drizzling or misting or downpouring or being heavily overcast or steamy or sweaty or soggy or damp. It is just miserable - hot, sticky and miserable. I must have dumped out my dehumidifier 800 times in the last week (into the washing machine because I am thrifty and green and why waste water?) and I am still giving Frieda a run for her money.

It's enough to drive a girl to drink - so here's a new recipe, compliments of my California Cousin and her husband: David's Deadly Snowflakes:

Fill a blender with crushed ice. Add a can (16 oz.) of frozen limeade. Refill empty limeade can with cheap vodka and pour into blender. Add a dash of half-and-half* and blend 'til smooth. Mmmmm. (Note: four batches will require four cans of limeade, a whole bottle of vodka and lots of ice. Quoth my cousin: "It's worth it.") (* I'm thinking that a dash of cream of coconut might be a nice variation too.)

On a non-alcoholic front, I've seen some stuff lately that merits a mention:

• Dr. Horrible came, conquered my heart and then tore it out, per usual with Mr. Whedon.
• The latest Heroes webisode is up now - not as good as the first one but very splattery!
• I saw the newly released on DVD Batman anime, Gotham Knight: I'm sure people who know anything about anime will really appreciate it but I just liked it for the stories. (Kevin C. is loaning me The Animatrix to up my anime exposure.)
• I discovered The Guild online, season 1, created by and starring Felicia Day ("Penny" from Dr. Horrible) - hee hee hee!
• I watched S2E2 of Burn Notice and S1E2 of Flashpoint and deemed both better than the initial offerings.
• I finally finished Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Outstanding fight scene between Spike and Vincent in the finale. I only wish I hadn't dragged my feet on watching it - I scarcely remember the series's stories and I think that would have added to my Bebop movie experience.
• I did not fight the crowds to see The Dark Knight this weekend. I have a feeling it'll be around for a while and will catch it when some of the hullaballoo has quieted down.

Summertime Drink Recipes 2008

Wow - is it Wednesday already? I lose track of the days when there isn't any watchable television on (except for BSG which is still going!). I'm mostly done reading my next book-review book; Dracula 2000 is set to record on the DVR tonight (Nathan Fillion! Gerard Butler!); and, speaking of Nathan Fillion, I promise to get the next Firefly recap up by this weekend at the latest.

In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy some new hot-weather drink recipes. This listing is a little different from last year's in that these are all recipes that I haven't tried yet. But they sound super-tasty and are fairly uncomplicated, which is always a plus. Please feel free to leave your own favorite summertime drinks in the comments below - I'd love to see what other people are drinking!

• Jeanne's Dad's Daiquiris - Combine 1 generous cup of ice, 1/3 cup frozen limeade concentrate, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 1/4 cup amber Barbados rum (gosh - I'd up that, eh?) in a blender. Blend 'til crushed and well-mixed. Serve over a couple more ice cubes with lime wedge garnishes. (Serves 2)
• Pisco Sour - In a shaker, combine 1 medium egg white, 1.5 oz. Chilean pisco (or Peruvian, I suppose, but I'm biased to Chile), 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice (or fresh key lime juice), 3/4 oz. simple syrup and a dash of Angostura bitters. Shake well for ten seconds. Fill shaker with ice and shake well for twenty seconds. Strain into chilled glass and top with 3 drops of the bitters. (Serves 1) Food and Wine July 2007
• Rangoon Rickey - Cut eight 6-inch stalks of lemongrass into 1-inch pieces. In the bottom of a wide-mouthed pitcher, use the handle end of a wooden spoon to crush the lemongrass. Add 18 oz. (about a fifth) of white rum and the juice of 4 squeezed limes, then fill the pitcher three-quarters full with ice. Add ginger ale to taste (but not too much!). Stir briefly, squeeze some lime wedges into the pitcher and serve immediately. (Serves many) Food and Wine
• Strawberry Margarita Ice Pops - Put 1.25 lb. strawberries (hulled and halved or ... frozen ones!), 1/2 cup white tequila, 1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice in a blender and blend 'til smooth. Pour into large glass measuring cup through a fine sieve if you want the remaining chunks out. Pour into popsicle molds and add sticks; freeze at least 24 hours. (Makes 8) Gourmet Aug. 2000

Please note: these are not my own recipes and I absolutely do not presume to claim creation-ship. I've given credit where I can but some of these recipes are just on scraps of paper and I didn't note down the source.

Book review: The Summer of My Greek Taverna: a Memoir by Tom Stone

A long time ago I spent several months in Greece, in Chania on Crete. Many Greeks consider Crete to be the boondocks of the country and Chania, on the western end of the island, is in the boondocks of Crete. It didn’t matter: the old town was lovely and off the beaten tourist path; the locals were decent, hard-working folks; and the simple, fresh food was fantastic. Reading The Summer of My Greek Taverna: a Memoir, by Tom Stone, brought all the good memories of my time on Crete flooding back.

Stone arrived on the island of Patmos, on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, almost by accident, looking for a quiet place to write his novel. The book soon went on the back burner as he fell in love, first with the island and then with a young Frenchwoman who would soon become his wife. Stone wrote and sold his novel, began a family with his wife and renovated an ancient stone farmhouse. After seven years on Patmos, however, money began to get a little thin and they moved to Crete where Stone got a job teaching English in the town of Rethymnon. Suddenly, with no warning, Stone received a phone call from one of their Patmian friends asking if he would be interested in renting and running a taverna for the summer season. With scarcely a second thought, Stone, an eager amateur chef, packed up his family and they all went back to Patmos for the summer.

This memoir details the struggles and adventures involved in Stone’s taverna experience, from dealing with a crooked partner, to obtaining supplies during religious fasts and climatic droughts, to convincing his traditional Patmian neighbors that chili con carne was tasty. He learned the hard way that when your friends become your restaurant’s patrons, you are no longer their friend: they don’t laugh off the fly in the soup when their drachmas are on the line. Stone scarcely saw his wife and two young children from working 14-20 hour days during the summer’s height and soon developed severe varicose veins from being on his feet such long hours. The taverna was ultimately successful – the American Stone’s own recipe for moussaka was definitively preferred over the local versions – but far too demanding, and he gladly gave it up after the one summer.

The Summer of My Greek Taverna is a nice, easily read little book. Stone does a good job of utilizing reminiscences from his earliest seven-year sojourn on Patmos to give the island’s history and to flesh out his characters. In addition to being a memoir, this book is also a cookbook: the author writes lovingly of food and includes nineteen recipes that he put into play in the taverna’s kitchen. Many are traditional Greek dishes, like tzatziki (a yogurt-based cucumber and garlic dip), keftedes (Greek meatballs), and moussaka (sort of an American chop suey style casserole with béchamel sauce); he also includes the chili con carne and a chicken curry that sounds wonderful. [Note: the links in the paragraph above are for different recipes: you gotta get the book to get Tom Stone's versions.]

Memoirs can be difficult to write without getting mawkish. Stone is never overly sentimental and recalls his summer with fairly clear eyes — not hesitating to call himself a fool when foolish — but Greece's islands have a way of romancing the flintiest of hearts. Even after all his blood, sweat, and tears in the taverna, and getting rooked by his purported friend for his trouble, Stone is still enamored with Patmos. His little book is the love letter he'd like us all to read.

Christmas Past and Present

Funny how the holidays are the same date, every year, and yet every year Christmas sneaks right up on me. Wasn’t it just Thanksgiving? This year marks a milestone for me: this is the first Christmas in thirty-seven years that I will not be spending with my parents. Can you believe that? One year I even dragged them over to Crete after a semester abroad. After 36 Christmases in a row you start to get some traditions in place. A parental Mouse Christmas goes something like this.

On Christmas Eve afternoon we all traipse over to my uncle’s house for hors d'œuvres, cookies and presents. We have to be careful, however – no matter how tasty the snacks, we’ve got a long evening of food and drinks ahead of us. It’s important to take it slow. After a couple of hours, my uncle’s family heads off to church and we more heathen Mouses head to my parents’ house. Now the drinking can begin in earnest, as there’s no more driving to be done. One year my dad and I accomplished hot buttered rum, home brew, wine just before dinner, champagne with dinner (more on dinner later), more wine after dinner and then a bit of single malt scotch after the after-dinner wine. Mr. Mouse was appalled and I had a small headache on Christmas morning. We’ve since learned to (a) cut out the hot buttered rum entirely, (b) sometime substitute limoncello for the scotch, and (c) drink a glass of water for every glass of alcohol. Everyone’s happier that way.

I need to go back and tell you about the traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The family legend goes that when my folks were very young and very poor, they wanted to splurge on something decadent on one Christmas Eve. They decided on champagne and caviar, buying the best they could afford – which was about a $7 bottle and a $1.50 jar – and they’ve been having champagne and caviar on Christmas Eve ever since. The quality (and price) has gone up considerably since then. In addition, we have Raclette cheese, melted in front of the fire (the only time all year the fireplace in the den gets lit), and served with a good baguette, boiled potatoes, dill pickles and pickled onions. It takes forever since you have to wait for the cheese to melt in between rounds, we all end up in shorts and t-shirts because the room gets so bloody hot with the fire going, and you have to keep a close watch on the dogs who are extremely interested in the big plate of melting cheese right at nose level. Christmas Eve is my favorite.

Christmas Day has gotten a little over-the-top in recent years: everyone gets a fully loaded stocking; there's homemade challah pulla bread, coffee, broiled grapefruit and either stuffed French toast or egg, cheese and sausage strata for breakfast; we open presents for hours. If there’s enough snow, we’ll take the dogs on a short cross-country ski; if there’s not enough, we’ll walk. Christmas dinner in recent years has been prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, and often a chocolate stout cake; there was once an attempt at a goose, but that mistake was not repeated. Regardless of the entrée, Mr. Mouse and I roll home, stuffed, sated and possibly in need of a detox.

This year we’ll have Christmas with Mr. Mouse’s family. I’m looking forward to learning new traditions and, as he hasn’t been with his folks for the holidays in ten years, Mr. Mouse will be learning them as well. I love Christmas and seeing how different families celebrate being together - I hear there will be Christmas Eve visits with aunts and uncles and family friends, not so different after all. And I’m even bringing a bottle of champagne to share, because after thirty-six years some traditions are too good to let go.

Note: if anyone is interested in recipes for anything mentioned here, let me know in the comments and I'll try to rustle 'em up for you. Merry-merry and happy-happy, everyone!

People like cookies too

I got to thinking and, really, why should the dogs get all the treats? My mom was kind enough to pass along some of the family's traditional Christmas cookie recipes - from her to me to you.

Spice Cookies - from my Grandma Bee. Bee was a great cook: her chicken-n-dumplings are legendary and are my homecooked birthday meal of choice. Her cookies ain't bad either. These spice cookies are best when dunked quickly in cold milk.

1 lb. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. white sugar
5 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. allspice
1 Tbsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts (doesn't specify but don't go with peanuts)

Cream the butter and two sugars together well. Dissolve the soda in 1/4 c. boiling water and add to the creamed mixture. Then sift the flour and spices together and add to the mixture. Stir in the chopped nuts; mix well. Refrigerate in rolls for at least a couple of hours. Slice the chilled dough thinly and bake at 350-375 for 10-20 minutes on an ungreaseed cookie sheet.

Grandma's Christmas Cookies - these are amazing cookies that I hated when I was little. But I loved making them because my folks would invite a bunch of people over to chop the nuts and dice the fruit; we'd all sit around the kitchen table, talking and laughing, the occasional brazil nut flying across the room. Now I like eating them too.

1 10 oz. package of dates
1/2 c. in-the-shell brazil nuts (it's more fun when they're in the shell)
1/2 c. in-the-shell almonds
1 c. in-the-shell pecans
1/2 c. candied pineapple
1/3 c. candied cherries
1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. flour
3 Tbsp. fruit juice

Cut the dates into medium pieces. Shell the nuts and chop them, and the candied fruit, coarsely. Combine butter, sugar, egg, salt and spices and blend well. Sift flour with baking soda and stir into creamed mixture with the fruit juice. Add nuts and fruits and mix well. Drop rounded tablespoonsful onto lightly greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Let the cookies cool a little before taking off the sheet - they get sticky.

Giant Ginger Cookies - Mom usually doubles this recipe. These cookies are so good (I really like ginger) and nicely chewy.

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. shortening (butter is recommended)
1 c. sugar, with extra sugar set aside for sprinkling
1 egg
1/4 c. molasses

Sift the flour with salt, spices and baking soda. Cream the butter and work in the cup of sugar. Stir egg and molasses into creamed mixture. Add in flour mixture gradually; mix well. Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in the set-aside sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten the dough balls with fingertips and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.