Christmas Traditions and New Resolutions

After the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I had to sit back and reflect...I first of all realized how dear my family is to me.  I treasure each day, moment and time we get to spend together.  The laughter, food, harassing each other...all such fun times and great memories made.  I also had to reflect on how THANKFUL I am.  After all, God has blessed me so far above and beyond what I deserve...I am overwelmed at how He has blessed me.  I also thought about traditions. 

There are some things you do in your family and you have no idea why - and then others that you know why.  And this is where two of my favorite food traditions come in.  The first one is a tradition I have known my entire life on my dad's side - a dish we have every Christmas Eve and only then: Tourtiere.  This is a special tradition to me because it is very rare to find anyone else that actually knows what this is.  Tourtiere is a meat pie.  My ancestors who came to Minnesota from Quebec have been making this for years, and my grandma learned how to make it when she married my grandpa - even though she herself is not French. 

So here is where the confession comes in: I have not always loved this tradition.  For years and years I have thought Eew! This is SO GROSS!!  How can anyone eat this? I will NEVER eat this!  Well that vow went out the window along with my vow in 8th grade that I would never wear nail polish or carry a purse.  Apparently when I vow I won't do something, the opposite happens. :-)  So, as it were, in the last three years, I have fallen in love with Tourtiere.  Maybe it's because Jesus has done so much work in my heart I am more adventurous than I ever have been and my palate has expanded, but whatever the reason, I now love and adore this Christmas Eve family tradition.  I shared this with the Buffalo Narrows team when I was in Canada for a missions trip last summer.  I'm sure you can imagine my excitement when they knew what I was talking about!  Almost anyone state-side would have been clueless. 

Tradition number two is the "chocolate cookie dessert", or as we grandkids call it, the "chocolate Christmas log".  :-)  It is absolute awesomeness, and heaven on a plate.  Again - the only time we eat it is Christmas Eve.  It is basically Oreo cookies on steroids.  My grandma buys these large, chocolate wafers and then makes home made whipped cream and slathers it all over the cookies.  To make it look pretty, she adds little merichino cherries on top to look like flowers.  The dessert is then cut at a diagonal, and you devour every last drop.  (Possibly even licking the plate - shhhhhhh, don't tell!)  The only unfortunate thing about this tradition is that now with my diary allergy, I can no longer partake...unless I attempt to make it with coconut milk whipped topping....which I just may have to try... :-)  (Dessert pictured below).  What are some family traditions you have that you love and enjoy?

We are now into a brand new year - and I have a very good feeling about 2012.  I am excited to see what all God is going to do this year.  So, as usual, I came up with a few resolutions...or rather, goals.  Hopefully I can stick to them - with the help of the Lord!!  I won't post them all, but a few more fluffy ones are: paint my nails more often (once again, that vow in 8th grade definitely didn't last!), try cooking new things in the kitchen, run one race a month, get outside more, and journal more.  I am slowly learning balance, which has been very valuable to me...so hopefully I can keep that going!!  May your 2012 be blessed beyond measure! 

In Christ,

Meg

Cyclops Snowman Cookies...

I have come to the conclusion after my very short amount of time on this earth, that being serious all the time is boring.  Yes, there is a time and place for seriousness, but I for one prefer to look at many things from a light-hearted side of life.  After all, there are so many good reasons to do so.  If you know me well enough, you know I happen to be a bit of a klutz.  So, I had to learn years ago that rather than get upset and mad at myself when I do something klutzy or nerdy, I just laugh.  Because if I didn't, I would get upset all the time.  I also really love to be as goofy as I can with my students.  I pick on them, they pick on me.  Ah yes, life is good.

And then there is my mother and I.  We can be such a dangerous combination.  I find her funny (usually) and she finds me funny (usually), and we tend to feed off of each other's humor.  So, after seeing the title of this entry, you are probably wondering..."What the heck?"  Allow me to explain.  It all started years ago when I was in college.  I came home one weekend (probably around my birthday) and begged mom to make sugar cookies.  Because Valentine's day was in a few weeks, we made heart cookies.  (Yes, this was back in the days when I thought Valentines' day was cool.)  So we made the cookies, and then went to frost them, and somehow, one of us made a mistake when we were going to give the cookies eyes and a smiley face, and the heart cookie became the "Cyclops heart cookie".  We thought it was hilarious.  Maybe no one else would have found it funny, and maybe you just had to be there, but let me tell you, it stuck and ever since then, it has been a running joke between us.  So this year, we decided to make Christmas cookies, and we got a little goofy.  (I was actually being far sillier - must have been all the samples of the sugary frosting I tasted...)  I was making cyclops trees, cyclops stars, and the best cookie of all...the giant cyclops snowman.  I also made a snowman look sick, and other generally abnormal things you wouldn't see on most Christmas cookies.  I figured, why not have a little fun?  After all, laughter is the best medicine.  May your Christmas be merry, bright, full of laughter and love and centered around the real reason for the season: Jesus. :-) 

In Christ,

Meg

 

Banana Bread

 

 

                    




                                                                   
                                                                                                                             




First of all, I would like to apologize for my prolonged absence...life has been a little hectic... Hopefully I will be back on a more consistent basis now. 

So, I have a confession to make...I used to be scared of banana bread.  Not scared of it as in, I see it, I run away in terror.  Scared of it as in, scary to make.  Now I know what most of you are probably thinking.  Really Meg? Scared of making banana bread? Oh come on.  But, to me, banana bread has always represented something.  It was this sacred thing that my grandma Esther used to make, and let me tell you, if you knew my grandma, she was one heck of a cook, so taking on the task of making banana bread seemed like pretty big shoes to fill.  That was probably another reason I was always scared of it - scared I wouldn't live up to her and her banana bread and any self-imposed expectations I had placed upon myself.  In a way, me making banana bread that was sub-par seemed rather sacreligious after my grandma's.  But one day, a few years ago, I got enough nerve to give it a try.  I pulled out my Betty Crocker Cookbook, thumbed through the bread section - past the chocolate chip muffins at stopped at Banana Bread.  And I dove in.  I became baptised in the banana bread fire and never looked back.

After a few years of making my own banana bread and having it turn out pretty darn good, I got really crazy and crossed a line my grandma never would have - I added chocolate chips.  Call me the proverbial rebel - never have I been more pleased at a rebellious act that defied the norm than I was with this particular outcome.  It seemed bananas and chocolate were made for each other - like wine and cheese, a fish and water and Wayne Gretzky and hockey.  My banana bread has since very rarely gone without chocolate.

Life sometimes can be hard, and rather disappointing and hurtful.  Usually, when that is the case, I first turn to Jesus and a nice long run; and then usually head to the kitchen while listening to music.  There is something about baking that just soothes my soul.  So, yesterday, with my heart aching - I began to make my banana bread...but this time, I pushed the limits even further.  The chocolate chips were still there in all their glory, but after some inspiration from "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg, I added chopped crystalized ginger.  

As I mixed the flour, mashed the bananas and combined the ingredients, a few tears fell and I thought of grandma.  How I miss her.  Making this banana bread was one way I remembered her sweet, sassy, generous, loving ways.  As the bread baked, heavenly smells filled my house.  Finally it was done.  I was going to withstand the temptation to cut off a slice and eat it, but then I remembered the "Brownie Rule".  (It's illegal to take brownies out of the oven and not eat one while it is still warm).  So I decided that there was now a "Banana Bread Rule" - which is the same as the "Brownie Rule", only applicable to banana bread.  May I recommend that you never break either of these rules?  You won't be sorry.  

Delish - that's all I have to say.  As I devoured my warm piece of banana bread, with the gooey chocolate and the bite of the ginger, I had to chuckle.  I wonder what grandma would say about my little "acts of rebellion"?  She would probably smile, shake her head, and give me a great big hug.  After all, banana bread - no matter how fancy - is still banana bread.

In Christ,

Meg