The Most Delicious Dinner!

Oh my goodness, y'all. We just had the BEST dinner, and I need to write down what we did before I forget, so I'm going to post it here for everyone. I have no pictures because we just gobbled it up. Because I am not a food blogger, I will also not spend three pages telling you about my childhood and artistic inspirations. (Am I a food blogger anyway if I point out that it is both vegan and gluten-free?)

Ingredients:

• about 1T canola oil
• half a large onion, finely chopped
• a celery stalk, finely chopped
• a carrot, finely chopped
• salt
• black pepper
• thyme
• tarragon
• parsley
• 4c water
• 2T Vegetable Better Than Bouillon
• three diced sweet potatoes (I'd guess it was about six cups?)
• 15oz. can of coconut milk

Method:

Heat canola oil in a large, thick bottomed pot. Sauté onion, celery, and carrot over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add seasonings and sauté a minute more. Add water and bouillon, stir to dissolve bouillon, and increase heat to high. Add diced sweet potatoes. Cook covered until sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat. Stir in coconut milk. 

We each ate two bowls of this, along with Bryan's sourdough bread. (Thank you, Jill, for the starter!) It was amazing! I had been thinking about chowder when I started to plan dinner, but when I went looking for condensed milk, I found coconut milk instead, and the rest was serendipity. 

When I make it again, I might consider adding some diced red peppers with the onions, as well as some crushed red pepper to the broth - it already had hints of an old favorite takeout option, Northern Curry Noodles from a Thai place that we loved when lived in Massachusetts. We have tried to recreate it over the years, and this might take it farther in that direction. (Emily, we got this one time with you!)

I think it would be different but still tasty, and more chowder-like, if you used dairy instead of coconut milk. If I'd had a can of corn, I might have gone in that direction anyway. Let me know if you decide to give this a try! 

New Year's Challenges

I know that at least Andrew loves a good New Year's resolution. I don't know that I like making New Year's resolutions as much as I enjoy a good 30-day challenge. In 2020, I've done six months' worth of Yoga With Adriene 30-day challenges, as well as a couple of other 30-day yoga challenges. I also completed Walktober in October with my college alumnae association. 

I think Jill has done Inktober, which is a daily drawing challenge, and I have some friends who've done NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November over the years. So many options!

I have two things planned for January 2021, and I wanted to tell you about them, and invite you to join me if you so desire!

1. Yoga With Adriene has a new 30-day challenge in January, called Breath. 

I've never done one of these sequences as they are released, along with the rest of the world, so that will be something new for me! 

2. Frugalwoods, a blog written by a woman who lives on a rural homestead in Vermont with her husband and two kids, is something I've been following for years. Every year since 2016, she has hosted "Uber Frugal Month" in January, as a way to help people reset their household spending and rein in their expenses as they start off the year. 

The first time I followed along with the challenge, we managed to reduce our internet bill by half (and double our speed), and we didn't eat out for more than two months (Ha! Remember "eating out"?!) I think she asks good questions in her daily email and provides a nice framework for evaluating expenses. Since we are living in a new place, with new daily routines, it makes sense to re-evaluate everything in light of our new life!

Both of these challenges come with daily emails, and you can sign up on either challenge's webpage - let me know if you decide to follow along with one of them!

Exchange Gifts: Bette's Gift to Bryan and Chris's Gift to Amanda

The "Wells Fargo Wagon" made it all the way to the Northwoods today! (Or, my parents and Annie came to Minocqua and brought our exchange gifts.)

Gramma made Bryan a unique swatter/back scratcher:

 It is now hanging on a hook in the kitchen, ready to grab at a moment's notice as soon as it's needed!

Chris gave Amanda this beautiful blanket ladder, super-soft alpaca blanket, and lovely Christmas tote:

We also had a lovely Christmas tea party! 

After our delicious lunch, Mom had a surprise for us. She actually made the Wisconsin Snow Pudding and brought it for us to try! It is a lovely presentation!

As Mom expected, it tastes about like a Schaum torte - but wobbly! Bryan liked it with the custard sauce; I preferred it without. We all agreed that it was fun to try it...but it's probably not going in our regular dessert rotation! 

Okay, y'all - send some more gift pictures!

Exchange Gifts: Joe's Gift to Pete and Jeff's Gift to Jackie

The next round of photos has arrived!

Joe gave Pete a bunch of yummy consumable gifts:

• Spiced Candied Pecans
• Caramel Corn
• Venison Jerky
• Cranberry & Venison Pemmican

Jeff wove a rug for Jackie!

(Annie is NEVER this well-behaved. Maybe there is a treat just out of the shot that she has been told to sit and wait for!)

Exchange Gifts: Bryan's Gift to Arman and Amanda's Gift to Darleen

As promised, we are sharing pictures of everyone's great gifts! (Please send me your photos if you haven't yet! Take close-ups so we can all see the details!)

The US Postal Service delivered Bryan's gift to Arman today, and Emily sent a video of him opening it:

This was Bryan's first foray into knife-making, and I know he is planning to post on his blog about the project. (Update: here is the post - Making a Kitchen Knife) Bryan made two knives - a practice one that he kept, and then the one he sent to Arman. He documents his projects very well, so I already had a close-up picture!

Arman's knife is the one nearer the top of the picture.

In this view, you can see the different woods that comprise the handles. 

Darleen sent me two lovely pictures of the ornaments I made and the perfume I sent:

This teacup is lovely perfume storage - I use shot glasses!

Here are the scent descriptions: 

• Fireside Reverie - a crackling wood fire, holiday blend of cinnamon & nutmeg, precious resins of frankincense, myrrh, and benzoin
• Frosted Mittens - a peppermint mocha topped with mini marshmallows and crushed candy canes, white chocolate peppermint bark, chill winter air
• Morning Mayhem - vanilla French toast sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with  maple syrup, coffee milk, balsam fir, wrapping paper
• Sugar Dusted - cinnamon sticks, apple and pumpkin pies in the oven, plates of sugar cookies and tins of sugared pecans, smudges of butter and splashes of vanilla extract
• The Perfect Tree - rows of balsam & silver fir trees, curls of orange peel and cloves simmering on the stovetop, a bayberry wreath on the front door
• Gingerbread Kittens - gingerbread cookies sandwiched with marshmallow fondant and dipped in citrus glaze, fluffy kitten fur, a glint of amber eyes

This is the tutorial I used to learn to make the ornaments:

(The host talks a lot. I admit that I skipped ahead whenever it seemed like she wasn't going to get to the point.) 

Who's next? Send your pictures! (Also, Bryan's and my gifts are coming with my parents on Monday, so we will get them soon!)

December 25, part 2 - Æbleskiver

It was so fun to have our Worm Family Zoom this afternoon, and to see everyone's creative Christmas Exchange gifts. Due to the vagaries of the deliveries this year, a few of us have not yet gotten our gifts, but they're all on the way! Stay tuned for a future post where we all share pictures of our fabulous gifts!

After Zoom, we got started with another tradition that really makes it feel like a Worm Family Christmas. We made æbleskiver!

Here is the recipe that Gramma gave me:

For most of my baking throughout the year, I use pre-ground cardamom. However, for æbleskiver, I'm willing to crack the pods and grind it myself. 

We made half a batch this year, and it was plenty! (We took Jill's suggestion and used just two eggs but chose the largest ones in the carton.)

We ate a few as we cooked, and a few more once we finished, and we had plenty! I froze some to eat another time (defrost, heat in the oven until hot, then toss in sugar again if you want to make them taste more like fresh ones), and we still have enough left for breakfast tomorrow!

December 25 - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone, from our house to yours!

Can't wait to see the Worms for Christmas Zoom at 4pm central time TODAY! Email me if you need the link to join!

I thought I'd share some more Christmas music with you. There are some new songs, some old songs, some not-quite-Christmas-songs, some reinterpretations, and some faithful classics. Enjoy!

This poem suits the end of the day, after the gifts have been opened, and æbleskiver made and eaten:

Christmas Night by Conrad Hilberry

This is the final Advent Calendar blog post - at least until all the people in the Worm family gift exchange have received their exchange gifts, and we can post pictures of those! 

Hope this has been as fun for you as it has been for me! Merry Christmas!

December 24, part 2 - Christmas Eve Food

Our dear friends in California sent us a box of tasty treats from the German Christmas Market! I know what we'll be snacking on tonight!

This box includes chocolates, Lebkuchen, Marzipan, and spice cookies - some of our favorites!

We are also planning to break out the eggnog! Bryan bought a brand new bottle to age his batch of Alton Brown's Aged Eggnog, which he started in early November. 

Since we are staying home and have no particular commitments, we thought we would indulge in a meal that we only make about once a year. It is fun, but it takes a long time to enjoy properly: Fondue. 

We will do two courses:

• Cheese fondue, with bread, roasted and raw veggies, and apples to dip
• Chocolate fondue, with apples, bananas, clementines, marshmallows, and maybe some cookies to dip

We had a momentary panic yesterday when I realized I had not bought Sterno at the grocery store - but we have some big candles, so we will use those instead - the Sterno usually keeps the pot too hot anyway!

Leave a comment, or send me an email with a picture and description, if you want to share some of your Christmas Eve food!

December 24 - Christmas Eve

I have a poem for you: Christmas Mail by Ted Kooser

The image of the rural mail carrier delivering Christmas cards with a cup of coffee on the dashboard seems pretty accurate from where we sit - we are on a rural mail route now and are very grateful to our postal carriers!

With the postal service and shipping delays this year, it seems like some things will not make it to their intended destinations before Christmas - however, that doesn't bother me one bit! Spreading out the deliveries over the coming days (and weeks, maybe) makes it feel like the celebrating can continue. 

It seems fitting today to share a performance of A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement Moore. (This story is more commonly called, "Twas the Night Before Christmas.")

If it's too hard to decide what Christmas movie to watch on Christmas Eve, you don't have to choose a movie - just enjoy the nostalgia of Christmas commercials from the 1970s and 1980s!

I was surprised how many of these were familiar!

If you tire of commercials, the St. Louis Ballet has created a special version of The Nutcracker this year. The first act is a recording of the 2019 performance; the second act was recorded this year, with appropriate COVID precautions in place. It also includes videos from students dancing at home.

For our Worm Family readers, don't forget our Christmas Zoom tomorrow, Christmas Day, at 4pm central time! (If you are not a Worm but would like to drop into the Zoom to say hello, please just email me for the link - we'll be happy to have you join us!)

December 23 - Jólabókaflóð

Before we get to the main event, our little friend in California is wishing us a Merry Christmas! We miss his greetings in person for sure - it was too adorable not to share!

Jólabókaflóð (Yule Book Flood) is an Icelandic holiday tradition - and I think it's one that many of us could happily celebrate! Let me tell you more!

During World War II, many things were rationed in Iceland - but not paper! This made books a popular gift. And, Icelanders are readers (and writers - apparently one in ten Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetimes). Check out this list of Icelandic writers!

The Iceland Publishers Association distributes their book catalog for free to every household in the fall, right after the Reykjavík Book Fair, so that people know what books will be released for the holiday and can place their orders. 

Gifts are traditionally opened on Christmas Eve in Iceland - so people open their gifts of books, and then they spend the evening reading them, often while eating chocolate and sipping hot drinks. 

Read NPR's reporting on the tradition here.

This blogger added a twist to the tradition for her family - could be fun to try some year!

Although Icelanders prefer books on paper for their gifts, I am fortunate to have access to three library systems worth of e-books. I'm not sure whether I'll borrow an e-book for my Christmas Eve reading, or pick something off the bookshelf. (We do own books I haven't read yet, and I also like to re-read!) 

Please feel free to share what you're going to read on Christmas Eve!