I have amended my Christmas wish list.  'Time' is now officially the first item on the list. I know that it makes no real sense to have 'Time' as part of my wish list because once Christmas is here I'll have lots of time.  Let's look at it as 'At least I know that I'm going to get what I want for Christmas' - oozing positivity.
I have so many recipes ready to go.
I have cookies to bake.
I have lemon curd to whip up.
I have chex mex to make.  This is important for the Christmas Eve movie that we will go to and sneak in our own snacks.
Although most things of worth have gone by the wayside lately, here are some of the things that I've managed to keep up with:
1.  Bathing and teeth brushing
2.  Birthday cake making
3.  Clothes washing... almost
4.  Breakfast
5.  Biking to work
6.  Letters to Santa (Kid #2 wrote a letter that went like this: Dear Santa - I want....... signed Kid #2.  Kid #1 got really upset and told him that if he didn't write some nice things to Santa first that he wouldn't get anything on his list.  You can't just send Santa a list!  He was confused and more than a little frustrated but wrote the letter anyway)
7.  An early gift to myself.  This took a little more of that precious time than I had anticipated but it was so worth it and I'm thrilled and a little itchy.


So I'm keeping up in a manner of speaking.  However, when it comes to food I'm falling way way way behind.  It's pathetic.  And then there is the whole 'dark-in-the-middle-of-the-day' thing that is just totally wrecking photos for me.  It's bumming me out.  Curry helps.  Curry feels warm and sunny.  It reminds me that there are many places in the world that aren't dark, damp and cold.  If you find the curry powder amount sounds a little rash then by all means start with half the amount and ramp it up from there.  We prefer our curry kickin'.


I truly hope that you are finding some time for reflection and quiet.  I hope that you are making all the cookies and curds that your little heart desires.  I hope that your Chex Mex making schedule is right on target... and if it's not just know that you are not alone.


Cabbage and Squash Curry adapted from Simply in Season
serves 8

1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3- 4 cups butternut squash (or other winter squash), peeled, de-seeded and cut into 2 inch cubes
3 - 4 cups cabbage
2 lg potatoes, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 cup frozen peas or green beans

Curry seasoning:
2 bouillion cubes
1 full cup mild curry seasoning (I used west indian curry)
4 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp pepper sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 - 3 tbsp tomato sauce or paste
1 can (400 ml) chick peas
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
2 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Coat the squash cubes in oil and spread onto a baking sheet.  Roast for about 35 minutes or until turning golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.  Remove from oven and set aside.
Heat a heavy bottomed soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
Add about 4 tbsp of oil or butter and then add in the onion and cubes potatoes.  Cook together for about 10 minutes (turning the heat down if necessary).  The potato should be browning on the outsides.  Add in the garlic and cabbage.  Turn the heat down to medium/low.  Make sure that the cabbage is coated in oil and continue to cook for about 10 minutes.  Stir when necessary to keep the vegetables from sticking.
In another bowl combine the boullion cubes (crushed up with your fingers), curry seasoning, garam masala, ginger, cumin and salt.  Add just enough water to form a paste.  Add in the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce.  Stir well.
Add the paste to the cooking vegetables.  Stir well.  Add the chickpeas, coconut milk and honey.  Stir well.  Add in the roasted squash and the frozen beans.  Mix well.  Check the tastes and adjust if necessary.
Cover and simmer about 15 minutes on low heat.
Serve with rice.

I have to tell you that I've been feeling a little bit off my game lately.  I have been having what I consider to be some misses in the kitchen department.  Aside from the Lime Cupcakes (which I made as much - or even more - for me as for my kid) I haven't been wowed by anything recently.  Ho-hum.
Winter Blues?
No sure... What I do know for sure... without one shadow of a doubt... not a question in my mind... is that this soup has come damn near changing my life.  I had to make this soup twice just to get pictures before it got eaten.  That means everybody else loved it too.  However, I wasn't expecting to L O V E cabbage soup and here's why.


You see, I have these memories from the seventies and eighties.  Yup, I just said that in public.  What the hell.  In the seventies, although my memories are pretty dim, I distinctly remember eating AYDS weight loss caramels while my Mom was teaching piano in the other room.  Guess why they stopped making them????  In the eighties the cultural zeitgeist was just as obsessed with dieting and weight loss as it is now.  So we ran the gamut in our house.  No carbs.  The grapefruit diet.  And the Cabbage Soup diet.  My brother and sister and I didn't know what Mom was doing (I think that my brother came home from school and gobbled about half of her first batch of soup while she was out of the room - she wasn't happy) but it smelled good and I decided that although grapefruit 4 times a day made me want to hurl that this cabbage soup thing mightn't be bad at all... that is until day 5 or something when you're supposed to continue eating this stuff for another month or something and all you want to do is eat something... anything else but cabbage soup.  I think I just sneaked french fries and gravy at the school cafeteria instead.


So me, seeing this cabbage soup receipt from Louisa, had to first get past the fact that this cabbage soup was, well... cabbage soup.  If you know what I mean.  I'm so glad that my yearning for soup superseded my history with cabbage soup because this is a soup that you need in your life.  This soup isn't about weight-loss or anything other than tasting good.  I've added bacon to my soup - you can leave it out if you like.  I've skipped the raisins... what?  Raisins in soup.  Ew.  But if you think it's an amazing idea then by all means throw them in.  A dollop of sour cream on top certainly wouldn't be out of place here but I can't tell you for sure because it didn't last long enough for me to try it.  As I'm typing this I'm wondering what it says about me that cabbage soup has changed my life but there it is.  The bright food light in my Jan/Feb 2012 has been a meek and homely cabbage soup.


Cabbage Soup adapted from 'The Wednesday Chef'

4 cups green cabbage (not savoy) thinly sliced
1 med/sm onion, diced
1 cup (or so) carrot thinly sliced
2 lg cloves garlic, minced
3 rashers bacon diced
400ml diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup tomato ketchup
chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup sugar
juice from 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 - 3 pinches pepper
1 bay leaf
dash of cayenne


Heat a Dutch oven or soup pot over med. heat.
Add the diced bacon and cook until it's browned.  Add a little bit of extra oil if necessary.  Turn the heat down to med/low and add in the onion, cabbage and garlic.  Cook together for about 15 - 20 minutes, stirring regularly.  The cabbage should be nicely browned and wilted.
Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, ketchup and just enough broth to cover everything.  Stir well and continue to heat over med/low heat.
Add in the sugar, lemon, salt, pepper, bay leaf and cayenne.
Stir well and check the tastes.  Adjust if necessary.
Simmer at low heat for another 15  - 20 minutes.
Serve with a little sour cream on the side.

The holiday is firmly behind me.  I'm ok with that.  The fanfare.  The rush.  The dinners.  The schedule changes.  It's all wonderful... and then I want to get back to normal.  Vacation normal mind you.
We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with family.  The best part was on Christmas Eve though.  We went out with the kids and saw 'Tintin' in the theatre.  We had thought that going at 7:15 would be awesome because then we could just head home afterwards and the kids could hop into bed.  No fuss.  What happened though was quite different.
After the movie we realized that an old teacher of kid #1's was in the theatre with us.  She was there with her two kids.  We had a great chat in the lobby and then she suggested that we find somewhere open so that we could get a drink and a late night snack.  Trust me, there isn't a whole lot going on out there on Christmas Eve in this part of the world.  We found this place still open and hit it with gusto.  It was really great to catch up with her and meet her two kids.  The things we learn about and from each other are amazing.  I love getting to know people.
This teacher is from Iran.  She left just before the revolution in the early eighties.  Her father barely escaped with his life a few years later.  She was educated in France as an architect but has somehow ended up here as a teacher.  Once her kids are both old enough she's getting back into architecture.  We started to talk about holidays and celebrations.  Me, being a bit of a humbug, commenting on how much we overdo things and blow them wildly out of proportion.  Her, commenting on how nuclear our celebrations are.  In her part of the world when there is a celebration it's out there.  Shops are open, restaurants are open, people are outside, there is music and noise and lots and lots of people.  Here, it's quiet.  Granted, it's cold and that makes a huge difference.  Also, it gets dark here at about 4:45 p.m. right now which can put a damper on things as well.  Still, she's kinda got something there.  We're all inside with our families.  It's not a community thing.  We are all celebrating but we are doing it largely in small groups in our homes.  Interesting perspective.
Having been christian all my life it's always interesting for to get someone else's perspective.  What do you do on a day when no one is out and about and nothing is open.  What if there is nothing that you even care to celebrate.  Traditions are cool.  Christmas traditions are cool.  I wonder though if we just make them up ourselves most of the time.  Like in my last post when I said that my new tradition is going to be 'screw linzer cookies, spend time with friends'.  Is there anything about Christmas that we could decisively say that everyone participates in.  It all got me thinking which is cool 'cause since everything is closed there isn't a whole lot else to do.


I made scalloped potatoes as my contribution to christmas dinner.  There were leftovers (thank god) that I brought home.  I made this side dish to go with them here at home.  We had a completely vegetarian day-after-christmas.  I can tell you that not only is this really good for you, it's easy and tastes absolutely out of this world.  I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate it at all.  I hope that you were able to stop and enjoy those around you with gusto.  I hope that you could eat some great food without pangs of guilt.  I hope that you laughed a lot and played some stupid games after the great food.  I hope for you that something deep and meaningful has been fed with richness and love.  (jeez that got all weird and mushy... yikes).


Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms with Hoisin Sauce (made it up, in my head, just like that)
serves 4

1 lb brussel sprouts (bottoms marked with an 'X' using a knife
3 cups button mushrooms halved
1 small onion diced (I used green onion bottoms cause that's all I had)
3 lg tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari

Blanch the brussel sprouts for about 4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Heat a wok over medium heat.
Throw in about 3 tbsp (maybe a bit more) of your oil of choice.  You will need to use a little more oil because the mushrooms absorb a lot.  Throw the onion and mushrooms into the hot oil and sauté for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms just start to soften a little.
Throw in the brussel sprouts.  Toss around for about 3 minutes.
Add the soy sauce or tamari and the hoisin sauce.  Cook together just long enough for the sauce to cook down a little bit but there is still some nice juice.  About 3 - 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and serve.