Organized Chaos

I’m good at many things. Wrapping gifts is not one of them.

I’m not being modest. Look at that picture and you’ll know I speak the truth. I was never happier than when gift bags became popular. If I get some wrap around a gift with about a foot of scotch tape and slap a sticker on, I’m good. I used to do bows, but they looked so sad. I’m really being serious. It’s the worst thing about Christmas for me. But I turn on Christmas music really loud and that makes it bearable. This year I wrapped to Christmas music from Glee, and I got it all done yesterday afternoon.

One of the best things about Christmas is holiday baking and cooking. And I’m never

happier than on my annual Grandchildren-Sugar-Cookie-Decorating Day. It is organized chaos at its best. There is colored sugar and pieces of dough everywhere. For days I find drips and drops of colored icing hidden in places where icing doesn’t belong. The cookies invariably turn out garishly but lovingly decorated, heavy on the colored sugar. This year I allowed the use of M&Ms, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.

The decorating was done in two shifts. The two little granddaughters came over early because they weren’t in school. Mylee is much more interested in eating the icing than

in decorating the cookies, but she managed to complete a couple. Hers are the ones with the sugar only dumped in the middle. Kaiya, on the other hand, carefully arranged her chocolate chips. She insisted on using my heart cookie cutter as well. You can’t, after all, have too many pink hearts, no matter the season.

Later, the three older McLains came by (the little one had a dance lesson) to decorate.

Kaiya and Mylee watched. Addie led the show, or tried to. Her suggestions generally fell on deaf ears, particularly when it came to 7-year-old Dagny, who has a mind of her own. Even 8-year-old Alastair joined in, again ignoring Addie’s advice. “You can’t make a Christmas tree red,” she tells him. Wanna bet? I just stand back and make sure no one gets hurt.

At the tail end, while the others had moved on to hide-and-seek, Dagny carefully took her last Christmas tree shaped cookie, and poured all of the remaining icing over the entire cookie, decorated it with every last remaining M&M and chocolate chip, and grinned her little missing-teeth grin in total satisfaction.

I know there are a million sugar cookie recipes, and they’re all pretty much the same. But this is one I have used for years. I got the book, Better Homes and Gardens Cookies and Candies, in 1972. I know this because I put my name and the date inside the cover. That means it has been assisting me in making cookies for over 30 years. Way to go Better Homes and Gardens.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
2/3 c. shortening
¾ c. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
4 t. milk
2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/2 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt

Process
Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Add egg; beat till light and fluffy. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Chill 1 hour.

On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/8 in. thickness. Cut in desired shapes with cutters. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 about 6 to 8 min. Cool slightly; remove from pan. Cool on rack. Makes about 2 doz. cookies.

Nana’s Notes: At the bakery, my dad would sprinkle colored sugar on the cookies before he would bake them. That’s the easiest thing to do, but not nearly as much fun. The kids simply love cutting out the cookies, patiently waiting the 6 minutes or so for them to bake and the 5 minutes or so for them to cool, and then look out! No holds barred! Close your eyes and know that the mess will be cleaned up soon enough.

Kids' Whimsical Cooking: "Snow" Made Ice Cream

Hey this is Addie and I made Snow Made Ice Cream. This is a great sweet snack that looks, tastes, and smells like regular ice cream. As long as you keep stirring and chilling, your treat will turn out right.

This snack only works if you have snow. Half and half, sugar, vanilla, and snow are the essential ingredients to the mix. (You may use candy to flavor up your ice cream.) I am sure you have those ingredients in you cabinets. I hope you try making this fun snack.

Snow Made Ice Cream

Ingredients
3 c. loose clean snow
2 T milk or half and half
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract

Process
Mix all the ingredients and adjust sugar and vanilla as needed. Continue to stir until mixture resembles ice cream.

Nana's Notes: Not to be too nitpicky, but I'm guessing you probably don't have fresh snow in your cabinets as Addie suggests you might. The rest of the ingredients are likely there. While this is not technically a holiday treat, it is certainly a winter treat. My grandkids absolutely LOVE to make this ice cream. Supervise the collection of the snow as smaller kids can include leaves in with the snow. Make sure they are not using yellow snow! Addie added chocolate chips and toffee chips to her treat.

And hey! I haven't heard from a single person. Can't have a cookie exchange without the exchange. Send me your faves.

I Feel Like a Real Turkey!

Tick tock, tick tock. Christmas is getting nearer by the day. It’s time to start my holiday baking and candy making.

And I want to try something fun – a virtual cookie exchange. Each day I will post a different recipe for a holiday treat. I encourage all of you to either comment below or send me an email at the address provided in the upper right hand corner of my home page with a favorite holiday recipe. I will post them along with mine.

But first, I have a couple of stories.

It was a spectacular Saturday, despite the cold weather, simply because it was filled with family and friends. My Saturday began with an annual gathering of friends that has been taking place for over 12 years. Not only is this annual holiday event a chance to catch up on everyone’s life (since many of us don’t see each other but once a year), but the gathering goes beyond that. We come together in memory of a very dear friend who passed away almost 11 years ago at a much too young age, after a long illness. Our friend Paulette LOVED Christmas. She and I worked together for many years, and it was no secret that Christmas was her favorite time of year. She was in charge of decorating the Christmas tree in the lobby of our building, and I didn’t know a tree could hold so many lights. When I thought that another string of lights simply couldn’t fit on the tree, she would open another box. Needless to say, the trees were always spectacular.

Her friends and family gathered with her at Christmas while she was alive, and we continue the tradition in her memory. Her mother and sister are present, and this year her nieces also joined us. What a treat. Merry Christmas friends.

Later that evening, my son dropped off their two daughters for a sleepover at Nana and Papa’s house. I am trying to absorb all of their sweetness and funniness and love that I can before we leave for Arizona.

Yesterday morning, I asked the girls what they wanted for breakfast. Kaiya, the 5-year-old, thought carefully (as she is prone to do) and chose Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Three-year-old Mylee didn’t have to think twice. Her answer, “A turkey sandwich.” Well, the look of disdain on her face when I admitted to her that I didn’t have any turkey meat in the house was sobering. “Cinnamon toast?” I asked. Nope. A turkey sandwich. “How about yogurt?” Nope. A turkey sandwich. She finally settled on pretzels. That’s one of the things I like best about being a grandmother. Pretzels can actually be a food group in Nanaworld when you’re desperate.

But here’s the thing. Later on I went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for my delicious Almond Roca that is featured below. I bought butter, almonds, and sugar. When I got home, I knew there wasn’t anything that was terribly perishable, and the Broncos were on TV, so I set the bags down until halftime.

When I began putting my ingredients away, what should I find in my bag but turkey lunch meat. I swear on a stack of bibles that I didn’t put that in my cart, but somehow, someway, Mylee saw to it that there will be turkey meat next time she’s here.

True story.

Yesterday I made my personal favorite Christmas treat, Almond Roca. It really is the only candy I ever make, and it is delicious.

Holiday Almond Roca

Ingredients
1 lb. real butter (no substitutes)
3 c. granulated white sugar
1 lb. whole shelled almonds (unsalted)
1 giant Hershey milk chocolate bar

Process
Place butter and sugar in large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven .Blend sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring continually. When mixture begins to bubble increase heat, time for 5 min., stir constantly. Mixture will begin to brown. Add whole almonds and continue cooking on high heat, stirring constantly for 7 to 10 min. Mixture should be smooth and resemble a brown, thick syrup. Quickly pour onto a large, sided cookie sheet. Mixture is extremely hot. Set aside to cool. Melt Hershey bar in a saucepan. Spread on one side of candy block. Allow to harden. Turn and frost other side of block. Break into small pieces.

Nana’s Notes: I never use a candy thermometer, but I think the mixture should reach 300 degrees. I have always cooked it the original 5 min., and then 7 minutes more, no longer. Keep stirring, or it will begin to separate. I have seen where some people pour out the mixture, and then lay the chocolate bars right onto the candy to melt. I use a double boiler. The candy mixture really is like molten lava, so I never do it when the kids are around.

The Hills are Alive

I’m rather tired of whining about the cold weather (though it is only -6 as I write this post this morning). But it’s cold lots of places and I’m thankful to have a nice, warm house in which to stay out of the cold.

But the cold really has prohibited me from doing a lot of things outside. The roads are still pretty icy because they thaw somewhat during the day and then refreeze at night. And in the time it takes to drive from Point A to Point B, the car never warms up (unless Point B is Albuquerque!).

One would think that I would spend this time indoors baking Christmas cookies or at least cleaning my house. But alas, what I’m really doing is watching Christmas movies, crocheting, and answering the doorbell as all of my gifts that I ordered Cyber Monday are beginning to arrive. Yesterday, I had three deliveries. One of the nice things about being almost 60 is that by now I have forgotten what I ordered so it’s fun to open the packages and try to remember for whom I bought the ballerina doll.

Yesterday I watched the live version of The Sound of Music, which was on television the other night. I had set it up to record, knowing that my nights get away from me. It didn’t really matter because in Colorado, the program wasn’t live at all, but a recording of a live show. I hadn’t read about anybody falling down or forgetting their words, so I went into it with a positive attitude.

I wasn’t disappointed, but I must say, though Carrie Underwood has a marvelous singing voice, her acting leaves a lot to be desired. And it really isn’t fair to compare her to Julie Andrews, whose voice is as clear and lovely as a Christmas bell, and who knows how to sing and act at the same time. Still, I LOVE The Sound of Music. I think it has the most beautiful music of any musical ever written. And I absolutely cannot listen to "Edelweiss" without crying because it’s the song I have always sang to my grandchildren to get them to relax and fall asleep.

As I watched, I looked up Maria Von Trapp on Wikipedia only to learn that she didn't really love Georg at the beginning, but grew to love him over many years. Not nearly as romantic, so I don't blame Rogers and Hammerstein for changing that up!

The fact that Bill sang along with every number didn’t help my enjoyment. He was undoubtedly recalling our European adventure a number of years ago when we took the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg and they encouraged singing along. I could have lived without his participation yesterday.

All in all, I think it was wonderful that NBC gave this a try, and I enjoyed the production a great deal. I haven't heard how the critics received it, but apparently it was well-watched.

Much like Seinfeld, this was a blog about nothing. Enjoy your weekend and stay warm if it’s cold outside where you live.

Friday Book Whimsy: My Antonia

I was born in Nebraska, and lived there until I was 21 years old. It’s always annoyed me to hear Coloradans complain about how ugly the drive on I-80 is through Nebraska. I’ve always thought two things: first, yeah, and I-76 in Colorado is so darn beautiful (picture my eyes rolling); and second, you are driving along an interstate highway which is almost never pretty.

I grew up in a medium-sized town of 10,000 people in the middle of Nebraska farmland. While I didn’t live on a farm, it is hard to not have farming be part of your life if you live in Nebraska, whether you live in Omaha or Wilber, NE. You hear farm reports on TV and radio, there are farm implement stores everywhere, if you drive on a blue highway, you are liable to get stuck behind a tractor, and weather reports are the main topic of conversation (“will it rain,” “will it ever stop raining,” “think it will stay dry long enough to get the corn in?”

Willa Cather’s Nebraska in My Antonia is beautiful. Her lyrical descriptions made me think about the loveliness of rolling fields of corn and wheat, and how pretty the trees are alongside the Platte River, which runs through most of the state.

For example: “July came on with that breathless, brilliant heat which makes the plains of Kansas and Nebraska the best corn country in the world. It seemed as if we could hear the corn growing in the night; under the stars one caught a faint crackling in the dewy, heavy-odoured

cornfields where the feathered stalks stood so juicy and green.”

Or, “There were none of the signs of spring for which I used to watch in Virginia, …. There was only spring itself; the throb of it, the light restlessness, the vital essence of it everywhere: in the sky, in the swift clouds, in the pale sunshine, and in the warm, high wind – rising suddenly, sinking suddenly, impulsive and playful like a big puppy that pawed you and then lay down to be petted. If I had been tossed down blindfold on that red prairie, I should have known that it was spring.”

Wow.

Cather’s characters were alive and interesting. How could you help but not love the narrator, Jim, so innocent and naive, and his grandmother and grandfather, so wise and so loving? Wouldn’t you want to be part of the evening gatherings at the Harling’s home, where they sang and played games? All of these folks were honest, down-to-earth Nebraska farmers, maybe not worldly, but good and kind.

And then there was, of course, Antonia. I don’t think there is a character in any other book that I love more than Antonia. I loved her as a child, having to take on so much responsibility because her parents really didn’t or wouldn’t. I loved her as a hard-working farm girl after her father died. I even continued to love her as she spread her wings a bit after coming to work in town. Who wouldn’t have wanted to dance a bit after such a difficult life?

But I think I liked her best in the last book, Cuzak’s Boys. She had so clearly found peace in her world, which would probably drive us insane. She was molding all of those children into wonderful people. And she loved her plain husband and her difficult and simple life. And throughout all of those years, she had loved Jim Burden in a way that wasn’t jealous or resentful. And furthermore, he loved her back. What a fine and beautiful friendship.

A couple of things made me sad. I was sad that it seems that Jim never married. I didn’t really get the impression from Cather that he didn’t marry because he was pining for Antonia. I think he was just so intent on his intellectual life that he didn’t find a life companion. Perhaps he was happy that way, but he so loved being around family that I couldn’t help but feel sad for him.

The other thing that made me sad was when Jim and his grandparents moved to town, and Otto and Jake didn’t go with them. Jim tells us, “Months afterward we got a card from Otto, saying that Jake had been down with mountain fever, but now they were both working in the Yankee Girl Mine, and were doing well. I wrote to them at that address, but my letter was returned to me, ‘Unclaimed.’ After that we never heard from them.”

One other thing: Cather tells us that Mr. Harling was a grain merchant and cattle-buyer. She says, “He controlled a line of grain elevators in the little towns along the railroad to the west of us, and was away from home a great deal.” I’m sure my sisters will agree that she could be talking about the stretch of Highway 30 between Grand Island and Columbus.

With little doubt, My Antonia is my favorite book ever. I can’t recommend it strongly enough.

Lazy Snow Daze

Man, oh man. If the word lazy could be personified, it would look a lot like me yesterday. But I have a good excuse. The high was only 10 degrees, and it snowed all day.

Actually, I had one duty that required that I at least got dressed. I gave two of my grandchildren a ride to school – a mere five block trek. Still, it required clothes and the car to be cleaned off. And thank goodness it was only five blocks, because the roads were slippery and the temperature was cold, cold, cold.

So I came home, postponed a planned lunch, encouraged Bill to change a doctor appointment to a more habitable day, and settled in for a day of Christmas movies.

I watched The Last Holiday, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Love Actually, and, just for kicks, threw in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated version, not the movie). Somewhere in there I made us some lunch and ordered some more Christmas presents using my Ipad.

Our high of 10 was reached at noon, and it went downhill from there. The low reached below zero last night, but we are snug and warm in our cozy house. I put a couple of potatoes in the oven to bake last night. We enjoyed the potatoes with roasted chicken tenders with lemon and thyme.

TodayI may venture out. I’m running out of Christmas movies. Of course, I haven’t yet watched my favorite, A Christmas Story…….

Lemon Thyme Chicken

Ingredients
4 small chicken breasts
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
Juice of one lemon
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 t. dried thyme
Salt and pepper

Process
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook in 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until golden, turning once, about 12-15 min. total. Add butter, lemon juice, and thyme to skillet; cover, and cook 3 minutes longer.

Nana’s Notes: I couldn’t find Redbird chicken breasts yesterday at the grocery store, so I bought chicken tenders instead. They worked fine. I served it with Swiss chard. I couldn’t hide the chard like I hid the carrots and spinach yesterday, so Bill said no thank you. I love any kind of greens, so I ate his share.

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful

It was so cold at 6 o'clock this morning that, despite the fact that I was covered by two comforters and an afghan, my nose was cold. But I was wide awake and decided to face the day.

Yesterday morning I did a bit of Christmas shopping at the big nearby mall, and was surprised to find it very quiet. It was early, but still, I thought I would have to put up with a few inconveniences. Not so. I found what I was looking for and walked right up to a checkstand.

Afterwards, I drove to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant to meet my son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters for delicious pho. (I, by the way, am absolutely addicted to this delicious

Vietnamese noodle soup. Can’t get enough of it.) Anyhoo, when I walked into the restaurant, I was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and no coat. The temperature was a balmy 58 degrees and sunny.

An hour later when I exited the restaurant, the temperature had dropped at least 20 degrees and it was cloudy and wintery-looking. Hmphfff.

The weather forecasters have been telling me for three days now that the temperatures, which have been so very pleasant, were going to drop Tuesday afternoon, and around rush hour time, it was going to begin to snow. And it will continue to snow throughout today. Furthermore, the temperatures in the next few days and through the weekend will be in single digits, and well below zero at night.

Somehow, I was hoping the forecasters had gotten it wrong. They often do, but not this time it appears. This cold, cold weather is supposed to wait until we have left for Arizona to arrive in Colorado. Didn’t Mother Nature get the memo?

By the way, the same cold front is hitting a large area, including the Phoenix metro area. My sister who lives in the Phoenix metro area informed me last night that she went for a walk to look at Christmas lights and saw someone wearing gloves, boots, and earmuffs. The temperature was 60. Seriously?

Anyway, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from lunch to get a few vegetables and treats to enjoy over the next few days. Though it was only 1:30 or so, there were quite a few shoppers who were doing the very same thing as I. And it was likely even crazier later in the afternoon after more people got off work. There is sort of an energy in the air at the grocery store when folks are expecting a snowstorm. An alertness. A sense of frenzy. Hard to describe, but definitely present in the shoppers. No one yanked the last carton of eggs out of my hands, however. At 1:30, folks were still civil.

I’m doing my best to continue my healthy eating this week. Last night I made a delicious frittata. Bill asked me how a frittata differs from a quiche, and I explained there isn’t a whole lot of difference, but the frittata is crustless, thereby making it lower in carbs and calories. The nice thing about a frittata is you can use whatever you have in your refrigerator. So again, not really a recipe.

I browned some Italian turkey sausage, and removed it from the pan when it was fully cooked. I used the same cast iron skillet to sauté some green onions and carrots that I got from the Whole Food salad bar (my favorite way to trick Bill into eating vegetables). I also included the other half of the green pepper that didn’t go into my chili the night before. Once the

vegetables were soft, I added the meat back to the pan, threw in some baby spinach, and tossed some grated cheddar cheese over it all. I whisked up six eggs seasoned with salt and pepper and poured them over the whole concoction. I let it cook for just a minute until the edges had sort of set up. I placed the skillet into a preheated 400 degree oven and let it cook for about 10 minutes, until completely set.

Nana’s Notes: You can make a frittata completely on the stovetop, but I like to finish mine off in the oven. Make sure your skillet is ovenproof. You can really use whatever vegetables and/or meat you have in the fridge. Bacon is good, as is cooked broccoli or asparagus. The options are endless.