Tag Archives: Christmas

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My Christmas Wish for You, even if you do not celebrate Christmas

Grytviken Church

Grytviken Church

I awoke this morning to find a White Christmas had arrived, despite the weatherperson’s prediction. The view focused my thoughts on the holiday season. Just last week I was asked what holiday I celebrated, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Diwali? It was a perfectly legitimate question. The person asking, who did not know me well, was negotiating her way around the enforced political correctness of the second decade of the 21st century. I found myself dodging the question, answering with “I’m an equal opportunity celebrant.”

Truth be told, I celebrate Christmas. I have come to resent Happy Holidays and any other generic, greeting designed not to offend. I am offended. I’m offended that my Jewish friends can’t wish me Happy Hanukkah or Hindi friends can’t wish me best wishes for Diwali. To my mind it is especially rude if the wishes delivered as they were meant – a blessing on my head – are found offensive by someone who doesn’t believe as the wisher does.

I am female. I have lived the marginalization of language: Using the masculine pronoun only when speaking of doctors for example. Life has improved for all women by making language inclusive. But not allowing people of different faiths and beliefs to wish their friends and neighbours the best in the language that reflects their beliefs  – that is wrong. Just plain wrong.

My Christmas wish this year, is that you can wish whomever you want the blessings of your faith without anyone taking offense. I wish that the kindness in your heart is embraced gladly in the manner in which it was intended – not to convert, but to wish you the best of who we are.

Merry Christmas!

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You’re supposed to be the star of your own life…

Eli Wallach steals every scene when he is on the screen in The Holiday (les Vacances) one of my two favourite contemporary Christmas films. Not just mine, I stress, because when the subject comes up The Holiday and Love Actually – my other favourite – have been cited more than once by my pals.

Watching them again has been my plan for Christmas Eve for more than a month. They did not disappoint. The bonus this year was that I bought the DVDs, so I was able to watch the bonus features. Not all of them…I saved some for Boxing Day.

The films have two things in common – multiple performers and an English setting. Love Actually is a love poem to London. The Holiday reminded me of Hugo with that Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light quality when we see the English cottage for the first time.

Unlike Love Actually, I am not a fan of the individual actors who play the protagonists – Jack Black, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Yet they managed to charm me time and again in The Holiday. The cast of Love Actually is huge. No matter how many names I list, I’ll miss someone – Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson and the absolutely irresistible Bill Nighy to name just a few.

Bill Nighy is the Eli Wallach of Love Actually, pulling focus every time he appears. You could argue that his Billy Mack was just a riff on his character in Still Crazy. You could but you shouldn’t. Billy Mack starts the film self-aware, and stays there throughout, unlike his Still Crazy character.

I admit that neither It’s A Wonderful Life nor A Christmas Carol, two classic Christmas films, were must-sees for me. White Christmas and Holiday Inn, on the other hand, define Christmas films of my childhood.

Love Actually and The Holiday are Christmas films of my maturity, with adult themes and an undercurrent of sadness that reflects reality – and awkwardness. Just like real life.

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Testing: One, Two, Treats!

Lucy Waverman provided the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) with a recipe for Christmas entertaining. The LCBO paired the recipes with holiday drinks, distributing the combos in their in-store literature. I picked up a copy. The recipe that caught my eye: Cardamon-poached Dried Apricots Dipped in Chocolate.

The sweet treats are cooling in the pan. I invested 40 minutes of cooking time, plus the shopping time to make half of the recipe. I admit, I, once again, failed to follow the recipe exactly. Allergies and personal dislike of white chocolate are my reasons.

This recipe is perfect for an interactive dinner party: Think chocolate fondue with a twist.

You will need:

  • 2 cups (500 ml) of water
  • 2 cups (500 ml) granulated sugar
  • 12 pods cardamon, crushed
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) ground cardamon
  • 1 lb (500 gm) dried apricots
  • 4 oz (125 g)  milk chocolate
  • 4 oz (125 g) white chocolate
  • 2 ox (60 g) chopped pistachios

Lucy instructs us to make a simple syrup, by boiling the water, sugar, ground cardamon and cardamon pods for 5 minutes over high heat. [I'm trying to think of something I can do with the left over apricot infused syrup.]

After 5 minutes of boiling, reduce the heat to low and add apricots. Simmer for 20 minutes or until soft and infused with syrup. Drain on rack.

Melt chocolate in two separate pots over low heat. Divide apricots into 3 portions. With a dipping fork or skewer, dip one third of the apricots into milk chocolate, one third into white chocolate and one third into a combination of chocolate and pistachios.

The recipe recommends you leave a little piece of apricot uncovered. I used more chocolate than the recipe required because I baptised my apricots, leaving nothing showing.

Yummy, simple and a wonderful change from cookies.

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My Stars…Snowflakes and Snowmen

8 AM and I have two baking sheets of cookies drying on the table. Yep – drying – not baking. The baking happens later. I found it unusual too. But then, I’m not Swiss. According to the author of the cookbook, drying the shaped cookies is traditional. So I’m trying it.

I made half the recipe, because one of the ingredients is rather expensive. That leaves me some ground almond for other recipes with which I am familiar. Familarity equates with success when it comes to baking cookies. Baking is not my strength. I’m more a baked chicken in yoghurt and Indian spices kind of cook.

I did have one hiccough while preparing the batch. I broke my star-shaped cookie cutter, so my stars morphed into Christmas trees half way through. Of course, I was using the old, had forever, cutter – not one of the new heavy-duty, super-duper cutters that I acquired yesterday. They are for the sugar cookies I’m baking later. Got to get me a super-duper star cutter, if these cookies turn out.

This is a make-it Christmas, hence the cookies. I have snowflake sprinkles. Sugar that glistens like Swarovski crystal, and three colours of cookie icing – white, green and red. Oh yes…some silver balls to add a little elegant touch a la Martha Stewart.

Here’s the Cinnamon Stars Recipe from Chrstian Teubner’s book – Christmas Baking:

For 60 – 80 cookies – (I halved this recipe)

  • 6 egg whites
  • 5 cups (500 g) powdered sugar
  • 9 cups (500 g) ground unblanched almonds
  • 2-3 tsps of ground cinnamon
  • About 3.5 cups (200 g) ground almonds for sprinkling on the work surface

Combine the egg whites with the powdered sugar (icing sugar). Beat the mixture to a very stiff consistency.

Remove a generous 1/2 cup of the well-beaten mixture and set aside to be used for topping. [If I make this again, I'm making a separate batch of white topping. My 1/4 cup didn't go far enough.]

Place the ground almonds on a work slab. Combine with the cinnamon; work together with the egg white mixture to form a soft dough. [I mixed the dough in my mixing bowl, then kneaded it a wee bit on the work surface.]

Lightly sprinkle the work surface with ground almonds and roll out the dough evenly about 3/8 inch (1 cm) thick. Spread the top with the reserved egg white mixture.

The cinnamon stars are now cut with a star-shaped cookie cutter. To prevent the topping from sticking to the cutter, dip it repeatedly in cold water, using your fingers to help loosen if necessary. [This worked!] Place the cinnamon stars on a buttered baking sheet.

Knead together the leftover scraps of dough. Since the dough will become slightly softer from the egg white topping mixture, add some ground almonds. Once more roll out the dough in the same way, again spread with the egg white mixture, and so forth. If possible let the cinnamon stars dry overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325F (160C).

Bake the cinnamon stars on the center shelf; they should be very pale and the top should remain white. This will take at most 7-8 minutes, depending on your oven. [And I cannot depend on my oven!].

They should be firm on the outside but still soft on the inside.

Keep your fingers crossed!

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100 – A Century – and I don’t mean cricket!

Ceremonial South Pole. Photo by Josh Landis, N...

Image via Wikipedia

I’m listening to Bing singing White Christmas. December 14, 2011 is only a few minutes old. At 90S right now, the sun hasn’t set. The Norwegian PM, who arrived at the South Pole yesterday, may be lifting a glass of aquavit to toast his countryman, Roald Amundsen.

There are folk sailing on an icebreaker right now somewhere on the other side of the world. They too will be raising a glass and toasting an extraordinary polar explorer.

Some friends of mine have spent time at the South Pole. I haven’t had the privilege. I’m thinking of those pals scattered across the globe today. That’s the thing about people passionate about the polar regions. We don’t live in any one town or country. We’re found everywhere that adventure lives.

Here’s to Amundsen. Here’s to those who came after. And here’s to our friends at sea. Happy 100th!