My Polish Easter

I enjoy keeping food traditions for holidays. My heritage is a mix of Polish, Hungarian and Puerto Rican. Easter always means Polish for me. Having lived with my Polish grandma for a good part of my life I can't imagine the Easter meal any other way. There is something about the experience of food that brings back memories very deeply. I love thinking that the traditions I create now will live through my children and their future children. 

My New Years Eve meal is always Latino. It can't get more festive for ringing in the new year than that! I make some of my own concoctions as well as my husband's favorites that he grew up with. He is 100% NY Puerto Rican, his family is steeped in food tradition. His mom has taught me how to make the family favorites. Our Thanksgiving is all American, we like to eat what we suspect the Pilgrims might have. For Christmas it's Victorian England for us, we have no familial ties there. Both my husband and I are literature fiends, we wish to experience a Dicken's fantasy Christmas. Let's get back to Easter!...

I used buttery babka dough this year to make buns for Good Friday.

Of course, the lamb cake made its appearance. You can see one of my "dressed" lambs here.

Days before Easter my daughter was busy planning out her egg dying designs as I was busy planning my meal. I will probably save this paper forever.

The Christmas Goose

Each year my husband reads aloud Dicken's A Christmas Carol to my daughters. Each year I pull out Dining with Dickens by Dicken's great-grandson, Cedric Dickens. And each year I ponder what to cook for Christmas dinner. This year like every other year I dream of that mythical Dicken's Goose. This year I actually did it. I sourced and purchased a 12 pound freshly killed free range goose. It was much bigger than I had expected. I asked people's advice and of course read many opinions online of how to roast my goose. The more I found out the more intimidated I got! Goose seemed to be a love it or hate it thing. 

My Dad gave me advice, wished me much luck and asked for a play by play of my goose preparation. He had roasted a goose ONCE. Never again he said. "It's tough, it's greasy, it's not worth it", he said. 

Dining with Dickens advised "hanging the goose in an airy place overnight" before roasting. I asked my husband for help with this step. He rigged it up with bungie cords in the garage. Am I glad that he not only supports but enters into my hair-brained schemes! 

I roasted it on Christmas Day and I think as far as gooses go it went very well. Crisp flavorful skin and juicy meat.  I made traditional accompaniments- apple sauce, cranberry sauce, wild rice with roasted chestnuts. Was is worth it? 

Well, for the experience...definitely! Though I will probably never do it again. 

What I am enjoying more than the meat is all of the broth I made from the goose's bones and the jars of fat. (which is very abundant with a goose) I heard that the quality of meat will show when you simmer the bones for broth. If the bones have a lot of impurities there will be a lot of scum at the surface to skim off. This bird produced no scum! So I am comfortable using it's fat for sauteing vegetables. A little goes a long way. I use a tablespoon for cooking 4-5 servings of veg.

Do you have any experience with goose?

Honoring Christmas

As a  Christian I believe and keep the true meaning of Christmas- Jesus. I also completely enjoy the traditional trappings of Christmastime. I  revel in this time of year. The world celebrates, they have parties, hang lights, decorate trees and strive to spend more time with they ones they love. Some may even stumble into a church. Their actions may not convey their beliefs but they are still reminders of the birth of Jesus and his blessings which are poured on us all whether we choose to  believe in him or not.

 I trimmed the tree. (happy to have my new Moomin House  ormanent)

I decked the halls, the mantle and yes...even the skulls for Christmas.

 I made little tags while fondly thinking of the people who will receive them.

I baked cookies with my girls. Yes! More Moomin.

And a gingerbread house for them to decorate.

We even had fun celebrating this one's Christmastime birthday (two years old) with veggies and a new hairstyle.

Sure I have fun with holidays and seasons, but I never forget who it is that gave us the seasons, the animals, the beauty of this earth and then even his own life.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens

Grabbing at Summer

The last couple of weeks we have been running here and there grabbing at the last drops of summer. I am a follower of seasons and traditions, I don't want to miss out on anything that a season has to offer. Even though I'm just as crazy about whatever season is coming up next, I need to soak up everything, feast my eyes on what is here, RIGHT NOW. I had my last look at the water lilies at the Botanical Garden. They have some of the most beautiful I have ever seen, deep burgundy and apricot. My nine year old snapped this picture. I think it is pretty good,  it's funny how they go for the pink at this age.

That same daughter has a certain hamster toy (named Cream Puff) who has crossed over from inanimate object to vibrant member of our family. She goes everywhere we go. Which means I end up driving back to where we just came from because she somehow gets left behind. I can't tell you how many times I have asked God to lead me to Cream Puff when she has been lost in the woods, restaurant, library, church,  or store. Once I even had to go through a public garbage can to get her back. So far she has always come back to us.

 My daughters get in a tizzy when they think she may be gone for good. I guess it's because there are so many memories of every place they have gone and everything they have done over the last four years. I think she should be retired and made to be house bound. But she is a wild adventurer, always tempting fate, floating in the ocean, getting thrown into trees, being buried in snow. We celebrate Cream Puff's birthday each year, another of our summer rituals. This year she had a party with a blue layer cake, human friends and their hamster toys. 

As long as my family is able to visit a beach, we will. The ocean can take us away from the everyday sometimes petty thoughts that life can bring. It is so big, so deep. Every drop is teeming with life. Any bit you take home with you becomes a treasure. It is both calming and terrifying. There is nothing that compares to the wonder of the ocean. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to share these summer days with my girls.

My elder daughter has been looking forward to The Ren Fest and it has finally come. Another summer treat. She has developed a new character for herself, a gypsy-ish wood elf. She came up with a pretty convincing costume that included latex elf ears, crazy contact lenses and a dagger.

Now I can say that I am officially done with summer. I am ready and excited to welcome autumn. I will now start pulling my favorite fall books. The ones that inspire me to make, cook, and knit all things cozy!