Food, Family, Fun...as always

Ferry pulling into Edmonds...Mountains are out in Sun

As someone said recently, It feels as if we've already had winter and are moving into Spring here in the NW...of course all that can change, but Christmas Day was sunny and the mountains were showing their snowy tops as my ferry pulled into Edmonds.

My beautiful niece, Serene

We are, indeed, a family of food appreciators and cooks. Serene is famous for her cakes and cookies, but this year added a savory: colorful red and green stuffed peppers. She is an engineer and likes to follow recipes, while her dad and I are more "artistic" about our cooking...probably why her cakes turn out so beautifully and mine do not.

David and Amal doing a selfie...Shannon and Brian in background

Salmon en croute being prepared on the right side of the counter, pepper stuffing, laptop with recipes.

 

Hugh made fruit cake this year

When I was a child, I use to love helping Mom make fruit cake, and helping myself liberally to the nuts and candied fruits. Hugh has taken over that task in recent years. We are a family who likes fruit cake, in spite of all the jokes. The cakes benefit from a liberal dose of alcohol. Next year is my turn to make plum pudding...a combination of Grandma Hastings', by way of her Stevenson heritage and some of the online recipes...I hope I wrote down what I did last time. I do have the pudding mold from the Leonard homestead. The recipe fills it twice. It's tough to find the right kind of suet...I may have ended up using Mexican lard last time.

Connie and Hugh, festive clothing

Doug and Amal, spiral cut ham. Thanks, David.

 

 

Proud chef of a beautiful piece of salmon wrapped in puff pastry

 

 

My plate, filled with delicious foods

Brian, being tempted by the sumptuous dessert table

David's friend, Shannon, from the Seattle Men's Chorus and the US Army joined us, and the young man certainly has a sweet tooth...sampling the lush display made him forget to call his grandmother...but she called and reminded him that All Families are Important on special days and Always. Brian loves sweets, too, but went on a sugar fast prior to Thanksgiving, enjoyed all the holidays thoroughly, and may renew his fast again today...or maybe time out for New Year's snacking. I'm making myself a lemon meraingue pie with Meyer Lemons for New Year's Eve...do I need a vegetable side dish???

Serene's Bouse de Noel (excuse my French)

Serene's creation: a heady chocolate roll with chocolate cream cheese filling, meraingue mushrooms and fresh raspberries. (excuse my poor spelling--this is a traditional French cake in the shape of a Jule log). Thank you, Serene! Thayer, we missed you, but are sure you had a wide array of wonderful treats in Haifa.  Happy Solstice to All!