Bread, Wine, Salt

A Christmas Feast: ( Maud started it .) The most important part is the julekake for breakfast, which we had with scrambled eggs. Well, the most important part is to play with the presents. But julekake is a close second.  I also made enough to share with everyone in the known universe. My dough bucket overfloweth. Well, not yet, but soon after this picture was taken. Sausages : I sent the husband to the store with a list which said bangers and he returned with a variety of flavors of pork and chicken sausage, none of which could be said to be banger-like. People ate them anyway. It seemed fine. Potatoes : What can go wrong with potatoes, cream, cheese and garlic ? Nothing, except when you don't read the recipe properly ahead of time and find out it has to cook for 90 minutes, not 60.  Dinner was a bit late. Carrots: Gingered, as before . Went off without a hitch.  Brussels Sprouts : Shredded, with the food processor which I ...

Athena from A Field of Dreams   asked me to post her virtual shower gift to Justine on my blog.   I hope you'll be inspired by these cookies to go check out her blog and see what other treasures she has to share.  Athena  says: In Greek-Australian tradition when a child is born, practically all the friends and relatives turn up to the hospital or home. With them they usually have a plate of Greek biscuits. As there are so many people who visit; biscuits, coffee and tea are given to the visitors as a small gesture of thanks. So as a virtual visit to Justine's Shower I give her these for her family, friends and visitors. Melomacarona (Greek Honey Cookies) Mελομακάρονα 2 c. olive oil 3/4 c. sugar 3/4 c. orange juice 1/4 c. brandy 7 1/2 to 8 c. sifted flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. Soda FOR THE SYRUP: 2 c. honey 2 c. sugar 2 c. Water Beat together first four ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder and soda three times. Add the sifted dry ingredient...

I know, I know, it's visions of sugar plums .  In fact, The Night Before Christmas was the first book I ever "read" as a kid.   I had it memorized when I was four.   I might try to make real sugar plums , but these cookies are old-fashioned, too, so in my mind they all get lumped together.   December is the month of sugar. Cookies and cakes and sweetened hot drinks are offered up everywhere you go. Newspapers and magazines and blogs all publish recipes for sweet things you are expected to bake and share (with your friends and neighbors who are also baking and sharing.) And I start to wonder, when did we start needing quite so many different kinds of cookies? Are they really necessary, all these toffee-coffee-choco-banana-mint thumbprint sandwiches (with lemon glaze!)? I say NO! No we do not need all those concoctions and I'm going to take a stand, just as soon as I'm done eating this banana-peanut-butter-sandwich cookies . Mmmm... Where was I? ...

All in Just One Cookie by Susan Goodman and Timothy Bush If there is a small person in your life who loves cookies this book is a great way to introduce the idea that ingredients all come from somewhere other than the grocery store. Grandma gets a call that guests are coming over so she starts whipping up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Her cat and dog do research online and in real books, to find out where the flour, butter and the rest of the ingredients come from. There's a simple narrative and a lot of sidebar type sections, so you can read as a bedtime story or take the time to dig in deeper. My then three-year-old loved it, and I think it would be quite popular with kids who are independent readers as well. The illustrations are charming, and the full recipe is given at the end of the book so you can try it out, too. (This is an unsolicited review. No goods or services have been received in exchange for this review. I am not affiliated with the auth...

  I was way behind on cookie delivery.  A new baby arrived and I promised cookies, but then I got the plague (or a headcold, whichevs) and then and then and then...and then no cookies.  Two years later the same mom had another baby and she let me come, even though I hadn't made her any cookies.  The next day I brought these.  Of course sometime during labor I promised her bread, so now I'm behind again. Oatmeal is a common folk remedy for new mothers who are looking to increase their milk supply .   While a bowl of hot oatmeal is a wonderful way to start the morning, and I would certainly fix it if I were staying with a new mom, it's hard to give as a gift.  These cookies travel well, and while they're not quite as good for you as a bowl of steel cut oatmeal, I'd wager they're at least as wholesome as oatmeal from a packet, with the added advantage of being easy to eat one-handed during marathon nursing sessions. Of course, these guys are so...