I remember as a kid my grandparents had this long white, deep chest freezer that was in their basement with a single naked light bulb hanging above it. I imagined it would have been a good place to hide anything you never wanted someone to find. Inside the freezer were bags, and bags of tin foiled covered food that was older than I was. Layers and layers of freezer burned meats that had been on sale and vegetables from seasons ago. My grandparents grew up during the depression, so saving every last scrap of food was imperative to their survival even though they now were going grocery shopping every week. There was a an old metal coffee can next to the stove top for them to scrape their bacon fat into. And when it was full, it was placed carefully into that chest freezer in case the end of the world was tomorrow.
In their 'root cellar' were countless Bell jars full of preserves. I'm talking countless. Many shelves high and stacked to the back wall like a grocery aisle. I can vividly remember my grandparents working together like a machine to seal up jars and jars of pickles, beans, tomatoes, corn, everything from their huge garden every summer at their Winnipesaukee lake house. I don't know when they were planning on eating all that food, but it was there "just in case." It must of been done out of habit. I remember thinking that I was never going to waste my time preserving food, or freezing it. It seemed to silly when I could just go to the store and get a fresh rotisserie chicken, and a bag of pre-made salad.
I grew up on a dairy farm but was very uninterested in the business and concepts as a teenager. My mom spent hours in her gardens. She has the greenest thumb. She knows how to sew anything, cook everything and has a mean creative edge. I was never interested in what she was doing but certainly retained most of the information through what must of been osmosis.
I've come drastically far since I used to think those silly thoughts and now am more interested in all the things I didn't like as a younger woman. I don't know if it's part of my dna, or if all that work my family did in their gardens and craft rooms was imprinted onto me.
Because, I am in love with the idea of freezing food for later, canning for gifts, sewing, glue gunning, and stretching myself creatively.

I created this blog for my future and because of my past.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas in Eliot

It started with my eyes popping open at 6:17am Sunday morning.  Maybe it was my sense of Santa arriving that made my eyes open.  Or maybe it's the fact that since I turned 30 I am unable to sleep in anymore.  Either way, I was up and ready to host another party.  Tom and I were expecting our parents and their spouses for a ham dinner in the early afternoon. 

The table was ready for guests


I made my first spiral ham!  I'm not sure what I thought was going to be so difficult - all I had to do was warm it up slowly and then microwave the glaze.  My confidence was a bit shaken when I looked back into the kitchen and realized it was full of smoke.  I ran to the oven with hopes a fire didn't start...took the ham out and realized that the juice from the frozen ham had spilled over into the bottom of the oven!  We almost had a smoked ham for dinner instead!  My advice for cooking your ham - deep dish, placed on a cookie sheet.  And check on it!  Other than that, things went off without a hitch.
I pre-prepared broccoli, brussel sprout, carrots, rolls, and yams - then just timed it all out so it was ready all at the same moment.  My trick was to cook the yams with the ham.  And to double up veggies on single trays that had the same roast times.  And then load the oven, double stacking cookie sheet on top of foil covered casserole dishes to cook everything else all at once staggering the "in" times.




I'm going to share the brussel sprout recipe with you today, because they were amazing!






One pound of sprouts - washed, hard end cut off, and cut in half.
drizzle and toss with about 1/2 cup of olive oil
salt and pepper
place on cookie sheet and cook for about 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees

After sprouts have cooked for about ten minutes put about 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan with a hearty pinch of sugar and bring to a boil.  then turn down the heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes till its thick and syrupy. 

When the sprouts are all done, heap them onto your serving dish and drizzle the reduction over them!  The drizzle action needs to happen right before you serve them - so if you need to - save the reduction, keep the sprouts covered and warm and then have this be the last thing you do before people eat. Yum!  They are good just like this, but I opted to add golden raisins to the mix, and this was a special (easy) touch.

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We all went a bit over board on desserts.




We had an apple pit, lots of homemade cookies, almond stuffed dates, spiked egg nog, and little delightful chocolate cherry mice!

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Neeko and Lulu were all ready for the festivities

Lulu
Neeko





















We have a great day in Eliot.  Tom was treated to lots of beautiful new clothes, a few manly things for this office, and a shop-vac!
I was treated to my very first pair of diamond earrings!  Cast iron skillets, and a new kitchen aid mixer!  Best Christmas ever!  My loved ones know me so well....


Enjoy those brussel sprouts!

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