Menus December 25, 2012

"With great power

comes great responsibility"

Uncle Ben

Today I learned that I maybe might just really have superpowers.

No, really. Because last Sunday night I took advantage of how easy it's become to find coconut oil in this country and made a blast from our family's past-

It's called White Christmas, and I hadn't
made or tasted it in a dozen years.



And this afternoon, also for the first time in a dozen years, we had this sort of white Christmas!!!!!

Coincidence? I think not!!!!
So, what did I do, you may be wondering, when I realized that by choosing to make a treat called White Christmas I had caused frozen water to fall from the sky on Christmas day?
I did what any woman would do. I looked up this recipe for Millionaire pie.
And planned tomorrow to find a recipe named....oh, I don't know, maybe something called "benevolent community dictator".
But then (drat!) I remembered this well known and verifiable fact:
Only disaster can come of using one's superpowers selfishly.
All the best books and movies tell us so-


Thinking of using your powers to accomplish your own ends?
Better not even go there.

So I've decided to put my mutant abilities to the test with a little experiment. I baked up all my deepest wishes for you and all of us and all those we love and  all those we don't yet know that we love.
And it looked like this:

very sincere, and very tasty

Starting from the bottom and going round clockwise-
Almond Joy cookies
German Love Cookies
World Peace Cookies
Sweet Hope Wassail Cookies
and the Peanut Butter Balls that those who knew the wonderful Nora Lee May will always remember her by.
Oh! and, it's too late now because, you know, I already made it happen,but there's White Christmas in the middle.

It's quite likely that you also have hidden bake-the-change-you-wish-to-see abilities. Should you choose to stir any of these up and find out, let me know. I made a few discoveries in the superpower lab...er... kitchen that may be useful.

Regrettably, we can't only eat cookies this week, so here's the other food I've planned for us:

Wednesday: French Onion soup
The excellent adults otherwise known as our children and I will be playing with cards- gift cards that is- all day, so dinner will have to stir up in a flash.
We may stop for some sliced roast beef and have sandwiches with the soup.

Thursday: Vegetarian Chili
I'll update you this weekend on round one of the chili quest- last week's chicken chili surprised us all. Let's see what America's Test Kitchen can do with a vegetarian version.

Friday: Butternut Squash and Crab bisque
I know, soup again. But baby, it's cold outside. I may panfry a little fish to go with this.

Saturday: Ham and Eggs on toast
We've an out of the house event tonight and Sunday, so we'll be having a big breakfast/lunch thing today and tomorrow. Here between the busy-ness of Christmas and the craziness of New Year's Eve, breakfast for dinner sounds perfect.

Sunday: Grits with eggs and tomatoes
I'm going to take a grits lesson from the amazing Flying Biscuit Cafe and sub a little cream or evaporated milk for the water in these grits, and melt in a little white cheddar cheese. If you wanna go for the full fat super delicious version served at Flying Biscuit, you'll find the recipe at the link.

It's odd, isn't it.
The peculiar lassitude that can settle in after all the prezzies are opened and the food's consumed and the tree is dimmed and the whole year is being folded up like wrapping paper.
I hope that as the frantic activity of the season subsides, you'll find that you're left with sweet peace and love and at least a little joy and hope. And memories that remind you that all of those beautiful things are really, truly possible for you.
I know they are, because I baked them for you.
And I might have superpowers.
And if I do, I'll bet you do too.

Merry Christmas!