This year has been a bit different.
I won’t bore you with the details.
Suffice to say, we’re in good health and doing as well as can be expected for a couple of seniors.
Hope you are well, too, and looking forward to the holiday season.
Okay… nothing’s perfect.
The holiday season usually brings out the best in people.
It’s a great time for making memories.
It’s also a great time for making a lot of work for everyone.
There are a ton of things to do, but we still have to eat.
And, with the way food prices have been, we have to keep an eye on what we’re buying.
Soup is always great for the budget.
It usually uses items we already have in our kitchens, and it can be stretched with an extra cup or two of liquid.
Tortellini can be found, in two pound packages, in the deli section of most supermarkets.
If you have a small household, don’t be discouraged by the size of the package.
Half can be cooked and served with tomato sauce.
The rest can be used in a soup, making enough for two or three meals.
Everyone knows soup gets better with age.
Hints:
If you don’t have fresh garlic, use powder, as much as you prefer.
About the Meatball and Potato Stew…
You can add more water to adjust the thickness of the sauce.
About the Cinnamon Rolls…
If you don't have self-rising flour you can substitute for 1 Cup self-rising flour
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Stir or sift together.
Want to make more so you’ll have some on hand?
9 Cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
Stir or sift together.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. It should last for about one year.
Do not over-knead or the cinnamon rolls will be tough.
Leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Rewarm in a 300° F oven about 10 minutes, until warmed through.
Tomato Tortellini Soup
Finely chop
1 medium onion
spinach or kale, enough for 3 Cups
Slice into 1/8 inch thick pieces
2 carrots
1 stalk celery
Mince
3 cloves garlic
Place in a dutch oven
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion, carrots and celery.
Stirring frequently, cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly softened.
Add
garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Cook another minute.
Add
1 796 ml / 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 Cups water
1 teaspoon dried basil
Bring to a boil.
Add
500 grams / 1 pound fresh tortellini (either cheese or meat)
Cook 2 minutes less than package directions, about 5-8 minutes.
Stir in spinach (or kale), and cook another 2 minutes.
Serve hot.
Meatball and Potato Stew
Finely chop
1 medium onion
Mince
2 cloves garlic
Halve and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 medium potatoes
Place in a bowl
454 g / 1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 Cup dried parsley leaves
half of the chopped onion
the minced garlic
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 Cup dry bread crumbs
Knead the mixture until well combined.
Form into 12 balls.
Place in a dutch oven
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat oil over medium heat.
Place the meatballs in the pot and brown all sides.
Place the meatballs in a bowl and set aside.
Place in the same dutch oven
the remaining half of the chopped onion
Cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Stir to combine.
Place the meatballs around the perimeter of the dutch oven.
Place potato slices between the meatballs, then place the rest in the middle.
Pour over the potato slices and meatballs
1 796 ml / 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 Cup water
Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
Uncover and check the potatoes for doneness.
If they are still firm, reduce heat and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve the stew over rice and garnish with parsley, if desired.
Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 15
Place the rack in the middle of the oven.
Preheat oven to 350° F
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish or line with parchment paper.
For the filling
Place in a small bowl
1/2 cup of the sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Mix together and set aside.
For the cinnamon rolls
Melt
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
Place in a large bowl
5 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Stir to combine.
Place in a medium bowl
2 cups whole or 2% milk
4 Tablespoons of the melted butter (1/2 of the butter)
Mix together and add to the flour mixture.
Stir with a wooden spoon until all flour is worked into a soft dough.
Generously flour a work surface and a rolling pin.
Place the dough on the surface.
Sprinkle with flour, then knead until the dough is fairly smooth, sprinkling with more flour if needed.
Roll the dough into a 24 x 10 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
Brush 2 tablespoons of the melted butter onto the surface of the dough.
Leaving a 1/2 inch border, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over it evenly.
Starting at the long end closest to you, roll the dough up tightly into a log.
Pinch the seam together at the top, then place the log seam side down.
Cut the dough into 15 pieces.
Place the cut rolls cut-side up in the baking dish.
Brush the tops of the cinnamon rolls with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Bake 35 minutes, until golden-brown, and a toothpick inserted in several spots comes out clean.
Place the baking dish on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool 15 minutes.
For the glaze
Place in a medium bowl
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whole milk or 2%
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Whisk until smooth
.
Drizzle the glaze over the rolls.
~~~
Back in November, 2002, I wrote an essay for the CKUW radio show ‘2000 & Counting' about getting Christmas gifts.
It was a meant as a light piece, filled with hints.
Many of our listeners were seniors or college students, folks known for having to stretch their dollars.
It's been a few years, but we’re still facing problems in the supply chain.
Christmas 2024 is only a couple of weeks away. How did that happen?
Okay… listen up! There are five weeks left until Christmas. That means gifts. I know, I know, it's more blessed to give than to receive. But, unless you have ways of shopping that you'd like to keep secret, giving gifts means money.
It's a little late to start a Christmas gift account at your bank and the utility companies really lose that Ho Ho Ho spirit if you try to skip paying their bills.
If the charge cards are already maxed out - or you just want to keep your nearest and dearest on a cash and carry basis - gift getting is going to take a little effort. Desperate times call for desperate measures. As we're all stuck with holidays - oh, lucky us - I'll tell you some of my desperate measures.
Live off your hump. You know what I mean. Things like the 18 cans of tuna you have left from the time you bought 20 cans so you could get 50 bonus airmiles. Now's the time to crack those babies open. I know the family hates tuna. That's why there are 18 little cans of fishies swimming around your pantry. Well, the family would hate a Giftless Christmas even more.
Think about it. Lousy dinners happen to everybody. But the family Grinch who comes up giftless at Christmas gets blabbed about throughout the neighbourhood and the generations. You don't want to be remembered by your great-great-grandchildren as Granny Grinchie.
Try creative cooking. Pretend you're on the TV show Iron Chef. You've just been given a tube of ground beef, a bag of marshmallows, a jar of salsa, a bottle of raspberry vinegar, a carton of frozen spinach, a jar of maraschino cherries and a box of rice-a-roni. Think only a nut throws odd things together? How do you think raspberry vinegar was invented? If the family gets snarky, tell them you found the recipe in a magazine. Drop names. Martha is always good, and if they can't appreciate all the effort you put into making dinner interesting… Well! You know the speech. Remember, guilt, when the other person has it, is a good thing.
Go ethnic. Granny's recipes don't have to be saved for Folklorama. God bless family. Go to an Italian restaurant and get a load of the prices they charge for a plate of Pasta Fagioli. That's two cheapies: noodles and beans! Grandma would die laughing if she saw those prices. Starch and beans got millions of people through tough times. Go thou and eat likewise.
Beans aren't good enough? Go past the recognizable cuts and shop the mystery meats. Put enough spices on them and the family won't know what hit them. I once made spaghetti and meatballs using animal organs only a mother could love. Guess what? Hubby had invited a friend. Well, the buddy was getting a free meal, so I followed the Cook’s Golden Rule: Don't apologize and don't explain.
The buddy said it was delicious, like the meatballs they serve at the Bay. Hmmm… I notice the Bay is still in business. There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Shop your house. No kidding. Grab a bag and stroll through your house. Look for things somebody foisted… uh… gave to you. Well, why should you be stuck with it until you're six feet under? Unless it was made by your preschooler - don't even think it, they DO remember - you're free to pass it on to someone else.Just don't give it to the person who gave it to you.
Pack your own. Ever notice the little overpriced goodies the stores stuff into baskets and bowls? One current gift item is a box of pasta, a tin of sauce, some cheese and some wooden spoons nestled within a large bowl.
Are you too stupid to do the same thing? I didn’t think so. It's one way to get rid of some of those extra airmiles purchases. Let somebody else eat the tuna.
Still thinking about the folks in the flyers looking wildly happy over a toaster? Toss the flyers. Those models were paid big bucks. Stores want you to buy. A stress-free family holiday is not their goal. If they had their way you'd replace everything and pay 50% interest.
Remember how the best presents were things that showed that someone cared? Maybe somebody hunted down an out-of-print book by your favourite author. The gadgets that looked amazing seem strange on December 26.
While you're shopping, get yourself some treats. I have a friend who picks up a bag of pfeffernusse cookies every year. When she feels like all she's doing is giving, giving, giving, she pops a pfeffernusse into her mouth and gives herself an old time Christmas. It doesn't take much.
God bless us, everyone.
