Nita's Holiday Story

Recipes aren’t worth a dime a dozen after the holidays.  We’ve had enough.
In fact, it would be nice if the food fairy dropped off dinner for a few days.
That’s not going to happen.  What I need is a diversion, a story, a story to share.
    My live Christmas tree still looks good, but I know its days are numbered.
It is a Frazier Fir and one of the nicest I have ever had.  We have done the circuit.  Raised our own, bought fresh ones, then to artificial ones and now back to a real tree..   Not to mention the wild cedar trees that stood in a bucket of sand  at Christmas for the first years of our marriage.  Those were the days, good ones too.  But to get to our story. 
                                 The Most Beautiful Tree I Have Ever Seen

   Spring is a symbol of new life.  So it is with our story.
One spring as swallows nested under the back porch eaves, Papa and Mama had a baby son.  They named him Olaf.
   To celebrate the birth, Papa planted spruce seedlings in the meadow.  They were not very big, the baby or the trees.  But thanks to love, care and the summer sun, they all grew strong.
   When the winter winds blew and Christmas drew near, stockings were hung by the fireplace and filled with treats for the child.  But there was no Christmas tree.  Papa and the toddler visited the meadow and he told the boy that they would have a holiday tree of their own one day.
   After a few years Papa and Olaf went to the meadow and saw the growing trees.  Papa announced,  “This will be the first year of our own Christmas tree!”
   Olaf beamed and said, “This little tree can stand on a small table at the  window. It is just right!”  So they cut the tree and pulled it across the snow to the house. Bart and Cedric ran along behind.  They were happy to be a part of the adventure.
   Mama was pleased.  She said, “Let’s make paper snowflakes to decorate the tree.”  Soon it stood proudly at the window, giving the room a special fragrance. 
  In January Mama carried the dry tree outside.  Chickadees found shelter in its thinning branches when the cold winds blew.
   Each year they chose a spruce tree for their special Christmas tree.  One year Olaf said, “This tree has many branches and it is tall!”  Papa cut the tree and put it on a sled to take it to the house.  The dogs bounced along beside the sled. 
   Mama exclaimed, “Lands! This is the most beautiful tree  I have ever seen.”  It was decorated and enjoyed by the family. Later Mama carried the tree outside.  Rabbits found shelter near the trunk.
  In a few years the trees were taller than Olaf or Papa.   In the field the branches of the trees brushed against each other. Olaf stretched his neck to see the tops that seemed to touch the sky.  He had grown taller, also.
  When they had chosen a tree, Papa cut it, put it on a wagon and the horses pulled it to the house.
   But when they tried to get it through the door it wouldn’t go.  “Push!” cried Papa.  Olaf pushed and Papa pulled.  But it wouldn’t go.
   “This tree is too big, it’s stuck,” cried Mama.
   Finally Papa cut off some of the lower branches.  Then they easily pulled the tree into the room.  “The branches will be for a wreath and decorations for the dinner table,” said Mama in delight.
   Olaf shouted, “The top of the tree touches the ceiling and the side branches brush the piano.”  Once again the family decorated the spruce with snowflakes and paper chains, adding a little tin star on the top.  “This is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen!”
   The next winter when the snow blew Papa and Olaf visited the field and looked at all of the tall trees.  “These trees are too big for the house, but they are just right for the animals.  They will be a home for the birds and pinecones will provide seeds for the rabbits.”
   Olaf said, “Let’s plant more little trees.”
   In the spring they did just that and each year there after.  When the cold winds blew, Papa and Olaf visited the field, now swaying with evergreens, and chose a tree that was just right.
   Many Christmas celebrations followed.  Once again a Papa took a child to the field to find the perfect tree.  Pulling it home to stand by the window the
child exclaimed,  “Grandpa! Grandpa! This is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen.”  Papa, Mama, Grandma, and Grandpa thought so too!


A little fiction for the season. 

 

Christmas, Candy Recipes, Family

Dear Brian, Thank you for showing an interest in your Grandma Stout’s candy recipes.  You are right on, she was  a superb candy-maker.   Chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, panocha (B. sugar fudge), divinity, peanut brittle,
English toffee, she did them all. 
   I suspect that in her early days Christmas and making candy were closely related. Gifts were not easy to come by, and she loved to make candy. 
Candy could be made ahead, stored in tins, and became gifts for friends and family. 
She must have gotten good at it early on.  In her prime years she made as much as 50 pounds of candy for the autumn church bazaar. 
   On the other hand (there is always an other hand), I lived next door to Grandma’s store.  Candy canes, chocolate drops and hard tack were included in the Christmas “treats” passed out to customers on Christmas Eve. 
   Candy making was not part of our holidays.  We baked cookies, made popcorn balls and indulged in our “treats.”
   So that is my excuse for never becoming a candy maker.  Why would I when my mother-in-law was so good at it and she shared?
   I thought we had lost her candy recipes, but last summer while rifling through recipes I found them.  I had expected hand written copies, instead they were printed on heavy paper, old and worn.    I remembered she had once belonged to a home economics club. There were check marks on some recipes, very neat, . I knew these were the ones she used. 
   In sharing recipes on the blog I try to do them, so I will be familiar with them.
It doesn’t always happen, but I try. 
   And that is how we discover an ignorant at candy making aunt willing to give Ma’s old fashioned candy recipes a try.  I never saw her in the process, just the fruit (or candy) of her labor.  Mistake 1 (there will be more). 
   First, the recipe, just as it was printed many years ago. 

.  Chocolate Fudge and Variations
1 T. butter (also enough to grease sides of  a 2 or 3 qt. saucepan)
2 oz. chocolate, cut up
3/4cups coffee cream
Place chocolate and cream in saucepan, cook on low heat about 10 minutes, until chocolate is melted stirring with a rubber spatula.  Add 2 cups granulated sugar and stir about 2 minutes to dissolve.  Increase heat to medium and stir about 2 minutes.  Put lid on to wash sugar grains down for 5 minutes.  Remove lid, stir with clean rubber spatula and place candy thermometer in syrup. Continue gentle cooking without stirring to 236 degrees (soft ball stage), about 10 minutes (it took me longer)Remove from heat.
Place pan on wire rack, add 1 teaspoon vanilla and butter.   Let cool on rack until bottom of pan is barely warm to the hand.  Will take about an hour.(Took me longer)
Add ¾ cup broken nut meats, stir about 8 minutes or until candy loses its gloss (this is where I really got lost).  Becomes creamy and starts to stiffen.  Pour into 8 inch buttered pan and cut with sharp knife while still warm.  If the mixture becomes too stiff, (it did, fast) :”let it down“ by ;adding a teaspoon of hot water, milk, or cream at a time to give a desirable consistency.   (I did that).
   Variations:
Rocky Road:  Add miniature marshmallow just before turning into pan.
Panocha: Omit chocolate. Substitute 1 cup brown sugar, .firmly packed and 1 ½ cups granulate sugar for listed ingredients. 
White Fudge Roll: Omit chocolate. Use ½ cup chopped candied cherries and ½ cup chopped nuts.  Knead and shape.
Peanut Butter Fudge:  Omit chocolate and nuts.  Just before beating, add 3 T. creamy peanut butter.

Oh, how I would like to taste her English Toffee or Peanut Butter Fudge.

If you master this recipe, I’ll send more. Live and learn, you know.   Good luck.
   Have a happy holiday with the new granddaughter. 

A safe and blessed holiday to everyone.

Birthday Party Family, Fun

        ‘How many birthday parties have you had over your lifetime?
The children of today have one every year, but when I was a child---.
You’ve heard that story.
  I guess Dame Fortune saved all the good spirit and wishes for this year.
For this party was once in a lifetime.  Sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews , children, grandchildren and great grandchildren traveled from all over to help me celebrate.   What fun!  It was one of the best days of my life.
  There is always something to complain about, but when there is something to be joyful for, do it.
   Having your children working together, the planning, the decorating, the sharing of pictures, the food ; that is remarkable.
   When your family calls you Queen For A Day, smile and say cheese.
For there will be photographers.
   In Indiana weather is always a concern for travelers.  Mother Nature put on an early show for them, but thankfully, all was well.
   The travelers took in the side shows,: their old stompin’ grounds, Jungle Jim’s, Whitetail Acres Christmas Tree Farm to see the authentic Alaskan reindeer .
   My family is generous to a fault.  How Dad loved sharing whatever he grew in the garden, blackberries, or muskmelons.  To my party.  siblings brought lemons, (grown from their own tree),; oranges and tomatoes, peach marmalade,  and, and grouper, (enough for a wonderful fish fry,)   Red and gold poinsettias brighten my house, reminders of their caring.  They filled my utility room with my drink of choice, (Starbucks frappucchino  (the blue cap-lite).  What more could anyone want.?
   There were birthday cards, warm and touching, ;to be read over and over.
Thank you.
   But enough talk, where are the pictures?