Happy New Year! 2014 Resolutions and Revelations

Okay, so I'm a few days late and many dollars short, given that I've just been whirled through the holidays by teens that have an insatiable thirst for activities that involve dips into my wallet where they believe lies an unlimited stash of cash. Ha! That's all I will say on the matter.

But since it is 2014, I thought I'd share a couple revelations and resolutions I've dug up in the past few days of the new year.

First, some new activities are apparently in order. My first dream of the new year was the curious nightmare of my being drafted onto the National Men's All-Star Basketball Team. Curious, yes, especially since I have never in my life played a serious game of basketball outside of PIG, HORSE, and Around the World--and I must add, never once did I ever win one of those. The self-respecting basketball-playing-brother with whom I did play in my younger years never allowed it. Which lends perfect sense to the ending to the aforementioned curious nightmare of the new year, where the dream-team captain suggested I start things off with hitting the court to practice some simple lay-ups.

Simple? This is me we are talking about. And it never ceased to boggle the mind (especially that of my 6-foot-4 basketball-playing dad) as to how I could jump onto the back of any good-natured horse within reach, but couldn't dribble a ball and manage to hop and shoot at the same time. Go figure.

Being one to never walk away from digging up the meaning of vivid dreams like this, I think I finally can say that its foundation lies in two realities. One: the fact that lately I've been watching basketball games while I run on the treadmill at the gym. This always makes time fly since the game moves too fast for me to keep track of, combined with the fact that I only have a screen to view, but no commentary to fill me in on what is going on. (No, I don't like the feeling of ear buds in my ears). So I am left running in a state of perpetual confusion and distraction -- which is a good thing, if you really don't want to know where you are at in terms of distance traveled or calories burned.

And Two: I've come to the resolution to begin seriously writing again, and since I've been out of the serious writing game for more than a couple years for more than a couple tumultuous reasons that deserve no fleshing out here -- we're all human, so you can fill in whatever details you'd like -- I am definitely going to have to start easing back in to writing with the basics. Although I do hope it is more like riding a bike, rather than learning to play a new sport like professional basketball.

Now that I've shared this resolution, I feel like I'm stepping out on to a stage, and since I've already been published and should have made a bit more progress by now, I kind of feel like the world will be watching. (But since my world is relatively small, maybe it actually won't be all that bad).

Now on to revelations. First of all, my friend Rick pointed out that 2014 is the year of the Valentine, due to the fact that it is made up of those two numbers that pinpoint that annual day of love: 2 and 14. So, that is good. I'm all for love, and now I will be reminded of it every day all year long, thanks to the astute and positive outlook of my friend Rick Walton (who happens to also be an amazing and talented children's writer -- go on, google his name for yourself, and treat a little person in your life to one of his awesome creations.)


The second revelation came to me in a chain email from my mom, who was hoping that by sharing it would bring her lots of good luck. Time will tell in that regard, but I'm sharing the tidbit of info gleaned here (and since I didn't forward the email, perhaps this will count in not breaking the chain and dousing my life with bad luck): The upcoming month of August will have 5 full weekends! This is not a common occurrence apparently. So if you like your weekends, then August will be a happy month for you. And if you're not like me, you'll probably want to start planning now~

There you have it. A resolution and a couple revelations. I feel like my welcoming in of the new year is now complete.

Happy Valentine's Year! (And feel free to share your own resolutions and/or revelations here. Because honestly, if I were to put my own items to a list, it would be rather short.)

Music for Sunday in December

It has been a while since I shared some music for Sunday. Today I am posting one of my favorite artists to listen to on slow wintry mornings like today: George Winston's "December."

http://youtu.be/ROX5gUWS7mo This is performed by an independent artist.



I have been so thankful for this long winter break which has given me time to connect with my kids and family without having to worry about the agenda on the work plate tomorrow. A 2 week break is a wonderful thing. I hope that you too are as lucky, or more better inclined than I am to relax and enjoy the time of that you are given.

Happy holidays!

Return to Holiday Fruitcake

photo from simpleplate.com

A day for FRUITCAKE!

Yes, believe it or not, December 27 is a day that has been set aside to celebrate this oft-loved or hated (depending on your experience) dessert.

Hated?

Apparently.

At least that is what seems to be the case for some misfortunates in my little part of the world in Northern Utah, where dodging fruitcake has become a holiday pastime. I'll admit I've enjoyed the stories of neighbors and friends who laugh over the gifted loaves brought to their doors, chuckling at the idea of how many times their gift has changed hands amongst their neighbors and wondering if they dare re-gift it, lest it end up in the hands of the very first neighbor that actually baked that particular loaf.

For this reason, fruitcake has become something of an endearing and curious mystery to me. I mean, how could a dessert, that is so varied and so long-lived in the history of cooking, have gotten such a bad rap?

Based on my limited (or lacking) research, I'll simply blame it on commercial-mass production. Makers like Hostess and Edemmann's simply didn't get the recipe done right when they boxed up their hastily made loaves, which ultimately ended up in the public-shunning-of-fruitcake to become engrained in society.

Such a shame.

I grew up in a family where women in both my paternal and maternal lineage loved to bake. And thanks to a grandmother who would send the traditional Kennedy family fruitcake at the holidays, I grew up liking and eating fruitcake. The particular Kennedy to which this savory recipe is attributed is my great-grandmother on my father's side, who cooked for numerous railroad workers and travelers in her boarding house, and spent a great deal of time perfecting her fruitcake recipe. Her hand-written cookery journal held at least five different versions.

And she wasn't alone in her yearly undertaking to bake a good holiday fruitcake. Of the hundreds of cookbooks I've read over the years, I've seen as many different recipes.

Surely, a sweet bread that has been baked through multiple centuries is worth delving into at every opportunity. And with the price of nuts and dried fruit these days, each loaf could literally be worth its weight in gold -- just like this recipe I'm sharing below.

Happy National Fruitcake Day! What do you think? Do you love it or leave it?

Here's a link to some fun fruitcake facts from Foodimentary

Ribbon Fruitcake

Dark Part:
yolks of 6 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups browned flour
1 1/2 lb raisins
1/2 lb citron
1/4 lb nuts
2/3 cup whiskey
1 tsp baking soda, dissolved in hot water
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

Light Part:
whites of 6 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sweet cream
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 lb citron
1 lb chopped almonds
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tsp rose water
1 tsp lemon extract
1 small slice of sugared orange peel