So I just had a salad for dinner. I am traveling, at an airport terminal with all sorts of yummy fast food temptations. And I make a salad from the salad bar. I am becoming one of those weird healthy people, and I like it. The salad was amazing. I had a scoop of tortellini with pesto sauce. I had a few cubes of mozzarella. There were craisins, sunflower seeds, kalmata olives, a hard boiled egg and a few slices of beets that I diced. Every bite was like a different dish entirely. Some bites were salty and nutty - lots of seeds and egg pieces. Some were very sweet - I must have gotten some beets and craisins. I felt like I was eating at least five different meals instead of just one continuous flavor (like say, a ham and swiss sandwich). And yeah, maybe I'm being healthy, but I'm also have an awesomely tasty meal. The only thing I'm missing is that heavy feeling in my stomach.
And I must give kudos to my latest fast. You all know I love fasting, dear readers. This year's fast was a fast from all breads, the entire taxonomy, inspired by this post on Slow Food USA. I cheated a few times toward the end: once for Seder, and once for the closing of Doc's Little Gem Diner. But overall, this fast taught me to get a little more creative with my every day meals. No longer could I go to a sandwich or a wrap for a default, easy meal. No more pizzas either. (Nor anymore cookies, muffins, etc, etc). I was forced to think. I was broken out of my ruts. And I think that particular fast gave me the courage, and habit, of not just going to the staples. So today, when I'm in a hurry at an airport, surrounding by temptation... I circled the salad bar.
Yum!
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
On Syracuse Grows
Syracuse Grows.
This organization formed in spring of 2008. I wasn't around during the early early inception, but as I understand it, the impetus was to create an organization that could pool together all the resources of individual community gardens around the City of Syracuse, and have them speak with a unified voice to the Powers That Be. It's an awesome idea and the organization has gotten a lot of great things done in the past year and a half. Off the top of my head, we have helped start at least three new community gardens, with one garden donating all of its food to food kitchens and food pantries. Definitely inspiring in this day and age.
Now I am on the steering committee for this organization and I'm not quite sure how that happened. I think it's because I show up to all their meetings?
Joking aside, I am committed to Syracuse Grows because I believe in community gardens and urban agriculture. I am also involved because I want to make sure Syracuse Grows and Slow Food CNY work hand-in-glove. It would be so easy for our organizations to work at cross purposes and I think I would cry if that happened. To that end, we are doing a joint "Fall Harvest" potluck. Both of our organizations will be presenting about our success and accomplishments during this past growing season. October 18th people. Mark your calendars.
In some ways, Syracuse Grows has a foot up on Slow Food CNY. We've hired a strategic planning consultant (funded by a state grant) to help us define who we are and what we want to be. We just started this past week, but it's shaping up to be very, very interesting. And honestly, I may steal some ideas and cross pollinate them with Slow Food CNY. (Get it? Cross-pollinate??)
In all, this is a laid back, knowledgeable and fun organization. Not being the Chair or anything, I'm able to relax a bit more and go with the flow. I step up when there's something I'm interested in, but I don't feel like everything rests on my shoulders like it does for Slow Food CNY.
This organization formed in spring of 2008. I wasn't around during the early early inception, but as I understand it, the impetus was to create an organization that could pool together all the resources of individual community gardens around the City of Syracuse, and have them speak with a unified voice to the Powers That Be. It's an awesome idea and the organization has gotten a lot of great things done in the past year and a half. Off the top of my head, we have helped start at least three new community gardens, with one garden donating all of its food to food kitchens and food pantries. Definitely inspiring in this day and age.
Now I am on the steering committee for this organization and I'm not quite sure how that happened. I think it's because I show up to all their meetings?
Joking aside, I am committed to Syracuse Grows because I believe in community gardens and urban agriculture. I am also involved because I want to make sure Syracuse Grows and Slow Food CNY work hand-in-glove. It would be so easy for our organizations to work at cross purposes and I think I would cry if that happened. To that end, we are doing a joint "Fall Harvest" potluck. Both of our organizations will be presenting about our success and accomplishments during this past growing season. October 18th people. Mark your calendars.
In some ways, Syracuse Grows has a foot up on Slow Food CNY. We've hired a strategic planning consultant (funded by a state grant) to help us define who we are and what we want to be. We just started this past week, but it's shaping up to be very, very interesting. And honestly, I may steal some ideas and cross pollinate them with Slow Food CNY. (Get it? Cross-pollinate??)
In all, this is a laid back, knowledgeable and fun organization. Not being the Chair or anything, I'm able to relax a bit more and go with the flow. I step up when there's something I'm interested in, but I don't feel like everything rests on my shoulders like it does for Slow Food CNY.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
On Slow Food
A third posting about the my aspects of my life. See the full list here.
This time I am tackling my involvement with Slow Food USA. Last week, I started writing a posting about my role in food activism, but ran away screaming. Without a question, food activism is the most vibrant part of my life right now. It made it impossible to narrow down into one post. So I am just focusing on Slow Food USA right now. I'll post the others soon, and separately.
Slow Food USA is part of Slow Food International, a global movement that encourages and preserves indigenous food systems. Basically, it's about a combination of heritage breeds, supporting local farms, providing everyone with access to good and healthy food, and cooking for yourself. Their motto is that they promote "good, clean and fair" food.
In my opinion, that broader mission statement did not translate well to the USA. Slow Food USA became an organization of high society snobs. It was about expensive food. It was about prestige based on obscure breeds. It was about using words like "erudite" and "bouqet." Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with that, (I am growing a pawpaw tree, after all)but it was not for me.
Then a little over a year ago, Slow Food USA started changing. They got their first national President who made it very clear that food is not "fair" if not everyone can afford it. Food is for everyone. Now that WAS for me. So, per urging of a few friends, I got a local chapter of Slow Food started: Slow Food CNY. Given that must of the legal framework is handled by Slow Food USA, this wasn't too difficult to do. Slow Food CNY is just a branch of the main organization (yes, I should know the legal term but I don't).
Anyway, somehow, because I organized it, I am now the Chair / President. On a day to day level, this means I have become some food information funnel. I pass and forward emails along like no one's business. I send out announcements. Honest, things are a little rough right now because I'm still trying to figure out who does what, and even figure out what needs to be done. However, I am confident it will all work out because I am not alone in this. I have an awesome and passionate board.
The Slow Food CNY chapter board was elected at the end of spring, just in time for summer vacation wackiness. It's been difficult for us all to sit down together, but now that summer is passed, I foresee awesomeness. Despite this whole "ships crossing thing" we have done awesome work. We just had a very successful eat-in in Elmwood Park, are in the middle of a national "Grow the Movement" drive, and we are planning a joint pot-luck with our sister organization Syracuse Grows.
I know there are still challenges ahead, but man! Who doesn't want to be in charge of an organization where almost every meeting inevitably turns into a potluck of tasty awesome food? That's right. Contain your drool, please. Go into the kitchen and make yourself a meal, or sign up to Slow Food USA and get involved with your local chapter. :-)
(Did I mention you can sign up for Slow Food USA on a purely "sliding scale" level for this month only?)
Finally - Imagine if I wrote about three other organizations in this post. You all would have killed me.
This time I am tackling my involvement with Slow Food USA. Last week, I started writing a posting about my role in food activism, but ran away screaming. Without a question, food activism is the most vibrant part of my life right now. It made it impossible to narrow down into one post. So I am just focusing on Slow Food USA right now. I'll post the others soon, and separately.
Slow Food USA is part of Slow Food International, a global movement that encourages and preserves indigenous food systems. Basically, it's about a combination of heritage breeds, supporting local farms, providing everyone with access to good and healthy food, and cooking for yourself. Their motto is that they promote "good, clean and fair" food.
In my opinion, that broader mission statement did not translate well to the USA. Slow Food USA became an organization of high society snobs. It was about expensive food. It was about prestige based on obscure breeds. It was about using words like "erudite" and "bouqet." Not that there is anything intrinsically wrong with that, (I am growing a pawpaw tree, after all)but it was not for me.
Then a little over a year ago, Slow Food USA started changing. They got their first national President who made it very clear that food is not "fair" if not everyone can afford it. Food is for everyone. Now that WAS for me. So, per urging of a few friends, I got a local chapter of Slow Food started: Slow Food CNY. Given that must of the legal framework is handled by Slow Food USA, this wasn't too difficult to do. Slow Food CNY is just a branch of the main organization (yes, I should know the legal term but I don't).
Anyway, somehow, because I organized it, I am now the Chair / President. On a day to day level, this means I have become some food information funnel. I pass and forward emails along like no one's business. I send out announcements. Honest, things are a little rough right now because I'm still trying to figure out who does what, and even figure out what needs to be done. However, I am confident it will all work out because I am not alone in this. I have an awesome and passionate board.
The Slow Food CNY chapter board was elected at the end of spring, just in time for summer vacation wackiness. It's been difficult for us all to sit down together, but now that summer is passed, I foresee awesomeness. Despite this whole "ships crossing thing" we have done awesome work. We just had a very successful eat-in in Elmwood Park, are in the middle of a national "Grow the Movement" drive, and we are planning a joint pot-luck with our sister organization Syracuse Grows.
I know there are still challenges ahead, but man! Who doesn't want to be in charge of an organization where almost every meeting inevitably turns into a potluck of tasty awesome food? That's right. Contain your drool, please. Go into the kitchen and make yourself a meal, or sign up to Slow Food USA and get involved with your local chapter. :-)
(Did I mention you can sign up for Slow Food USA on a purely "sliding scale" level for this month only?)
Finally - Imagine if I wrote about three other organizations in this post. You all would have killed me.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tomato
You call that a tomato?
Now, this.... this is a tomato!
Yes, that is my hand holding up that beast. This puppy was one of the heirloom tomatoes I harvested from my backyard last year. I think the warm weather is making me nostalgic....
Now, this.... this is a tomato!
Yes, that is my hand holding up that beast. This puppy was one of the heirloom tomatoes I harvested from my backyard last year. I think the warm weather is making me nostalgic....
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Illegal Immigration
Today I got a forward from a relative of mine. I believe this relative was well meaning, but there was such malice and fear behind the forward, I could not help but to respond. The forward read something like this:
You think the war in Iraq is to blame for our budget problems (and hence our economic problems)? No, it's the fault of illegal immigrants. We're spending billions of tax payer dollars on them. Here's a list of 14 items proving it. Contact your legislators so we can kick them out!Now, I agree that there are a lot of problems with illegal immigration in this country, but my relative's forward did nothing but vilify the immigrants. So I responded with a list of my own. Here it is:
- Calling people "illegal immigrants" hides their humanity. You forget they are also human beings, people like you and me. I am going to refer to them as people, not illegal immigrants.
- We did have a push for immigration reform a few years back. Unfortunately many (but not all) Republicans blocked its passing.
- A lot of people are leaving the horrible economic conditions in their home communities with the hope and promise that there are jobs here in America.
- Many (not all) of these horrible economic conditions are caused by political instability and policies of globalization. It is now widely understood that much of the political instability in developing nations during the past century came from US government backing dictators and coups. (Read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" or "Shock Doctrine" if you don't believe me)
- These people would not have jobs here in America in the first place if legal Americans didn't hire them.
- Legal Americans are hiring them because, as employers, they don't have to pay taxes on them (hence the tax burden gets shifted onto the rest of us - ie, the cause of some of those figures the forward lists).
- To not vilify only the employers, I'd like to point out that many legal Americans would not WANT these jobs, working incredibly (and possibly illegally) long hours at pesticide laden fields, multinational big box warehouses, or in meat processing facilities.
- Horrible, unsanitary and dangerous jobs like these would not exist at all if consumers cared about more than buying the cheapest item on the shelf. Think about that next time you bite into a beautiful, store-bought strawberry. Try to imagine who picked it.
- Finally, as much as it sucks that our government spends a lot of money on illegal immigration, I would rather have my government spending money within the country to try and fix our internal problems, than spending it halfway across to world to kill people.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Organic Vodka
I am not a huge fan of most alcohol. I can appreciate beer and wine, but in the end, they make me feel somewhat sick. I used to wonder if I am allergic to alcohol (like, more so than most). But then I realized hard liquor has never bothered me. I never get the spins. I never get a hangover. Just a very nice buzz.
Now with beer and wine, you have micro-brews and locally grown wine. But what's a foodie who likes hard liquor to do? Well, you go to Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. This place is awesome. It has plush leather sofas and a nice book-ish ambiance. It has amazingly professional bartenders who can have a long conversation with you about the different whiskeys they carry. It's also in Downtown Syracuse and doesn't have a dedicated parking lot, which I think is great.
Now, as with anything I like, it has a weird history. When I first came to Syracuse it was called Awful Al's. It was a cigar bar. As a non-smoker, I avoided the place like the plague. Then NY became non-smoking. For a while, it held out as a cigar bar and had an ever greater concentration of smokers. Ick. But something changed. I don't know how, why or when. They changed the name. And now, I love them. Here's why:
You got it. That menu says domestic, organic vodka. This is what I have been waiting for. Instead of just being foodie about my beer and wine, I can be a foodie about my hard liquor too! Let me also point out the third item down: Rye. Now that is rye vodka, but they also had rye whiskey (perhaps I was a little too buzzed to notice the difference when this picture was taken). Anyway, ever since I read the Slow Food USA post about rye whiskey, I've had a hankering for an authentic Manhattan. That night I had two. Awful Al's - you rule.
Sorry, I mean.... Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. ;-)
Now with beer and wine, you have micro-brews and locally grown wine. But what's a foodie who likes hard liquor to do? Well, you go to Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. This place is awesome. It has plush leather sofas and a nice book-ish ambiance. It has amazingly professional bartenders who can have a long conversation with you about the different whiskeys they carry. It's also in Downtown Syracuse and doesn't have a dedicated parking lot, which I think is great.
Now, as with anything I like, it has a weird history. When I first came to Syracuse it was called Awful Al's. It was a cigar bar. As a non-smoker, I avoided the place like the plague. Then NY became non-smoking. For a while, it held out as a cigar bar and had an ever greater concentration of smokers. Ick. But something changed. I don't know how, why or when. They changed the name. And now, I love them. Here's why:
You got it. That menu says domestic, organic vodka. This is what I have been waiting for. Instead of just being foodie about my beer and wine, I can be a foodie about my hard liquor too! Let me also point out the third item down: Rye. Now that is rye vodka, but they also had rye whiskey (perhaps I was a little too buzzed to notice the difference when this picture was taken). Anyway, ever since I read the Slow Food USA post about rye whiskey, I've had a hankering for an authentic Manhattan. That night I had two. Awful Al's - you rule.Sorry, I mean.... Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. ;-)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Pizza frite
I wrote in an earlier entry about my love of pizza frite and how important it is to me. Well, I had my husband take some photos of my brother and me making pizza frite this past Christmas and I thought I would share them. Enjoy my photo tour of one of my most personal food experiences.
You start out with some pizza dough. Make it yourself, or buy some from the store. Stretch it out and then cut it up into crazy pieces.
Be sure to make lots of cuts and holes! My brother and I like to find images in the frite (kind of like looking at clouds). Every year we seem to make at least one Christmas tree, one crab and a bunch of fishbones. I wonder what that says about the two of us.
Fry up the dough pieces in a skillet of oil. Flip them over with tongs and brown both sides. When you take them out, we always cool the frite on some paper towels to help absorb the oil.
And voila! Pizza frite! We spread the Christmas brunch table with all sorts of sweet condiments for the pizza frite: jams, maple syrup, honey and powered sugar. But my personal favorite is sugar with some salt mixed in. Or if I'm feeling adventurous, just the salt alone. What can I say? I'm a savory guy.
Let me leave you all with one last picture. In order to pump these guys out you need a conveyor belt of activities, with one person as cutter and one as fryer. Here you can see the teamwork in action!
You start out with some pizza dough. Make it yourself, or buy some from the store. Stretch it out and then cut it up into crazy pieces.
Be sure to make lots of cuts and holes! My brother and I like to find images in the frite (kind of like looking at clouds). Every year we seem to make at least one Christmas tree, one crab and a bunch of fishbones. I wonder what that says about the two of us.
Fry up the dough pieces in a skillet of oil. Flip them over with tongs and brown both sides. When you take them out, we always cool the frite on some paper towels to help absorb the oil.
And voila! Pizza frite! We spread the Christmas brunch table with all sorts of sweet condiments for the pizza frite: jams, maple syrup, honey and powered sugar. But my personal favorite is sugar with some salt mixed in. Or if I'm feeling adventurous, just the salt alone. What can I say? I'm a savory guy.Let me leave you all with one last picture. In order to pump these guys out you need a conveyor belt of activities, with one person as cutter and one as fryer. Here you can see the teamwork in action!
Monday, January 26, 2009
January Life Updates
So one of my running themes for this blog has been a reflection of what's going on with my life. At the last entry I was working on (1) wedding planning, (2) Slow Food, (3) Fraternity, (4) Housework and (5) Path. I had already dropped the ideas of a starting an independent business and reclaiming my love of music. Let's see where I'm at now:
- Wedding Planning. This is moving. I am not working on it every day, like I had hoped, but am working on it weekly. I have a space reserved, and have reserved a caterer. We have talked to a photographer (and really want to go with her - we just need to finalize things). I think our next step is to plan out our wedding day. What will happen during what hour, and outline exactly how we want our ceremony to run. I also want to find someone to be our wedding forager.
- Slow Food. This is off like a rocket. We've been in the local paper, have received a lot of attention and have around 60 people on our announcement list. At the last meeting, we divided up into committees, each with their own agenda. And we're one step away from official, legal affiliation. Tomorrow the advocacy group is meeting (a joint meeting with Syracuse Grows, another awesome local group) and we'll be talking about drafting a sustainable code for Syracuse (included urban livestock).
- Fraternity. I am burnt out. I did a lot of work with the Colony in December and felt consistently misunderstood and attacked. I have better things to do with my time. I have stated to the fraternal powers that be that I wish to step back from my responsibilities with the Colony. However, I am committed to reaching out to the local chapter here in Syracuse. M and I have invited the guys over to our house on Sunday for a potluck as part of a monthly thing.
- Housework. Good god, I have a new half-bath under the stairs! It still needs to be painted, but this past week, a lot of work has been done. We replaced the sink, toilet, lights, pipes and installed new shelves.
- Path. I ran a one-shot with the revised Path during my Christmas break. People really liked it. There is still a lot more work to be done, but I am moving forward. I found a reason for dragons in my world. And I've been inspired by a couple of books I've been reading. I recently drew up the continents of Path too.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Utopias without Time
I took a "Utopia and the Landscape" seminar in graduate school. Not something explicitly practical from a scientific perspective, but it has been incredibly informative in the way I look at manifesto, mass media and geopolitical trends. I want to discuss the timelessness of utopias and then draw parallels with that and some contemporary trends I've noticed.
Utopias without Time
One of the most interesting things I learned in this Utopia seminar is that utopias are by definition timeless. One cannot have a perfect society in time. There cannot be a history or future. History would make it seem like there is something to learn from. History would show stupid decisions at best and horrors at worst. This cannot be in a utopia! And what about the future? Forget it! There is nothing to build and nothing to aspire to. Avant Garde - beggone! Everything is already perfect. Utopia, in the classic sense, exists as a static moment. Honestly, if you really think about it, utopia (and perfection) can be downright hellish.
Utopia in Time
But as humans, we're always looking to create utopia. (Yes, this can be argued.) So what happens if we hypothetically reached utopia at some point and then went past this point of perfection? I'd argue you'd get today's USA. Now let me qualify, I don't actually believe there ever was a point when all people, irrespective of race and social class had a perfect life. Especially not in the USA. But I believe we came close enough... and have since spiraled away. So what trends do I see pointing back to a near-utopian moment?
First, I see suburban sprawl. This is the physical manifestation of the perfect balance of community and open space.... gone out of control. The volume of suburbs we have in America is not sustainable. Suburban land use patterns are hugely inefficient at providing basic services (hospital, water, social, fire and police). Let's not forget the infrastructure maintenance, and oil and automobile dependence either. Suburbs aren't inherently bad, but when they destroy farmland and hollow out cities, something is out of balance.
Secondly, there is the food we eat. Our farm policies in the US are crafted to provide us with plenty of food. We spend less of our income on food than any generation prior. Perfect right? Well, this food has little-to-no nutrient value. We have a generation raised on sugar, caffeine and fat. This has created an obesity "epidemic" which is leading to huge problems with diabetes and heart disease. But, isn't this abundance?
Thirdly, we have access to perfect information. The internet and our technology does an amazing job of keeping us all in the loop. But a lot of that information can be wrong. And who remembers Enron? That company profited through the manipulation of information only to collapse under its own delusion. Sadly, most of the information we access is meaningless.
Fourthly, our collective apathy. I'm being a little polemic in my language with this one, but as a culture, we no longer seem to remember the past or think about the future. We rack up huge debts on credit without thinking on the long term implications. We build in flood plains and in the path of hurricanes. To me, all of these things shout that, as a culture, we have little concept of what happened in the past or care about what will happen in the future. We are living as if we are in a utopia.
Time will march forward. These systems and trends will either collapse, or reinvent themselves. But people, we don't live in a utopia. We can't expect things to stay the same.
(I'm sure there are other trends out there and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this.)
Utopias without Time
One of the most interesting things I learned in this Utopia seminar is that utopias are by definition timeless. One cannot have a perfect society in time. There cannot be a history or future. History would make it seem like there is something to learn from. History would show stupid decisions at best and horrors at worst. This cannot be in a utopia! And what about the future? Forget it! There is nothing to build and nothing to aspire to. Avant Garde - beggone! Everything is already perfect. Utopia, in the classic sense, exists as a static moment. Honestly, if you really think about it, utopia (and perfection) can be downright hellish.
Utopia in Time
But as humans, we're always looking to create utopia. (Yes, this can be argued.) So what happens if we hypothetically reached utopia at some point and then went past this point of perfection? I'd argue you'd get today's USA. Now let me qualify, I don't actually believe there ever was a point when all people, irrespective of race and social class had a perfect life. Especially not in the USA. But I believe we came close enough... and have since spiraled away. So what trends do I see pointing back to a near-utopian moment?
First, I see suburban sprawl. This is the physical manifestation of the perfect balance of community and open space.... gone out of control. The volume of suburbs we have in America is not sustainable. Suburban land use patterns are hugely inefficient at providing basic services (hospital, water, social, fire and police). Let's not forget the infrastructure maintenance, and oil and automobile dependence either. Suburbs aren't inherently bad, but when they destroy farmland and hollow out cities, something is out of balance.
Secondly, there is the food we eat. Our farm policies in the US are crafted to provide us with plenty of food. We spend less of our income on food than any generation prior. Perfect right? Well, this food has little-to-no nutrient value. We have a generation raised on sugar, caffeine and fat. This has created an obesity "epidemic" which is leading to huge problems with diabetes and heart disease. But, isn't this abundance?
Thirdly, we have access to perfect information. The internet and our technology does an amazing job of keeping us all in the loop. But a lot of that information can be wrong. And who remembers Enron? That company profited through the manipulation of information only to collapse under its own delusion. Sadly, most of the information we access is meaningless.
Fourthly, our collective apathy. I'm being a little polemic in my language with this one, but as a culture, we no longer seem to remember the past or think about the future. We rack up huge debts on credit without thinking on the long term implications. We build in flood plains and in the path of hurricanes. To me, all of these things shout that, as a culture, we have little concept of what happened in the past or care about what will happen in the future. We are living as if we are in a utopia.
Time will march forward. These systems and trends will either collapse, or reinvent themselves. But people, we don't live in a utopia. We can't expect things to stay the same.
(I'm sure there are other trends out there and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this.)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Christmas Traditions
I love Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There are some traditions that my family would do every year and some we would switch out. In either event, there is a rhythm to those days which remain little changed from my childhood.
Christmas Eve
Sometimes my family would go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. This was always at some nice fancy place, kind of a quiet evening with my family. Those were special, but the real fun happened when we could have Christmas Dinner at Aunt A's house. She would have meatballs, lasagna, breaded clams, calamari, pizzelle, struffoli... The works. This wasn't just for my small nuclear family, but for the larger Italian side of my family. And that is a lot of people. On my father's branch along, I've got seven brothers and sisters. I'm an uncle 15 times over. I am also a great-uncle twice over! And likely my Aunt A's branch is probably even larger. Granted, most of my father's branch doesn't show up, but I think I am conveying the point.
Sometimes that night, we could go to midnight mass. Growing up we would go to the Dutch Reformed Church down the street. As my one brother and I got older, we stopped going. None of us were particularly religions. Just spending time together at home had more meaning for us. We would relax, unwind and have some eggnog. Now as a teenager, I tried implementing this "open one present on Christmas Eve night" tradition. Alas, that one did not stick!
Christmas Day
Obviously, as a child, this was dominated by presents. However, this was soon replaced by Christmas Breakfast. One traditional food that we would make every year was "pizza friet" which, as I understand it, means "fried pizza dough" in Italian. My brother and I would form a pizza friet team. One would cut the dough into interesting shapes, the other would watch the fry pan, flipping and taking out the friet as necessary. My mom would make this really interesting egg and cheese souffle, and sometimes we'd have this cinnamon balls baked together in a bundt pan. All this food definitely became more important than presents.
After we had a huge brunch, we'd then saunter over to the living room and tree. Hudson, my brother's dog was actually the most excited about presents. This dog knows which presents are his (by the scent) and can actually unwrap most presents. It's an amazing thing to watch. One person would be "Santa" and dole out the presents, and we'd make sure everyone got equal shares. As our family grew (with spouses) this part of the day would take up more and more time. We've since agreed to a reduced present load, but somehow we all violate it and go over.
After unwraping presents we'd usually all retreat to our own spaces and rummage through our new hoard of goodies. The afternoon would pass with us relaxing and having some down time.
Christmas dinner was on of two things. When I was smaller, we'd have a ham or turkey for dinner that my mom spent the afternoon cooking. But as I got older, my friends' parents would have my family over for Christmas dinner. These parents, by the way, owned a award-winner, internationally acclaimed pastry shop. So yeah, good food and all my friends were there with all our parents. My friends and I would compare note about presents and hang out. It was good times.
Two days of traditions and non-stop awesomeness with friends and family. That is why I love Christmas time.
Christmas Eve
Sometimes my family would go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. This was always at some nice fancy place, kind of a quiet evening with my family. Those were special, but the real fun happened when we could have Christmas Dinner at Aunt A's house. She would have meatballs, lasagna, breaded clams, calamari, pizzelle, struffoli... The works. This wasn't just for my small nuclear family, but for the larger Italian side of my family. And that is a lot of people. On my father's branch along, I've got seven brothers and sisters. I'm an uncle 15 times over. I am also a great-uncle twice over! And likely my Aunt A's branch is probably even larger. Granted, most of my father's branch doesn't show up, but I think I am conveying the point.
Sometimes that night, we could go to midnight mass. Growing up we would go to the Dutch Reformed Church down the street. As my one brother and I got older, we stopped going. None of us were particularly religions. Just spending time together at home had more meaning for us. We would relax, unwind and have some eggnog. Now as a teenager, I tried implementing this "open one present on Christmas Eve night" tradition. Alas, that one did not stick!
Christmas Day
Obviously, as a child, this was dominated by presents. However, this was soon replaced by Christmas Breakfast. One traditional food that we would make every year was "pizza friet" which, as I understand it, means "fried pizza dough" in Italian. My brother and I would form a pizza friet team. One would cut the dough into interesting shapes, the other would watch the fry pan, flipping and taking out the friet as necessary. My mom would make this really interesting egg and cheese souffle, and sometimes we'd have this cinnamon balls baked together in a bundt pan. All this food definitely became more important than presents.
After we had a huge brunch, we'd then saunter over to the living room and tree. Hudson, my brother's dog was actually the most excited about presents. This dog knows which presents are his (by the scent) and can actually unwrap most presents. It's an amazing thing to watch. One person would be "Santa" and dole out the presents, and we'd make sure everyone got equal shares. As our family grew (with spouses) this part of the day would take up more and more time. We've since agreed to a reduced present load, but somehow we all violate it and go over.
After unwraping presents we'd usually all retreat to our own spaces and rummage through our new hoard of goodies. The afternoon would pass with us relaxing and having some down time.
Christmas dinner was on of two things. When I was smaller, we'd have a ham or turkey for dinner that my mom spent the afternoon cooking. But as I got older, my friends' parents would have my family over for Christmas dinner. These parents, by the way, owned a award-winner, internationally acclaimed pastry shop. So yeah, good food and all my friends were there with all our parents. My friends and I would compare note about presents and hang out. It was good times.
Two days of traditions and non-stop awesomeness with friends and family. That is why I love Christmas time.
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