No. 119, November, 2009
Journal
Christmas Is Coming
By Delores Miller
It is the middle of November, 2009. All year long we search for appropriate gifts for the five children, three in-laws, and eleven grandchildren. Most are wrapped and hidden around the house. Tucked away in boxes, we hope to find them before Christmas to put under the tree.
But a tradition around the Miller House, six weeks before Christmas is to start thinking about beds. The four of the five children live in scattered corners of Wisconsin, so when they arrive, they all need beds. The quote here is 'who gets here first, gets a bed, the rest a mattress on the floor'. Richard lives in Boston, and has found it easier to come for Easter, with our bad Wisconsin winters, they are sick of fighting blizzards and cancelled flights.
Most will also come for Thanksgiving, so it is turkey (made several days in advance, with the meat pulled from the bones, and nicely eatable in a Corning Wear Casserole). Mashed potatoes made with cream cheese, gravy, cabbage salad, cranberries, squash, brown sugar carrots, sweet potatoes, dressing. Yes, I know there is an awful lot of yellow vegetables. Always apple and pumpkin pie.
But also a November tradition is the making of Christmas candy. Something all look forward to. Chocolate covered peanuts, made with fresh bulk chocolate. And another which we all call 'mud balls'. Melted chocolate folded into sweetened whipped cream, and rolled in crushed nuts. Has to be kept frozen or they get soft.
Then it is on to cookies - another tradition. My Aunt Ella's Molassas cookies, used to roll them out with a rolling pin, found that was too much work, so now make them into a big roll, and refrigerate and slice and roll in cinnamon and sugar and bake a few fresh when ever our appetite dictates.
Another recipe I concocted is 'Peppernuts or pferrenuse'. German. Developed my own way of doing it. I grind raisens and dried fruit. Mix with pecans and walnuts, anise seed and extract. Knead and form into rolls and roll in sugar and cinnamon.
Make brown bags with cookies and candy for all the neighbors and they in turn give us some of their specialties.
Christmas is coming and a good time of year.
copyright Delores and Russell Miller, 2009