Hi Everyone! Winter Solstice has passed and now the days will begin to get longer. Within a month or so I will get home from work at night and it won’t be dark! So exciting.
Bookman and I had a wonderful celebration yesterday and so did the Dashwoods. The temperature was above freezing and quite comfortable outside. Nonetheless, we didn’t let them out into the snow covered garden. Instead, we gave them a treat. We hung a purple cabbage from the rafter of the run and let them go at it. Sorry for the weird angle on the video, I took it with my phone.
As you can see it was a great success. Elinor and Marianne (the brown one and the white-headed one) got right in there and went after it. Mrs. Dashwood was more cautious (the black and white one) and Margaret (the black one) tried a few pecks but mostly played dodge the cabbage. When one of them managed to tear off a bigger piece, they all went running after her because it is easier to chase a chicken than it is to grab a swinging cabbage. And, a most interesting discovery, purple cabbage makes chicken poo an especially vivid green color.
As many of you know, Bookman does all the cooking year-round except for on the Winter Solstice. This tradition began long ago when we were newly married and Bookman’s work schedule often meant he worked that day. My schedule always seemed to allow me to be off on the Solstice so, in order to have a celebration meal, I took up the cooking apron for the day. Of course, it being a special meal, it could never be anything we usually ate. Weeks ahead of time I would begin combing through our cookbooks and putting together a menu. Some meals are super elaborate, some simple and comforting, some have been such amazing successes they become a regular part of our menu, others have been disasters best forgotten. The best part though, no matter the results of my cooking, is setting aside the time for something special to share with Bookman.
These days Bookman gets to be home on Solstice. Sometimes this is a good thing — I make him chop onions! — sometimes it creates friction — do that this way he says and takes the knife from my hand. Most of the time it is nice to have him around and I laugh at how hard he tries to keep his mouth shut and not tell me what or how to do something.
Cooking in general stresses me out, I have never particularly enjoyed doing it, but on Solstice my stress is usually through the roof because I have to juggle so many different dishes at the same time and get them to be finished all at once. Bookman is a natural at this, he claims it is because of his ADD, the more there is to juggle, the more fun he has. So yesterday I took advantage of Bookman and as dinnertime drew closer and there were more things to chop and more pots on the stove, I called him in for help and of course everything worked out just fine.
However, as the time to set all the things in motion drew upon me, Bookman was on the phone saying hi to his parents and telling his mom the menu I was making. It was then I realized I had completely forgotten about making soup! The plan was a miso and udon noodle soup to start the meal and even though this is a simple soup, it was too late for me to figure it out and add it into the mix. So, we decided we’ll save the soup for the weekend when we get tired of leftovers and are ready for something different.
The cooking began early, right after breakfast. The main course for dinner was to be this puff pastry wrapped lentil loaf. Unfortunately, we could not find any already made vegan puff pastry dough so I had to make it myself. I was pretty nervous about this because it involved lots of rolling and folding and time sitting in the refrigerator. But the recipe I used turned out to be not as hard as I thought it would be. Oh, it took all day, don’t get me wrong, but the actual work of making the dough was not hard, just precise and I am good at precise.After I got the puff pastry started, it was time to begin making the vegan snickers cheesecake. This was really easy to make but, like the dough, had lots of parts and lots of sitting time.
When it came down to putting it all together, I was so tired that I didn’t manage to do the fancy weaving around the lentil loaf with the pastry dough. Instead I just rolled it into an unremarkable kind of loaf. I ended up putting too much lentil filling into it so it was a bit messy along the dough seams but those were on the bottom so virtually invisible.
The loaf baked up great and the pastry came out perfect! If I were to make puff pastry again, and given that there is over a pound of butter in the stuff making it again is not likely to happen any time soon, I would make the dough the day before instead of the day of. The lentil loaf itself was also delicious. I used green and yellow lentils thinking it would keep the whole thing from turning brown like it seems everything always does (didn’t work), but yellow lentils were not a good choice because they didn’t get quite as soft as they should have been. I substituted sunflower seeds for pecans because I was already using so many different kinds of nuts for other things I wanted something different. Plus, I didn’t have any pecans. The sunflower seeds were great!
In addition to the lentil loaf, there were spicy green beans made from beans we had picked from the garden and put in the freezer. Delicious! There were also mashed potatoes and a simple gravy. Yum!
The snickers cheesecake was wonderful. Bookman is not a cheesecake fan but even he liked it. This was part of my subtle ploy to make him realize he actually does like cheesecake since it is the second time I have made a cheesecake that he liked. Pretty soon he will be making them himself with no prompting from me! Did it taste like snickers? Since I haven’t had a Snickers bar in over 20 years I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think it did. It definitely had the snickers spirit though, but then again, what’s not to like about fresh dates, peanuts and chocolate?
I am calling it an all around success! Good thing too because the lentil loaf recipe makes two loaves. The second loaf I baked in a bread pan and it went straight into the freezer. The pastry wrapped loaf got cut in half right after dinner with half going into the freezer. And the cheesecake, that lives in the freezer anyway to keep it firm so thankfully we don’t have to eat all of it right away. We’ll have leftovers for weeks!
That all sounds lovely! With both adult children home, I have been cooking their favorite dishes, but now we’ve done that so we went shopping yesterday to get the stuff to make a Hanukkah meal, because we’re having guests and we really like latkes. After that meal, tonight, we’ll start in making Christmas dinner for Sunday. I make cornbread dressing, so I’ll make the cornbread on Friday, we’ll crumble it up with some bread on Saturday, and it will cook with onion and celery to be cornbread dressing for Sunday.
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Jeanne, mmm, latkes! Will there be matzoh ball soup too? And a kugel? Bookman is Jewish and when I married him I had no idea how many wonderful new foods I’d be introduced to. The cornbread stuffing sounds great! I hope both your Hanukkah and Christmas meals are delicious and enjoyed in good company. And have fun with the kids home!
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We had latkes with applesauce and sour cream, brisket, challah bread, brussels sprouts, and chocolate bobka for dessert (I didn’t make the bobka; the guests brought it, still warm).
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Oh wow! A most excellent meal!
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I am snowed!! Simply snowed at how much wonder you bring to this annual dinner event with your efforts and inventiveness and this despite not being fond of cooking!! I have to give the lentil loaf a shot as well as the cheesecake!! Glad all of you had fun including the Dashwoods!!
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cirtnecce, I think since I only cook once a year when I put the menu together I don’t know enough to be intimidated or worried it might not work out. I just forge ahead! The lentil loaf is really good and super easy and will make tasty sandwiches (the not wrapped in pastry one).
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What a wonderful tradition! It looks delicious. I’m also amazed to learn that chickens like purple cabbage as much as I do!
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Thanks AMB! Heh, I like purple cabbage too. Though thank goodness eating it doesn’t produce the same vivid green results as the chickens!
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Mr. Big Reading Life is the cook in our family, so I understand your usual stress around cooking. I enjoy baking, but that usually is not a high-pressure thing like cooking multiple dishes for a meal at once. It all looks delicious! Happy Solstice!
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Laila, ah! You know exactly the stress then! I enjoy leisurely baking too but the whole cooking thing, yikes! And thanks! I hope your Solstice was bright and sunny 🙂
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It all sounds and looks lovely.. I have made puff pastry once – that was enough! I always feel much cheerier when we get to the winter solstice. That cabbage idea is great, it gives them good exercise when they’re stuck indoors.
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piningforthewest, the pastry is good as only something with that much fat in it can be! Lots of work though, that’s for sure. Yes, the winter solstice does lift the spirits, doesn’t it? Knowing the days will be getting longer again makes the still many cold days ahead bearable. I got the cabbage idea from a chicken forum. Hanging veg during the winter is a popular boredom buster it seems and clearly it works!
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I must try puff pastry! (can we call it pufstry?) and I know this is a sad thing to admit but I didn’t even consider the idea that vegan butter would exist! Now I can make pie for my vegan friend! (and why wouldn’t she have told me?)
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Care, pufstry! 😀 Don’t feel bad, why would you have a reason to know about vegan butter? If you go out looking for some, it is called Earth Balance and you can get in a tub or in sticks and it works great for pie crusts 🙂
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Watching the Dashwoods chase the cabbage made my day!
Cooking stresses me out for the same reason as you. BiblioBoyfriend is much more relaxed about it. You certainly took on some impressive challenges for someone who gets stressed about cooking!
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biblioglobal, glad you enjoyed that! They did get pretty excited and were very entertaining! Since I don’t cook when I plan the meal I have no idea what I am getting myself into until I am in the middle of it! Plus, I assumed I would be able to buy the puff pastry dough already made so that was a wrench in the works!
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Sounds like you had a wonderful Solstice Celebration! So much festive fun all around. Your meal looked delicious and of course the Dashwoods are so fun to watch. Happy Solstice!
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Cheesecake stratagems and contented Dashwoods – I’m glad your Solstice went so well. I rather know that panicky feeling of operating in a kitchen with somebody who is much better organised!
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Ian, thanks! It was a good day. Bookman is definitely not better organized, his lack of organization drives me crazy! He is, however, very good at multitasking and knowing how everything works together and none of it stresses him out like it does me which kind of makes us a complimentary pair.
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Iliana, thanks! And glad you enjoyed the Dashwoods. They continue to be much fun. I hope your Solstice was a pleasant one too!
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The snickers cheescake would definitely take my fancy!
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Victoria, it is rather rich but oh so tasty!
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Did you hear me laughing as I read about your division of labor in the kitchen? I read it aloud to Jack. For forty years, I was the every day cook and he cooked special dinners. So I have experience in the kitchen and consider myself a decent cook. Now that we’re mostly retired, we plan meals together (most of the time), I go buy the groceries, and he cooks. But there was reason for him to say the other day that he was the better cook! I’m usually pretty forgiving, but that one hurt and I let him know. Maybe he is. He’s lousy with timing (realizing a half an hour before dinner that the eggplant was to be roasted for two hours, etc.) and, with all my experience, I know a lot of ‘better ways’ to do things, but he is a very good cook and he enjoys it, which I don’t. But, I’ve forgiven him and hope to continue reading while waiting for him to call me to dinner!
Thanks for the fun Dashwood video. It made me a bit dizzy!
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Joan, ha! I think Jack and I would get along quite well! The roasted eggplant sounds like something I would do and then I’d be at a loss for what to do and we’d have cereal for dinner. That’s kind of how Bookman ended up being the main cook! I am certain you are a fabulous cook but it must be nice to get to turn it over to Jack these days since he enjoys it so much.Glad you liked the Dashwood video! It made me dizzy watching them!
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I am also happy that the days are getting longer.
Your cooking looks delicious. I particularly like the sounds of the Lentil Loaf Puff Pastry. Of course the Snickers Cheesecake also sounds awesome 🙂
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Brian Joseph, thanks! Winter solstice is always such a relief because even though the coldest part of winter is still ahead, at least it isn’t so dark!
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Your dinner sounds delicious! I’m glad you and Bookman had a good Solstice celebration. I’m also very glad that the days are getting longer again.
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Thanks Ana! Even though I can’t yet tell the days are getting longer, just knowing they are gives me a bit of a boost.
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Sounds really delicious Stefanie, and I love that you do this even though you’re not a keen cook. The lentil dish looks yummy but it is fascinating how much the different colours vary in cooking time isn’t it. I still often feel a bit nervous about them but I’m getting there. The vegan snickers cheesecake sounds very interesting, though I’d have to substitute cashew butter or some such.
Sorry I’ve been AWOL – was away for 5 days and then back home for visitors and Christmas busy-ness. Will try to catch up over the quiet next week.
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Thanks whisperinggums! As stressful as it is, I do enjoy doing it every year. Yeah, one day I will figure out how to keep everything from being brown! Oh, take a look at the cheesecake recipe, the “cheese” part is made of cashews, the crust is made of walnuts and I bet almonds on top instead of peanuts would be really tasty.
Off traveling again? I hope you had a nice time!
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I will. I see cashews are used a lot in vegan cooking.
And yes we were in Melbourne for 5 days for a 90th. Not the best time of year but we did have the perfect break. Off to our mountains in 10 days for another 5 day break. Can’t wait.
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My WORD that is a fancy meal! I am unutterably impressed — I made something with puff pastry today, but since I don’t have to worry about the vegan element, I just got the pre-made kind from the frozen section at the grocery store. You are a cooking genius!
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Jenny, heh, thanks! I think sometimes because I don’t know what I am doing I manage to avoid being intimidated by the process. If I had any idea what I was getting into it might be a different story!
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What a lot of work–good thing it is only once a year! But man it all looks scrumptious and lucky ypu to have leftovers for later enjoyment w/o all that work. So glad it was all a success and yay for the days slowly getting longer once again!
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Danielle, I know! I always sleep really well on winter solstice 🙂 There is so much lentil loaf left over it will be appearing again and again for a long time!
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Whaat!! Who named your chicken!!? 🙂
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