So here at Basketcasemama Central we are multi ethnic. We celebrate Christian and Jewish holidays sometimes simultaneously. I am a lover of Christmas though. My Daddy was a big holiday crazy person. Seen Christmas Vacation?? Yep, that guy is my Dad. LOL. We lived in a small subdivision when I was a little kid and my dad lit up every angle, window, tree and bush with lights. Starting in August we would go down into our basement and hanging from every beam on tiny hooks he had painstakingly screwed in every 24 inches were strings and strings of Christmas lights. The big bulb version was all there was for outdoor use back in the late 60's. And my brother and I would go down and help him find the burnt out bulbs and replace them with new ones. We would have to make sure whichever color it was we replaced it didn't match the color before or after it cause you can't have repeating colors. Yes, really!! It took us until Thanksgiving to get all the lights up and ready for hanging. Then we'd seek out a beautiful tree and decorate it as a family. Sometimes we even strung popcorn or made construction paper chains. My Dad and Mom made Christmas very special.
When I was sixteen we moved to a beautiful custom built home where the great room featured a 3 story high cathedral ceiling with a glass wall on one side of the room that looked out into the woods and a huge stone fireplace for the other wall. From the upstairs their were hallways with railings that looked down into the giant room from above. The first year we moved in my Dad bought a HUGE Christmas tree to put in front of the big window. It was 20 feet high. He brought home scaffolding from work and assembled it and ladders around the tree to decorate it. He broke 4 tree stands before finally using nails, 2x4's and rope to secure it to the floor and railings. He bought 100 sets of lights, hundreds of balls and decorations. And for weeks we decorated and adorned the tree. It was immense and beautiful. After New Year's it took us a couple weeks to undecorate again with scaffold all around and extension ladders. My grandfather, my dad's friend Don, my brother, and my dad all maneuvered the tree down and headed towards the garage door to take it outside. NO GO!! it wouldn't fit. They tried the hall way. Nope again. Then halfway up the steps trying to go out the sliders. Not happening. They removed the sliders completely. Still not going out the too small hole. See the big tree was all fresh and wrapped up when they brought her into the house, but now open and full and not pliable she wouldn't fit out any door from that big room. And so to my mother's horror, my father chainsawed the giant spruce tree up right there in the rec room. Buckets of sawdust embedding into the brand new shag carpeting. It was the funniest Christmas ever!! And sadly our last together as a family. My parents separated before the next Christmas and divorced in 1982. They are both gone now but I remember so many delightful holidays that I have become a lover of the holiday because of them. And today is the first day of Advent so in honor of that check out some of these great websites for fun and interactive advent calendars your families can enjoy
www.jacquielawson.com Jacquie has two different interactive choices for purchase and download that include stories, games and activities and the price is minimal and totally worth it!! Your family will look forward to each day through Christmas.
http://www.santagames.net/calendar/1dec.htm A fun game filled site that is FREE.
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/calendar/
Kids can learn about Christmas around the world on this advent calendar.
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/christmas/advent/
A delightful Advent calendar from across the pond.
http://www.boowakwala.com/calendar/online-advent-calendar.html
This is fun one for the small folks in your life.
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/adventca.html Looking for a way to Christmas back to its religious roots? This site has great biblical teachings each day of Advent.
http://www.whychristmas.com/adventcalendar/ Learn about Christmas traditions at this great Advent calendar site.
http://itsashapechristmas.co.uk/ This delightful site offers some Artists take on Christmas when given a shape to incorporate. Great art and education for the little ones and the older ones too!!
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/ideas/advent Fun with nature in the winter time. Download activies for every day of Advent.
http://webelieve.pcusa.org/we-believe/advent-calendar/ A church based advent calendar with information and activities for holiday fun each day.
Enjoy. More weblinks for holiday fun coming!! Check back soon.
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Thanksgivikkah
Can you believe that in the midst of a Bat Mitzvah and Thanksgiving that by some freak of a calendar and the moon Hanukkah is happening NOW!! Holy Latkes Batman!! Who thought I'd have time for that??? Well, with some crazy shopping a couple days after the Bat, I managed to get the not so little girl shopping done. She picked out most of her goodies. Wow how times change. A little sad that she isn't all surprised, but she is grateful and enjoying the time. So how does one manage with all this going on?? One just kind of goes with the flow.
So, first their was the big party in early November with all our family here from all over the country. Aunts from Wisconsin and Oregon, Cousins from Virginia, Massachutes, Florida, New Hampshire, and New York and friends from all over too. So naturally come Thanksgiving, no one was excited to travel for the family Thanksgiving traditionally held at our house. So with much gratitude we accepted an invitation to our friends, Gary and Irene's (who happen to also be my son's in-laws) where we had a relaxing, fun and delicious Thanksgiving evening. My hubby loved it so much that he'd like to start a new tradition. Sorry, Honey - I enjoyed it too, but I love the cooking so much!! This year my contribution was pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies. I made pumpkin from a real pumpkin this year. So delicious and easy. Check out the recipe:
Fresh Pumpkin Pie
1 small sugar pumpkin (1-1/2 cup per pie)
1 6 oz can of evaporated milk
1/2 cup of milk
3 eggs
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Pillsbury ready made pie crust
I don't make my own piecrust cause Pillsbury's ready made in the refrigerated section is fast and as delicious as any I can make so why not save some frustration. First cut your little pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Place in a roasting pan with about 2 inches of water in it and Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out pumpkin and place in food processor or blender. Process till smooth.
Place pie crust into 9 inch pie pan and crimp edges. Pierce bottom a few times with a fork.
Place 1-1/2 cups of pumpkin (a small pumpkin makes about 2 pies) and all remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat till well mixed. Pour into pie crust. Cover edges of pie crust with foil or a pie crust round. Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Serve with a little whipped cream. Enjoy.
Then last night, we had our Hanukkah dinner. Yummy stuff cooking all day long. We had Brisket, latkes, sweet potato latkes, brussel sprouts, squash and mushroom barley soup. Plus lots of delicious desserts including some left over pies from Thanksgiving. I LOVE to cook - but loathe peeling potatoes and apples. This year Hannah did all the potatoes about 22 of them and I did the apples for applesauce. I love homemade applesauce and it is soooooo easy. Check out the recipe.
Homemade Applesauce
5 Granny Smith Apples
5 Golden Crisp or Pink Lady or Rome Apples
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar Optional
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)
Peel apples and cut into chunks. Squirt with some lemonn to keep them from browning. Place in large pot with 1/2 cup of water. Boil till apples are tender about 10 minutes. If adding sugar and cinnamon Add to pot as well. When apples are soft place them (I do about 1/2 at a time) in a food processor and mix till smooth. (Mixer or Blender works too). Process less for chunk and more for smooth. Place in bowl with lid and refrigerate for about 3 hours prior to serving.
Latkes are a favorite this time of year and with all the work of peeling potatoes I'll give you my recipe for that too. Cause all that work needs some recognition too.
Debbi's Delicious Latkes
Serves 6-8 people
12 Potatoes peeled and shredded (use a food processor if you have one - or buy the shredded potatoes in the refrigerated section if you are pressed for time - you'd need 3 bags)
4 eggs
1/2 cup of flour plus a tablespoon or so depending on moisture in the potatoes (during Passover substitute matzoh meal or crushed matzoh)
2 sweet onions shredded.
1 turnip (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil as needed to fry.
Mix shredded potatoes, onion and turnip with egg and flour till they are fairly sticky. In large frying pan, add olive oil and spoonfuls of potatoe mixture. Fry on each side till dark brown color. Keep pancakes smaller and flatter so potatoes cook soft. Keep warm in oven till time to serve. These can be made with eggplant, carrots, squash, sweet potato, etc. All delicious options. I add a little ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar to my sweet potato version. Enjoy!!
So, first their was the big party in early November with all our family here from all over the country. Aunts from Wisconsin and Oregon, Cousins from Virginia, Massachutes, Florida, New Hampshire, and New York and friends from all over too. So naturally come Thanksgiving, no one was excited to travel for the family Thanksgiving traditionally held at our house. So with much gratitude we accepted an invitation to our friends, Gary and Irene's (who happen to also be my son's in-laws) where we had a relaxing, fun and delicious Thanksgiving evening. My hubby loved it so much that he'd like to start a new tradition. Sorry, Honey - I enjoyed it too, but I love the cooking so much!! This year my contribution was pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies. I made pumpkin from a real pumpkin this year. So delicious and easy. Check out the recipe:
Fresh Pumpkin Pie
1 small sugar pumpkin (1-1/2 cup per pie)
1 6 oz can of evaporated milk
1/2 cup of milk
3 eggs
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Pillsbury ready made pie crust
I don't make my own piecrust cause Pillsbury's ready made in the refrigerated section is fast and as delicious as any I can make so why not save some frustration. First cut your little pumpkin in half and remove the seeds. Place in a roasting pan with about 2 inches of water in it and Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out pumpkin and place in food processor or blender. Process till smooth.
Place pie crust into 9 inch pie pan and crimp edges. Pierce bottom a few times with a fork.
Place 1-1/2 cups of pumpkin (a small pumpkin makes about 2 pies) and all remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat till well mixed. Pour into pie crust. Cover edges of pie crust with foil or a pie crust round. Bake at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Serve with a little whipped cream. Enjoy.
Then last night, we had our Hanukkah dinner. Yummy stuff cooking all day long. We had Brisket, latkes, sweet potato latkes, brussel sprouts, squash and mushroom barley soup. Plus lots of delicious desserts including some left over pies from Thanksgiving. I LOVE to cook - but loathe peeling potatoes and apples. This year Hannah did all the potatoes about 22 of them and I did the apples for applesauce. I love homemade applesauce and it is soooooo easy. Check out the recipe.
Homemade Applesauce
5 Granny Smith Apples
5 Golden Crisp or Pink Lady or Rome Apples
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar Optional
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)
Peel apples and cut into chunks. Squirt with some lemonn to keep them from browning. Place in large pot with 1/2 cup of water. Boil till apples are tender about 10 minutes. If adding sugar and cinnamon Add to pot as well. When apples are soft place them (I do about 1/2 at a time) in a food processor and mix till smooth. (Mixer or Blender works too). Process less for chunk and more for smooth. Place in bowl with lid and refrigerate for about 3 hours prior to serving.
Latkes are a favorite this time of year and with all the work of peeling potatoes I'll give you my recipe for that too. Cause all that work needs some recognition too.
Debbi's Delicious Latkes
Serves 6-8 people
12 Potatoes peeled and shredded (use a food processor if you have one - or buy the shredded potatoes in the refrigerated section if you are pressed for time - you'd need 3 bags)
4 eggs
1/2 cup of flour plus a tablespoon or so depending on moisture in the potatoes (during Passover substitute matzoh meal or crushed matzoh)
2 sweet onions shredded.
1 turnip (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil as needed to fry.
Mix shredded potatoes, onion and turnip with egg and flour till they are fairly sticky. In large frying pan, add olive oil and spoonfuls of potatoe mixture. Fry on each side till dark brown color. Keep pancakes smaller and flatter so potatoes cook soft. Keep warm in oven till time to serve. These can be made with eggplant, carrots, squash, sweet potato, etc. All delicious options. I add a little ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar to my sweet potato version. Enjoy!!
Wicked Bat Mitzvah
Well, time flies and I have not blogged in a long long time. But, I'm back at it with a passion and hoping to add some fun and frivality to the world of blog. You will notice a name change shortly too.
Well, by the title, you guessed it! My little minion has reached the age of 13 and we had a wonderful Bat Mitzvah! She did AMAZING!! She read and chanted beautifully and we were so very proud of her accomplishment. So, for her and our family we had a spectacular party in her honor with a Wicked the Musical theme. Everyone was requested to wear green. The room was uplit in green. The centerpieces lovingly made by my team of fantastic family members and myself were Wicked themed and Elphaba would have been proud. The guest of honor though wore PINK in true Galinda style. It was a great and powerful time for all. I'll be posting pics on Pintrest shortly of all the crafty things we did and made. What great fun!!!
Well, by the title, you guessed it! My little minion has reached the age of 13 and we had a wonderful Bat Mitzvah! She did AMAZING!! She read and chanted beautifully and we were so very proud of her accomplishment. So, for her and our family we had a spectacular party in her honor with a Wicked the Musical theme. Everyone was requested to wear green. The room was uplit in green. The centerpieces lovingly made by my team of fantastic family members and myself were Wicked themed and Elphaba would have been proud. The guest of honor though wore PINK in true Galinda style. It was a great and powerful time for all. I'll be posting pics on Pintrest shortly of all the crafty things we did and made. What great fun!!!
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