More chutney, some awesome Christmas lights, and a sense of caution

My Christmas orchid towering over Serenity with her poinsettia headdress.
I feel as though I live in a greenhouse.
So wonderful!

My project of the day was a second batch of chutney—this the cranberry/apricot. I think I perfected my technique, because it didn’t take me nearly as long, and I think the chutney is better. Yesterday, I let it thicken too much—good flavor but not so great on the consistency.

Tonight, I went to Pacific Table with three longtime friends. We try to have dinner together fairly frequently, but tonight was in celebration of Subie’s early December birthday. Okay, we were a bit late. We also had a small Christmas gift exchange, and I was thrilled with the book Carol gave me on dairy restaurants. She purchased it at New York’s Tenement Museum, Author Ben Katchor traces the history of these establishments, originally begun to cater to kosher laws which required the separation of meat and milk products. Eventually, some critics claim, the dairy restaurants morphed into Dairy Queen and similar chains. The book has wonderful, humorous illustrations, and I look forward to digging into it.

Subie brought me a beautiful orchid, of a color I’ve not seen—sort of off-white, but with pale striations that almost make it look like the blossoms are of thin wood. And Kathie contributed a jigsaw puzzle which should be great fun at our family get-together.

Lovely evening. I ordered my usual—Caesar salad with fried oysters. Pacific Table has hands down the best Caesar salad in town, and the fried oysters are so well seasoned you shouldn’t even think of cocktail sauce. The restaurant was, however, a bit noisy.

On the way home, I mentioned that I’d been told that the light display at Cook Children’s Hospital was spectacular, so we detoured—and were delighted that we did. It is an absolute fairyland, wonderful to see. Cars slowly drove by—and a parked limo blocked traffic, making a minor jam, but I guess if you can afford a stretch limo you don’t care.

I came home to the realization that I need to get my neighborhood newsletter out the door first thing in the morning, so I spent much of the evening proofreading and following up on odds and ends.

These are the days of anticipation. For many, they are frantic days, worrying how you’ll ever get everything done. For some of us, like me, everything seems done, so you worry about what maybe you haven’t done. And you don’t want to start anything new because…well, Christmas is just around the corner.

A sense of—how to say it? Caution? Dread? —hung over us at the dinner table tonight, because we all feel we are headed into another severe Covid season. Of course, there’s a good reason we feel that way—it’s predicted all over the media. So, we talked about maybe having to go back to patio parties and small—what was the word? Hives? Coveys? That small group you felt comfortable socializing with. We all seemed to feel we were headed to mandates (which doesn’t bother any of us), masks (doesn’t bother us either, though I don’t hear as well when people speak through a mask), and perhaps school closures. I am the only one closely affected by that, because I am the only one lucky enough to live with a grandchild. For his sake, I hope schools don’t close—he hated his year at home but bore it with good grace; on the other hand, I want to keep him safe. And my six other grandchildren, scattered as they are. Always a dilemma.

At any rate, when people toast, as we did tonight, to making 2022 a better year than 2020 or 2021, I have some hesitation. For my own part, I survived quarantine nicely, pretty much with spirits intact, and I would expect and hope to do so again. And you should see all the toilet paper Jordan has secreted away on a high shelf in my closet. What was that phrase a while back? “Buckle up, Buttercup. It may be a rough ride.”

What a downer way to end a Christmas blog! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and for just this brief time, put Covid and abortion and politics and warfare out of your mind, and enjoy the season.

The cranberry controversy

 

My accomplishment for the day--
six tiny jars of cranberry chutney

It was tradition when I was growing up that Mom made raw cranberry relish for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You know the kind—ground cranberries, an orange, and an apple, and some sugar—how much sugar depended on your taste, but Mom didn’t’ use a lot of it.

We had an old wooden stool, its green paint chipped (I can see it as I write). Dad would clamp an equally old hand grinder to the stool and grind away. None of us were considered strong or tireless enough for this chore, but I remember many happy evenings in the kitchen watching him. And we loved the relish. I have since had it with canned pineapple added—not as bad as you might think—and in a jelly base. You know, the jellied salads of the Sixties. I rather liked it—strawberry Jell-O I suspect.

Fast forward a whole lot of years—my children wouldn’t touch it. And then at least two of them married people who like that jellied stuff that comes out of a can with ridges on it, and they insisted on serving it for holiday meals. My relish had its fans though, principally my brother and one of his brothers-in-law for whom I one year made an entire extra batch.

We no longer can gather our two families for the holidays. There are simply too many of us—we don’t easily fit under one roof, and it’s too much work for any hostess, even though we all pitch in. So some years I fix a batch for John and then wonder how to get it to him at the ranch.

Today, instead of relish, I made cranberry chutney, with figs in it, hoping that would travel better. Chutney is a new favorite of mine. Basically, chutney is a spicy condiment made of fruits or vegetables with vinegar, spices, and sugar, originating in India. Mango is the most common flavor, but it can be done with everything from cauliflower to coconut—apples, pears, tomato, peach, and combinations. Lots of recipes online. I liked two cranberry recipes I found—the one with figs because it called for bourbon and the apricot one because I love all things apricot

So that was my big project today, and my product was six tiny jars of chutney. I do mean tiny. Another of my online ordering faux pas—I didn’t realize how small four-ounce jars are. So today I made six small jars with figs, and tomorrow I plan to make six with apricots. In addition, Jean brought me a jar of chutney from the farmer’s market. I now have a wealth of cranberry chutney—I’ll share some and see what my family says. A plus: the cottage smelled wonderful when I was cooking it.

Tonight, when Sue and Teddy came for wine, it did not smell so good. I was cooking spinach for Jordan and me to have for supper. Christian has gone to Dallas, so we fixed a recipe that sounded delicious to us, but he would not have enjoyed—salmon on a bed of spinach, tomatoes, and artichokes, with lemon butter sauce. As I write, it’s cooking and smelling great. Watch for the recipe this Thursday on the Gourmet with a Hot Plate blog. Would be a great way to welcome in the new year.

Our deconstructed salmon dinner.
Jordan says we have to have this once a week.

Good visit with Teddy and Sue. Caught up on their recent visit to Ottawa (Ontario) to see her parents, who are friends of mine. Her dad is having health problems but overall, the report was encouraging. And it’s always good to visit with them about books and current affairs and all that’s going on in the world. I’m so glad Sue brought Teddy into my circle of friends. He’s a keeper. She, of course, has been my “Canadian daughter” since she lived next door too many years ago. Good times, good friends. 

A lovely day.