where cider meets condensed milk: Still blazing after all these years

where cider meets condensed milk

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Still blazing after all these years

My dad's family recipe for figgy pudding (above, aflame) has been handed down for generations and he now alleges he can track all the specific ingredients to a grocery ledger kept by ancestors in 1600s Netherlands. We young'uns say it tastes like it was made in a 17th century Dutch kitchen, too. Still, it's awfully pretty to see it floating down the hallway, dripping blue splashes of Bacardi 151 onto the floor, as it has for centuries. As for other holiday traditions, my sister was recently shocked to discover that her friend's mom uses the exact same recipe for Easter pastry that our mom makes. To which our mother replied, "Well, it IS Betty Crocker, you know..."

Christmas was only unusual in that all 6 of us were home. However, being a clan of pretend grown-ups, with jobs and universities, takes a lot of the kid fun out of holidays. Tree-decorating gets more minimal each year, yet somehow the tree keeps getting bigger. You can't tell from AB's new-age snapshot, but the tree is almost 10 feet tall. It went in easily when it was baled, but now it'll be impossible to fit it through the door without damaging everything in its path. I suspect the chainsaw will make a surprise indoor visit when all of us ladies are out shopping this week.

posted by Raychaa @ 6:20 PM

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