Winter Arrives

December is speeding by, as it always does. Once again, Christmas will be here long before many of us, including Yours Truly, are ready. It’s a good thing others never know how much we wanted to do, so they can’t compare our plans with what we actually managed to get done.

Whatever we plan to accomplish before Christmas, by the time most of us read this we will only have about 10 days to get it done.

Decorating? Shopping? Baking? Wrapping?

Better be burning the midnight oil!

WINTER SOLSTICE 

Mornings will keep coming later and sunset will come earlier until the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, on Thursday, Dec. 21. After that the sun will climb over the horizon a trifle earlier each day, and settle back in for the evening just a bit later, until mid-summer, when it all changes again.

WINTER LEGENDS

Especially in northern climes, days getting ever shorter as the winter solstice approached caused many early cultures to fear that the sun would go away and never come back. 

Nearly every ancient culture had myths surrounding the return of light after the winter solstice. As the sun coursed lower in the sky, it seemed to ancient peoples that the sun might be disappearing forever.

To encourage the sun to return, bonfires were built, gifts for the gods were hung from the branches of pine trees, and evergreen plants were brought indoors to symbolize everlasting life. If you think that sounds a bit like Christmas, you’re right. Many Christian holiday practices had their roots in the ancient pagan ceremonies. 

PLANTS OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE

To many of the ancient peoples, certain trees and plants were important to the celebration of the solstice both as symbols and as decorations.

Evergreens were a symbol of immortality, since they were the only trees to stay green when all the others lost their leaves.

Yews represented the death of the old year and were a connection between this world and the next.

Oak trees were revered for being long-lived. Even though they were not evergreen, they kept their leaves longer than most, and as symbols of eternal life were considered a source of protection, strength, and endurance. In Celtic tradition, the entire trunk of an oak tree - later known as the Yule log - was supposed to be kept burning for 12 hours on the eve of the solstice. If the fire did not go out, it meant the household would be protected and have an abundant harvest and good health in the coming year. A piece of that log was saved and used to start next year’s fire because, as the old log was consumed by the flames, any problems from the old year were thought to go with it.

Holly was used for protection and good luck.

Pine symbolized peace, healing, and joy.

Ivy symbolized marriage, faithfulness, and healing and was made into wreaths and garlands to decorate during the winter.

AT THE MANGER

Saw on the web that a manger scene somewhere in the deep south hillbilly country included three figures carrying gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but fully dressed in fire fighting gear.

Someone asked the lady who had set up the display why she had done that.

“Wall,” she drawled, “Hit says right hyar in this ol’ Bible that these three wise men had come from a fare.”

COOKING FOR THE BIRDS

There isn’t much snow so far this year, but our feathered friends probably would still really enjoy some special treats.  I’ve sometimes made these when I found raisins, nuts or dried cranberries that had gotten lost in the dark corners of my cupboard. Make up packets or cans of this for their Christmas dining pleasure, and save your unwanted kitchen fats to make them throughout the winter. Remember, this has to be fat that gets solid when it’s cold, not cooking oil. P.S. Better not hang these, or any other kind of bird treats, if bears are a problem in your neighborhood.

3 parts melted fat (suet preferred)

1 part cornmeal or finely cracked corn

1 part peanut butter or other nut butter

1 part sunflower kernels or chopped nuts

1 part brown sugar

1 part chopped dried fruit (currants, raisins, prunes, etc.)

Combine all of the ingredients with enough water to get the consistency of cooked oatmeal. Cook in double boiler until well blended. Put into small containers like tuna fish cans or even plastic Christmas decorations that can be securely attached to feeders or hung from tree limbs. 

COOKIN’ TIME

Venison Schnitzel 

If your hunters were successful this year, do try this treat. It’s almost as good with beef tenderloin, or even some other variety of very thinly sliced or cubed steak, but you might need to use meat tenderizer. Incidentally, whenever you fry bacon, save the drippings. If you do that, sometimes you won’t need to fry bacon just to get that wonderful flavor. The drippings can be used to great advantage to add when cooking cabbage or green beans, making any style fried or scrambled eggs, or even French Toast or cream gravy to serve over biscuits. However, in this recipe, you also want the bacon itself. If you don’t have enough bacon drippings, use vegetable oil for the needed fat.

 4 to 6 thin slices bacon

 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 2 pounds venison tenderloin

 1/3 cup bacon drippings

 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 1 egg, lightly beaten

 2 tablespoons milk

 1 cup dry bread crumbs

 1/2 cup crushed buttery round cracker crumbs

 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat frying pan with vegetable oil over moderate heat, and gently fry the bacon until crisp but not hard. Drain the bacon thoroughly and let it it cool, but save the drippings in the pan. Be sure to de-glaze the pan if necessary. Once the bacon is cool  either crumble it into bits or tumble briefly in a food processor to get the bacon bits that you will later add to the breading mixture. Do not use imitation bacon bits. If you don’t have real bacon, just leave bacon out of the breading mixture. Cut the tenderloin into 1/2 inch steaks. Butterfly the steaks by cutting each one in half horizontally, from the smallest toward the largest side, until there is only a very small section keeping the two halves connected. Slice a few small scores on the outer edges of each steak to prevent them from curling up when frying. Preheat oil and bacon drippings in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. In a large shallow dish, combine flour, salt and pepper. In a separate shallow bowl, beat together egg and milk. In another shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, cracker crumbs and bacon bits. (Do not use the imitation bacon bits if you don’t have the real thing, leave the bacon out. Dredge the steaks in the seasoned flour, and using a meat mallet, pound them down to just slightly less than their 1/4 inch thickness. Dip the steaks in the egg mixture, then coat each steak on both sides with the crumbs. Set aside on a clean plate. When all steaks are evenly coated, heat the bacon grease and oil in the pan you used to fry the bacon. Once it gets hot, place the prepared steaks gently in a single layer into the hot oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle each steak lightly with lemon juice if you wish. (I do not wish.) Repeat if the pan isn’t big enough to fry the steaks all at once. Be sure not to let the pan drippings burn. Brown is good. Black is bad. Once the steaks are done, keep them warm while you make cream gravy out of the drippings remaining in the pan by stirring in salt and pepper and two or three tablespoons flour. Let this simmer and brown gently, then stir in two or three cups of milk, and boil down until the gravy is as thick as you want it. The gravy process takes only about five minutes. Wonderful served on boiled or mashed potatoes.

PECAN TASSIES

 In our family, pecan pie seems to be everybody’s favorite. These luscious little treats, from a recipe by Brandie, on The Country Cook web site, are pretty much mini pecan pies, so we can keep telling ourselves that just one more won’t hurt. Keep a can of whipped topping on the table next to them if you really want to gild the lily. And don’t share with the kids unless you really want to. Use regular salted butter, or if you have unsalted butter to use up, add a pinch or so of salt to both the crust and the filling. This recipe, as is, only makes 8 to 10 little pies, so you probably should double it unless you’re spending the holidays alone.

For the shells:

 1 cup flour

 3 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

For the filling:

 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar

 3 tablespoons butter, melted

 1 teaspoon vanilla

Spray a mini-muffin pan with buttery flavored cooking spray. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter, and then add the flour, mixing until combined. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball, and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Remove from fridge and let the dough warm up enough to roll. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut into circles about 3” in diameter and about an eighth of an inch thick. Put one of the circles into each little muffin spot and push up and shape it to fit. Each should make a little bowl. Ball up leftover dough and roll out to cut more circles until the dough is gone. In a bowl mix together the filling ingredients until combined. Put about 2 teaspoons of the filling into each little muffin cup, filling it about halfway. You don’t want the mini-pies to boil over.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes. ( I think you could also get away with making each tiny pie just a little smaller, enough so that you would get a dozen out of one batch. Remove and let cool in the pan for 3 minutes. Use a knife to loosen and remove the Tassies from the pan. Garnish with whipped cream and cinnamon if you wish. These keep for a week, or they can be frozen.

OATMEAL CRAISIN COOKIES

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies loaded with white chocolate and dried cranberries are such a delicious treat. They’re easy to make, so soft and chewy, and pretty on a holiday cookie tray!

 1/2 cup granulated sugar

 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

 2 teaspoons vanilla

 2 large eggs

 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (not quick cooking, not steel cut)

 1 1/2 cups craisins

 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut or chopped nuts

 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, in a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Add the baking powder, baking soda, spices, vanilla, and eggs, making sure the batter is well combined, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, if necessary. Mix in the flour and oats. Stir in the craisins, coconut, and white chips, until all ingredients are evenly mixed into the dough. Using a tablespoon sized cookie scoop, drop 1 1/2-inch balls of the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving a small space in between the cookies so they have room to spread while baking.

Thought for the week: Jesus, You are the Light of the World. As we prepare to celebrate the miracle of Your birth, may we begin to see the world with the Light of wisdom that you bring us. As we prepare to share the joys of this wonderful season with our beloved families and friends, let us also remember to share it as You did with the poor, the lowly, and the lonely and the outcasts. You brought us the greatest news this world has ever known, let us be ever willing to share, to help shine the beauty of Your light into the corners of the saddest of hearts. Amen.

This column is written by Shirley Prudhomme of Crivitz. Views expressed are her own and are in no way intended to be an official statement of the opinions of Peshtigo Times editors and publishers. She may be contacted by phone at 715-927-5034 or by e-mail at shirleyprudhommechickadee@yahoo.com.)