Column Summary
Christmas is a busy time of year, so busy we all end up missing something; something we should have noticed, someone we should have appreciated. Open your eyes to Christmas and give busy a rest.
Busy is this season of stops and starts; we have errands to run, shopping to finish, baking to bake, and parties to attend. There are a few more Christmas cards to mail; in exchange for the pile received in the mailbox today. There are a few more cookie plates to be filled; for the angels that crossed your holiday path this past week. And then there is the regroup of everything; lists, packages, outfits, and final scheduling.
Are you free-giving of smiles and greetings, or are you too busy to turn up the corners of your mouth. Are you ready to join the bell ringers dropping a little more jingle into their kettles, or can you spare no dime because everything is purchased with plastic.
Ive heard the grumbles behind me in the check-out lanes, and Ive seen true spirited folks at their registers, continuing to smile, a sincere smile of Christmas. Ive heard the honks of those around me trying to find the fast lane, but a slow lane is more my speed, especially when the lights are so beautiful. How could you miss the roadside light shows when they shine so colorful and bright?
Are you too busy to notice the children; the excitement on their faces as they walk through the stores with their families? The colors, the decorations, the smells, the toys, they all widen and brighten the eyes of the youngest around us.
Parents of new babies, do you see their anxiousness to spend a first Christmas with their child, take more pictures than previous years, and dress their babes in their holiday finest. And who would be too busy to notice mans best friend entering a pet store and coming out adorned with sparkle and red; did you see the happiness in that wagging tail?
Ive tried to be, not-too-busy to see all the Christmas around me. Ive tried to show my holiday spirit with big bright smiles, hello greetings, appreciation gifts, and trying to beat my own, saying Thank-you record many times over and loud enough for others to hear.
But, I have found, that I am just too busy for some things; too busy to add apple juice to the grocery list, too busy to type recipes the night before they are due, too busy to get home before six oclock, and too busy to stop at the gas station (that one caught up with me today, thanks Ben).
It could be contagious, this holiday spirit thing, we should all catch some, so spread it carelessly and joyously. Get a smile, give a smile. Get a greeting, give a greeting. Get two gallons, give two gallons. Merry Christmas and learn well the lessons of the season.
Last minute will soon be here and gone, the New Year is just around the corner; what are your resolution recipes? Send to: Hearth & Home, 5973 Blachleyville Rd., Wooster, OH, 44691. Emails are always welcome: thewritecook@sssnet.com
Caramel Apples
1/2 cup apple juice
8 tablespoons brown sugar
12 hot cinnamon candies
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
8 caramel candies
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Whipped cream
Remove 1/2 inch wide strip of peel off the top of each apple and place apples in slow cooker. Pour apple juice over apples. Fill the center of each apple with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 3 hot cinnamon candies, 1 tablespoon butter or margarine and 2 caramel candies. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and cook on low 4 to 6 hours, or until tender. Serve hot with whipped cream.
Cranberry Pudding
Pudding:
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup boiling water
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 cups whole cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup water
Butter Sauce:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together flour and salt. Dissolve soda in boiling water. Add to flour and salt. Stir in molasses. Blend well. Fold in cranberries and nuts. (Do not add 1/2 cup water yet.) Pour into well-greased and floured bread or cake pan that will sit in your cooker. Cover with greased foil. Now, pour 1/2 cup water into cooker. Place foil-covered pan in cooker. Cover with cooker lid and steam on High 3 to 4 hours, or until pudding tests done with a wooden pick. Remove pan and uncover. Let stand 5 minutes, then unmold. To make butter sauce, mix together all ingredients in saucepan. Cook stirring over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Serve warm butter sauce over warm cranberry pudding.
Lemon Pudding Cake
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Beat egg yolks. Blend in lemon peel, lemon juice, butter and milk. In separate bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add to egg-lemon mixture, beating until smooth. Fold into beaten egg whites; spoon into slow cooker. Cover and cook on High 2 to 3 hours. Serve with spoon from cooker.
Cherry Delight
21-ounce can cherry pie filling
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup walnuts, optional
Place pie filling in greased slow cooker. Combine dry cake mix and butter (mixture will be crumbly). Sprinkle over filling. Sprinkle with walnuts. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours or on High 2 hours. Allow to cool, then serve in bowl with dips of ice cream.
Easy Chocolate Clusters
2 pounds white coating chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounce packages sweet German chocolate
24 ounce jar roasted peanuts
Combine coating chocolate, chocolate chips and German chocolate. Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook 1 hour longer, or until chocolate is melted, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in peanuts. Mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let stand until set. Store at room temperature.
Baked Oatmeal
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups dry quick oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
Pour the oil into the slow cooker to grease bottom and sides. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Bake on Low 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Apple-Honey Tea
12 ounce can frozen apple juice/cider concentrate
2 tablespoons instant tea powder
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Reconstitute the apple juice/cider concentrate according to package directions. Pour into slow cooker. Add tea powder, honey and cinnamon. Stir to blend. Heat on Low 1 to 2 hours. Stir well before serving since cinnamon tends to settle on bottom.
Hot Cranberry Punch
32 ounce bottle cranberry juice
2 sticks cinnamon
6 ounce can frozen lemonade
12 ounce can frozen orange juice
Mix together all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on High 3 to 4 hours.
Hot Caramel Dip
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Apple slices
Mix together all ingredients except apple in saucepan. Bring to boil. Pour into crockpot. Set on Low. Dip fresh apple slices into hot caramel.
