My grandson was born on December 23. He loves it because I take him out for dinner and shopping for a birthday gift in October, his mom takes him for the same in November, and then he gets cake in December.
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Merry Festivus
My twins were born on New Year's Day, so every January 1 the whole world celebrates them. Or so they used to think.
Not having to set an alarm is probably the best part of being unemployed, have to admit. Hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday !
My Christmas Eve pie from last night turned out just great. The secret to a perfectly cooked pizza is to take it out of the oven a few minutes earlier than you think you should - cause it keeps baking for a bit after it's out. Overcooking it is a disappointment, but rare these days.
My Christmas Eve pie from last night turned out just great. The secret to a perfectly cooked pizza is to take it out of the oven a few minutes earlier than you think you should - cause it keeps baking for a bit after it's out. Overcooking it is a disappointment, but rare these days.
Sorry, but that's not a Christmas song. That's a song for the Christian feast of Allhallowtide (All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day).
A soul cake is a small, round, spiced cake or biscuit that was historically given to the poor and to children who went "souling" (going door-to-door, singing and praying for the dead) during that time.
This medieval tradition, prevalent in Britain and Ireland, is widely considered a precursor to modern Halloween trick-or-treating.The cakes were offered as a form of alms or charity. In return for the treat, the "soulers" would promise to pray for the souls of the departed loved ones of the household, helping to release them from purgatory.
Baking soul cakes still continues in some communities today, such as parts of Cheshire, and in other countries like Portugal and the Philippines, as a way to remember the dead and connect with history.
From wikipedia: Soul cakes
And here's the song they sing in Cheshire: Souling Cakes
Louanne Learning
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My sister-in-law that I went to Ireland with bought me for Christmas a pair of diamond-studded earrings in the shape of the Celtic Trinity Knot. We never exchange gifts with siblings, but she wanted to say thank you for all the planning I did for the trip. So now I have taken out my diamond studs that I always wear without ever taking them out and I am wearing my diamond trinity knots!
I also got a present from my sister this year - the one whose daughter lives here when she is in Canada. About a month ago I mentioned that my mini-Cuisinart that I use to mince a few heads of garlic at a time broke - and she picked one up for me! Also, she got me a bottle of Casamigos Tequila @Homer Potvin have you heard of it? Her son works at the LCBO and recommended it.
I also got a present from my sister this year - the one whose daughter lives here when she is in Canada. About a month ago I mentioned that my mini-Cuisinart that I use to mince a few heads of garlic at a time broke - and she picked one up for me! Also, she got me a bottle of Casamigos Tequila @Homer Potvin have you heard of it? Her son works at the LCBO and recommended it.
Made chicken Creole for dinner tonight. Haven't made it in years. Got out of the habit of making rice when my son lived with us because he didn't like it. However, he has been living on his own for 18 years, so...
In East Asia, New Year's Day used to be the day everyone got one year older. If you were born the day before, you'd physically be one day old, but since ages began at 1, you'd be considered two years old.
An aunt and cousin were born January 1, brother on the 2d, brother in law on the 9th, another aunt somewhere around the 17th. Party month.
Casamigos is my top seller by a country mile. Not sure if that's all the way national but it's probably close. Used to be 2:1 over the next closest tequila competitor, but they are in some hot water with the regulators for allegedly falsely advertising 100% blue agave when it is really loaded with all sorts of additives. They're part of the Diageo group along with Don Julio (the #2 seller) and are being sued in multiple countries by multiple plaintiffs. That little kerfuffle has boosted the Ochos and Teremanas of the world up the sales charts, but they don't have a fraction of the production capacity are so heavily allocated that I'm lucky to get a couple of cases a year.
In my opinion, Casamigos is ridiculously overpriced and overrated for what it is. The reposado is decent, but not for $65. There was a time when I was buying the blanco by the palette and had to give tuggies to all my reps to even get an allocation, so I'm still a little sour about that.
Louanne Learning
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Thanks, Homer!
I may just have to drink it neat, on the rocks!
I may just have to drink it neat, on the rocks!
(Sits with her coffee, shuddering at the idea of drinking tequila that isn't mixed into a margarita.)
Louanne Learning
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I found the best mix for me is lime flavoured sparkling water, like Bubly
Buy the cheap shit if you're going to mix it. Especially with anything citrus. I prefer tequila neat or on the rocks. It goes down like water. The antithesis of whiskey.
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Okay, you convinced me. Tequila neat it will be!
I was told that the song had migrated from being an All Hallow's thing to a Yuletide thing in some areas, possibly more in the New World than the Old World. The begging itself is, as you mentioned, something from the former time, but the idea of giving alms at Christmas isn't new, and the song lends itself to that.
It's not all that unusual for some holiday things to migrate to other holidays. In Italy, there's a cookie called the "Ossi di Morte" or "bones of the dead" which was made for the All Hallow's feasts commemorating the dead. (Those feasts are still celebrated in the Hispanic communities around here.) My Italian family has been making these for at least a half a century as Christmas cookies, although the commemoration of the Day of the Dead didn't make the trip across the Atlantic.
For more on this cookie, and on the culinary traditions of my Italian family, here's an essay I wrote many years ago. (And, yes, I still make the "bones" every year, including this one.)
Aromatherapy, Italian Style
Copyright 2013 by John LaTorre I made my "bones" today. No, I didn't whack anybody at the behest of some Mafia don. Instead, ...
jayeltee.blogspot.com
Just thinking of tequila makes me shudder. I like all kinds of spirits, but I find that one repellent for some reason.
In the Before Times, I recall going to a bowling alley with some work chums after our shift ended, and one of the guys brought over this big tray of tequila shots. Of all the things to order. I can't even drink it for free.
In the Before Times, I recall going to a bowling alley with some work chums after our shift ended, and one of the guys brought over this big tray of tequila shots. Of all the things to order. I can't even drink it for free.
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I do prefer vodka for my most common drink.
