Pondering Christmas... I read of a family that doesn't exchange presents. They enjoy the holiday(s) by spending time with those they love and baking or creating things for family & friends. After trying to squeeze in a trip to the mall today and walk out with only 1 item, this thought continues to gain popularity with me. Maybe it's because I'm frustrated with my kids' nap schedules. Maybe it's the distance to the mall. Maybe it's something else entirely. Hmmmm. I love to bake. And at my house I eat most of what I bake - amazing that I don't weigh 300 pounds by now. :) I have a friend that adores my banana bread. I don't know what's different about it, it's just the Betty Crocker recipe in the book. But because I know she loves it, I always make a 2nd loaf for her. In fact, I sometimes make it just because of her. Isn't that a pretty good gift? Warm banana bread and the warm feeling that someone was thinking about you & did something special just for you? Isn't that the same thing that we are doing with other gifts? On another side, I do love receiving gifts. My husband is a wonderful giver. He brought home a jazzy Christmas CD from Starbucks. I love it. He knows and remembers the little things and gives wonderful gifts because of that. I'm not naturally a "giver" most of the time. He has really brought it out the last few years. I know if we were to decide change the way we give gifts it would be a difficult decision for him.
On a lighter note... We were joking around in the kitchen and asking each other to choose between a food item and our spouse. Hmmmm! I asked if he would pick me over Taco Bell. I win! He said, "there's still Taco Time!" He asked if I would pick him over cookies. Oooooohhhh, no you didn't just go there! Ack! I know he makes me happy in ways cookies cannot. But if I were to choose cookies I would eternally regret it and also get really fat because I would try to replace him and the joy he brings me. Would he choose me over bean burritos? Yea, I win again! Would I choose him over peppermint mochas?? Yeah, he's worth it!
Back to Pondering - Cooking.... How is it possible that I can cook all the foods that go into a Thanksgiving dinner but mess up so many other dinners? I make great mashed potatoes. I can make "fresh" cranberry sauce. I have done a turkey (just not this year) and it turned out pretty good. My pies turned out PERFECT. And I'm not even bragging - I'm just as surprised as everyone else! Even after my bread disaster (was in the oven - still in the plastic - when I preheated the oven for pies), I felt so confident with all the things I made. But tonight I made spaghetti. Spaghetti is my back up dinner, I can make it from scratch without looking at a recipe. It's not perfected yet but it's pretty darn good. I thought I would try to thicken up the sauce by adding flour to the cooked ground beef & onions. But then I opened the wrong can - diced tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. That kind of messed it up. I added tomato sauce also and the big tomatoes tasted good. I was out of oregano. Hmmm, will extra basil make up for that? Probably not, so I tossed in "Italian Seasoning." Yes, I know that bottle has both basil & oregano in it. It turned out okay but all the ground beef seemed to be "gravy-ish." Whoops, probably not a good idea to add flour at that point. Probably should have tried to thicken with bread crumbs instead. Here's the pondering part: is this God's way to keeping me humble? Or should I stick to recipes? And read the recipe? And follow the recipe and not use it as a guideline? I don't know. I like recipes as guidelines - that's how my mom and grandma cook. Never ask my mom what a dish is called! It is always called what it is - chicken on rice with veggies, beef on pasta, chicken on pasta, beef on rice, pork on rice. Nevermind that the sauce could be literally anything: sweet & sour, teriyaki, marinara, alfredo, stroganoff, or a brand new one Mom made up!
Well, I have lost the rest of my ponderings so I will have to stop now. Perhaps I will sleep better tonight now that I have more room in my brain. :) Good night all...
