Antonia gives Santa a Christmas kiss!
Santa is, indeed, comin’ to town, dearest readers! And soon! These are the precious days of preparation when we open boxes and pull out the treasures we turn to year after year, blessed with the cherished task of creating a memorable Christmas for the loved ones in our family. And the memories abound! I always remember taking Antonia and her friend Samara to Macy’s in downtown San Francisco to sit on Santa’s lap to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Sometimes we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and sometimes we took the ferry. It was an annual event and one we all looked forward to, and, I’m certain, remember now fondly. Years later I took the picture above of my beautiful daughter all grown up, too big to sit on Santa’s lap, and big enough to offer my stuffed Santa a lovely Christmas smooch!

I often find it is the little things that I have collected over the years that bring a smile to my lips and remind me of Christmas over the years as I unpack them once again, don’t you? Each year I carefully pull things out of their tissue paper wrappings, discovering once again the joy of my old Santa cookie jar. I find him so cheery and cute! (And he will soon be filled up with freshly made pecan biscotti!):

…or a beloved polar bear candle holder…

As I bring my Christmas treasures out of their near year-long storage I reassess what is here, like paints on a palette, and ponder how I will use these lovelies this year, for their displays are never quite the same. Some take center stage, others are relegated to supportive roles, each having a special place in the slow, careful creation of Christmas.

Often the main table has a live plant as its centerpiece, but this year I wanted to use this simply pinecone tree and an abundance of candles. It feels right.

It is the kitchen table that holds a plant at its center–the paperwhites I planted not long ago and wrote about in my last post. I’m finding their emerging fragrance a lovely herald of the Christmas season, and perhaps due to the kitchen being open on two sides, there seems to be plenty of room for their scent to permeate other rooms, and thus not be as cloying as I might have anticipated, for which I’m grateful.

On the front door I hung a wreathe I made of what was at hand. I clipped branches from my burgeoning rosemary bushes, from a neighboring bay laurel (house is empty!), from my pyracantha and true myrtle in the garden and from limbs gathered from a large fir tree being pruned down the street. (The workers kindly used their chainsaws to cut branches for me when I asked if I might gather some for a wreathe!) I have to admit it’s a rather wild affair–so much so that I bought a second more conservative one at the local big box store, which I stored meanwhile in the dog’s washtub out back. Imagine my surprise when I went out this morning to retrieve and found it embedded under a thin sheet of ice! It will store nicely until I unearth the second wreathe hanger and it will take its place on a second exterior door. 🙂

I am more than certain each of you is engaged in a similar joyful practice of creating your own holiday in your homes for your loved ones. What are the things you treasure most that help define your holiday celebrations?

May you have a most blessed, peaceful and joyful Christmas. Thank you for visiting and being part of my garden blogging world.

Love and Christmas blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town!

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

Posted on December 19th, 2012 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Life | 2 Comments »

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)

When Antonia was a wee little girl and “making things from scratch” became a very high priority in my kitchen, San Francisco hippie woman that I was, I decided that November was Master Pie Crust month. And I made pie crusts over and over until I could make one half asleep in minutes. That little game I played with myself has served me for decades. And apparently this fall has been All About Pumpkins and I am learning as much as I can. And the most important discovery I have made, as someone who has wanted the perfect Pumpkin Soup Recipe for years, is that the secret is not the recipe. The secret is the kind of pumpkin. Who knew? And what I have learned through all these weeks of pumpkin and winter squash learning and sharing is that the very best pumpkin to use for pumpkin soup bears the unlikely name Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, an heirloom variety, which supposedly is/was commonly grown on Long Island. (Would love to hear the stories, if you know them!) As I don’t recall ever seeing a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin in any kind of store, ever, nor had I ever heard of one before this summer, I’m not too sure how likely it will be that you can find one, other than at your local farmer’s markets. You may have to grow one. I have poked around and I think you will have no trouble finding the heirloom seeds. I’m partial to all things Baker Creek Seed Company, so here’s their link. Plan early! And, boy, are you gonna be glad!

So, first I’m going to post a refresher course on how to easily make pumpkin puree, and then I’m going to show you how to make fabulous pumpkin soup in, oh, say, five minutes. Really.

First you grab an apple corer and poke two holes in the top of your pumpkin. Place in a large pot of water. Let the water come to a soft boil and cook until a fork is readily able to pierce your pumpkin. Then, flip it so the top is also cooked thoroughly. (This is the only tricky part of this process. You might ask someone to hold the pot in place while you turn over the pumpkin.) This won’t take long.

Once the pumpkin is cooked, pour off the water. Then simply cut it across twice. [Please excuse this slightly out of focus pic! I promise to replace next time I make this, which will be soon!] Let it cool.

Once the pumpkin is cool, peel off the skin, which you will discover is very intact and readily peels off. It’s not like what you are expecting. And recycle the seeds. This is what you will have. Look at this color!! I think this is Food at Its Best. It just screams I Am So Good For You! And it is utterly delicious.

Then put the flesh in batches into your food processer and puree. Look at this rich spun gold! I’m rather astounded this is the color of what emerges inside a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. But that’s what you get! #LOVE

Now. What I do is measure out the puree into portions of 2 cups and freeze what I’m not going to yet use. I feel fantastic knowing I have this on hand in my freezer for winter, for soups and pies and breads. I set aside two cups for my easy soup recipe.

I don’t know about you, but I am so busy that finding time to cook is a bit of an effort sometimes. I really like having certain things prepared and on hand at any given moment. On that list are fresh scones in the freezer, cold green tea, rice for the doggies, some form of salad all made up (e.g., cole slaw or grated dressed beets) and, hopefully, at this time of year, a yummy soup. So this fits the bill.

I poured some olive oil in a heavy pan, and sauteed half an onion and two cloves of garlic I had processed beforehand in the Cuisinart. I made a point of cooking the onion slowly and thoroughly. Then I added two cups of free range chicken broth. (I cheated because this is an Easy Recipe and “easy” in this case means chicken broth from the health food store.) I let that heat up a bit, and then poured in the two cups of pumpkin puree. Like this.

I added salt and white pepper to taste. And then I added a cup of cream. And I served this delicious, simple, nutritious soup with sour dough bread and a glass of green tea. What a fantastic cold weather luncheon! This soup would also make a wonderful starter course for Thanksgiving or Christmas that would not require much time! I think I’d add a dollop of sour cream or perhaps some chopped parsley or scallions for the holidays before serving, wouldn’t you?

And I will store the balance of the soup knowing There Is Soup in the frig, a comforting thought. You know? Yes, you do. 🙂

Love and kitchen blessings,
Kathryn xoxoxo

Book News: Western North Carolina Woman has just published an excerpt from Plant Whatever Brings You Joy here. If you visiting this blog from the beautiful NC mountains, you might appreciate knowing that Malaprop’s has copies of my book! Also, a wonderful review of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy has just been published on Examiner.com.
As you are planning Christmas giving, remember that you may order copies of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy directly from Estrella Catarina, and that shipping is free, as is giftwrapping!

Posted on November 5th, 2012 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 18 Comments »