December 23rd

For December up to 23rd:

Merry Christmas! At least the house smells and looks of A Merry Christmas!
I know I'm writing about food and cooking all the time but then that's really what this blog was about to start with--my efforts at learning to use less and cook from scratch.

Apple spice candles, fresh made bread, and pumpkin pie and also a sweet potato pie are what this house has smelled of in the past two weeks! Pumpkin pie is in today for Christmas Day dinner. Apple spice comes from the candle and from tea bags named Apple Spice.

The fresh made break loaf is almost gone—recipe from Joy of Cooking and totally from scratch. It came out well and is quite good for sandwich bread. Sweet potato pie was made with pie shell, but it had Sprouts’ Market organic sweet potato puree in it. That was pretty good but I don’t think it’s as good as pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. The cream is in the fridge waiting to be whipped for Christmas.

Picked up more tomato cans at grocery store yesterday. I wasn’t going to go to the store again before New Years’ but I decided I needed some milk and a pie shell or two. I twisted my right knee and need to stay off of it at certain amount of every day so I got some extra things for Christmas.

L. can’t come for dinner; but S. can. She’s bringing salad and cranberry relish of some kind. Dinner is baked chicken and rice with vegetables and pie for dessert. S. might also bring some rolls. I’ll have to thaw some butter for that.

Managed stores: went through my flours and corn meal etc. I don’t’ need any flour for a while until I use up some of the whole wheat. I need to keep using up corn meal of the current opened batch. Made list of things to get when paid for January.

Got a pound or so of green beans and I’m going to try the dehydrator on some of them after Christmas Day.

Other worldwide news is as bad as it’s been for the past 4 months or so.

Officially we’ve had a recession since December 2007 and have probably another 6-12 months to go. No relief of the situation coming nine 2009 as it will get worse before better. Some commentators have remarked we have no bread or soup lines but have they been to a food pantry lately!! Aren’t thus our equivalents of bread and soup lines?? (The answer is YES)
I think that, at least since the past 6 months, we just have too much to be very afraid of to have any more capacity to take in something else we should be very afraid of! (Sigh*) and the idea that’s it–the climate change–is actually made by our own actions of what we think is the good life is another layer of guilt/fear/blame.It’s like if we–human beings are so dumb, greedy/evil what are we here for?

The last 4 months have really intensified fears that I already knew about before our financial crisis and it’s kind of overwhelming some days.

I'll end on a small conforting note: we're up an inch on our rainfall this year and more is coming this week. it's been wet and cold and sunny and cold and great weather for fireplaces. I picked up two bags of firewood--enohght for 2-3 fires each bag--and we'll have a fire on Christmas day.
Fireplace is still working okay. I could not heat the house with it, not even the living room either, but it's warming to the sould and spirit and mind.

cheers,
Shamba