Holidaze

Weirdly, I’ve been getting a ton of searches for “how to make an advent wreath” the past few weeks.

I figured out I had said, very briefly, how I couldn’t find candles last year.  And somehow google is leading people here with that.

And really, it’s kinda late at this point, being the second Sunday  and all….

But this year, I DO have one.  So I figured I would show y’all.

Advent wreaths have 4 candles, and are lit the 4 Sundays before Christmas.  (So last week we lit one, this week we light two… you get the idea)

Purple candles are used for advent and lent in the Catholic church.  Purple = royalty, and Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  Pink is for Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday.

I searched forever for pink candles last year.  This year we went to Hobby Lobby (my hometown just got one, there are none in Portland) and not only did they have pink candles, they actually had packs of 3 purple and 1 pink in the Christmas section.  Scoreeee.

I got two little wreaths

And floral foam

And these candle holders

Pretty easy-peasy.  And I think it was all like maybe $8 or so?  Not much.

Because I contain multitudes I’ve also been celebrating Hanukkah.

One of my roommates the first two years I lived in Portland (she was also my maid of honor!) was Jewish.  In December she and I would decorate a blue and silver tree and enjoy the best of each other’s holidays.  Sadly, she moved away to Seattle, so there’s no excuse for me to be making latkes anymore.

But fried potatoes know no religion, so just like last year, I made them anyways.

Shredded potato + onion + eggs + salt + pepper

Food processor = easiest latke making EVER friends.

I pulled out some frozen applesauce from my freezer

(btw, I just have a side by side normal fridge/freezer combo for everyone who asked-I’ll have to take a picture of the inside sometime)

And celebrated the miracle of the oil

I leave you with my current Hanukkah obsession:

Do you have any traditions you have no right celebrating that you love?  As a kid I insisted on doing St Lucia’s Day despite not being the slightest bit Swedish.  I blame the American Girl books.

Ish

How was your St Patrick’s Day?  Mine involved some things that were Irish, like this

And things that were more Irish-ish, like this

The car bomb cupcakes!  I used this as a basis, only I did a boxed mix for the cake.  Sometimes, it’s ok to be lazy.  (boxed mix, you follow directions except sub in Guinness for the water… simple!)

Some of our meal was true Irish food, like this:

(That would be Calcannon, which is mashed potatoes and cabbage.  The fiance told me he’d eat cabbage if it was hidden in something, and it was true-he loved this!  I added a little bacon too.  No one can say no to bacon)

We had some sides that were more… ish.

Neither of us are the biggest soda bread fans, so I just did a rustic-ish loaf of yeast bread and called it good.

The whole meal:

Carrots and colcannon?  Irish.  corned beef?  Ish.

Dessert?

Car bomb CAKE.  There’s a layer of whiskey ganache in the middle.  Delicious.

And…

Possibly the best use of the magic bullet yet!

Please note-there was no green beer.  Because that sounds gross.

Although I guess my mama added food coloring to white wine.  That I might be able to get behind…

Makin’ it for a MAN

Every now and then, I like to be a good (future) wifey, and make the fiance a proper, honey-you’re-makin-it-for-a-MAN style dinner.  (I’m not the only one!)

Last night was one of those nights.

We had BBQ pulled pork

(On homemade buns!  This was my first time doing that, and I gotta say, they were pretty good)

Plus corn and oven fries

And beer

(The fiance’s is actually a microbrew from surreal america-we went to a second brewery, Ice Harbor, where I failed to take any pictures, over break, and he LOVED their red.  Said it was Portland quality beer-ie, not “well it’s better than bud at least”, but “i would spend money on this at the beer store back home”)

And, um, spinach salad with balsamic on the side?

That’s probably not so manly, huh?

Oh well.

When we went to the store to get potatoes last night we found a NUT BUTTER TASTING at the store.  Not kidding.  Yayyyy co-op grocery store!  I’d been explaining to the fiance how he would love sunflower seed butter, and then next to the checkout, there were 10 types of nut and seed butters to try-including sunflower!  So we had to get some

It’s taking most of my willpower not to eat it all while the fiance is at work.

Thankfully I also have this to distract me

A teapot!  From the Christmas clearance at Target.  Cause solid white teapots just SCREAM christmas, right?  And the fiance’s mug, cause it was in the cabinet.

What’s your favorite non-peanut butter?

So not breakfast food…

Last night was definite soup weather!  Rainy rainy day (and a backed up drainpipe from our rain gutters, resulting in a leak!  Yikes!)

I had butternut squash soup

And said “I need some vegetables” and cooked green beans on the side

I realized after sitting down that squash is, you know, a vegetable.

Have I ever told you how I have a masters degree?  Cause I do.  It shows.

(The fiance had chicken noodle soup from a can, and grilled cheese.  He politely tried a bite of mine.  Just one bite)

And I explained to the fiance how Baby Brother didn’t know what latkes were… and found out the fiance had no clue either!

So I made some more.  I’m not one to pass up fried potatoes.

The fiance insisted on ketchup for his.  He wouldn’t buy that applesauce was wonderful on them.  (me: “It’s like how you put applesauce on pork chops” him: “I’ve never heard of that either”)

Today the fiance is working from home.  Which means he’ll be super productive.

He wanted coffee, and we’re out (someone doesn’t understand that when you use the last of something, you should mention it, write it on a shopping list, something…. or else the magical chore faeries, who also do the laundry, pull the weeds, and sweep the floors won’t know to buy it).  His solution was Baker & Spice.

I had this

(Ricotta tartlet with candied cranberries on top.  Oh.  My.  Word.)

he had this

(chocolate croissant)

and this.

(maple twist-basically pastry with frosting)

Guess which one of us finished, and which one needed a box?

I’m going to rub it in later.  When I’m eating the rest of my breakfast cheesecake.

So not breakfast food.

We’re hoping to finish Christmas shopping today!

Are you done yet?

Not a pancake-pancake

Today, I was craving latkes.

I tried to explain this to Baby Brother.  First, he told me I wasn’t Jewish (I’m Catholic.  Our traditional food is booze.  Which people tend to frown on as a lunch choice).  Then this ensued

Yeah, to Baby Brother latkes = fries with syrup on top.  He googled it cause he didn’t believe me that it was different.

I pressed on, without his help.

Grated potatoes were wrapped up with a towel to drain out excess water

I enjoy irony.  Look at my bowl colors

Red and green!  Awesome.

My roommate last year (and the year before) is Jewish… We had a blue and silver holiday tree in our house.  She’d enjoy my Christmas latke making.

Served up with apple sauce, sour cream, and some salad

(The goop on the salad is dressing made out of balsamic, apple sauce, and agave)

So for Baby Brother, that’s what a latke is.  Not fries with syrup.

Happy Hanukkah!

Have you ever had latkes?  It’d be awesome if everyone said yes so that baby brother feels extra silly 🙂