Happy New Year! . . . but it's still Christmas . . .

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a-milking . . .

Here's a Raisin Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce - a sweet treat to end the year!

Ahh! . . . The swans . . .

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . .

. . . sevens swans a-swimming!

The birds are back!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying . . .

And here is another little bird from our tree . . . but this one didn't make it to the song . . .

Five golden rings

On the fifth day of Christmas 2002 . . .

  . . . my true love gave to me . . .

Five golden rings!

Three French Hens . . . and Four Calling Birds

On the third day of Christmas 2001, my true love tried to speed up the song, so that year I got many more feathers . . .

Three French Hens . . .


And Four Calling Birds . . .

My true love decided to pace himself after that. I mean, you can only stuff so many pillows with all those feathers . . .

Turtle doves . . . but no Y2K bug . . .

On the second day of Christmas 2000, while it seemed the whole world was stocking up on supplies in preparation for the new millennium, I was admiring the two turtle doves my true love gave to me . . .


This year, on the second day of Christmas we've had LOTS of snow . . . Au revoir, sweet herb pots! See you next spring!

And on this second day of Christmas we made our Cuban Christmas dinner. We have two menus that we rotate on Christmas Eve: The Beef Filet dinner and the Cuban Pork Roast dinner. This year, by majority vote, the Filet won, but there were some disappointed diners, including my son, David. The debate went on all the way to the cash register at the grocery store, so we also bought the fixings for the Cuban menu. Today, we had our second Christmas dinner. David and Lee alternated shoveling snow throughout the day, while visions of black bean soup danced in their heads. John was so disappointed to miss the fun - he had to go to work!

Here is the menu: Roast loin of pork, black bean soup, on a bed of fluffy white rice and yuca con mojo (more on this later). There is a lot of garlic in this menu, no vampires are going to be sneaking up on us tonight, that's for sure! The roast is prepared by inserting garlic slivers in slits cut all over the roast, then the pork is roasted in a citrus marinade.
The black bean soup also calls for several cloves of garlic. At the table, Cubans like to drizzle a little more olive oil and wine vinegar over the beans. Lately I've been using balsamic vinegar, which adds a little more depth. Then, this year, my friend, Sandy, gave me a bottle of Fig Balsamic Vinegar for Christmas, and . . . well, let's just say that it's taken this recipe to a whole new level. I'll never go back!

Yuca is the root of the cassava or yucca plant and has a texture similar to the potato. It's served boiled and drizzled with mojo, a dressing made from garlic, sautéed in extra virgin olive oil and made to sizzle with the addition of fresh lime juice. The dressing is poured over the yuca and turns this simple tuber into something sublime.

And then, for dessert . . . (what else?) . . . Flan!

And how was your second day of Christmas?

The Twelve Days of Christmas . . . begun.

On the first day of Christmas (1999) my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree . . . or at least it was hand-painted on a Limoges porcelain snuff box . . .


Here are some Christmas day pictures . . . Christmas pajamas . . .

Drinking morning coffee by a toasty fire . . .

David's new exercise ball . . . John's dirty socks . . . Ah . . . the children are home . . .

Goblets drying and a brand new, flamboyantly red teapot, a Christmas present from John and David, has found its home on the stove top.

It's been a lovely but quiet Christmas. We've been given time to truly enjoy each other, to nap by the fire, and, at least for me, to pray. I've prayed for our loved ones, spread out all over the United States, may they be healthy and safe, and have found joy in their celebrations today. I've prayed for our soldiers, so very far from home, that they be safe and able to return to their families soon. I've said so many prayers . . . but Lord, if you hear only one, then grant us peace . . . peace . . .