Christmas # 1

This past Saturday we celebrated Christmas #1. John & Tash (Graham's brother and wife) are headed to Germany for Christmas with Tash's family which called for an early celebration with the Crozier Clan. Scotty just arrived back from 118 days in South Africa to join the party--it was so great to have him back! Of course he came bearing many African gifts, a couple of which are pictured below. All the boys got these very colorful tops which made for a great photo.

Isn't the picture below just the cutest ornament ever? Apparently it is the favorite and most-prized ornament to all of the boys. Poor Ingy hates it and tries to hide it every year and keep it from getting on the tree but somehow it always ends up front and center. I don't think the boys will ever stop teasing their mother....For instance, it is also tradition for the boys to mess around with the nativity scene. Mary is frequently caught making out with one of the shepherds (I am told that Graham usually pulls this fast one) and so on and so forth.

Anyway, back to Christmas, I got some wooden giraffe salad tongs which I LOVE and 2 fun necklaces, one made out of African seeds which I have been parading around ever since. You can kind of see the seed necklace in this picture:

We had cheese fondue for dinner follow by chocolate fondue after the gifts were opened. Apples to Apples was debuted for the first time in the Crozier family and I must say they are the perfect group for this game--I don't think I ever stopped laughing!

Graham and I ended up getting "snowed in" that night (okay so maybe we really like the Crozier's guest bed and sorta packed extra undies and toiletries in hopes that it would snow and give us an excuse to stay over...) Anyway, it made the drive to church the next morning take 10 minutes rather than 40.

We had a wonderful weekend with family and I'm thankful for all the ways they make me laugh.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

So this past Saturday night, Graham and I decided to see a late movie after he got off work. I was super excited because Four Christmas' is out and I really was looking forward to a cheery, light-hearted Christmas movie (I always try to see one each year). Anyway, apparently Graham and I did not agree on what makes a "heart-warming" movie because he wanted to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas because he had said it was really, well, heart-warming. Holy cow I don't know WHAT he was listening to but it is more like heart-WRENCHING! Has anyone else seen it? Holy moley it was well done but wow! I have never felt that heavy after walking out of a movie. It probably didn't help the fact that I was already crying over other things in the theater before the movie even began....but still, what a tear jerker!

I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it and plans to (though it may not seem like it from my commentary, it really was very thought-provoking and I would recommend you all see it--just not when you're in the mood for a cheerful Christmas comedy), but in summary, it is a story about the Holocaust through the eyes of two 8 year old boys, one who is the son of a German soldier and one who is a Jew. I have always realized that the Holocaust was a terrible tragedy but never quite pondered the immense consequences that came as a result. And quite frankly, it baffles me how nearly an entire country's population could be brain-washed with such false and horrid assumptions about a select group of people.

Graham and I came away wondering how history teachers in Germany now present the past events of the Holocaust to their students--is it presented as a grave error? I'm not quite sure how else it would be presented but I sure I wish I had a German history textbook handy...

Happy St Nicholas Day!!!

Did St Nicholas put anything in your shoe last night?


It is hard to believe, but some of you may not know that today, December 6th is a very special holiday. St Nicholas was a 4th century bishop who was renowned for his kindness and generousity. He would visit homes and night, leaving toys, treats and candies in the shoes of good little boys and girls. I highly doubt he had a big belly, long white beard and a red suit, but who am I to say??

Growing up, we always set our shoes out on the night in December 5th, in hopes of having them filled by morning. Each year St Nicholas left us a mandarin orange, a candy cane, chocolates and very special ornament. I love this tradition and all the memorable ornaments that I have in my possession as a result. Graham and I continue to celebrate this tradition with just the two of us but I hope it is one that we can pass on to little Croziers in the future. In the meantime, I'm wondering why the rest of you did not find your shoes filled with treats....hmmmm?

Here's a glimpse of today's additions to the tree.....

I don't think there was any way dear old St Nick could pass this one up--in case you're wondering, it was in Graham's shoe. He can't wait to show his mother! :o)

This was also in Graham's shoe--a beach turtle

A red hot chili pepper--are we sensing a theme here? Looks like St. Nick had Mexico in mind when he selected these ornaments. Maybe that's because we leave 20 days from today!! (This cute one was in my shoe--a perfect addition to my foodie ornaments).

French Onion Soup Story

Me: "I'm planning the menu for the week. Do you like French Onion Soup?"

Graham: "No."

(Long pause.....me thinking "I've never made it for him before, I wonder....")

Me: "Have you ever had French Onion Soup?"

Graham: "Nope."

Me: "Oh, I see. Well it is actually really good. It has a rich beef broth filled with onions that are sauteed until sweet and caramelized. You top it with a thick slice of french bread and a layer of melted gruyere cheese--yummy!"

Graham: "Okay, that sounds good."

This little conversation we had makes me giggle and I had to share it. To his credit, the title French Onion Soup does not sound very appetizing or thrilling.

Tonight we shall dine on soup!

Thankful

I have been spending time today pondering what I am most thankful for this year. We have had a whirlwind of a week and so was disappointed that Graham and I haven't had an opportunity yet to discuss our many blessings yet together (I'm sure we will tonight in our car ride to Bellingham).

One thing that is really on my heart is the blessing of caring friends and mentors who have really helped walk us through these first 20 months of marriage. We have had one couple from church in particular who have taken us under their wings, encouraging and supporting us, letting us cry and be honest with them through the challenges of being newlyweds, inviting us into their home to be loved and cared for--they are amazing! I just got back from coffee with the wife and my heart is so touched that she took time away from her two kids and husband on a busy holiday eve to hear was is going on with me and let me just be me. I am so very thankful that I have people in my life like this!

Cooking Tales

Over the past 2 weeks, I had a total of 7 people request frozen meals. My goal was to get the orders cooked and delivered by Thanksgiving so that I could rest and relax and enjoy my LONG weekend off! This means that I cooked a total of 35 frozen meals in two weeks time but I actually only cooked on three separate occasions. Whew! So far I am hearing good reviews from my coworker "customers" and more and more people are getting excited about my little business venture. Actually, some of them are probably more excited than I am! Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have a small number of friends and coworker "clients" but really don't have a desire to launch into a full blown commercial-kitchen business at this moment in time...but I'll keep you posted! I was very much looking forward to having a little extra cash to spend on Christmas gifts this year but that idea was put quickly to rest yesterday (more on that later!)

In addition to my freezer entrees, I've also been doing some cooking for Graham and I and a few of our friends. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites since I haven't done so recently. The big hit for us this week was a Creamy Indian-Spiced Halibut Curry--oh my! It is so incredibly tasty and also super spicy for spice lovers (you can cut back on the cayenne pepper if you don't). I made it with half and half instead of cream and low fat yogurt instead of whole. It still turned out great.

Tonight I was in the mood for a comfort meal so we had:

Gnocchi Gratin


Yield 6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

Ingredients
1 (22-ounce) package gnocchi
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cook gnocchi according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, salt, and pepper to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and broth, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add Gruyère, chives, and bacon; stir until smooth. Add gnocchi; toss well.
Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately.


It is a Cooking Light recipe that was especially creamy-real treat in our house! Graham's comment was that it tasted like a really yummy, glorified mac n' cheese. Try it!

Right now I have a pot of Cranberry Cherry and Walnut Chutney bubbling on the stove for our Thanksgiving dinner at my parents. We're leaving tomorrow night after work and I get to stay through Friday (Graham has to work Friday) so I'm super excited.

So going back to the extra cooking cash I've earned....why exactly can't I spend it on Christmas gifts? Well, let me tell you using a couple of illustrations:

So yeah, Graham got in a little fight with a short yellow post in the Overlake parking garage--it appears that the post won. Poor guy! He was so upset and he made it sound so bad over the phone that I was quite excited to find the damage as limited as it is. I just smiled and said "Now the Jetta has a bright yellow racing stripe!" :o) Unfortunately, we've taken it in to 2 places for quotes. One said it would cost us $1400 for the repair and the other $2000. Whew, that's a lot of cash for such a seemingly minor scrape!! Anyway I am very THANKFUL that Graham is okay and now I'll be looking for some more cooking clients to help us pay the bill--any takers? ;o)

This always makes me happy

One of my all-time favorite things to do since moving to the eastside is walk in downtown Kirkland. Without fail, it always makes me cheerful to go down to the waterfront parks and walk and people watch. Because it was so sunny yesterday, I insisted we head down to Kirkland for a stroll. I also had the bright idea of bringing along some old bread in hopes of finding ducks to feed. Thankfully, our Kirkland duck family was still here and had not yet headed south (we had the pleasure of watching a couple of duck families grow up over the course of the summer). We made it just in time for sunset. Here are a few fun shots.

Walking through the gorgeous homes in the "West of Market" neighborhood

What a beautiful view!

Doesn't he look super cute? He had quite a gathering of duck fans.

I took my turn feeding and got 2 ducks to eat from my hand!

The two of them kept "pecking" each other (especially the greedy male who wasn't into sharing)