Christmas is over. It was lovely, almost perfect. Our lives are so full and rich and blessed, to be honest.
The 26th is the day of almost nothing. In the morning my daughter joined me for our only expedition – once a year I go to Lush Cosmetics for their Boxing Day sale and stock up on gifts for the following year, when everything is 50% off. A stockpile of gifts is a help in keeping costs down. But after that, and then coming home for a breakfast of eggs and fruit with leftovers and the fresh bread my neighbor made us, it was a day where everyone could do whatever they wanted. And mostly that was a lot of nothing.
The detritus of the holiday is still present in the living room, which I head over to every now and again to tidy up. We got the kitchen cleaned up Christmas night, but the living room was too much after I had been on my feet 12 hours a day for several days to prepare – cooking, baking, and cleaning. And then the next day we did a little.
We rarely have nothing days. Of course, there’s still laundry and tidying to do, animals and children that need feeding, and the beginning of putting things away from the holiday, but we run on 1/4 speed or less all day, using plenty of leftovers and simple food to fuel us. It’s a ‘sit in bed and read cookbooks‘ day for me, after feeling like I had run several marathons in a single week.
I host Christmas every year for us, my ex, and his parents. We celebrate with my parents on Christmas Eve, and see others throughout the time before and after, but Christmas is here. Most years I make a turkey dinner or Beef Wellington, but this year we spun the meal around a favorite, Rosemary Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce, and everyone deemed it excellent. It’s pretty much foolproof too, and that’s something for someone like me, who hasn’t really mastered cooking steak.
With that went homemade Garden Foccacia, creamed onions, 4-cheese mashed potatoes, roasted green beans with toasted almond slivers, and a butter leaf lettuce salad with apples, dried cranberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
And for the 2nd time on the table in the last few years, the Cranberry Tart with Gingersnap Crust appeared – I really love this dessert. Our first feast was delightful.
The next day everyone ate leftovers early in the day and then needed a change, so I made tacos and guacamole, in the process using up the last of the Pico de Gallo in the fridge. I really wanted to use as much up as possible as we get ready for our pantry eat-down in January. Normally, I really don’t like running out of things, but it’s the best path to less food waste, so I’m working on that.
There are technically 5 feasts this week, because my parents are hosting another big family dinner and had already hosted Christmas Eve.
Feast #2 is a holiday brunch we’re hosting, with a waffle bar, bagels and cream cheese and lox, a make-your-own hot chocolate station and sausage, pizzelles, and my Mom is making quiche and coffee cake. Feast #3 is New Year’s Eve, our traditional combination of homemade and ordered Chinese food.
And then on January 1st, we’ll roll into our Uber Frugal Month and eating down the pantry and freezers. I can’t wait – feasts and celebrations are lovely, but so is the quiet of January, with a lot of home food and walks in the cold. We’re busier than usual this winter, but we’re making some space to be home and rest. And declutter – I’ve already got several bags of clothes ready for my cousin’s kids and more will come out of the house as the year wears on.
I wish you all peace and joy in the new year.
Little House on the Fairy Hill 