Christmas « Help me, Obi-Mom Kenobi! You're my only hope.

The three habits that lead to success are: Patience, Application, and Vision.

Take care: The person who will tell others' faults to you - will tell yours to others.

It is always better to be underestimated.

There are three things that are better than riches: Health, Freedom, and Honor.

Think swiftly, speak softly, act wisely.

"The world is neither Scottish, English, nor Irish, neither French, Dutch, nor Chinese, but human, and each nation is only the partial development of a universal humanity." - James Grant on founding the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, 1862

All from: The Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Bib: “Die Wanna Wanga!”
3-PO: ”Oh, my! Die Wanna Wauaga. We, we bring a message to your master, Jabba the Hutt.”
Artoo lets out a series of quick beeps.
3-PO: ”… and a gift. (to Artoo) Gift, what gift?”

Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi

I just read about the new book, The Cult of LEGO, on Evil Mad Scientist. This has my brother’s and my oldest nephew’s names written all over it.

The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.

Anakin Skywalker: [via hologram] The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.
The Emperor: It is finished then. You have restored peace and justice to the galaxy.
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

I don’t want to burst Anakin’s bubble, but a few Separatists survived. Here’s how we’ve celebrated the mid-winter holiday (also known as Winter Solstice, Christmas, Yule, *insert your term of choice here*) the past few days — but mostly yesterday and today. Since our Festivus pole was out for repair and our grievances had already been aired, we went the traditional route of lighting lots of candles, listening to beautiful music, gorging on way too much sugar, watching favorite films, opening presents, and relaxing with each other.

You?

Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones

Banket.
Lovely, glorious Banket.
Almond paste-based filling in a flaky pastry shell.
Divine.

A compact, triangular area in central West Michigan (in case you aren’t aware) was a hotbed of Dutch immigration from the late 1800s through the post-WWII era. You’d be hard-pressed in these parts to go a day without finding a town, a couple of roads and more than a few companies with Dutch monikers. Moving in, people joke about having to add Van, Vander or De to their last name to find a job. And while it’s not really THAT bad, it is obvious that an historically Dutch lineage prevails in this region, from their hard-core religious fundamentalism (most moved here as religious dissidents, the Netherlands becoming much too liberal for their tastes) to a decided tendency toward being… um… well… ok, there’s not nice way to say it… hard-core cheap. On their behalf, however, I must admit that the decidedly day-to-day cheapness often translates into being remarkably generous to the charities and non-profit organizations of their choice.

A few of the Dutch culinary specialties are still in full-force in these parts (for better or worse), from the unfortunate Hutspot (or the kale version - Stamppot – if you want extra nasty) to the borrowed Nasi Goreng (colonial-era Indonesian) to the utterly divine Christmas delicacy, Banket. While I’m sure you could eat this year-round, I mean there’s not a LAW against it or anything, it’s really a Christmas only treat in my husband’s family’s book. The start of the Christmas season equals Banket, and Banket equals the start of the Christmas season.

This is my mother-in-law’s Banket recipe, which she got from her mother-in-law, who was born in The Netherlands. So there.

Banket
(makes 8 sticks)

Dough:
1 pound butter (yes, 1 pound of real, honest-to-goodness unsalted butter)
4 cups white flour (no, this is not the time to try to sneak any whole grain flour into your life)
1 cup milk (2% is ok if you can’t bring yourself to use whole, but use whole – trust me)
Blend all together. Form into ball. Wrap well in waxed paper. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Filling:
1 pound almond paste (usually found in tub or brick form in the refrigerated section)
3 eggs (no, Egg-Beaters won’t work – why are trying to ruin the Banket???)
2 cups sugar (yes, good old fashioned white sugar that will kill us all in the end)
Blend all together. Wrap up in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Assembly

Have on hand:
1-2 egg whites, beaten
white sugar (yes, more sugar, get over it already)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Divide the dough and filling into 8 parts.
Roll out dough into very thin rectangle (approximately 6 x12). Store extra dough & filling in freezer, until needed.
Spread filling, in a long tube, across the center of the rectangle.
Fold one long edge of the rectangle over the filling.
Fold both short ends of the rectangle towards the center.
Using both hands (to keep first piece of the long rectangle folded over the filling), tightly roll the covered filling until it is completely covered by the remaining side of the dough rectangle. (Yes, it makes sense when you do it.)
Set on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, with the dough edge underneath the Banket stick.
Repeat above for 2nd Banket stick, leaving 3 inches between each stick.
With a pastry brush, lightly coat the top of the Banket sticks with egg whites.
Sprinkle sticks with sugar.
Grab a fork and poke a few holes in the sticks to release some air while baking.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown all over. Do not over cook.
Let cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting into 2-3 in pieces.

Notes:

Banket sticks can be frozen, unbaked, for up to 6 months if tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Do not allow sticks to be smooshed, bent or twisted in the freezer, as the dough will crack into pieces and the filling will maintain a semi-gooey consistency. Thaw approx 10 minutes before baking.
Cupcake tins are really useful for keeping the individual dough and filling parts separated in the freezer, during assembly.

We could keep it a secret.

Anakin: ”It doesn’t have to be that way. We could keep it a secret.”
Padme: ”We’d be living a lie. One we couldn’t keep, even if we wanted to.”
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones

Keeping gifts a secret, come Christmas time, is so hard for me – the main gift buyer. It just makes me want to dance around screaming, “I’ve got the coolest stuff in the closet right now. Do you want to see? Do you want to see?”

Luckily, I got to give my guys (and myself) part of our Christmas presents early this year. A couple of years ago, we all bought cheap little mp3 players for next to nothing at an after-Christmas sale and they’ve served us well – until this fall – when all three started to die off on us. Padawan Learner couldn’t get sound from the headphones on both sides anymore. Dad Windu’s kept depleting the battery halfway through his run, despite putting in a freshly charged one before heading out. And mine? Well, let’s just say that it and I were often in disagreement about which songs I had downloaded onto it.

Because of this, Dad Windu has been Jones-ing for an iPod Nano (after playing with our Sunday Morning Doughnut Buddy’s) for a couple of months and, since he rarely asks for anything, I was determined to get him one this year. I looked over the models available, and picked the 3rd generation with video with 8G of memory instead of the newest version because of some complaints I’d read about by other runners regarding the “shake to shuffle” feature when used for running.

Padawan Learner and I began to plot about how to get one without DW knowing about it. We concocted a master scheme to convince DW that we were getting a new tent and camping equipment. I filled up my cart on Amazon with camping equipment so it kept showing camping stuff across the “Recommended for you” header on the main page. I “hid” camping equipment catalogs in the house with dog-eared pages. Friends made comments about “Hey, I have a coupon for free shipping for ‘that stuff from that place.’ Let me know if you want to use it.” I even got a big @ss box to wrap up under the tree. I am soooo good.

Too good, apparently, because I completely snowed him into thinking he was getting a tent and he called to tell me that he found a really good price on the Nano. A round-robin of me saying, “Don’t buy it,” and him saying, “Why? It’s $10 cheaper here than anywhere else,” began. Finally, I had to give and snarled said, “Christmas, you idiot!” He quietly said, “Oh. OK.”

The nice thing is that along the way PW and I also began Jones-ing for an iPod Nano, so I ordered one for him and one me for Christmas too. I pooled my pennies, snagged some coin from a few other places, and basically scrimped and saved to be able to give us a ‘Holly, Jolly, Apple-based Christmas’. I filled them up and gave them out on the morning of the bus trip so that my reading-in-the-car-makes-me-want-to-hurl men would have something to do on the 3 hour one-way (that became 4.5 hours one-way) bus trip last weekend.

But fear not, I did get a few other little things to hand out on Christmas morning, too, and they’re in the closet right now. Do you want to see? Do you want to see?

We haven’t much time.

“We haven’t much time.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

Christmas has been called ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ but it seems to have morphed into ‘The Most Busy Time of the Year’.* Over the past weekend, I heard versions of my buddy Obi-Wan’s “We haven’t much time” quote in circulation:

There just isn’t enough time to shop for everyone!
The kids are too busy to help decorate the tree, so wifey and I are doing it in stages this week.
Sorry, we don’t have any time to get together until January.
Oh, rushing here, rushing there. You?
I ordered our Christmas dinner today, there’s just no time to cook anymore.

It would normally make me a little bit sad that the holidays have become such a whirlwind for so many people, but all of the people I heard saying these things seemed happy and content so I’m not in any mood to judge. Deep down, maybe I’m just really that boring for having so much down-time in my life, but I’m happy and content too. Therefore, I was glad to see that Ami. Mental. was able to grab a few minutes to complete and then pass along a fun Christmas meme.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Brown shipping paper with real bows. The benefits to this system: The presents look marvelous under the tree; if needed, no one can tell which is his or hers if I ‘bow’ by color or pattern; the paper is recyclable; and I can reuse the ribbons. (I write the name of the person under the ribbon, if I’m wrapping secretly – just in case). Generally, I get a small ornament or present topper to stand in for name tags. (Best answer)

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real. Here in the Great, Frozen Midwest, we have perfect Christmas tree growing conditions – especially in areas that aren’t useful for growing anything else. The Christmas tree farms are generally multi-generational operations, handed down to the present owners from their great-grandparents. The trees clean the air, keep the ground from eroding, save the land from being sold for yet another sub-division, and make for a wonderful, annual tradition for our little family. I wouldn’t want to give that up. We also have wood floors, which makes clean up a breeze, and a cast iron tree stand from L.L. Bean that works like a charm.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Because it’s a real tree, we usually wait until one or two weeks before Christmas. A few ‘It’s time’ indicators are: there’s some good snow on the ground, it’s cold so we’re not walking through slush, and we have the weekend free to take our time on the tree.

4. There is no question #4.
There is no spoon.**

5. Do you like eggnog?
Gag. No. (Best answer)

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A pair of heavy-weight stirrups for my English saddle. I’d wanted them for so long, but just couldn’t spring for the ridiculously expensive price tag of $14.99. Yes, I still do remember the price for them. I burst into tears when I opened the package that Christmas. (Best answer)

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Dad Windu. He asks for nothing, wants very little and deserves so much.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Padawan Learner. I keep my ears open during the year when he talks about games that he’s enjoyed playing at friends’ houses and keep my eyes open to things that are wearing out, wearing down or that catch his fancy. Kids are easy.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Nope. I never did, even as a child.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
When I send them, it’s always through the mail and personalized. I love mail, written letters and anything that takes someone more than 30 seconds to do.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Fuzzy, pink, acrylic-yarn sweater with a kitty opening a present on the front from my grandma – just a few years ago. Oh my eyes! It burns, it burns! (Best answer)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A tie between A Charlie Brown Christmas (for nostalgia) and A Christmas Story (for enjoyment).

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
When I see something that I think someone will really love. (Best answer)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, but I have given them away with the acknowledgement that it was a gift that I didn’t want or need and I thought they might.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
A single piece of Banket.

16. What decorations are on your tree?
A mish-mash of gift ornaments, things that we’ve gotten on our vacations, beautiful pieces that we’ve found, German blown glass ornaments that my great-grandmother got in Germany when she was stationed there after WWII, and the ones that Padawan Learner made for me when he was little.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I’ll be home for Christmas by Bing Crosby.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?
Stay at home. My mom had a single, simple rule about the holidays when her kids were growing up: Kids should be at home on Christmas. She stuck to her guns when she had kids and I’m sticking to it now that I do.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Of course.

20. Angel on top of tree or star?
Used to be an angel, but we never really liked it. After we went heathen, it gave us the excuse to leave it off without familial comment. At this point, the top of the tree has no designated topper. Last year I tied a big bow onto it.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas morning. Dad Windu’s family usually gets together on Christmas Eve, so I guess you could say we do both, but I insisted on Christmas morning for our family gifts.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
When people complain about not getting something they wanted, not getting enough, or flaunting their gifts as some kind of victory. Oh, and giving gift cards out of a sense of obligation. If you can’t think of anything else, maybe you shouldn’t buy anything. A gift shouldn’t be confused with a right.

23 What theme or color are you using when you decorate?
No theme, no special color. Red, green, gold and silver predominate, but that’s to be expected. I’m a bit of a minimalist and prefer all white tree lights, but Dad Windu likes multi-colored lights so use those on the tree. (Best answer)

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Our luncheon always includes Dad Windu’s homemade cinnamon rolls and an egg and sausage casserole when my family comes over.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
To have Dad Windu and Padawan Learner love their gifts this year and throughout the days to come. And world peace.*** (Best answer)

*Sorry, for the painful grammar up there. I wanted to keep the ‘shell’ of the quote intact. (VanderKitten)
**Quote from The Matrix, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie. (Nin)
***Quote from Miss Congeniality.

Since this is a busy time of year for many, I’m hesitant to tag anyone. So…. if YOU are reading this, I invite YOU to complete the meme and leave a note in the comments section letting me know YOU have taken me up on the offer. I would love to see how YOU have answered.

Living in my living room

I know something you don’t know. I know something you don’t know. I know exactly how many cars turn both left and right off a southbound exit ramp and turn left onto a southbound entrance ramp at a certain road on a US highway, between noon and 12:30 p.m. on a typical Saturday. How is that? Because The Boy and I went counting cars this weekend with The Dad. Oh, yes, it’s true. Our lives are completely crazy. As it turns out, a fair number do but the exit ramp does not backup excessively, even though the wait can be a couple of minutes sometimes. It’s really a perfect place for a roundabout…

After that adventure, we headed off to find a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree. The one Christmas tree to rule them all. Ok, maybe not to rule them all, but definitely the best one to dominate a corner of our living room for the next several weeks. I think we succeeded. In our quest to incorporate the brightly lit evergreen into the dark, and only getting darker winter season:

The Boy tested out the all-important huggableness factor (huggability?) of different trees.

We agreed to take this little number home. Thanks to the anonymous stranger that took our picture.

The Dad gave The Boy some tips and held the tree as The Boy worked the handsaw.

After setting up our new friend, and having a little discussion about how friends don’t let friends run out of water or drop needles all over the floor, we gave the tree some time to settle in and shed any extra ice or snow still clinging to its branches before moving in for the decorating session.

Ah, yes, the decorating session. I plugged in all the strands to make sure they were operational. We were go for lighting. The Dad hung the first set of lights. We plugged them in to see how they looked. And then there was… no light. He took them down and we tried various methods of reviving the strand: check for loose bulbs; check for missing bulbs; check the outlet; shake strand vigorously; swear under breath. Nothing. Hmm, how odd. Hmm, soldier on.

I checked the second stand and we were once again operational. The Dad hung the second set of lights. We plugged them in to see how they looked. Again, no light. This time, however, we did find a bulb that had fallen out while they were going up onto the tree. Eureka! Back up they went and this time they worked perfectly. Ok, we were on our way with the lights – right up until the point where we ran out with still a full third of the tree to go. Conveniently, we live within walking distance of a store that sells tree lights. After finishing the lighting, we dug out our tree garland, ornaments and tree skirt and went the distance. With all three of us hanging things, it took no time at all.
When all was said and done, we turned out the rest of the lights, turned on some Christmas music and relaxed in the glow of our happy little Christmas tree.

Let the baking begin!

Help me, Obi-Mom Kenobi! You're my only hope.

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The Archives

Things Worth Remembering

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The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.

Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?

We could keep it a secret.

We haven’t much time.

Living in my living room

The Out Campaign

Jedi Worthy Events

Help me, Obi-Mom Kenobi! You're my only hope.

Categories

The Archives

Things Worth Remembering

Auto Draft

The Separatists have been taken care of, my master.

Why do I get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?

We could keep it a secret.

We haven’t much time.

Living in my living room

The Out Campaign

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Jedi Worthy Events