Metatalktail Hour: It's the Sappiest Day of the Year December 17, 2022 4:15 AM Subscribe
Welcome to your weekend, fam! And the big holiday is finally upon us, no more waffling about it; whether you find it a sweet time, or it's a bit more sticky than that, there's no turning back the tap of time ...
It's National Maple Syrup Day in North America, so tell us how you are celebrating! 🥞
Or if you prefer, tell us about your Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or other holiday plans, or just how you're spending your weekend, or what else is up with you! (Just, no politics, please; no need to get viscous!)
It's National Maple Syrup Day in North America, so tell us how you are celebrating! 🥞
Or if you prefer, tell us about your Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or other holiday plans, or just how you're spending your weekend, or what else is up with you! (Just, no politics, please; no need to get viscous!)
I love it when I get halfway through a post and I know whose name will be at the bottom. Nothing says Wordshore like weird food problems in rural England.
We could have used a biohazard suit this week -- we found out yesterday afternoon that Little e had a COVID exposure, so after consulting with my elderly, higher-risk mother we decided to cancel the flight we'd scheduled for today to go see her. Some absurd percentage of Little e's school was out this week, though not mostly with COVID. We've not had anything worse than a sniffle in almost three years, and I think that's worth the stares that our masks earn us at this point. We'll probably escape doom this time too, honestly, because of those masks, but you can't really avoid eating at school and so you just never know. The prospect of three of us stuck in isolation for a couple weeks in my one-bedroom crash pad in State College was just deeply unappealing.
Despite the disruption and feeling sad for my mom, an extra free weekend before Christmas is basically the opposite of bad. Like when a snow day delays an exam (which also happened in our house this week). We'll... deliver cookies? wrap presents? devote some time to *not* panicking?
posted by eirias at 5:08 AM on December 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
We could have used a biohazard suit this week -- we found out yesterday afternoon that Little e had a COVID exposure, so after consulting with my elderly, higher-risk mother we decided to cancel the flight we'd scheduled for today to go see her. Some absurd percentage of Little e's school was out this week, though not mostly with COVID. We've not had anything worse than a sniffle in almost three years, and I think that's worth the stares that our masks earn us at this point. We'll probably escape doom this time too, honestly, because of those masks, but you can't really avoid eating at school and so you just never know. The prospect of three of us stuck in isolation for a couple weeks in my one-bedroom crash pad in State College was just deeply unappealing.
Despite the disruption and feeling sad for my mom, an extra free weekend before Christmas is basically the opposite of bad. Like when a snow day delays an exam (which also happened in our house this week). We'll... deliver cookies? wrap presents? devote some time to *not* panicking?
posted by eirias at 5:08 AM on December 17, 2022 [11 favorites]
The extended family/relatives we've had staying with us for the last 4 months have FINALLY LEFT. And good lord, if I never see my dumbass cousin-in-law again, I can die a happy man. Our house feels like our house again.
My wife and I have also convinced BOTH her side and my side to give up xmas/holiday/christmas gift-giving. It was just becoming TOO much and we're just doing some good food, drink, & company. And I've never felt such relief at giving up gifts. The little kids might get a small book or two but so over having to worry about: is this the right gift, am i giving enough, will i be judged, blah blah blah etc. Fuck all that. It's nice to just say, come on over, have some nog and lets watch die hard.
Also, playing a ton of Fallout 4. Did you know that FO4 has programmed the NPC, Codworsth (insane robot butler) to verbalize your character's name, assuming its on this list of these pre-determined names. While that sucks for anyone who doesn't have one of these names, you can still choose "Fuckface" and then your little robot butler friend will always greet you as, "Mr. Fuckface" and it is the funniest shit on this planet. I highly urge you to consider starting a run and choosing a name like this. :-D
posted by Fizz at 6:35 AM on December 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
My wife and I have also convinced BOTH her side and my side to give up xmas/holiday/christmas gift-giving. It was just becoming TOO much and we're just doing some good food, drink, & company. And I've never felt such relief at giving up gifts. The little kids might get a small book or two but so over having to worry about: is this the right gift, am i giving enough, will i be judged, blah blah blah etc. Fuck all that. It's nice to just say, come on over, have some nog and lets watch die hard.
Also, playing a ton of Fallout 4. Did you know that FO4 has programmed the NPC, Codworsth (insane robot butler) to verbalize your character's name, assuming its on this list of these pre-determined names. While that sucks for anyone who doesn't have one of these names, you can still choose "Fuckface" and then your little robot butler friend will always greet you as, "Mr. Fuckface" and it is the funniest shit on this planet. I highly urge you to consider starting a run and choosing a name like this. :-D
posted by Fizz at 6:35 AM on December 17, 2022 [8 favorites]
After a few days of snow the temps here are about to plummet. I need to put the plastic window insulation up, but am currently trapped under a cat. No choice but to be lazy a bit longer. Tragedy and woe.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:52 AM on December 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:52 AM on December 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
National Maple Syrup Day! I'm going to celebrate by doing a brain dump about syrup. I just made syrup for the first time this year. We moved to a property that has several massive maple trees, and a neighbor happily agreed to let me tap her trees as well. It was very satisfying, especially once the sap really started to flow and the buckets were filling up quick, but there were some learning curves - I boiled sap on an outdoor propane stove with a massive deep pot, and that's EXTREMELY inefficient, turns out you want a shallow pan for faster evaporation, which seems obvious in retrospect. It took forever and I burned through several tanks of propane. I also didn't filter the syrup well enough the first round so it had a lot of sediment at the bottom of the jars - not harmful, but not appealing. I had to reheat the syrup to do some more robust filtering, then re-jar and the syrup was finally clear.
There are multiple types of maples and commercial syrup is made from sugar maples; I have silver maples which isn't ideal, but fine for a hobby. Silver maples bud earlier in the season; once a tree buds, its sap gets a weird taste so the season is done. Their sap also has a lower sugar content than sugar maples so you have to collect and boil a lot more sap to get the same amount of finished product. (although last year was apparently a weird year, a lot of local hobbyists were reporting their silvers had a shockingly high sugar content - I think this was due to drought but can't recall) A neat thing about silver maples is their syrup also doesn't taste exactly like "maple syrup," it has more of a light butterscotch flavor. Still good! I like it on plain Greek yogurt; my brother puts it in his coffee.
I ended up with 2 gallons of finished syrup and have been lovingly polishing all the jars for holiday gifts. I'll probably do it again in 2023. This time I want to get the flat sap pan and I bought a better thermometer to determine when the syrup is at its finishing point (218 F); too low and it's too watery, too high and it crystallizes.
posted by castlebravo at 7:37 AM on December 17, 2022 [19 favorites]
There are multiple types of maples and commercial syrup is made from sugar maples; I have silver maples which isn't ideal, but fine for a hobby. Silver maples bud earlier in the season; once a tree buds, its sap gets a weird taste so the season is done. Their sap also has a lower sugar content than sugar maples so you have to collect and boil a lot more sap to get the same amount of finished product. (although last year was apparently a weird year, a lot of local hobbyists were reporting their silvers had a shockingly high sugar content - I think this was due to drought but can't recall) A neat thing about silver maples is their syrup also doesn't taste exactly like "maple syrup," it has more of a light butterscotch flavor. Still good! I like it on plain Greek yogurt; my brother puts it in his coffee.
I ended up with 2 gallons of finished syrup and have been lovingly polishing all the jars for holiday gifts. I'll probably do it again in 2023. This time I want to get the flat sap pan and I bought a better thermometer to determine when the syrup is at its finishing point (218 F); too low and it's too watery, too high and it crystallizes.
posted by castlebravo at 7:37 AM on December 17, 2022 [19 favorites]
I’m going home to England on Monday, can’t wait! My sister and niece are over too and I’m so looking forward to seeing them.
posted by ellieBOA at 8:36 AM on December 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 8:36 AM on December 17, 2022 [7 favorites]
NYE is my winter holiday of choice, because it’s when I get to see friends I don’t otherwise get to see as much. I have a five day weekend for the holiday, and I can’t wait to head out of town and get visiting.
The rest of this post is grumpy covid stuff. I have been dealing with post-covid fatigue since I was sick five months ago. In October sometime, I started to have a clear improvement trend, which leveled off maybe a month ago, but last weekend I just CRASHED. I feel as bad as I did in august. Didn’t work a single full day this week and had to WFH mid-week. I was supposed to have my first meet up with a MeFi-er and had to cancel and I am SO MAD ABOUT THAT. I am immeasurably lucky to have a partner who immediately and happily picked up the slack with all the household stuff but I just feel so… hopeless. I don’t want this to be my life. It’s bearable when I can see a light at the end of the tunnel… but if it’s all just tunnel, I don’t know. And I feel so selfish, because there are so many people living much harder lives, whether from covid sequelae or not. But I just.. hate this so much.
Okay. Well. That got more desperate than I intended. Enjoy your syrup! :)
posted by obfuscation at 9:25 AM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
The rest of this post is grumpy covid stuff. I have been dealing with post-covid fatigue since I was sick five months ago. In October sometime, I started to have a clear improvement trend, which leveled off maybe a month ago, but last weekend I just CRASHED. I feel as bad as I did in august. Didn’t work a single full day this week and had to WFH mid-week. I was supposed to have my first meet up with a MeFi-er and had to cancel and I am SO MAD ABOUT THAT. I am immeasurably lucky to have a partner who immediately and happily picked up the slack with all the household stuff but I just feel so… hopeless. I don’t want this to be my life. It’s bearable when I can see a light at the end of the tunnel… but if it’s all just tunnel, I don’t know. And I feel so selfish, because there are so many people living much harder lives, whether from covid sequelae or not. But I just.. hate this so much.
Okay. Well. That got more desperate than I intended. Enjoy your syrup! :)
posted by obfuscation at 9:25 AM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
huh. without any knowledge of this day my brilliant husband made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast!! still licking the maple syrup offa my hands :)
posted by supermedusa at 9:57 AM on December 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:57 AM on December 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ahhhh time to order maple candy~
posted by curious nu at 10:16 AM on December 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by curious nu at 10:16 AM on December 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm currently binge-watching season two of Black Summer, which deals with a zombie apocalypse in snow country. I think if I combine this with 30 Days of Night (Alaska, vampires, no sunrise), I think I can make this a total Dead of Winter celebration.
posted by SPrintF at 10:49 AM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 10:49 AM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'll not be quaffing a tall glass of maple syrup in observance, nor putting any on my eggs. But perhaps I'll drop a dollop in my coffee...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:08 AM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:08 AM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
This morning I had a call from a friend whose family has their own modest 'sugar bush' in Vermont, and who used to supply me with syrup back when I could eat wheat.
I’ve never mentioned to her that when she gave me the first couple of bottles, I put them aside in favor of the premium organic wood fired syrup from the food co-op, and that I was utterly shocked when one of hers was opened up almost by accident and turned out to be so much better than the best available commercial stuff that I could no longer bring myself to buy it because it was so relatively disappointing.
posted by jamjam at 12:43 PM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
I’ve never mentioned to her that when she gave me the first couple of bottles, I put them aside in favor of the premium organic wood fired syrup from the food co-op, and that I was utterly shocked when one of hers was opened up almost by accident and turned out to be so much better than the best available commercial stuff that I could no longer bring myself to buy it because it was so relatively disappointing.
posted by jamjam at 12:43 PM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
No maple syrup. A trip to the final I Made It! Market of the year. Spouse and I had a very nice chat with a young artist and her VERY proud relative. I walked away with a couple of prints and a nice drawing of spouse and I, done on the fly.
I also got a haircut. I was once again talked out of chopping all it off in favor of a good trim and some hard core layering. My stylist is amazing.
Now I am celebrating a nice day with a bowl of Top chicken ramen doctored with leftover roast, mushrooms and peas and a glass of wine. I have the house to myself, a snuggly Menace (cubby black cats are such snuggly creatures) and a plan to crash out to an audiobook of some sort.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:16 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also got a haircut. I was once again talked out of chopping all it off in favor of a good trim and some hard core layering. My stylist is amazing.
Now I am celebrating a nice day with a bowl of Top chicken ramen doctored with leftover roast, mushrooms and peas and a glass of wine. I have the house to myself, a snuggly Menace (cubby black cats are such snuggly creatures) and a plan to crash out to an audiobook of some sort.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:16 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Finished the semester on Friday and whoooo. I have two weeks off then will teach a winter course because I am greedy, and after that doing a two week pre-admission thing for incoming freshman (greed), but right now I am looking at two weeks off so yay!
Today is also the wolmi island naked run. I haven't been running in 3 weeks (and honestly haven't taken running seriously since before-times), it is -13 degrees (about 8f) out and I am so excited. The ground is icy and I am in terrible shape, but I am on the subway now and feel good about this. :)
posted by Literaryhero at 3:23 PM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
Today is also the wolmi island naked run. I haven't been running in 3 weeks (and honestly haven't taken running seriously since before-times), it is -13 degrees (about 8f) out and I am so excited. The ground is icy and I am in terrible shape, but I am on the subway now and feel good about this. :)
posted by Literaryhero at 3:23 PM on December 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
National Maple Syrup Day!
Huh! Well I have three different kinds of maple syrup in my fridge and maple candy in the freezer. There is a local sugarmaker who will trade me bubble wrap (they do mail order and never have enough) for maple candy. It's such a great deal. I made applesauce last night and maple syrup was the sweetener.
I have had a very Vermont-y set of days. Huge snowstorm that started Thursday night and finally knocked the power out last night around 9 pm. I am living in a new house so there were a lot of new things to do (download the power company app, get on a group text with neighbors, find flashlights, find candles, find lighters) and then a lot of uncertainty. There are 30,000 people without power in Vermont now which is about 4% of the state. I watched a movie on my laptop (no power but I had it saved for later and hey hey!) and then went to bed. I was cold and sort of fussy about it (usually I have my mattress pad warmer on, it was about 35 degrees F outside) and I got up to get my sleeping bag at about 1 am and the power was back on! It stayed on til 5, went off til 9:30, went back on for about 45 min during which I managed to make coffee, and then it was off again. By the time I was caffeinated and went outside, all the neighbors were helping each other shovel their driveways. I also had a plow guy who did the main drive.
So I did that and then it was Christmas Bird Count Day so I was out walking instead of being home freezing. Came back and had coffee with a friend who had been smart and turned her heat ON STUN when the power was out. Came home, had some snacks under a blanket and then headed to a neighbor's solstice bonfire where we (slightly early) greeted the longer days to come. By the time I got home the power was back on and I turned my own heat ON STUN and now I'm finally thawing out.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:12 PM on December 17, 2022 [14 favorites]
Huh! Well I have three different kinds of maple syrup in my fridge and maple candy in the freezer. There is a local sugarmaker who will trade me bubble wrap (they do mail order and never have enough) for maple candy. It's such a great deal. I made applesauce last night and maple syrup was the sweetener.
I have had a very Vermont-y set of days. Huge snowstorm that started Thursday night and finally knocked the power out last night around 9 pm. I am living in a new house so there were a lot of new things to do (download the power company app, get on a group text with neighbors, find flashlights, find candles, find lighters) and then a lot of uncertainty. There are 30,000 people without power in Vermont now which is about 4% of the state. I watched a movie on my laptop (no power but I had it saved for later and hey hey!) and then went to bed. I was cold and sort of fussy about it (usually I have my mattress pad warmer on, it was about 35 degrees F outside) and I got up to get my sleeping bag at about 1 am and the power was back on! It stayed on til 5, went off til 9:30, went back on for about 45 min during which I managed to make coffee, and then it was off again. By the time I was caffeinated and went outside, all the neighbors were helping each other shovel their driveways. I also had a plow guy who did the main drive.
So I did that and then it was Christmas Bird Count Day so I was out walking instead of being home freezing. Came back and had coffee with a friend who had been smart and turned her heat ON STUN when the power was out. Came home, had some snacks under a blanket and then headed to a neighbor's solstice bonfire where we (slightly early) greeted the longer days to come. By the time I got home the power was back on and I turned my own heat ON STUN and now I'm finally thawing out.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:12 PM on December 17, 2022 [14 favorites]
I occasionally order a pound of coffee beans from Speeder & Earl's Coffee in Vermont, and for the past week have been enjoying their Maple Dark Roast. Whatever maple extract they use to flavor the beans is quite potent, and people keep telling me I smell like pancakes.
posted by briank at 5:56 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by briank at 5:56 PM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
Sorry what is there the option for me to get maple coffee???? Why has my life been empty and void lo these many years?!
posted by curious nu at 6:13 PM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by curious nu at 6:13 PM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Speaking of coffee...I've gotten into roasting my own recently, with the help of Sweet Maria's fantastic library of how-to articles. I started out using a popcorn air popper I bought used on Ebay, which only takes about 5 minutes to roast a week's worth of coffee (for me anyway - 100g / 3.5 oz / 6-7 large mugs) and I'll most likely continue doing that since it's so quick and easy. But this weekend I made my first batch using a stovetop popcorn popper, which takes a little longer and involves a few minutes of manual cranking, and I think it came out pretty good...although it needs to rest 24 hours before I can use it.
Home-roasted coffee is very good though I can't say it's significantly better or cheaper than the good grocery store bulk beans I'd been buying and grinding myself, but I'm doing this as part of my emergency preparedness process since I live in earthquake country. This way I can buy 5 or 10 lbs of green coffee beans, which keep much longer at room temp than roasted ones, and use a propane camp stove or even a camp fire to roast it if the worst ever does happen*. And if it doesn't, ehh, I still have good coffee available for only slightly more effort than I would otherwise. It's actually kind of fun, and it makes the house smell wonderful!
To anyone interested in trying home roasting I say go for it, it's cheap and easy to get into. To anyone who thinks this all sounds like a lot of silly fuss I say no worries, you're not missing The Experience of a Lifetime and you can continue being happy with your current caffeination method.
*I also have a hand grinder rather than an electric one, and use an Aeropress to brew my coffee. Thus roasting it myself in the crank popper is the last step for me in terms of disaster-proofing the process by de-electrifying it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
Home-roasted coffee is very good though I can't say it's significantly better or cheaper than the good grocery store bulk beans I'd been buying and grinding myself, but I'm doing this as part of my emergency preparedness process since I live in earthquake country. This way I can buy 5 or 10 lbs of green coffee beans, which keep much longer at room temp than roasted ones, and use a propane camp stove or even a camp fire to roast it if the worst ever does happen*. And if it doesn't, ehh, I still have good coffee available for only slightly more effort than I would otherwise. It's actually kind of fun, and it makes the house smell wonderful!
To anyone interested in trying home roasting I say go for it, it's cheap and easy to get into. To anyone who thinks this all sounds like a lot of silly fuss I say no worries, you're not missing The Experience of a Lifetime and you can continue being happy with your current caffeination method.
*I also have a hand grinder rather than an electric one, and use an Aeropress to brew my coffee. Thus roasting it myself in the crank popper is the last step for me in terms of disaster-proofing the process by de-electrifying it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:16 PM on December 17, 2022 [6 favorites]
You probably smell like maple syrup because of the sotolon, briank .
It’s a potent odorant which isn’t much affected by human metabolism.
posted by jamjam at 6:25 PM on December 17, 2022
It’s a potent odorant which isn’t much affected by human metabolism.
posted by jamjam at 6:25 PM on December 17, 2022
If you want another way to smell like maple syrup, eat a lot of fenugreek.
I discovered this when I was trying to bump up my milk supply when my kid was an infant. A friend with whom I was commiserating recommended fenugreek capsules and uttered the delightful phrase “makes your titties smell like pancakes!”
If you don’t want to take capsules you can use the leafy greens in curries and dal preparations. Tasty and with the side benefit of always smelling faintly of maple!
My kid is recovering from strep throat. Her fever on Thursday spiked to 105 so we hit up urgent care and actually I think it’s nice that it’s strep rather than flu or RSV, she has bounced right back with the antibiotics and I feel like there’s less chance I will also catch it. Hoping to clear all the various illnesses so we can safely gather with folks through Hanukkah and Xmas. (1st candle tomorrow night!)
I have a nice jar of maple cream that I’ve been eating on buttered toast.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:36 PM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
I discovered this when I was trying to bump up my milk supply when my kid was an infant. A friend with whom I was commiserating recommended fenugreek capsules and uttered the delightful phrase “makes your titties smell like pancakes!”
If you don’t want to take capsules you can use the leafy greens in curries and dal preparations. Tasty and with the side benefit of always smelling faintly of maple!
My kid is recovering from strep throat. Her fever on Thursday spiked to 105 so we hit up urgent care and actually I think it’s nice that it’s strep rather than flu or RSV, she has bounced right back with the antibiotics and I feel like there’s less chance I will also catch it. Hoping to clear all the various illnesses so we can safely gather with folks through Hanukkah and Xmas. (1st candle tomorrow night!)
I have a nice jar of maple cream that I’ve been eating on buttered toast.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:36 PM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Oh! jessamyn mentioned Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs)! It's the longest running citizen science project going (as we now define them), identifying and counting all of the birds found in a particular area on a single day. It started in 1900 as an alternative to actually killing birds on Christmas. Sometimes we do make the right decisions. It's organized so that all counts within a pre-defined 15 mile circle happen on the same day. The count I'm doing tomorrow, centered around Princeton, NJ, is one of the longest running in the country. I should probably go to bed, but I just might be too excited to sleep.
posted by mollweide at 8:24 PM on December 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 8:24 PM on December 17, 2022 [4 favorites]
Thanks for the reminder of the CBCs! Just signed up for my local one.
Love the Maple Syrup Day stories; I didn't do anything maple syrup related, but I spent time with my sis, who's name means Maple (as in the Canadian maple leaf flag) in Mandarin.
It literally got down to freezing temps overnight, which is a major hardship for those of us in the Bay Area who don't have insulated houses.
posted by honey badger at 9:21 AM on December 18, 2022
Love the Maple Syrup Day stories; I didn't do anything maple syrup related, but I spent time with my sis, who's name means Maple (as in the Canadian maple leaf flag) in Mandarin.
It literally got down to freezing temps overnight, which is a major hardship for those of us in the Bay Area who don't have insulated houses.
posted by honey badger at 9:21 AM on December 18, 2022
Like many things this year, December is complicated. I celebrated a wedding anniversary and a first date anniversary and an early solstice and a birthday with a spouse I've recently separated from. (Those went well - but are a bit challenging to navigate.) I'm flying to spend 4 days with my mom and also visit four old friends for Christmas with complicated schedules and then returning with my new adopted cat. (I will pay my cat tax when I can.) Then immediately flying to go on a 3000km road trip with a former lover and close friend of ill-defined status and two entirely different cats (there actually is an explanation), returning home to do laundry and water plants, then attending a conference with the same person. Life is not boring at the moment.
I've never really liked maple syrup on bready things. And I've never met a pancake worth eating. (Cheers to those who love them!) I really only use it on bacon and sausage, and I've been eating very little meat lately. I've got a bottle of very fancy syrup that a visitor gave me. (She's both from Canada and a culture where bringing gifts is a thing you do when visiting.) It hasn't gone bad yet. I'm curious how long it will last.
posted by eotvos at 9:31 AM on December 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've never really liked maple syrup on bready things. And I've never met a pancake worth eating. (Cheers to those who love them!) I really only use it on bacon and sausage, and I've been eating very little meat lately. I've got a bottle of very fancy syrup that a visitor gave me. (She's both from Canada and a culture where bringing gifts is a thing you do when visiting.) It hasn't gone bad yet. I'm curious how long it will last.
posted by eotvos at 9:31 AM on December 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
All the presents finished getting mailed out last week, and my PTO for the week between Christmas and New Year's has been approved, and our office holiday party was Friday night...so now I can turn to a more chill look ahead to "what will I do for the next two weeks". I'm staying in New York, so Christmas proper will be very chill, and my roommate has passed on sharing my dinner plans (he's trying to figure out how to do some solo travel anyway) so I very well may have Christmas day all to myself.
I also got a box of gingerbread cookie mix in my Secret Santa gift at work, so I splurged on some cookie cutters and fancy decorating supplies; I'll make up the cookies today and will probably chip away at the decorating over the course of the week, saving everything for Christmas proper (okay, maybe we'll put out a few things before). I've also been making fudge all weekend - the cheater's version where you melt marshmallow fluff or condensed milk with chocolate chips in a microwave. Butterscotch rum flavor, a Nutella fudge, white chocolate with chopped pistachio and dried cranberry, and chocolate peppermint.
I also got a silicone mold that will let me make adorable little Christmas tree-shaped cupcakes, and I'll track down some spice cake mix and use that in them, adding some orange zest so they're orange spice cakes. And Christmas Day dinner will be this super-simple recipe Dad taught me with grilled swordfish sitting on a bed of butter beans, spinach and cherry tomato. Easy, colorful, and delicious. (And a healthy oasis on a day when I'll otherwise likely be grazing on cookies and fudge.)
And...I have been planning out a VERY lavish week off. I'm staying in New York, and am using the time to indulge in some fun things I haven't had much time for; a movie on the 26th, a day at a spa on the 28th, and I will be making some kind of museum visit at some point that week. I have a pound of Rancho Gordo's black-eyed peas ready for hoppin' john on New Year's Day, and I have the 2nd off work as well and I've booked a table for lunch at Serendipity. If my roommate is traveling I'll also come up with some indulgent things to do at home.
....The Christmas Party at work is always entertaining since my company has the most AMAZING dancers working there, and so people you never expected it bust some serious moves every year. This guy in finance who looks like the dictionary illustration for the word "nebbish" turned out to be one hell of a salsa expert, and especially impressed our two cleaning staff (both salsa dancers themselves). Our CEO and his (male) assistant were waltzing at one point for the goof of it, I went bugnuts when they finally played "Happy" by Pharell, and my boss got so into dancing with his wife that I wasn't that surprised they slipped out early.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:10 AM on December 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
I also got a box of gingerbread cookie mix in my Secret Santa gift at work, so I splurged on some cookie cutters and fancy decorating supplies; I'll make up the cookies today and will probably chip away at the decorating over the course of the week, saving everything for Christmas proper (okay, maybe we'll put out a few things before). I've also been making fudge all weekend - the cheater's version where you melt marshmallow fluff or condensed milk with chocolate chips in a microwave. Butterscotch rum flavor, a Nutella fudge, white chocolate with chopped pistachio and dried cranberry, and chocolate peppermint.
I also got a silicone mold that will let me make adorable little Christmas tree-shaped cupcakes, and I'll track down some spice cake mix and use that in them, adding some orange zest so they're orange spice cakes. And Christmas Day dinner will be this super-simple recipe Dad taught me with grilled swordfish sitting on a bed of butter beans, spinach and cherry tomato. Easy, colorful, and delicious. (And a healthy oasis on a day when I'll otherwise likely be grazing on cookies and fudge.)
And...I have been planning out a VERY lavish week off. I'm staying in New York, and am using the time to indulge in some fun things I haven't had much time for; a movie on the 26th, a day at a spa on the 28th, and I will be making some kind of museum visit at some point that week. I have a pound of Rancho Gordo's black-eyed peas ready for hoppin' john on New Year's Day, and I have the 2nd off work as well and I've booked a table for lunch at Serendipity. If my roommate is traveling I'll also come up with some indulgent things to do at home.
....The Christmas Party at work is always entertaining since my company has the most AMAZING dancers working there, and so people you never expected it bust some serious moves every year. This guy in finance who looks like the dictionary illustration for the word "nebbish" turned out to be one hell of a salsa expert, and especially impressed our two cleaning staff (both salsa dancers themselves). Our CEO and his (male) assistant were waltzing at one point for the goof of it, I went bugnuts when they finally played "Happy" by Pharell, and my boss got so into dancing with his wife that I wasn't that surprised they slipped out early.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:10 AM on December 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
I ended up with a lot of raw, ripe, olives, and they are beautiful, big, purplish black, and glistening with oil. So , have a half gallon dry salt curing, and two gallons brining after about three weeks water curing. Now I have to harvest the rest, I think there may be 20 gallons on the trees and ground still. I have a 5 gallon ceramic pickle crock that is going to come in handy. Have to find some more holders for brining. One clever guy mentioned beverage dispensers with taps, that makes for easy rinsing and refilling. Not maple syrup, but nevertheless. I have a source for meyer lemons whose vinegar brine and skins are great for the finished product.
posted by Oyéah at 10:15 AM on December 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 10:15 AM on December 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
I am very impressed by EmpressCallipygos's work party. There are actually at least 4 professional musicians and singers among my department and spouses, but it doesn't happen at work parties.
Last night I and a friend scared geese (perhaps joggers also) by playing the show-tunes lyrics memory game in the park.
posted by eotvos at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Last night I and a friend scared geese (perhaps joggers also) by playing the show-tunes lyrics memory game in the park.
posted by eotvos at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
eotvos, I'm with you-- not into pancakes/breakfast-y bread thingies; maple syrup mostly gets used as door sauce for hot wings. Door sauce = 3-5, or more, things from the fridge door: spicy, sweet, sticky, hot, umami, vinegar, mustard, plus garlic and onion powder. I have a large fridge and the door shelves run all the way down the door, so lots of jars of opportunity.
But today it's getting very cold and I'm trying to get my recuperating partner to eat fiber so the pain pills don't make things difficult. So I made oatmeal with dried cherries and blueberries and maple syrup drizzles. I pile mine on toast and eat it as a spread.
posted by winesong at 11:50 AM on December 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
But today it's getting very cold and I'm trying to get my recuperating partner to eat fiber so the pain pills don't make things difficult. So I made oatmeal with dried cherries and blueberries and maple syrup drizzles. I pile mine on toast and eat it as a spread.
posted by winesong at 11:50 AM on December 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Drove to Baltimore the other day to get my little sister, traffic made getting back take longer than anticipated, and it has pretty much not stopped snowing since we got home.
Now we are all tired from the slow pace of Christmasing and the ways all our conditions, ailments, etc. affect that, but we have an assortment of dessert items in the freezer, so the rest will sort itself out.
Off the top of my head:
Ice creams include but are not limited to
Peanut butter cup,
Pumpkin cheesecake,
Black cherry,
Strawberry.
We have some nut-brown pudding, most of a blackberry pie, a four-pound coffee cake my aunt sent us, and that’s just the freezer.
There’s fruitcake and the first round of cookies, and here’s where I start to get vague on what else.
We are a dessert family, clearly.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 8:04 PM on December 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
Now we are all tired from the slow pace of Christmasing and the ways all our conditions, ailments, etc. affect that, but we have an assortment of dessert items in the freezer, so the rest will sort itself out.
Off the top of my head:
Ice creams include but are not limited to
Peanut butter cup,
Pumpkin cheesecake,
Black cherry,
Strawberry.
We have some nut-brown pudding, most of a blackberry pie, a four-pound coffee cake my aunt sent us, and that’s just the freezer.
There’s fruitcake and the first round of cookies, and here’s where I start to get vague on what else.
We are a dessert family, clearly.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 8:04 PM on December 18, 2022 [3 favorites]
We are approaching year three or so of my daughter eating nothing but chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Every morning. Literally. Every week or two we make a huge batch of pancakes loaded with protein powder and oatmeal and sometimes pumpkin so they're not complete trash food and freeze them so she can eat two each morning. Each. Morning. I cannot stress this enough.
As a result, even though she doesn't eat much syrup every day, we go through an ungodly amount every year. Several gallons. I usually order in April, at the end of the sugaring season, but apparently last year I didn't order enough, because I had to order more about a month ago. Our annual syrup expenditure has got to be around $200. It's almost embarrassing.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:30 AM on December 19, 2022 [4 favorites]
As a result, even though she doesn't eat much syrup every day, we go through an ungodly amount every year. Several gallons. I usually order in April, at the end of the sugaring season, but apparently last year I didn't order enough, because I had to order more about a month ago. Our annual syrup expenditure has got to be around $200. It's almost embarrassing.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:30 AM on December 19, 2022 [4 favorites]
We don't usually eat a whole lot of maple syrup but I always have a bottle in the fridge because, after all, I lived in Vermont when I was 3. We may be eating more this year as our whole diet changes. Holiday foods have a whole new level of difficulty this year because of the six people currently living in my house,
* Two have celiac
* One has a severe egg allergy
* One doesn't like mushrooms
* Two are strictly vegetarian nearly vegan except cheese
* Two are omnivores
* One is pescetarian
* One is very small and has not been introduced to demon sugar yet and really only likes blueberries anyway.
So, yeah. I, the pescetarian, am still adjusting to all of this. Last night we drove two hours into Portland to go to Ikea and attend an old friend's Hanukkah party and it was lovely but, there was nothing safe there for anyone but me to eat except slices of cheese and slices of orange. This is on us for not telling anyone we were coming, btw, not on the wonderful hosts. I need to get much better at planning. Thank the gods we all like cheese but I have no idea what we're making for Christmas dinner, since our traditional choices of mushroom lasagna and/or crabs and/or locally, humanely raised poultry of some sort are clearly Not On.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:18 AM on December 19, 2022
* Two have celiac
* One has a severe egg allergy
* One doesn't like mushrooms
* Two are strictly vegetarian nearly vegan except cheese
* Two are omnivores
* One is pescetarian
* One is very small and has not been introduced to demon sugar yet and really only likes blueberries anyway.
So, yeah. I, the pescetarian, am still adjusting to all of this. Last night we drove two hours into Portland to go to Ikea and attend an old friend's Hanukkah party and it was lovely but, there was nothing safe there for anyone but me to eat except slices of cheese and slices of orange. This is on us for not telling anyone we were coming, btw, not on the wonderful hosts. I need to get much better at planning. Thank the gods we all like cheese but I have no idea what we're making for Christmas dinner, since our traditional choices of mushroom lasagna and/or crabs and/or locally, humanely raised poultry of some sort are clearly Not On.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:18 AM on December 19, 2022
I'm working local retail 3-11pm Christmas Eve. No idea about shifts Christmas Day onwards yet, but the current boss has been pretty good about allowing Dec 25th off so far, so fingers crossed. Current somewhat nascent plan involves double-tshirting against the cold w/the outer shirt being my khaki one w/the appliqué SLACKER lettering. It's the little things!
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 6:47 PM on December 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 6:47 PM on December 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
We are approaching year three or so of my daughter eating nothing but chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Every morning.Oh, man. When I was around 6-8 I often got babysat by a family who made them and treated them as a special treat for me. And I absolutely hated them. But, I was too polite to say so, and so it just kept happening. I still feel a slight cringe at the idea. (Absolutely not criticizing those who *do* like them. But, I'd rather eat sand.)
posted by eotvos at 10:49 PM on December 19, 2022
I have caught some sort of ick manifesting itself as one-sided sinus pressure and an itchy throat. This is on top of developing cold AND canker sores. Today will be a mad dash to pick up the rest of the ingredients for Christmas dinner (beef bourguignon using an combination of different recipes) and any miscellaneous stocking stuffers that catch my eye while I still feel well enough to get everything. I’m glad past me decided on a dish that is really easy to throw together and essentially forget about while it cooks, as the worse outcome is that I don’t bother browning the meat and throw everything into a crockpot. Past me is also thankful that we at least got our new stove, since it has a fifth burner and a double oven, making prep REALLY easy this year.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:23 AM on December 20, 2022
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:23 AM on December 20, 2022
Near record-setting cold/snow for the PNW has meant we’ve hunkered down in the mcd household, low tonight is forecast to be in the mid-teens F.
Dinner tonight is courtesy of our neighbors - we got our annual delivery of Christmas tamales today, so yay!
We will venture out to our (excellent) local bakery for some pistachio pannetone, but that’s all I foresee until Friday, when we get back to more normal temps.
posted by dbmcd at 5:57 PM on December 20, 2022
Dinner tonight is courtesy of our neighbors - we got our annual delivery of Christmas tamales today, so yay!
We will venture out to our (excellent) local bakery for some pistachio pannetone, but that’s all I foresee until Friday, when we get back to more normal temps.
posted by dbmcd at 5:57 PM on December 20, 2022
Christmas tamales and pistachio pannetone sound heavenly.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:24 AM on December 21, 2022
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:24 AM on December 21, 2022
Welp, I now have to add "visit an ENT" to my "lavish week off", since this is now the second time that I've had an ear infection that was weirdly persistent. This exact same pattern happened in September too - I got a weirdly muffled ear, and it was shedding this black...stuff. I went to a doctor who cleaned me out and prescribed a week of eardrops and antibiotics. After a week I went back and the doctor looked me over and said it was gone and I was all set. And for two days I was - and then it blocked up again, this time with a different discharge. One more week of antibiotics cleared it up again last time, and I've gotten another round again this time.
Last time I went to an ENT after the second week to have him look and say "okay, this does indeed look like it's all done." This time I'm going to an ENT to verify that again, and this time I'll ask "Okay, why does this keep happening." (I'd never gotten an ear infection prior to this, so two within 6 months following the same pattern sounds awfully suspicious.)
I'm just hoping against hope that I don't have to have anything shoved up my nose.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:45 AM on December 21, 2022
Last time I went to an ENT after the second week to have him look and say "okay, this does indeed look like it's all done." This time I'm going to an ENT to verify that again, and this time I'll ask "Okay, why does this keep happening." (I'd never gotten an ear infection prior to this, so two within 6 months following the same pattern sounds awfully suspicious.)
I'm just hoping against hope that I don't have to have anything shoved up my nose.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:45 AM on December 21, 2022
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Sweet and sticky? Tomorrow I have to move 32 jars of honey across rural Worcestershire because, just because. I'm not looking forward to this for a combination of reasons: travel disruption, infrastructure issues, the weather changing, and the people both giving me the honey and receiving the honey (apart from four jars I keep) are, neither of them, the most reliable of contacts. The beekeeper who I am visiting discovered on his most recent of several urgent hospital trips that he is allergic to bee stings and now seems to live in some kind of biohazard suit, making conversation somewhat odd (and if you've ever seen someone make a cup of tea in a biohazard suit you'll know how cumbersome they are). I just hope he's alive tomorrow to hand over the 32 jars.
After the honey has been delivered I can then get into my own Worcestershire hideaway for hopefully the rest of the winter and deep into spring. Covid, flu, various colds, even strep (scarlet fevour) are abounding through the population at the moment so, even though I am maximum-vaccinated, I'm giving general society a bit of a miss during the forthcoming cold and dark months. Maybe I should ask Santa for a biohazard suit for Christmas.
posted by Wordshore at 4:34 AM on December 17, 2022 [16 favorites]