Country Cousin

Remembrance...

Hi Folks!

Hard to believe! In less than three weeks Christmas, 2011 will be history, and in less than four weeks 2011 itself will be gone.

Time is short for preparing ourselves, our homes and our families for the big holiday. Try to keep things simple enough to be fun for everyone, including yourself.

May yuletide joy flood our homes and our hearts, and may love for our families and friends guide our Christmas preparations!

SAD REMEMBRANCE

In the midst of preparations for Christmas, season of Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men, today - Dec. 7, 2011 - marks the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States squarely into World War II.

Up to that point, the United States had been trying to avoid getting fully involved in the wars raging in Europe and Asia. Things moved quickly after that treacherous attack, and before the month ended our nation had declared war on both Germany and Japan, and they had declared war on us.

It was more than three long years later that peace came once again to this old world.

THE REAL THING

Seems efforts of tree hugger folks to discourage the use of real Christmas trees have been too successful, and that’s not good for the tree farmers.

Sales of freshly cut trees sank from 37 million in 1991 to 31 million in 2007; in that year, 17.4 million artificial trees were sold. That was a few years ago, but apparently things haven’t changed much. Folks continue to buy made-in-China trees instead of home grown ones, often in the false assumption that they are saving the life of a tree.

Fact is, most live Christmas trees today are raised on tree farms. They are a crop. They do not grow wild in the forest. If nobody buys them, nobody will plant them. Tree farmers lose income, and our continent loses a lot of wonderful clean air because green and growing things like Christmas trees purify the air for humans to breathe.

So guess what? The Feds have done it again! They want to help promote the use of real Christmas Trees. So in the normal Federal government knee-jerk reaction to any problem, the United States Department of Agriculture has decided to put a 15-cent per tree tax on every real Christmas tree harvested or imported.

Oops! No, they don’t call it a tax. They call if a fee, and hope to raise about $2 million a year. Money’s to be used for a campaign to get folks to scuttle their artificial trees in favor of a brand new real one, hopefully grown in America.

Are tree farmer organizations thrilled with this effort of Big Brother to help solve their problem?

Most of them are not, and with good reason. Another tax on Christmas tree sales is probably not the best answer. And in the real world, chances are excellent that the Christmas Tree Growers Association or similar groups would put that advertising money to better use than the federal bureaucrats. But they probably created a few more jobs, what with the paperwork and all. Wonder how they’ll keep track of the stumpage?

FILING TIME AGAIN

Just a reminder. If you’re one who’d like to do something about local government instead of just complaining about how your county, school district, town, city or village are being run, now’s the time to do it.

Nomination papers for offices to be filled in the April elections can be circulated as of Thursday, Dec. 1, and must be turned in right after the first of the year.

Doesn’t take many signatures to get on the ballot for the nonpartisan local elections, and especially on the small boards one or two changes in membership can make a huge difference.

SANTA LUCIA, ST. LUCY’S DAY

In many Christian denominations, particularly in Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia, the festival of Santa Lucia begins before dawn, on the 13th of December. Under the old Julian calendar used in Sweden before 1753, that was Christmas Day and the longest night of the year.

Traditionally in Sweden, the eldest daughter in each household comes to her sleeping parents early on the morning of Dec. 13, dressed as the Santa Lucia bride, in a long white gown tied with a red sash, and wearing a crown of lingonberry leaves in which are set seven lighted candies. In her hands she carries a tray of steaming hot coffee and “Lussekattor” (Lucia Buns), or a decorated Santa Lucia Wreath coffee cake.

The procession includes her sisters and brothers also dressed in white, holding lighted candles, and singing of the light and joy of Christmas.

The sisters of the Lucia Bride wear a wreath of tinsel in their hair and a piece tied around their waist, while the boys have tall pointed caps sprinkled with stars. Awakened by the lights and the singing, the parents arise and eat the breakfast served, thus ushering in the Christmas season.

Scandinavian tradition says that in V�rmland, Sweden, a white-clad maiden, wearing a crown of burning candies, brought food to the starving villagers on the shores of Lake V�nern untold centuries ago. No one knows when the tradition began, but it was so far back that the festival of Santa Lucia was marked by a notch on the primitive “primstav” (calendar stick), the precursor of the calendar. It later became customary in western Sweden to finish the threshing by Lucia Day in order to begin the cooking and baking for the long Christmas festivities.

From its beginnings in V�rmland, the customs in honor of Santa Lucia have spread throughout Sweden, and more recently to the rest of Scandinavia. Today, the festival is celebrated in schools, hospitals, businesses, and towns; each of which has its own Lucia Bride and festivities to mark the beginning of Christmas. Santa Lucia Day is also an international holiday, celebrated not only in Scandinavia, but also in Italy and France in the rites of the church. Saint Lucy is said to have had her eyes put out before being martyred in Syracuse on the Island of Sicily around 304 A.D. She is patron of the blind.

According to the Sicilian legend, Lucia’s mother, a wealthy lady, had been miraculously cured of an illness at the Sepulcher of Saint Agatha in Catania. Lucia, a Christian, persuaded her mother in thankfulness to distribute her wealth to the poor. So, by candlelight, the mother and daughter went about the city secretly ministering to the poor of Syracuse.

Unfortunately, this was during the last great persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. The pagan young man to whom Lucia was engaged took a dim view of this distributing of her dowry, and denounced her to the prefect, Pascasius, who ordered that she be seized and tortured. Miraculously, when neither boiling oil nor burning pitch had the power to hurt her, she was blinded and slain with a sword. Her martyrdom is recorded in ancient sources and in an inscription found in Syracuse.

How or when this legend and tradition came to V�rmland, Sweden, no one knows, but it did. It’s possible that sailors from Sweden may have been captivated by the popular candlelight festival of Santa Lucia in Italy and brought the tradition back with them.

As Santa Lucia Day comes at the darkest time of year, the candies of the ministering Santa Lucia portend and witness to the True Light - the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In honor of her martyrdom, It has long been the custom in Sweden to donate money on Lucia Day to institutions working for the blind.

COOKIN’ TIME

ST. NICK’S PURSES

These golden bundles, filled with a sweet or savory cheese filling, are served on St. Nicholas Day as a reminder of the coin purses he is said to have tossed through a window as dowries for three lovely young ladies who apparently would otherwise have had to spend their lives as spinsters. Anyway, it’s too late for that this year (St. Nick’s Day was Tuesday, Dec. 6.) But these filled yeast rolls make very good eating, and would be nice for feasting on Santa Lucia Day or any time during the Christmas season.

They freeze well, so they can be made ahead of time. The idea is to make up the filled bread bundle and then tie on some festive ribbons before serving. If you want to make life easier, use frozen bread dough for the savory filling or frozen sweet roll dough for the sweet filling. Won’t be quite as good, but the time saved might be worth it.

1/4 cup warm water

1 package dry yeast

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup half and half (or milk)

3 tablespoons sugar (only if making the sweet filling)

3 eggs

4 to 4 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (we like less, maybe 1/2

teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Sweet or savory cheese filling

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

In large bowl of an electric mixer

Put the warm water into the large bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast. Let stand five minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter. Beat the half and half, sugar and eggs with the yeast mixture, and then stir in the melted butter. (If you will be using the savory filling, omit the sugar.)

In a separate bowl, mix the salt, nutmeg and flour into 2 cups of the flour. Mix this slowly into the yeast mixture, and then beat at medium speed for two minutes. Either use a dough hook, beaters or your hands to add another two cups of the flour. Beat at medium speed until dough pulls from the side of the bowl.

Add two to four more tablespoons flour if needed. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put into a greased bowl, turn so it’s greased all over, cover and set aside to rise until doubled, probably about an hour and a half. Punch down and knead again several times. Wrap airtight again, and refrigerate at least two hours, or better yet, overnight. Make the filling of your choice, or make some of each.

When the rising time is done, knead dough well to break down captured air. Divide into 16 equal portions, and shape a portion at a time into about a six-inch circle or slightly larger. (Push out with your hands, or use a rolling pin.) Place equal portions of filling (about 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons) into the center of each dough round. Draw dough up around the filling. Squeeze right around the filling, letting the top sort of flare loosely. Pleat as necessary to make a nice little bag shape.

As you finish each bundle, place it about two inches from the next one on a greased cookie sheet, preferably a 10”x15” one. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and keep cool until all the bundles are made. Place baking sheets, covered, in a warm spot and let rise until puffy, about half an hour. Uncover, pinch the “neck” of the bag again and lightly pinch pleats.

Mix the egg with the tablespoon of water and brush on each bundle. Placed in oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Tie on the ribbons. Serve warm or at room temperature. To store, cool completely. Can be frozen up to six months.

SWEET CHEESE FILLING

2 large packages cream cheese (8 ounces each)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel

Have the cream cheese at room temperature. Beat in the powdered sugar, egg, orange peel and extract. Stir in the raisins and candied orange peel. Use right away, or cover and chill as long as overnight.

SAVORY CHEESE FILLING

1 large package cream cheese (8 ounces)

8 ounces grated feta or cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 cup finely chopped green onion

Use at once or cover and chill as long as overnight.

ST. LUCIA’S WREATH

Traditional in some Scandinavian homes for St. Lucy’s

Day. Wonderful idea for a Christmas brunch or buffet.

6 1/2 to 7 cups bread flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon cardamom

2 packages active dry yeast

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup butter

3 eggs

1 tablespoon milk

1 egg

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons milk

Decorations:

6 wax candles

3 yards ribbon

Grease large cookie sheet or 14 inch pizza pan. To measure flour, lightly spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off. In large bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast; blend well. In small saucepan, heat 3/4 cup milk, water and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Add warm liquid and 3 eggs to flour mixture.

Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in an additional 4 to 4 1/2 cups of flour until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. On floured surface, knead in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl; cover and let rise until light and doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down several times to remove all air bubbles. Divide dough in half, shape into balls. Allow to rest on counter covered with an inverted bowl for 15 minutes. Shape each half into a 45 inch rope. Twist ropes together. Place in ring shape on prepared cookie sheet; pinch ends to seal. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine 1 tablespoon milk and 1 egg; brush over wreath. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until deep golden brown. (To prevent excessive browning, cover with foil during last 10 minutes of baking.) Remove wreath from cookie sheet immediately, cool on wire rack. To assemble, cut and hollow out six (1 inch) deep holes in wreath to fit bottoms of wax candles, making sure the holes are spaced evenly around the wreath

Place wreath on serving tray. In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Spread bottoms of candles with small amounts of glaze, insert into holes in wreath. Drizzle wreath with remaining glaze. Tie ribbon into a bow and place it on the wreath. Yield 24 servings. All purpose or unbleached flour can be substituted for bread flour. Decrease kneading time to 5 minutes, omit resting period and decrease each rise time 15 to 30 minutes.

LUCIA PEPPARKAKOR

These cookies are a traditional treat for St. Lucy’s Day, the Feast of Santa Lucia, in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. Mix up the dough a day in advance, cover and let rest overnight before rolling and baking.

1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter or shortening (do NOT use margarine)

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

Sift together dry ingredients; set aside. Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and molasses. Blend in dry ingredients thoroughly. Let dough stand overnight for easy rolling. On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into shapes, traditionally gingerbread people, and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Makes 1 to 2 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Thought for the Week: “May you have faith, And may you have strength, And may the Lord grant your life will have length, May you be sweet and strong, May your days and nights be a feast of lights your whole life long!”

This verse from a song that apparently was sort of a Jewish Hanukah carol makes a wonderful prayer for Christian parents to offer for the well being of their children. Strange, isn’t it, that the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukah) comes so near the season when we Christians celebrate the birth of Him who is the Light of the World. Is there a message there?

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