Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The big news here is that we had a record snowfall in December--36.1"--and also the snowiest month on record ever!! I fear that we are ill-equipped for winters in Wisconsin. Here's why:

1. We don't own a cool pickup with a snowblade on the front. We do own a pickup with 4-wheel drive and Rene will be getting a nice truck as a company vehicle. No snow blade, though.
2. We don't own a snowmobile. Snowmobiling is really serious business here. There are numerous snowmachine trails and in some places, the kids drive them to school. People have these funny looking trailers that they use to haul their machines all over.
3. We don't even have a blade for the riding lawnmower. We do have a snowblower. It's old and usually has to be fixed a time or two over the winter, but Rene is good at fixing it and it does a great job.
4. We don't drink beer. That puts us in a pretty big minority because the majority of Wisconsinites love their beer. I'm serious!

Combine any or all of numbers 1-3 with number 4 and you have a pretty good idea of winter in Wisconsin. And I haven't even mentioned the Packers, ice hockey or ice fishing yet. (They also are all combined with #4 above, in case you're wondering.)

Yesterday, we got 7.5" of fresh snow. It came down in pretty, big flakes all day. About 7 pm, Rene, Janet and I bundled up (it was 15 degrees) and went for a walk through the unplowed streets in our neighborhood. It was really beautiful and peaceful. On the way home, I was almost buried under three feet of snow by the snowplow, which came by about then. Winter Wonderland, Wisconsin style!

Ever since 1997 when Joseph first went away to college, the best part of Christmas for me has been having the kids home. This year, we were so happy to have Janet home and to have Emily and Preston to spend time with. And it was wonderful to talk to the kids who were celebrating with their other families and to our two missionaries. Those were the best parts of the day for me.

On Christmas Eve, we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Besides Janet, Emily and Preston, we invited a family from the ward who were leaving on Christmas day to visit her family in England. The dinner was great and Kim brought some crackers with her. These are a tradition in England. They are cardboard tubes filled with little toys, paper hats, fortunes and jokes, and something to make them snap. At the beginning of dinner, you cross your arms and hold the ends of the crackers all the way around the table. At someone's signal, you all pull and the crackers snap open. It was really a fun way to start off the evening and a tradition that I'd like to continue. Here is a picture of the exact kind she brought. They are wrapped in 12 Days of Christmas paper, if you're interested.




On Christmas Day, after we had talked to Sarah and Joseph, opened presents, and visited Preston and Emily's to play a few games, we went to a potluck Christmas dinner with our friends, the Thompsons. Once again, a very yummy dinner and great company.

After that, we came home, talked to Ben and Joanna and Grandma Allred, played a few more games and called it a day. All in all, it was very peaceful and restful and fun to spend time with people we love.

Since the last time I posted, the weather has been really cold and snowy. Every few days, we get a little storm with 3 or 4 inches of snow. We now have a pretty hefty snow cover and it's only the end of December! I wonder what it will look like by April, when we are normally thawed out.

I don't like feeling shut in by the snow. It makes it hard to get out and get any kind of outdoor exercise (unless you ski, like Preston.) Outdoor exercise around our house has pretty much declined to two activities: shoveling snow or carrying wood for the fireplace. Oh, I might as well also mention that it gets dark about 4:30 in the afternoon.

One thing I enjoy that helps cope with the weather is cooking. It's probably unfortunate that I want to cook during the winter when there's little exercise to be had. I suppose it's leftover from the days when mankind had to pack on the pounds to survive the winter. Anyway, here are some of the goodies I've cooked over the past couple of weeks.

We invited some friends over to dinner one Sunday. I made this Brownie recipe for dessert. To be honest, I didn't make the sauce--I just opened a bottle of our yummy canned raspberries and spooned them over. I also didn't do the fancy piping around the edges. (Recipe courtesy of Pillsbury)

Make-Ahead Brownie Delight
Prep time: 20 min
Cook Time: 47 min
Yield: 16 Servings
Ingredients:
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
BROWNIE BASE
1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie
1/2 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs
3/4 cup large chocolate chips or chunks
FILLING
2 cups heavy cream
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup white baking chips, melted
SAUCE
1 (10 oz.) package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup fresh raspberries
Preparation Directions:
1.
HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan with no-stick cooking spray. Prepare brownies as directed on package, using oil, water and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan.
2.
BAKE 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.
3.
BEAT cream in large bowl until stiff peaks form. Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in separate large bowl; beat until smooth. Stir in melted vanilla chips. Fold in 1/3 whipped cream; fold in remaining whipped cream. Reserve 1 cup mixture for piped edge; spread remaining mixture over brownie. Using decorating bag fitted with star tip (1/4 to 3/8-inch opening), pipe decorative border around edge of brownie, making sure border doesn't touch side of pan. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours while preparing sauce.
4.
PROCESS thawed raspberries with syrup until smooth in food processor bowl with metal blade or in blender container. Strain to remove seeds. In small saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch; stir in raspberry puree. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cool to room temperature.
5.
About 1 hour before serving: ARRANGE fresh raspberries over filling. Refrigerate until serving time. With sharp knife, loosen dessert from sides of pan; remove sides of pan. Cut into wedges. Serve with raspberry sauce. Store in refrigerator.

High Altitude (above 3500 ft.):
1.
ADD 1/3 cup flour to dry brownie mix. Bake as directed above.

The next evening, Emily and Preston came over to eat leftovers and stayed to help us make some cookies and candy to send to some of the missionaries we know. Rene is the real candy maker, though, so I won't post his recipes.

The next night, we went to a bishopric dinner and I was asked to bring dessert. I made Cranberry Glazed Apple Dumplings. Basically, it was an apple dumpling recipe but instead of stuffing the apples with brown sugar and raisins before wrapping them, I stuffed them with a little cream cheese and dried craisins. After they were wrapped in pastry, I poured the leftover raspberry juice from the recipe above over them and baked them. Mmmm...very yummy.

Janet came home from college on Thursday night. Yay! It's been fun having her around. I've actually been cooking real breakfasts this week.

Saturday, we went to some friends' home to watch BYU embarrass us all in their bowl game. The game was awful, but it was fun to spend time with friends. The Thompsons made chili, Emily and Preston brought Muddy Buddies and red and green tortilla chips, and I made this Pizza Stromboli. (Recipe courtesty of Taste of Home)

Pizza Stromboli
SERVINGS: 16
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 25 min. + rising Bake: 25 min.
Ingredients:
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
4-1/2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
4-1/2 teaspoons pizza sauce
3/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon each chopped ripe olives, chopped pimiento-stuffed olives and chopped canned mushroom
Directions: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in honey and milk powder until well blended. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup bread flour, whole wheat flour and seasonings. Add to yeast mixture; beat until smooth. Stir in pizza sauce. Stir in enough remaining bread flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic; about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 14-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Sprinkle pepperoni, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese, onion, olives and mushrooms to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 1 loaf.

And to think that we still have all that Christmas cooking coming up!

Stars were gleaming...

Last night was our ward's Christmas party. This year, the theme was "A Night in Bethlehem." The gym was decorated to resemble Jerusalem, everyone dressed in biblical costumes, you paid taxes by bringing canned goods for the needy and in return, you got a little pouch of money. You could use this money to buy food. Rene and I were in charge of the booth that sold gyros. For a sheckel, you got a piece of flatbread, lamb, onions, tomatoes and cucumber sauce. Yum! The people next to us were selling falafel (rhymes with "awful" and pretty much tastes the same.) You could also buy dried fruit, a little cup containing carrots and celery, cheese and salami, fruit, and baklava. Emily and Preston were in charge of the dreidel booth, where kids could purchase and play with a dreidel.

So, I made all our costumes and I think they turned out well. It's amazing how seriously some people take this event, and some of the costumes are pretty elaborate. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but Preston's costume included a sheepskin over his shoulder.

After everyone had eaten their fill, there was a short program consisting of the children from Primary acting out the Nativity story and various families singing Christmas carols. The Hmong choir also sang "Silent Night" in Hmong. Emily and I have been helping them practice for awhile. For me, the highlight of the program was the nursery kids singing "Once There was a Snowman." There wasn't much singing involved, but they really knew the actions.


A month or so ago, I went up to Merrill, Wisconsin, and babysat my friend's 18 month old while she worked. Her husband and his father own a Christmas tree business. They wholesale trees and also go down to Chicago where they set up several lots. They also sell wreaths and swags. My friend, Brenda, makes all the bows for the wreaths and she also makes the swags. So I went to stay with Max while she made the swags. While Max was napping, she helped me make my own wreath. I think it turned out well. And Max is adorable, by the way.

Please disregard my last post about jumping up and down on the ice! The NOAA says that it hasn't been cold enough to make thick enough ice yet, so no one should walk on it. However, the fact that it was 0.5 degrees this morning makes me think that there is definitely ice-making going on.