Schaubs Do Christmas

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas came and went.

We kicked off the holiday season with Thanksgiving at Carol's sister's house. They live in a beautiful home  and opened it up for all of the family. I had the pleasure of cooking a few of the menu items with the other family cooks, and a great time was had by all.

Then we went to the Christmas tree lighting at the Westlake Center. It is sure a fun event, and this time, it didn't rain. We secured/commandeered a spot where we could see both the hosts and all the areas that were lit up. It was a great start to the Christmas season.

Over the next few weeks we got ready for Christmas by cooking and baking lots of different sweet treats. I really enjoy it, and this time I experimented a little bit more with gluten-free recipes. For the most they worked out, and Pamela's Products remains my favorite brand. There are a few other brands emerging, but so far, every time I use PP, I get a successful product.

We went to the Kleyns and enjoyed decorating Gingerbread people and graham cracker homes. Michele's was definitely the best, but we all had fun showing off our (lack of) cake decorating talent. It was also a night of enjoying Hot Chocolates with Peppermint Schnapps and Hot Buttered Rum. In honor of the commercialized Holiday Season, we also watched "Elf."





We also went to the Swedish Cultural Center for the St. Lucia's Day celebration. St. Lucy was martyred for her faith, and she is honored in December. Afterwards, Josh and I drove around Seattle looking at Christmas lights (Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna is nice, but small) and at the lighting of the city (I can never tire of the Space Needle).

For the first time ever, we went to a national forest (with a permit) and picked out a Christmas tree. It was fun, and it was cold. There was a pleasant layer of snow on the roads and on the trees, and it put me in a very Christmasy mood. The trees were a bit sparse - of course, they were natural trees, not bred for their bushiness. So our tree turned out to be a little Charlie Brown-ish as well. I liked it, but our attempts to bulk it up mostly looked humorous rather than effective. I think we'll go snowshoeing next year and get a tree from a tree farm, but it definitely made a great memory.

We went to Colorado to celebrate with the Kings thanks to the generosity of our sister in law who gave us some standby passes on Alaska. We were only there for three nights, which were spent mostly catching up with my parents and preparing Christmas dinner. We had a great time. My mom and I even figured out how to make some gluten-free knedliky. 

I also took advantage of the time and baked some gluten-free cookies for Josh. King Arthur Flour makes a basic cookie mix into which up to 3 cups of mix-ins can be added, so Josh ended up with a wide variety of cookies and treats. 

We joined my parents for the Christmas Eve service at New Life Church and were greatly amused by the lights, music, and message. The talented performers played a rocking version of Carol of the Bells, a funny, radio drama-style version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and even had ice skaters performing on the center stage.

We didn't really get any snow, but it was fun spending some quality time with my parents.

It was very nice and very fun to be in Colorado for Christmas.

We flew home on Christmas day, which turned out well. The flights weren't as full as we'd feared, and we were able to get the first flight from Denver to Seattle. We made it home for Christmas in Seattle, too!

We hope your year has been wonderful and that next year brings even more love and laughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Breakfast in the Hand

I had breakfast with Summer A. a little while back, and she shared with me this delicious breakfast sandwich.  I have begun missing English muffins, and I'll go through occasional cravings for them.  I enjoy them most with hazelnut-chocolate spread or orange marmalade, but this sandwich, modified slightly*, is fantastic!  Josh and I had been breakfasting on burritos when we drive to Monarch for our ski days, but we will definitely be adding this to our breakfast repertoire.  Thanks, Summer!  The eggs can be substituted or egg whites can be used.  A low-fat, low sodium Canadian bacon or ham can be used as well.  Just make sure you use real cheddar cheese, because the melting is important.   Spelt is not a gluten free bread, but it can sometimes be tolerated well by people with wheat allergies.  But check with your doctor before you try it out.   It's a fine bread for people without allergies.  Gluten free muffins are also sold.  

2 Spelt English muffins, split

2 slices cheddar cheese

4 slices Canadian bacon or turkey ham, thick sliced

1 tbsp butter or oil, divided 

2 tsp brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

salt and pepper

Preheat a nonstick omelet or 8" saute pan over medium heat.  Place split muffins in toaster oven and set on medium-dark setting.  Begin toasting.  Melt 1 tsp butter in the saute pan.  Add the bacon slices and begin to fry the bacon.  Allow to brown slightly.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and stir to allow to melt and coat the meat.  Remove from pan.  Wipe pan with wet cloth.  Melt 1 tsp butter in same nonstick pan.  Pour eggs into pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow eggs to cook for about one minute.  Lift edges of the eggs to allow the uncooked portions to flow under the cooked egg until they're cooked.  While the eggs are beginning to set, add the cheddar cheese slices to the tops of the English muffins.  Return the muffins to the toaster oven and toast on light setting.  Fold the eggs over to form an omelette.  Remove pan from heat.  Split the egg mixture in half, making two egg portions.  Lay the egg on the bottom half of the English muffin.  Layer on the Canadian bacon.  Top with muffin top.

This can be served immediately or wrapped in foil and reheated later.  

*Summer's lower-fat version involved removing some of the egg yolk and using oil or kitchen spray instead of butter.  If cholesterol control is your focus, these may be good ideas.