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!

Cook Gluten Free and Win!

I'm hosting a cooking contest on my cooking blog Peas On Moss. Check it out! You could win some great samples from Pamela's Products.

Simpler Creamy Risotto

Creamy Risotto

Serves 4

Cook time: about 41 minutes (make this recipe while preparing another dish to feel that time is spent well)

 

½ medium onion, minced finely

2 tbsp butter

1 cup Sweet Rice (Thai)*

4 cups water

3-4 chicken bouillon cubes, to taste**

¼ tsp garlic powder (or 1 garlic clove minced)

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp lemon juice

½ cup chopped green onion, greens and whites

½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 tsp parsley leaves, chopped

 

Find a kitchen timer, you’ll need it for this recipe. 

In large saucepan or nonstick wok, melt butter and gently sauté (sweat) the onions over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. 

Add sweet rice, turn up the heat to medium, and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. 

While the rice is browning, bring the water and chicken bouillon cubes to a simmer in a separate saucepan**. 

Add 1-½ cups of the hot broth to the browned rice and stir it in.  Reduce heat to medium-low. 

Set the timer for 5 minutes.  After 5 minutes, stir the rice, which will be thick. 

Stir in 1 more cup of the broth.  Set the timer for 2 minutes.  The liquid will soak in each time. 

Then pour 1 more cup of broth in.  Allow the rice to soak up the broth for approximately 2 minutes.

After this point, you'll probably have to stay in the kitchen and stir it every minute.  Set the timer for 12 minutes to help gauge the passage of time, but don’t leave the saucepan to simmer alone. 

Stirring constantly, add the remaining broth. When the timer ends, turn off the heat, but leave the wok on the burner.  Stir in the garlic, pepper, lemon, green onion, mozzarella, and parsley.  Serve hot.

 

*Thai Sweet Rice isn't sweet, really.  It's a short grain rice that releases quite a bit of starch, making the liquid portion thick and creamy.  It's often cooked with coconut, sweetened, and served with coconut. 

** You can substitute the 4 cups of water with 4 cups of low sodium chicken stock.