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!

Kitchen Layout Planning

Kitchens used to be the central room of any home because they were usually the locations of the only heat source in the home. They temporarily gave ground to the TV rooms, but they are quickly reclaiming the central space of modern homes. Your kitchen layout tells you lots of information about your cooking personality. Some kitchens express how busy the family is and are often used as storage of quick-fix frozen dinners or as the final resting place for hamburger wrappers and to-go bags. Other kitchens feel like the most worked-in rooms in your home, doubling as the office, the loading and unloading zone for the home's residents, and sometimes the gathering place for guests.

Whatever the use, a good kitchen needs to be convenient for you and your family's uses. Since it is your kitchen - and nobody else's - there are no rules for how it must be laid out. But here are some simple suggestions in setting up your kitchen for easy meal preparation. A good layout will encourage healthy meals to be prepared in your own kitchen.

Group your dishware and flatware closest to the dishwasher and sinks for easy unloading. Teach your children how to unload the safer items.

Gather your cooking tools according to the frequency of use and ease of storage. If you use a pastry blender less often than your can opener, then put the other tool in a lower drawer. Stack your pots and pans by size and by frequency of use. If you use larger pot almost daily, then consider reserving its own space so you don't have to dig it out every afternoon. Additionally, the pan that you use for turkey twice annually can be scooted to the back of the cupboard or be used to store smaller pots or lids.

Place your knives in a separate drawer or purchase a knife block -- stored away from little curious hands -- to keep sharp items away from unsuspecting fingers and inexperienced hands.

Arrange your food cupboards by the type of ingredients you use the most and by recipe. Place your indulgent foods like chips and chocolates further back, and make sure healthier snack items are easily accessed.

When you come home from the grocery store, lay out your fresh produce, washing and drying food before you put it in the refrigerator. Foods that you will use soon can be cut up and will be ready for easy cooking. Ingredients that won't be used until later in the week can be stored whole. Date the foods you buy so that you know how long it will keep. Only buy what you need - and perhaps one or two reserve meals for emergency - and buy when things are on sale if the items are not perishable.

Grocery stores deliberately place the 'yummy' indulgent foods on the end caps -- the aisle ends-- so shop with a list and go after you've had a light snack so you're not inclined to add something to the cart that simply looks good. Don't forget how much space you have in the refrigerator and cupboards before you buy the bulk food!

Now your kitchen fits your needs!