Happy Holidays! May whichever deity you choose bless whichever holiday you observe. (Do you hear me Bachus?)
Pa and I were talking about the abortion caveats in the bills that were developed in the House and the Senate. Pa was very upset and animated about the prospect of the rights of women becoming abridged. He is such a feminist; which is probably why I have kept him around for the last 20 years. He was more than a little disappointed in my almost apathetic response to his outrage. "Ma, why doesn't this make you angry?"
I tried to explain, and he looked at me as if I had two heads. "Write it," was the only thing he would say.
Pa doesn't understand, probably because of his strong progressive ideology, and his lack of baggage as a white male. Every other member of his family is conservative so I like to think that Pa was made just for me.
That reminds me. Pa has taken over the cooking here at the Kettle house. The employment situation around here has changed dramatically in the last 6 months. We are rolling with the changes as best we can. Pa was in charge of our Christmas feast and I want to share some of his great recipes with you. For starters I wanted hot fresh bread with Pa's garlic butter.
Pa's Garlic Butter:
1 stick softened butter
1 head of roasted garlic (baked at 350 for about 45 minutes)
Squish together and slather on warm bread, Yum!
Anyway, I figured the first place to begin with Pa is to explain the difference between de facto and de jure practices. I use my best gentle college professor tone. He had this "don't patronize me" look. So I explained that abortions would happen in the United States whether the right had been abridged or not, and that this would be challenged in court anyway. I brought up the Freeport Doctrine.
Pa also made one of my favorite appetizers. Truly poor food but delicious nonetheless.
1 sliced fresh mozzarella (or your favorite semi soft cheese)
1 sliced tomato
1 sliced cucumber
1/2lb container of marinated mushrooms (or homemade)
Combine, allow to sit for 30 minutes in the fridge and serve.
"But doesn't it make you angry?"
Well yeah it makes me angry, but I understand our history. Think about it. Remember what Abigail Adams admonished her husband? "I desire that you would remember the ladies." Certainly women of her era understood that any attempt at equality would have to wait until the issue of independence was resolved. So we waited.
For Christmas dinner Pa made a roast goose. OMG that was awesome! This was our dinner splurge this year. I had never had it so it was an adventure.
1 whole goose
various citrus fruits.
Pa removed the excess fat from the cavity and stuffed the goose. He pricked the skin all over. He then roasted in a big pan with a rack for 30 minutes at 425, then he lowered the temp to 350 for 2 1/2 hours. It came out so crispy and moist.
Next I pointed out that in the early 1800's American women were again agitating for their rights as American citizens. Seneca Falls anyone? What happened this time? We put everything on hold because our society was plagued by a greater evil: slavery. So, we waited.
It would have been folly to pursue the right to vote quickly after the Civil War. Our nation needed to heal, we had lost a generation of men. This was not the time, so we waited some more. Towards 1900 women deemed the time was upon us to again seek what was rightfully ours. We had used our collective energy to do many great things in the time we had waited. Women had been by no means dorment. We had agitated for other reforms. Dorothea Dix worked tirelessly to help the mentally ill, Margaret Sanger tried to help women control their own reproductive processes and was thrown in jail, Elizabeth Blackwell became our first female physician fighting stereotypes and discrimination. Women were saving our society in any way they could. We understand waiting, and putting others before us. We continued waiting.
Potatoes!
If you are going to roast a goose you MUST cook potatoes in the fat. They come out so crispy and creamy and, omg.
We used just cheapo canned new potatoes, 3 TBS goose fat, salt and pepper. I let them sit over a medium low flame for 15 minutes, shook them around, and then another 15 minutes. There were none left.
Women set aside their desire for voting rights to help our country through WWI. The prevailing wisdom was that women were smart enough to construct weapons, even make bombs, but we were not smart enough to vote. So, we waited some more. When the war was over the time had come. Some women even had chained themselves to the White House front gate in protest. Woodrow Wilson finally gave in to the pressure and signed the 20th amendment into law. That's right, women in this country have had the right to vote for the last 90 years. Not a very long time in the big scheme of things. My own grandmother remembered voting for the first time that women could vote. My own mother can remember being told, as a single mother in the 1960's that men in her position were getting paid more than her because they had families to support. So we waited for work place protections. We waited for spousal abuse laws, for the right to play sports in high school, for the right to just attend some schools, to marry whom we want, and to decide what to do with our own bodies.
I am sure everybody has cookies out of the wahzoo right now. I wanted to make something that had a veil of healthy around it.
Ma's Fruit Tart
1 package of puff pastry
4 oz cream cheese room temp (low fat is ok)
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBS lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz blueberies or other non runny fruit (frozen blueberries work ok)
Spread out the room temp pastry. Score the pastry to make a 1 inch frame around the outside. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. If you like, spread egg wash on the frame part a sprinkle with sugar before baking. When the pastry comes out press down the center and let cool. Mix other ingredients except berries. cover bottom of pastry with mixture, then cover that with berries. A sprinkling of powdered sugar makes this very pretty.
American women are used to second class citizenship. We have a history of putting our needs and desires, even our own personal rights, on hold for the greater good. Yes it is wrong, yes it makes me angry.
BUT, if it means that my elderly mother will not have to choose between her Parkinson's medication and her cancer medication, then I will take the loss. If it means that the mentally retarded kid down the street will finally get the care he needs then I acquiesce willingly. If this means that the homeless family down across town will get to see a doctor, then fine. Take my rights, women are used to seeing the rug pulled from under them anyway. I have X amount of energy Pa, I refuse to spend it decrying the greater good. If the bill passes, as it looks as though it will, it will be up to all of us to "remember the ladies," because the ladies are too busy remembering everyone else, as usual.
Pa, I would rather spend my energy allotment loving on you, than being angry, at least today. Go stand under the mistletoe, or better yet take it upstairs.
Please share your own holiday recipes, or any recipes really, Pa is a novice in the Depressed Kitchen.
Happy Everything!