#Traditional holiday recipes

[divinemissem13]

A Very Voyager Holiday

@25daysofvoyager, day 8 submission.

After years of throwing Voyager's holiday parties, Neelix is surprised to learn that Federation winter holiday traditions include much more than just Christmas trees and Santa Claus.

This one got away from me a little bit... but then, it may have gotten away from Neelix too! Chapter 1 is below, but the full story will be on AO3 (4/5 chapters are already posted). Enjoy!

Chapter 1 “Eureka!” Neelix exclaimed as he finally found the box of Christmas ornaments he had been looking for, crammed into a corner in the cargo bay. Although he had only learned about Christmas once he joined the crew of Voyager, it had quickly become his second favorite holiday (after Prixin, of course!), and he was especially excited this year because Naomi Wildman was old enough now to help him decorate. He couldn’t wait to tell his goddaughter all about Santa Claus and his reindeer, or to see her face when she saw the lights on the Christmas tree for the first time.

In previous years, the tree had been on the holodeck and only available for viewing during the tree trimming party, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Neelix had noticed that many crew members never got the chance to enjoy it because someone always had to keep the ship running. So this year, he had decided to replicate a tree and set it up in the middle of the mess hall where everyone could enjoy it for the entire month. 

Recent events (starless voids, failed slipstream drives, endless encounters with hostile aliens) had resulted in a steep decline in crew morale. But Neelix was certain that a month of holiday festivities would go a long way towards lifting everyones’ spirits. 

Neelix entered the mess hall, grunting under the weight of the box of decorations as he hefted it onto the nearest table. It wasn’t meal time, so the mess hall was only sparsely occupied with crewmen scattered around reviewing PADDs or enjoying a beverage between shifts. As he scanned the room, Neelix was delighted to see Naomi sitting at a table near the massive pine tree, engrossed in a game of Kadis-kot with Seven. Neelix picked up the heavy box once more and carried it over to their table. 

“Well now, how are my two favorite non-Starfleet crew members today?” Neelix said in an exuberant tone that made Naomi giggle and Seven roll her eyes. “How do you like the tree?” he continued, without waiting for an answer. “It’s a big one this year! I hope that we have enough decorations to cover it. If not, we may have to start making some new ornaments!” 

In her typical Seven-of-Nine way, the ex-Borg raised an eyebrow at Neelix and excused herself, claiming to have other things to do much more important than decorating for a party. As he watched her leave, it occurred to Neelix that Seven probably didn’t know much about Christmas either. He made a mental note to include her in as much of the festivities as she would allow. 

He turned back to Naomi who had begun to pull on his sleeve, trying to get his attention. “Neelix, what about the other holidays?”

Neelix looked at the little girl, quite confused. “Well, they come at different times of the year… you know, Prixin was a few months ago. And then of course Valentine’s Day is coming up and then St. Patrick’s Day…”

“I’m not talking about those ,” Naomi insisted. “I asked my mom about the tree and she said that she didn’t celebrate Christmas when she was a little girl. And neither did my dad. They don’t even have Christmas on Ktaria.”

“Well, I… oh. Hmm. Do you mean that Christmas isn’t a Federation-wide holiday?” Neelix suddenly felt very foolish. He had thought Christmas was just a fun celebration where everyone gives gifts and sings songs.  It had never occurred to him that it might have a specific cultural or even religious significance.

“But Ensign Wildman celebrated a different holiday when she was your age?”

Naomi nodded excitedly, “Yes! It’s called Hanukkah and there are games and candles and food and presents too!”

“Well it sounds like you know all about… Ha-nuh-kah?” Neelix said it slowly, trying to sound out the strange word. 

“Only a little bit,” Naomi admitted. “Mom says we lit candles in our quarters last year, but I don’t remember. But she promised to tell me the story this year. And teach me how to play the game and everything. You can come too, if you want.” 

“Naomi,” Neelix smiled warmly, “I think that is an excellent idea. In fact, that gives me an idea… but let me do some research first and if it pans out, I can tell you all about it!”

“Please, Neelix! Tell me now!” Naomi begged. “I’m old enough!”

Neelix chuckled lightly and his eyes danced with excitement. “I have no doubt that you are, my dear. Just give me until dinner time and if what I’m thinking is correct, you and I will plan a big holiday surprise for the whole crew!” 

“Dinner time? You promise ?” Naomi raised an eyebrow skeptically and Neelix briefly wondered if that was a quirk she had picked up from Seven or from Captain Janeway. 

“Cross my heart. Now, I’ve got to get working… I’ll see you later, Naomi!” Neelix called as he bustled out of the mess hall to start looking up Federation holidays. 

Naomi watched her godfather leave and shrugged before turning to pack up her Kadis-kot board. Maybe Seven of Nine would have time to finish their game before dinner.

@elephant-in-the-pride-parade @gijane-7702 @hanukkahbingo

[minnesotadruids]

Peppernuts: Connecting With the Ancestors... 

On the Mennonite side of my family, the surnames that pop up are largely Belgian, Dutch, and Low German. Peppernuts, or Pfeffernüsse are tiny cookies that are about as old as the spice trade, and would have likely been an ancestral tradition in my family going back as much as 500 years.

My grandmother was always the one to make these for the winter holiday season. If my cousins or I would ask if we can help with the cookies and the zwieback buns, grandma would inevitably tell us to go play and she’d take care of it all. I never realized until she passed away in 2009 that this meant that she wasn’t passing the traditions down at all. When she was in hospice I had asked for her zwieback recipe, and she was happy that I wanted to take on that tradition, but it meant that I can never ask her questions about the confusing details. 

Not only was she the first in our lineage to write the recipe down, but there were notes on the side written in Low German, which is markedly different than modern High German. Low German (AKA Plautdietsch) doesn’t really have much for translation resources, and I only know a Low German a nursery rhyme that doesn’t really even exist anymore. But this isn’t about the zwieback, this is about the peppernuts! My mom rediscovered grandma’s peppernuts recipe about two years ago, so both her, my sister, and I started making them. Although technology has advanced, it still helps me connect with the ancestors.

These little aromatic and spiced cookies are really easy to make if you have one extra helper after the dough is ready. One batch easily makes like 400 cookies, I kid you not – but they’re supposed to be small, coming out like the size of a 4 or 6 notched Lego block. They’re supposed to be hard cookies, at least that’s how grandma liked them. Kept you from eating more than 5 in one sitting because they would make your jaw hurt. Tonight’s batch was too big to fit into a one gallon ice cream bucket, so assuming I’m the only one that made them this year, I’ll be sharing them with the family at their Christmas dinner. Without further ado, here is the recipe:

Ancestral Peppernut (Pfeffernüsse) Recipe

There are so many variants, so substitute* as needed.

PREP: ½ cup coffee 1 tsp baking soda stirred into coffee

MIX: 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 cups brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp anise extract

ADD: 5 & ¼ cups flour

SMALL BOWL: 1 tsp salt 1 tsp fine black or white pepper ½ tsp allspice 1 tsp cinnamon

Add dry spices to batter. Add the soda-coffee after mixing in most of the flour (gives the coffee time to cool so it doesn't cook the eggs). Burn out the motor in your hand mixer and finish mixing the dough by hand. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or wax paper and chill until the temperature is consistent throughout (at least 30 min). Take small handfuls of dough at a time (no larger than a ping-pong ball) and roll into half-inch thick logs (between the thickness if your little finger but no larger than the thickness of a washable marker). Cut the dough rope into square (or then roll them into round) pieces. If rounded, no wider than a dime. They will expand to about the size of a quarter in diameter. Place pieces on cookie sheet (bakers paper helps) one inch apart.

Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until golden-brown. Once cool, the cookies are supposed to be almost hard like biscotti, which is why it's important to keep them bite-sized in order to break fewer teeth at once. Recipe makes several hundred. Store at room temp for 1 week, then freeze for up to a month. Dip in coffee or tea to soften, or enjoy them as they fossilize with each passing day.

*Other recipes add any combination of the following in ½ or 1 tsp of: nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, and/or vanilla extract.

[tea-box-treasures]

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.

Caption: In just a few months, it will mark the 6th year that I have used this recipe to bring joy, happiness and the feel of the holiday spirit to my household.

These cookies are truly one of my absolute favorite things to make over the holiday season; more specifically, the day that the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade airs on tv.

I do know that it sounds a little odd as I am Canadian and our Thanksgiving is at the beginning of October but there is nothing more special to me than the tradition of putting the Parade on tv, making a cup of hot chocolate and making these cookies. That to me is more meaningful than anything.

That being said, time is absolutely flying by and before you know it, the stores will be full of fall decor, treats, cutlery, plates, cups, you name it. So I thought that I would share this recipe with you all so that you can make it, try and see if it's a good fit for you and your family.

I hope that you enjoy the cookies as much as my family and I do. On a final note, I just want to say a huge thank you to the creator of this recipe momcrieff.com for sharing it with everyone❤️

Lots of Love, La🫖

[peacefuldwellings]

19 Hanukkah Dinner Recipes the Whole Family Will Love

[gbsbbq]

Ultimate Thanksgiving Turkey Brine Recipe for Moist and Flavorful Results

Ingredients: 1 whole turkey (12-14 pounds) 1 gallon (16 cups) of water 1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 lemon, sliced 1 orange, sliced A handful of fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, etc.) Ice (to cool the brine) Instructions: Prepare the Brine: In a large pot, combine the water, kosher salt,…

[iii-days-grace]

dear americans, i discovered chex mix this Christmas and now i cant stop eating it. please send help.

my mum found a recipe and sent me home on the train with like a garbage bag full and its half gone already

[a-chaotically-small-lunta]

Alright I got a recipe for y’all.

Coconut Candies (They are basically almond joys but stfu)

Alright this I what ya gonna need

2 and a half bags of shredded coconut

1 and a half cups of chopped almonds (but I don’t use almonds cause of family allergies but you can use em)

1 and a half sticks of butter

1 can of condensed milk

6 CUPS of powdered sugar

4 bags (12 oz bags, also 5 bags if need be) of chocolate chips (I recommend semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips)

First take your coconut, powdered sugar and almonds and put them in a huge ass bowl. Start mixing that fucker, meanwhile take your condensed milk and butter, put those in a microwaveable bowl or something and heat that hitch up until the butter is melted. Once the butter is melted and the Coconut is well mixed, you gonna combine those together. Make sure to be melting you chocolate on the side. There are many ways to do this, I just have a lil melting pot that melts it for me so yeah. While mixing the coconut mix and butter mix it might get hard to use a spatula or spoon to mix so fuck it, start using your hands to mix that up. It’s faster. After you got it all mixed up you have two options on how you wanna proceed. You got the ball option and the square option.

SQUARES: take a flat dish, like a lasagna dish or something, and lay the coconut mix along the bottom. Make sure it’s evenly spread around. Next pour the melted chocolate over the coconut and then let dry. Once dry cut a piece and enjoy

BALLS: grab a small amount of the coconut, and make a ball with it. The best size is about the size of a quarter. After making all the balls your gonna dip the balls into the chocolate melt. DO NOT PUT CRISCO OR BUTTER INTO THE CHOCOLATE. It ruins it. After dipping all the balls into chocolate, let them dry and then enjoy.

To store the extras (cause the ball version makes around 120 balls) put in a container with a lid. No need to freeze them or refrigerate them. Freezing them will dry them out.

Enjoy the coconut candies!

[jackandeliza]

Gelatin Divinity For these tasty treats, you can use any flavor of gelatin mixture. This enjoyable and adaptable candy, which is similar to fudge, might become a holiday custom. 1 package cherry flavored Jell-O mix, 3/4 cup water, 3 cups white sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, 3/4 cup light corn syrup, 2 egg whites

[novinha-amador]

Faça ovos de pascoa caseiros e fature uma boa renda

Ovos de Páscoa: Descubra Receitas Deliciosas e Surpreenda sua Família neste Feriado Sagrado A Páscoa é uma data muito especial, marcada por tradições e símbolos que remetem à renovação, à esperança e à fé. Entre esses símbolos, destacam-se os ovos de Páscoa, que são amplamente consumidos em todo o mundo como uma forma de celebrar essa data tão importante. Neste artigo, vamos conhecer um pouco…

[little-homestead-in-the-suburbs]

In Which the Archaic hits home, OR digitizing family recipe cards

Recipe for Poinsettia Bread, basically a fancy gumdrop bread at bottom

Thanks to the arctic freeze busting multiple pipes at my apartment/work, I am staying with my family while the pipes get contained enough so that i can have running water.

While at my parent's house, I got bored and decided to finally start digitizing all the recipe cards from my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother (around 100 years of history, possibly a bit more), it's fun to see how the location, historical context, and available ingredients has changed.

For context these cards come from women raised in the Ohio river valley area, think Cincinnati and Illinois in small town, lower income farm family. And covers basically all of the 1900's including the Great depression, and both world wars, and poverty levels that include sending the brothers to hunt squirrels and rabbits on the edge of town for meat.

I have come to realize a couple of things:

We are losing basic cooking knowledge. Most of these Recipes are simply a list of ingredients with volumes, usually the oven temperature, and sometimes the cook time and pan size. BUT NOT ALL. Some are just the ingredients and how much, no other information.

Some of these items were simply implied to be included. The most notable one is the utter lack of Blueberries as an ingredient in the Blueberry Muffins Good recipe, not once but twice, as two separate cards of the same recipe were in the box in two different hand writings.

If we don't take action, many of our cooking skills may go the way of some of the ancient cities. the "everyone knows were town such and so is, so why would we ever say where it is or even include it on maps" adventures.

Anyways I have had a grand evening deciphering some recipes with my mom, including almost an hour of deciding how the instructions and order of steps went for my great grandmothers Poinsettia Bread went, and how much flour should be in the recipe.

Esther Whannel’s Poinsettia Bread

Makes 2 breads

1 packet yeast (1 Tbsp)

¼ cup warm water

⅓ cup + 1 tsp sugar

¾ cup milk

1 tsp salt

⅓ cup butter

3 eggs

5 ½ cup + ¼ cup flour

Lemon Zest

Spiced gum drops, with some chopped for decoration

Chopped nuts

Frosting

Red sugar

Mix packet of yeast in ¼ cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar, set aside until active. Meanwhile, scald ¾ cup of milk, then add ⅓ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and ⅓ cup butter, removing from heat once combined and let cool until tepid. Beat 3 eggs and add to milk mixture followed by the yeast sponge. In a separate bowl, mix lemon zest with 5 ¼  cups flour. Mix 2 ½ cups flour into wet mix then work in remaining flour until a workable dough forms, knead until smooth and let rest 1 ½ hours.  In the dry bowl, combine ¼ cup flour with chopped nuts and gumdrops. Punch down dough and knead in gumdrops and nuts. Divide dough in half. Using 1 portion of dough, shape a small round center for flower. Cut the remainder of the portion into 12 pieces for petals, shape into petals and layout in flower shape. Cover and set aside, repeat for other portion of dough. Let rise 1 hour, then bake at 375*F until golden brown. Frost while warm, decorate center with gumdrop pieces, sprinkle petals with red sugar. 

This recipe was not the clearest set of instructions, and so We spent a while trying to determine the most likely method. We based the above instructions on a Stollen bread. The ingredient list is also an estimation as well.

[happy2bmyownboss]

12 Weeks of Holiday Planning

Here are some posts that I put together last year about Getting Ready for the Holidays, maybe they can help you have a less stressful holiday season this year. I will update posts as I change things but they may give you a starting point. You can also print out the Event Planning Guide or the Planning Notebook under the Printable Library Tab to help you get started with your plans! Getting…

[gpstudios]

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day: Savoring the Perfect Balance of Sweet and Tart

Celebrate National Lemon Meringue Pie Day on August 15th by indulging in this classic dessert! With its perfect balance of sweet and tart, lemon meringue pie is a delicious treat that never goes out of style. #LemonMeringuePieDay #ClassicDesserts #PieLove

Every year on August 15th, dessert lovers across the nation come together to celebrate National Lemon Meringue Pie Day, a day dedicated to one of the most beloved and classic pies in American baking. Lemon meringue pie is a delightful dessert that combines the zesty tang of lemon curd with the light, airy sweetness of meringue, all atop a crisp and buttery pie crust. It’s a dessert that perfectly…

[djerroganze]

Have you ever been to Haiti? Most people would answer no, however now you can.

Let’s journey through the island of Haiti which means mountainous. Our journey began when we decided that Haiti’s exquisite cuisine, customs, traditions must be shared with the world. Now, we bring to you Douse Lakay, a “sweet taste of home. “

We are offering this exclusive online special for your delight. Kremas will inspire you to enjoy all the benefits of Haiti without leaving the comfort of your home. With every drink, you will taste Haiti's sweet elixir.

To purchase this special drink, contact us at Jesulam1@douselakay.com

Payment: Zelle

This price below doesn't include shipping

www.douselakay.com

#douselakay

[peacefuldwellings]

Easy Challah Bread

[annefretz]

So decadent and easy to make, Confetti Toffee Matzo Crunch could be the beginning of a new and wonderful holiday tradition.

[notquitesuperhuman]

Exploring the Interconnection of Foodways and Folklore

Currently, I am taking a course on using folklore and fairytales as a framework for wellbeing called Enchant. In one of our recent sessions, an interesting concept was introduced: Foodways. It was the first time I had ever heard the phrase, however, after reflecting on it, the Italian-American tradition of Festa dei Sette Pesci, also known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes, comes to mind. I…