Christmas Day

Tags

Christmas, Cornish Hen, Food, home, life, Plum Pudding

A quiet day it is, it started to snow around 8am this morning, no wind, just gently falling flakes of snow, sort of dancing around and covering the green fields with just enough snow to make it look like Christmas day.

My best wishes to all of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope this to be a good happy day today with your friends and family. If you are on your own, enjoy the Peace of the day.

So this Christmas meal will be very different for us this year, no one has been invited and it is only Will and I at the table. Will of course is restricted to his special hospital diet, he insisted in preparing a festive meal for me, with a Cornish Hen with an apple stuffing and a glaze. Vegetable roasted and of course the Rum butter sauce for our plum pudding from our friend in Vancouver, Ginny. We have our Christmas crackers and the festive silverware and champagne. I will start the meal with some good Smoked salmon with capers and onions.

Nicky and Nora those little sweet dachshunds have given me a gift certificate from Amazon. They are elderly now but remain the best little companions.

Watched the message from St-George’s Chapel of HM the King, what a beautiful message, so well done and addressing the King’s message of interfaith dialogue. The King wants to be the Defender of ALL Faiths not just the Anglican Faith. To do so, Parliament will have to pass a Law to allow him to do so. There is apparently no time now before Coronation Day when HM will take the Oath to change that detail, will see if the Prime Minister will move on it quickly.

This week we invited friends to visit Will for coffee, we certainly have the cakes and cookies all home made to pass around. We also have Geld which I buy for Hanukkah and give away. I always buy too much Geld.

Some pictures of Dec 25 in Charlottetown. It really taking me many days to write this one. We are now the 27 Dec.

Do you see the nose, Yes this is Nicky all wrapped up in his blanket and snoozing away on the sofa. He prefers it if I come and sit by him, then he snuggles right up to me and sleeps profoundly. Let sleeping dogs lie, goes the old saying.

A more simple table setting this Christmas for dinner, dinner for one and Will already had his special medical dinner. He made me dinner, starting with smoked Salmon and capers, then vegetables and roasted Cornish hen and of course flaming plum pudding for dessert. A beautiful brandy fuelled blue light, so festive. The best part WILL was able to eat some without difficulty, now that is a big step, a first in 6 months.

Christmas Morning finally some snow, just a bit but nice enough in the quiet streets and with some sunshine.

Now onwards to the New Year Festivities which will be calm and quiet also.

The Eve of

Tags

Canada, Christmas, life, PEI, winter

The storm announced yesterday turned out to be largely a non-event. High winds, no ferry crossings, bridge to the mainland closed, but that was it. We are without snow, all green everywhere so this is Christmas in PEI.

The city is quiet tonight, because of the storm of yesterday, no one could leave the Island, no flights and bridge closed. Moral of this story, just stay home for the holidays.

So tonight we are quiet at home, the wind is still strong and it is cool. In the city there are not many displays of lights on private homes, this is more a suburb and rural area thing. We are not having company or dinner parties, but this week people will come to have coffee and cake every day starting with Boxing Day.

As for New Year’s Eve and Day, well will see, no plans yet.

I only hope that 2023 will be a better year than the past 3 years. I would love to travel a little bit even if it is not far.

Winter scene in a Quebec village by Clarence A. Gagnon.

just a few more days

Tags

aspic, Canada, Christmas, Dresden, Food, Frauenkirche, Orange chocolate

Friday night apparently we will get very high winds in the 90km range and rain, by Sunday Christmas day it will be passed.

Just listening to the concert today from the Frauenkirche in Dresden with at the organ Matthias Grunert who is playing Cesar Franck, Grand Choeur for the series of concerts given at the Frauenkirche during Advent, Klingenden Adventskalenders.

Such a magnificent baroque Lutheran church built in 1726 by George Bahr, destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1993.

Today in LeDevoir from Montreal I was reading about Christmas dishes you no longer see on the table, it seems that after 1980 such dishes just fell out of favour after centuries, literally of being associated with Christmas. Reading the article I thought, yes that is true, how did that happen. It seems that fashion changed and so did how people eat and what they eat. The old Christmas of French Canada with traditions coming from France of the 17th century changed and it all became much more simple and less about traditions. Noel itself is no longer the big religious event it was once, it is now very secular and even the creche under the tree has disappeared. There is at least 2 generations who remember nothing of the old ways of French Canada because their own parents simply do not follow them anymore.

So the first dish was Aspic, my grandmother whom we called Tante Fernande because she was my maternal grandfather’s second wife made this dish every year at Christmas, usually with chicken and green peas. I loved it and there was also the other version with beef which I think was equally good. It was only in Poland in 1998 that I saw it again on the table, we had our Christmas party at the Embassy and the staff made what is called there Galaretka drobiowa, it was sooo good. You will no longer find it in Canada. It originally came from the Court at Versailles, in his old age King Louis XIV had lost his teeth and he could no longer chew food properly, so his chef had to invent new soft food dishes. In Poland Carp which is a very old fish which can grow to a large size and found in ponds of european palaces and in rivers is bought at the market live and kept in the bathtub at home. The day you need to make the dish you wack it to death and then use the meat cut in filet. Our cook would prepare this dish for us and it was wonderful.

The other dish was called Pain Sandwich and that was not a favourite of mine, it was a commercial invention in 1920 to push the sale of white bread. You sliced it on its lenght instead of the usual slices. Use spreadable cream cheese and decorate with pimentos, slices olives and roll up. You then apply mayonnaise on the outer side and roll in chopped up parsley. You can then slice it to make little wheel sandwiches. Tonight at the Club we talked about this in the lounge by the fireplace. Everyone had a story about childhood where their family and relatives would prepare dishes like green jell-o salad with corn and peas, it was so festive and the height of sophistication in the late 1950’s and 60’s. We laughed and realize that today we eat very differently and no one goes to the lenght of work preparation and trouble our mothers, aunts and grandmothers went through.

At Christmas I always look for Orange rind dipped in dark chocolate. It is easy to find in Europe but not so much here where big chocolate corp control the market of sweets. I did find dark chocolate with orange flavour, the thing is shaped like an orange and wrapped in golden paper. It is good but I prefer the taste of orange rind, more chewy, sweet and bitter all at once.

I also got my sister in NYC to get me a new hat, I have specific taste and I wanted a Drilby which is a hat that was worn by Andrei Gromyko. I had bought one in Italy around 2010 and I wore it in Winter only. Could not find anything here in PEI.

We are currently having a fierce wind storm and it is suppose to bring rain later during the night. The same storm pass over NYC earlier. Apparently it will cause some damage and after Fiona about one month ago, people are skittish about power cuts on the Eve of Christmas. The bridge to the mainland closed at 6pm tonight and there is no way to leave the island now, flights are cancelled, moral of this story, do not travel at Holiday time.

We are safe and sound at home. Hope everyone has a good Christmas with my best wishes.

A very good day!

Tags

CANCER, Christmas, pastry, PEI, Province house, sacred music

During this Christmas period, I look for old French carols one is a Seventeen century carol by Louis Claude Daquin, it is in old French and for amusement the words are those of simple people who are so in awe in the presence of God that they stutter.

The carol speaks of the generosity of those who came to see baby Jesus, commenting that “there was no one young or old who did not offer all his riches” to Mary and Joseph. It also mentions the Three Magi who offered gold, frankincense and myrrh. The carol concludes that we must believe in God-King as our refuge. It would have been sung at the Chapelle Royale of Versailles in the presence of the King.

The other one also ancient, Ca berger assemblons-nous which was part of the Christmas Eve and Day service. This one speaks of the humble beginning of Jesus and is asking the simple shepherds to come and see him abandoning their herds which are overseen by angels during their absence. God is calling you the carol proclaims. Ah quel grand mystere is another carol which is sung scripture around the Christmas story.

There are so many beautiful old French carols, the words are poetry taken from the Scriptures. They are considered sacred music. The Adeste Fideles which is sung in Latin at a time prior to 1962 when mass was in Latin speaks of the Glory of God and the need for the faithful to come and adore the Messiah. All this music was composed for organ, with a tenor and a large choir to lend majesty to the Christmas service. There are many more but when I think of it, it is a distant past which by today’s standard belong to another time.

This music of French Canada is not well known in the rest of English Canada. The other problem today is that English culture in Canada today is dominated by USA influence which smoothers.

Today we had an appointment to see one of the doctors who is treating Will’s cancer, the news was very positive, the mood jovial. Will has gained weight and his blood work is normal. Recommendation is that he eats more to gain more weight. We were both so happy to hear this news, could not come at a better time. We are not out of the woods yet, but it is all positive. The big test is in February with the CT scan and then we will know if all these treatments were successful.

When we got home Will made some pastry and then used the mince meat to make little turnover with a Calvados glaze. They are very good. He has also invited some close friends to come for coffee in the coming days during the Holidays another good sign.

After a 5 year $100 million complete restoration of the Legislative building, Province House should reopen next year and the Members of the Assembly will return. It was built in 1834 but never well maintained. It is a beautiful Georgian Building. This is the North side, the South side is the main entrance and is identical.

Minus 10 days

Tags

Christmas, Concert, Dresden, Food, Frauenkirche

This week Will cooked 60 sausage rolls. A good recipe where he will caramelize 2 big red onions and then incorporate them with sausage meat, using in this case Bangers. He also made some mince meat pies and I made more of my shortbreads pistachio, cranberry and orange zest.

The weather in the next 36 hours will be rain and sleet with high winds, no snow. Apparently the temperature will be well above average this Winter. I believe it, it’s not cold at all, but that is not good for colds

Found on YouTube a very nice concert given at the Frauen Kirche in Dresden for Advent. This wonderful 90 meter tall church in the German Baroque style was destroyed in February 1945 in the fire bombing of Dresden. It has been totally rebuilt and is spectacular. They hold regular Lutheran services, they also have concerts and recitals and most are on YouTube. The church has 4 organs and its own music school and choir.

We visited several times as it was being rebuilt. Dresden has in the last 25 years been reborn. The concert was on the 11 December with Diana Damrau (Soprano) Mauro Peter (Tenor) Nicole Chirka (Mezzo – Soprano) Martin-Jan Nijhof (Bass – Baritone) Marie Jacquot (Conductor) Staatskapelle Dresden and the choir of the FrauenKirche and the Opera House of Dresden. What is nice about such a concert it allows you to listen to Christmas music which is not the old standards and come from less heard composers. One is René Kollo, Christmas Peace or Gounod, Noel, Cesar Franck, sortie pour Noel.

A cold gray weekend

Tags

Christmas, Italy, PEI, Plum Pudding, Rome, Storms, turmoil, winter, World

The weather is not very nice at the moment as we approach Xmas. This morning I was listening to a very nice rendition of Black Bird by Paul McCartney on saxophone it was beautiful, modern interpretation. It is one of my favourite piece of music. The other one which makes me stop to listen is by Cesar Franck, Prélude, Fugue, et Variation. Absolutely wonderful and this is the music I love to listen before going to sleep or before I die this would be the music I would want to hear. It evoque in me many recollections. Have a listen it is well worth it.

We do live in troubled times, it seems the world is gone mad, pandemics, inflations, climate change, extinctions of species, war in Europe, failed politics and violence, threats to democracy. It has been getting worse since March 2020 when Covid became a thing. Let us hope that 2023 will bring a return to more balance and stability. Though I know that it is unlikely, possibly more horrors will come our way. But in the past there has been periods like 1929 to 1945 deep economic depression and then world war and all the horrors of it, with millions of dead. Before that 1914-1919 another great period of turmoil with a flu epidemic. I just feel strange that we will not return to a life as it was prior to 1990, it will never be the same.

I hear friends who are my age or older saying they are happy to be at the end of their lives because they lived through good times, though there was trouble but never as we see it now. From 1946 to 1990 there was stability despite some events, people remained optimistic for the future. This optimism seems to have gone out.

We have talked of travelling in 2023 but we would do close to home travel, nothing in Europe despite wanting to go. Then again at home much will depend on the recovery and good health of Will. More months to go before the final word.

Given that we are 2 weeks away from Xmas, today I decided to go and get my Xmas bird, well not a turkey but a Cornish Hen which I will cook and serve with the appropriate side dish and for dessert will have the Plum Pudding sent to us by Will’s old school friend who lives in Vancouver.

Tomorrow Tuesday the first Winter storm is coming our way with hurricane force winds which is the real concern since the clean up from Fiona continues and many trees are still to be cut down and taken away. We may get more power outages. Though I am not worried here being on the strategic power supply axis of the capital. Winds from the NW at 90Km per hour and snow accumulation of 15cm.

We have done our Christmas decorations and this year it is a small 3 foot tree, no sterling silver balls, no Wedgwood ornaments, only smaller simpler ornaments still collected over 40 years from all around the world. Maybe it is better to go for simpler, nothing says you have to over decorate or go over board with gifts or meals. I prefer to listen to music from J.S.Bach or other classical composers Praetorius, Charpentier, or old French 18th century music or some Chet Baker.

Whatever you do this year, I hope it will make you happy. By the way in and around 1100 AD you would have said Merrie Christes Maesse. The photo below by Mauro Pagliai is the centre of Rome, Piazza Venezia and the lighting of the City of Rome Christmas tree. The long straight lighted street is Via del Corso which takes you to Piazza del Popolo. This street was known in antiquity as Via Flaminia built in 220 BC. imagine walking on a street that is 2220 years old and still very much in use. If you follow it outside of Rome it would take you over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. How we miss Rome and living there after all these years.

Another view this time from the top of the Vittoriano dedicated to King Vittorio Emanuelle II who unified Italy in 1870 with Garibaldi.

Advent 2

Tags

CANCER, Christmas, cookies, PEI, Tourtiere

So again this week has been busy with many chores and events, Will’s health, my return from a 48 hour trip to Halifax and then attending to finding the food formula for Will, that was an adventure. Several companies make this injectable formula and it is a big seller for patients. Abbott is one company and the other manufacturer is Nestlé. So the product is now sold in cartons instead of metal cans. Because of this conversion from one container to another a delay in Canada is happening and the product will be available again on 15 December. What do you do in the meantime, that is anyone’s guess. Luckily the Cancer centre was able to help us out and we can substitute for the time being to another similar product. We were caught short and the nutritionist mentioned also that with Winter storms on the Island the bridge which is the only link to the rest of Canada in Winter can close for a day or two due to very high winds. This means that you should always stock up on essentials in Winter, just in case.

The weather is still very mild, no snow in the forecast and I think that this year will be like last year, the snow will be very late probably in January. When prior to Climate Change just a few years ago, snow would arrive by early November or sometimes late October. This Winter we are having the Canada Winter Games so we will need snow and cold weather, not rain and mild weather which is likely now.

Today we made Tourtiere, which is a very old Canadian recipe from the 17th Century and extremely popular at this time of the year. Originally it was game meat from the hunt, usually from a bird called Tourte. Nowadays it is a mixture of beef, veal, pork. Everyone has a family recipe but it is a variation on a similar theme. Mine has no beer and no potato in it. If you go on YouTube look for Food Wishes with Chef John, he has an excellent recipe for Tourtiere.

I also want to make a shortbread with pistachio and orange peel. Again it is an old recipe and the New York Times has a recipe this weekend, however theirs has chocolate in it, mine does not. A good cookie does not need chocolate.

Recipe for Shortbread Orange Pistachio, Cranberry

Orange Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies have the perfect balance of butter, orange zest, cranberries, and pistachios. 

They are tender and melt in your mouth with a lovely flavor. I love that the dough can be made a few days ahead of time so you can pull out and slice enough to enjoy each day, but they also store wonderfully in an airtight container.

First remove the zest from 1-2 large Oranges. I like using a vegetable peeler and then scraping any excess white pith off the zest with a sharp knife. 

This allows a little bit larger pieces of Orange Zest than using a zester.

Chop Zest finely.

Cream together: 

• 1 cup Butter
• 3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Orange Zest
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Until well combined.

Add 3/4 cup Dried Cranberries and 3/4 cup Pistachios, and mix until well combined.

Stir in 2 cups All-Purpose Flour just until combined, being careful not to over mix.

Divide cranberry shortbread dough into 2. Shape into 2 logs 2″-2 1/4″ thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour

Slice Orange Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies 1/4″ thick and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake cookies in a 350 degree oven for 16-18 minutes until edges are just lightly brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet to ensure centers are well cooked and crispy.

We also made the tree today, however this year because of Will’s being unwell we have downsized the whole Xmas affair, so we went from an 8 foot tree to a 3 foot tree. The tree is also decorated with ornaments we have been collecting for 44 years and we are using cloisonné balls because of their small size instead of the usual sterling silver balls.

For Christmas dinner instead of turkey or goose, I will have Cornish hens and dessert will be the traditional plum pudding flaming. A friend of Will’s sent him one from Vancouver. Again usually he would make his own but he does not have the energy this year.

End of the Year

Tags

Christmas, covid, life, Rome, winter

Well on Wednesday, Will was not feeling well and he wanted to get tested for Covid, the clinic is in the old Federal garage by the bridge and next to the race track, just a 5 minute car drive. We went, I was expecting crowds, there was about 100 cars in front of us but the line was moving quickly. So the procedure is simple you can either walk in from the street, the test is given to you and you are out in 6 minutes. We came by car and so it took 90 minutes to get tested and the results are posted online at the PEI Health Dept. you can access the confidential results by entering your health card number. If you are positive you will get a phone call for a second test and to give contact information. It’s free and it’s easy and why not for peace of mind. I am feeling fine and have no symptoms but we live together and so we should both get the test. Later in the day we checked online and we are both negative. Will was happy and relieved.

The Weather continues to be mild in a very strange fashion, more like early Spring mild than end of December. Out West in Prairies and the West Coast they are freezing to death -45C to -50C and lots of snow which is completely out of character for them. The joke is that British Columbia got too much snow and they phone PEI to say, please come and get this snow delivered to us by mistake, it’s yours come and pick it up.

So our New Year’s Eve will be very quiet, no parties, no get together, just quiet dinner at home for the two of us. I wish to remain positive that 2022 will be better, there is no point in feeling maudlin, despite the news which is over dramatic. True that our little province today Thursday has 169 cases with again is absolutely not good, but no one in hospital, symptoms in most cases are mild. Boosters are being given out like candy on appointment. It’s not funny to live with this but it is a new normal for me anyways. Looks like kids are not going back to school and the University has already switched to online teaching.

Those who are sick are in the population were either not vaccinated or had one vaccination only. Many were children who now can get their vaccination but we still have a lot of parents who hesitate.

Winter here continues to be so mild that it feels like Europe, in fact some cities like Berlin have more snow than us in Charlottetown. The river is not frozen, no skiing, no ice for skating, so it is just cold -5C and humid. Life goes on.

A small Piazza in front of an old Palace in Rome, an area we walking in many times, so pleasant. Christmas in Rome was always so wonderful and full of lights and delights.

Some good news

Tags

Christmas, Dachshund, Food, life, refrigeration

Well today we had some good news despite it all. I had an appointment for Nicky at the Vet to check on his eyes and the ulcers that had developed about 2 months ago due to the dryness of his eyes. With treatment and care and eye drops daily, the Vet confirmed that the ulcers are gone and he is not in pain over them. So that is a relief though his cataracts will get worse because of his age, at the moment he is fine. With this treatment Nicky has managed to grow very lazy and expects now cookies for almost anything and needs to be lifted and petted and talked sweetly non stop. He like most Dachshund is very good at manipulating silly humans like us. The vet is constantly telling us to be on the look out for this type of behaviour, because they learn very quickly and then it is difficult to break, much pouting and sad looks not to mention sighs. Yes he is a little monster but he is our monster.

The other good news today, the fridge appears to have been fixed and working properly, so we can move the contents back from upstairs into it. This little contre temps allowed us to clean out the fridge properly. Tomorrow we will start de-freezing the turkey which is hard as a rock right now. Only 2 guests coming for Xmas day Lunch and 2 more for Boxing Day Dinner.

I also had my haircut today for Xmas and went over to Government House to see the Lieutenant Governor to wish her happy Christmas, she was listening to the Premier and the Chief Medical Officer announcing the new health measures and restrictions, people feel very badly about this right now and with reason. We have no choice, it is a matter of public health.

She had in the Salon d’Honneur this 15 foot Christmas tree, she told me that she ordered it back in October, it is quite beautiful and I am probably one of the very few people to have seen it this year, since the Official Residence is closed unless you have official business.

It was a very bright sunny day today and despite being the first day of Winter it really was not that cold at all. In other words it did not feel like Winter at all.

Government House, Charlottetown, PEI

Memories of Xmas past

Tags

Cairo, Christmas, Egypt, life, Rome, Santa

I came upon some photos of years ago one is of Cairo in 1991 Christmas. I was talked into being the Santa for all the kids at the Canadian Embassy. With the children of our local Egyptian staff and the Canadian colleagues children, there was about 60 kids.

I remember getting dressed in the Santa’s costume at my home in Zamalek and then being driven to the party. On the street Egyptians were waiving, Hello Santa. Such a popular guy, the party went on for hours and the kids were super excited and I was exhausted, parents were happy. We had great fun and this is one of my best memories of Cairo.

Cairo at Christmas was festooned with multicoloured lights and you would think that being a majority Muslim country there would be no festivities. However while in Egypt I discovered that the Virgin Mary is honoured in Islam as being chosen by God to be the mother of the prophet Jesus. Egyptians also love a good celebration and a laugh.

Of course during our time in Egypt, we got to ride camels and I can tell you that it is not comfortable if you do not know how to sit properly.

This photo from 1991 is of my late colleague Jim Gould who took over from me as Santa, the brave fellow. I did manage to fool his daughter in 1990 when I was Santa and I wonder if he also was able to do this, the kid was a sharp observer.
My colleague Bill with the camera in the background and his wife Janet. Two of our local staff feeding the beast. People are dressed against the cold, despite what people may think Winters in Egypt can be cold, around 10C in the day time and much colder at night.

This picture of me and Diana, the president of the Canadian Club in Rome at our Club Xmas party in 2010. In Rome we always had such elegant parties and so much fun.

Christmas in Ottawa in 1980 our first apartment and our tree. The young days.

Us today, Summer of 2021 in PEI.