Traditions, Old and New

Wishing All of You the Happiest of Holiday Seasons!

This past year has been quite the adventure for me and my family. Pulling up stakes and moving across the country a little over a year ago has ended up being one of the best decisions of my life. Life here in southwestern Pennsylvania is quite different than it was in South Florida and I am continually delighted on an almost daily basis. 

From the farmers’ markets and seasonal produce, to the 4 distinctly changing seasons, to my wonderful neighbors, and new friends, I don’t think I could be any luckier. Of course, there’s a whole lot to do when you move into a new home and we’re still at it, but we’re fairly settled now and of course, getting my kitchen up and running was one of the first things I did.  

Last year’s holidays were on the chaotic side because we were in the midst of a kitchen renovation that was finally completed on December 23. I did my best to carry through with our holiday traditions, but our house didn’t quite feel like home yet. That was going to take more time. This year we’ve been able to relax and thoroughly enjoy the season. I’ve been baking and cooking practically non-stop and I’ll be posting some new recipes I’m excited about.  Sharing my baked goods with my new neighbors has been one of the great joys of my new life here and has quickly become a new tradition.

 

 

I love to decorate my table with fresh winter fruit during the holidays and I couldn’t resist the beautiful Fuyu persimmons that are in the markets now, so I bought a dozen. Seeing as how I’ve got plenty of them, I’ve decided to make a persimmon custard tart for dessert tonight. I’m making up this recipe from scratch because I’m not a fan of any of the recipes that are out there. Most all of them contain warm spices and will end up tasting like pumpkin pie. If I wanted pumpkin pie I’d make one. I don’t think it’s necessary to treat fully ripe persimmons as faux pumpkin. They have their own intrinsic flavor and I think it gets overpowered by a ton of spices. If this turns out well, I’ll make another one, film it and post it. Wish me luck!!

Tonight (Christmas Eve) is when we have our big celebratory dinner. Then our tradition continues with opening up one gift right before bed – new pajamas for everyone. We stay in our new pjs all day on Christmas Day because that’s our day for relaxing at home, opening gifts, cooking brunch and simply enjoying being together. Speaking of brunch, another of our traditions that has been going on for years, is that I always make my French Toast . This year I found some beautiful local peppered bacon that I’ll be cooking up to serve with it, along with fresh berries. Leftovers from the big Christmas Eve meal will be eaten in the evening. That’s how we do it. And I’m so thankful for each and every moment. 

No matter what specific holiday you’re celebrating this season, I hope you and your family have your own unique traditions or are in the process of creating new traditions. I don’t care what those traditions are. If they’re yours and they make you feel loved and cherished, then I fully support them. 

For me, it’s setting the table, lighting the candles, Christmas music, wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen, and being with my loved ones. It’s the highlight of my year. I wish each and every one of you a holiday filled with love and tradition, whatever that tradition may be. Thank you all so very much for sticking with me and my little food blog throughout the rest of the year. It means the world to me.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

– Renée Robinson