New Year’s Eve/Day

​♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

If you’re needing some inspiration regarding what to make for New Year’s Eve or Day, check out these dishes made around the world that bring luck and prosperity.

In a lot of Southern states, black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread are paired together to make a “fortune” for the year ahead. The saying goes, “peas for pennies, greens for dollars and cornbread for gold.”

Eat twelve grapes at midnight. This is a tradition that spans across a lot of Spanish culture. As the clock strikes twelve, you eat 12 grapes, each one representing a month ahead.

Cook up some lentils like they do in Brazil and Italy. These legumes are coin-shaped and have been eaten for luck since the Roman times.

Food in the shape of rings. At midnight have a slice of yummy cake or for breakfast on New Year’s Day have bagels or doughnuts. This represents the year coming full circle. In Greek culture, they bake a coin into the cake and whoever gets it in their slice has a full year of luck coming their way.

Enjoy some pig on New Year’s Day. Pork is considered to be the luckiest of all foods to eat on the day. The reason being that pigs are plump, this represents prosperity. Pigs also lead from their noses, which symbolizes progress. Queue the bacon, sausage and ham.

Another Greek tradition is to smash a pomegranate. When the clock strikes 12 over in Greece, a pomegranate is smashed in front of the door onto the floor to crack it open. This reveals its seeds that symbolize prosperity and good fortune. The more seeds there are, the more luck.

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Consuming long, uncut noodles on New Year’s Day signifies longevity. For me, I’ll be having midnight pasta to bring my luck, longevity and prosperity into 2019. Most likely a puttanesca sauce since it’s tops for me.

On a final note for 2018, a thoughtful message from years ago for the year ahead

“Well, we have a whole new year ahead of us. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, a little more loving, and have a little more empathy, and maybe, next year at this time we'd like each other a little more.”- Judy Garland

To making 2019 the best year yet-go find your own little moments of delight #FindYourLittleFriday ♥️

Three Sisters

Three sisters, their mother, one of their nieces/daughters (me) and a recipe for borscht. This recipe has been repeated, rephrased and reinterpreted through each one of us. Every Christmas Eve as a child I dreaded the thought of this dish, I was only in it for the pierogis from that feast. It was oxblood purplish red and represented the blood of Christ. That was literally too much to digest as a child and I was grossed out by the resounding slurping around the table.

I’ve changed, I now look forward to this recipe and evening over so many others over the course of the year. My first attempt at this recipe was a mere three years ago and it quickly became a part of my repertoire from that Christmas Eve on.  While preparing to make it for the first time I called on my mom Laada (Josie), my cioci Ursie (aunt Ursula), my cioci Susie (aunt Susan) for their guidance and tricks they learned from my babci, their mother and my grandma (Olga).  They each gave me their individual input and tips from years of making this soup. 

 Below are the top 3 pieces of advice each of them gave to me on that fateful first attempt, with my real life reaction/response following.

From Cioci Susie-The eldest and most revered in the kitchen for her skills. To me, she sounds like she is singing when she speaks and she knows how to make everything---I mean everything! My times with her in the kitchen are full of laughs, isms and a little sass.

“If you really want to make it special and full of flavor you have to go to the butcher and ask for the bones from the beef to make it the most flavorful.”

My response? Better Than Bouillon Beef, this makes my life and borscht the stuff of legend….I still do this step every time and have never looked back-a riff if you please.

From Cioci Ursie-The middle sister with the most practical nature and lots of cultivated skill in the kitchen. She cuts to chase and gives it to you straight. I truly learned from her that you could be a great cook with the simplest techniques and ingredients.  

“Whatever you do, don’t let the borscht turn into a brown color and make sure that it stays clear. The skins need to be clean, keep an eye on them while they boil and flavor the water. Babci was known to throw out the entire batch if it wasn’t a true beautiful color.”

30 minutes into my making my first batch-Oh Shit! It’s not really any color! What the fuc* do I do? I think quickly and call my local juice spot and ask for a small order of pure beet juice to be delivered, crisis averted. The color is now the perfect shade of creepy blood comparison.

From Josie, my mama-The youngest sister who would define herself as a well-taught novice but to me she turned great before I knew her beginnings in the kitchen.

“It doesn’t really matter what you’re making if your attitude is wrong. Christmas Eve is all about how you behave, however you act will follow you all year long.”

Well great, I’ve already lied by using bouillon and cursed so much clarifying the borscht that there isn’t enough soap in my kitchen to cleanse my mouth.  I guess more of this behavior for the next 364 days—until I get a rematch.

This is very personal and special for me. My grandmother never got to teach me her borscht directly or get to try mine. I find comfort in the ritual and keeping traditions alive, so I know on some level she and her daughters are proud.

Here is my mother’s recipe, direct from text-

Go find your own little moments of delight and a Merry Christmas if that’s your tradition.

#FindYourLittleFriday

 

Reid Lee

♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

 *Be warned, we curse a little in this one*

Have you ever met someone who lights you up like a Christmas tree just by looking at you? That person in my life is my dear friend Reid. We have known each other for the better part of a decade and have always found a way to be either baking together or going to see the most ridiculous movies at the theatre, queue SATC 2! We have also lived together, traveled together and have always been able to laugh thru the tough times.

What’s something you look forward to making for people at Christmas?

“Well I would have to say it is 3 things; buttermilk pie, dirty rice and seafood gumbo. With buttermilk pie, it is the simplest pie to make and the first one I learned how to bake. I think I’ve made it for you? Wait, I definitely have made it for you because I taught your brother how to make it one holiday! It’s a staple that my whole family knows is going to be around!

Dirty rice is something you serve on the side of other things and it comes from my dad’s side, the Cajun side.  Everyone from my extended family makes it a little differently and that is what makes it so special, even family on my mom’s side.  Some like it a little spicier, some like it with sausage, everyone has truly adapted it to their family.

Seafood gumbo is something I learned to make just this past year. My mom learned from my dad’s dad. The interesting thing is that my dad’s dad learned it from his wife, my grandmother around the time she got very sick.  It has really become a food memory in my family, a way to hold onto my dad just a little bit longer since his passing.“

Reid is 100% right with regards to the pie, he taught my brother how to make it one year during the holidays. That’s just the thing about Reid, whenever you’re around him you know something magical is about to happen. My brother now asks me to make this pie but I tell him every time to call Reid to ask him how to do it if he wants it that badly. I’m a sucker for tradition and learning, what can I say?

Alright, so you’re a man who hails from Beeville, Texas- just an hour between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. So, when was the first time you saw snow?

“The first time I saw snow was when I was around the age of 7-8? It was just a half an inch and my mom grabbed a cookie sheet from her kitchen to scrape snow on to it. She gathered enough snow for us to make a 10 inch snowman that we adorned with twig arms and I want to say button leaves.”

Swoon, this is for sure a magical Christmas memory.  How do you compete with a memory like that? I push thru and ask, What does Christmas signify most for you?

“Christmas for me signifies a difference in the overall temperament of people for the month of December. People are just generally nicer. When I’m driving I find that people let me into their lane easier, someone offers up their parking spot while walking to it and people in general are just smiling that much more. To be honest, I haven’t experienced this as much these past weeks. Maybe it is because I have been traveling more or maybe it’s just that people are having a little harder of a time this season. I know I feel that way this season, I wasn’t even going to put up a tree. I am so glad that I did because for me it made my home feel so much warmer.”

I know that this doesn’t only apply to Reid, the holidays can be unexpectedly tough. How he went about making it feel a bit better is a part of a much bigger piece of Reid, his overall creative nature.

What is your advice for those trying to bring more creativeness into their life big or small?

“I’m going to respond to both. Small, I would say remembering to make the time to have self-care. Making my bed, preparing my lunch or 20 minutes of meditation, these are my self proclaimed moments of perseverance. These small tasks help me to be better prepared for the world, they are my rituals.

A big personal ritual for me is to not be afraid to try something and fail. Confidence and failure are so important. Failure is only something that happens after you quit, try - just try to defy failure.  For example, I am learning to write music electronically and I have 5-6 songs ready to write. I’m trying to continue to grow them in my mind while I expand my knowledge of electronic writing.”

What are your top five host with the most tips that you have inherited thru your hostess with the mostess mama Donna?

1)   Always buy more alcohol than you think you need, people are thirsty bitches! Worst-case scenario, you have extra and it won’t go bad. It’s alcohol so there really isn’t anything “worst” about it.

2)   Try to have everything you’re going to be serving be done before people come over.

3)   Be a honeybee and move from flower to flower (person to person) at your party. Have short meaningful conversations, don’t stay too long in one, everyone came to see you so try and give everyone that quality time.

4)   If you can, try and have a co-pilot. Be it a significant other, appointed bff, hired help or flying your son in -- like my mom has done in the past.  You can’t possibly freshen every drink, light every candle and not loose your mind if you’re doing it alone.

5)   Don’t forget to smile and have a good time. People don’t tend to notice all of the things you’re giving yourself a hard time for not doing. My number one goal at any party or just a life in general rule is to make everyone feel welcome. No matter what you’re wearing or what they have on, the definition of class for me is to make everyone feel welcomed.

At the end of this thoughtful conversation Reid asked, would you go to this type of party. My resounding response was an, absofuckinglutley.

Now go find your own little moments of delight

#findyourlittlefriday ♥️

Leah Green

♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

What holiday treat do you look forward to having most every year?

“Well, as a kid and still to this day my mom always makes about 1 million different types of cookies for the holidays.  My favorite one, the one we as a family always request first are the 7 layer cookies. They’re also known as magic cookies but they’re more specifically known as the uncle Paul cookie in my family. They were his favorite back when he was still alive. It’s nice calling them the uncle Paul cookie— it’s our way of honoring his memory.  I will always think of him when I have that cookie.”

I did some quick research and whipped this delicious treat up! Aside from the fact that these are more of a bar than a cookie, I now know why these are called 7 layer/magic cookies and totally get why this was uncle Paul’s cookie of choice.  This is the recipe I used and was smitten with the results.

Leah is one of my oldest friends and she never ceases to amaze me with all that she manages to accomplish while staying steadfast, calm, wickedly funny and loving.  So…how does one like her with a full-time career manage the life of also being a full-time mom to two children (2 & 5), a devoted wife and having a social calendar packed to the brim stay balanced….!?!?

Side note; I have called her Wonder Woman long before the 2017 reboot

So, what is that something you do for yourself that keeps you balanced or acts as a remedy to your non-stop life?

“Finding time to go to the gym. My life as a kid thru being a teenager was extremely active, so I never thought about working out. I stayed the same size for many years and didn’t really pay attention to my body changes until I was nearing the end of college. After I left college, I began an overall health journey that was primarily focused on food, and I started to feel and look better, or more like my old self.  When I moved to New York City I got a job as a production assistant with Beach Body. I was hired to a specific program and I knew pretty much knew immediately that I wanted to also participate in the work.  That program and experience 1,000% changed my overall life—it set me on a totally new trajectory.  I have continued to sustain this way of living for the past ten years because it truly helps me stay connected to who I am.  My best a-ha moments happen while I’m sweating it out, it’s almost like clarity rains down over me and I want to say out loud, that’s what I was trying to do! It truly is also my greatest stress reliever.

Maintaining an active life to restore and maintain balance? I’m pretty sure that is how Wonder Woman spends her days! This really is nothing short of the truth, Leah practices what she preaches and has been one of my truest sources of comfort and motivation for all things life related.

What would you say is some of your best overall advice that you have received or discovered and  would be willing to share?

  • “When it comes to parenting, trust your instincts, the maternal instinct is a real thing. If your gut is telling you something or reminding you of something it’s probably the right thing to do!”

  • “Try not to worry about what someone else would do from parenting to your own personal lifestyle choices. Do what works for you. For example; my husband and I are both full-time working parents so we rely on things like allowing a little more screen time than other families, I’m sure. It’s just, when I get home at night and need to fold laundry I don’t really care if they get to watch another episode ofFancy Nancy. With my personal wellness journey I find that if I don’t eat what I’m craving, like a cheeseburger and fries, I will end up eating everything out of house and home. I would have been better off eating what I originally wanted and saving myself all the over-eating guilt and should have just enjoyed the craving.

  • “Get moving, physically! I can’t stress how important this is to me in my own life. I don’t even mean for that to seem like you have to do something extreme because you don’t. Go for a walk, watch a 10 minute workout video online, take the stairs to the 4th floor instead of the elevator, literally anything to get your body in motion. With kids it’s a challenge and I can’t even count how many failed attempts I’ve experienced but I always try to find a way and practice forgiving myself when I don’t.”

I know in my heart that there is something for everyone in Leah’s offerings. Her parental advice for me, is also a lot like a general life guidance. Trust your instincts, make some moves, don’t worry about what other people are doing or saying and be forgiving of yourself. Enjoy finding your own little moments of delight.

#findyourlittlefriday ♥️