I am so lucky, in these covid times, to have my son home for the holidays, on a month-long break between college terms.
My engineer-soccer-player came home a knitter! Now our home is filled with pearls… of the yarn kind.
One of covid’s enormous sorrows is how deeply we’re missing other family and friends. But I’m also discovering—along with the fact that knitting needles can be… circular?—ways to make a two-person holiday cozy, fun, and joyful.
On the theme of evolving: thanks to LADA I’m always looking to moderate carbs while enjoying classic holiday foods… you as well?
My little town is surrounded by orchards, so maybe that’s why my son and I love apple pie made from fresh local tart apples. That said, I can’t count the times I’ve watched a person yum and ummm over a pie’s fruity filling, but leave the crust on their plate. Which prompted my question to myself: why struggle over difficult, delicate crusts if the filling is everyone’s favorite?
So this holiday, instead of apple pie, I made us hot sweet naked apples.
I bake them in individual ramekins (a fancy word for a small oven-proof bowl), and top each one with whipped cream. Or bake a larger version in a standard pie plate.
If you’re a purist, I suppose you could enjoy a completely naked baked apple.
But I add fresh-squeezed lemon juice and just enough brown sugar (1 teaspoon per apple) to make the flavors of a tart apple spark… plus cinnamon and ginger to taste.
A crust would enclose and steam the apples, so I begin baking with a cover of foil, then uncover and bake naked (the apples, silly) for the final ten minutes. Total baking time depends on your personal preference and apple variety, but 20-40 minutes is typical.
Thinking beyond the apple, (that started it all?) online I found wonderful new takes on traditional holiday classics.
There are many versions of jicama or cauliflower latkes, such as this recipe from Abbey’s Kitchen, or this recipe for curried zucchini and carrot latkes from Tori’s Kitchen. And Bon Appetit offers 32 Hanukkah favorites, including low-carb and plant-based recipes: from “leeks in vinaigrette with walnuts and tarragon” to “Mamleh’s brisket” to “broccolini with sesame sauce.”
The Bon Ap recipe I’m on my way to try right now, as soon as I stop typing is: their flourless, low(ish)-sugar chocolate macaroon cake. It looks heavenly… and got rave reviews!
Full disclosure—no one paid me to say any of this! I’d talk about food all day just for the fun of it. 😊
I like talking about food almost as much as I like talking about favorite backpacks, rivers, LADA…
… in other words, not quite as much as I like talking about my son. Did I mention he’s knitting me a hat for Hanukkah made from Icelandic wool? Did I mention he’s the best son ever?
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Together we’re figuring out fabulous new spins on old traditions.
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We wish y’all truly happy holidays as well, of any and every kind. And we wish you, be it with LADA or without, the very best of health.
