I Love NPR

An opinion piece about Halloween and disability.

How did I miss this?

My housemate tells me Glee is putting out a Christmas album next month.  Shazam!

Who knew big cats like pumpkins?

Yeah, these pumpkins are crying for their mommies.

Holiday Music

There are several new holiday albums coming out this season from various famous artists.  I have mixed feeling about the bunch, and I think you'll see why:

1.  The Indigo Girls release Holly Happy Days, their first holiday album EVER.  An Amazon reviewer says it is their most country album yet.  In this case, I imagine that's a good thing.
2.  Mariah Carey, who, on her first holiday album, created a masterpiece with All I Want for Christmas is You, is about to release its sequel--Merry Christmas II You.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I want to buy it, if only to make fun of whatever new holiday songs she's penned and singing her heart out to. 
3.  Pink Martini releases their first holiday album, Joy to the World, which I am truly excited to hear (follow the link for song samples).  I think the small orchestra sound of Pink Martini translates quite well into holiday music!

Oh, Amazon Wish List, I love you so.

Butter Beans!

Greek butter bean stew has become one of my go-to recipes.  It's so cheap and easy that it's hard to believe how delicious the finished product is.  I've made it for myself, I've made it for a Top Chef viewing party, and I've made it for book group.  And...it's vegan!  (No, I am not going vegan, just taking on a challenge.)  I use this recipe, with minimal adaptations.  I've made it to the letter and I've made it with all jarred tomato sauce rather than sauce and fresh tomatoes.  Both versions are delicious.  The only thing you need to do is plan ahead and put the beans out to soak the day before you plan on making them.

Renting a Christmas Tree

An acquaintance found this company, Rent a Living Christmas Tree, LLC, which grows several types of evergreens and rents them out for the holiday season.  This would be an ecologically sound alternative to tree farms that cut down one-time use trees.  The company is in California, so you need to be in that general area to order from them.  I haven't done any research, but I can't imagine that purchasing a living tree wherever you live would be much more expensive than what this company is charging.  And, of course, if you bought the tree you'd be able to keep it in use as a Christmas tree for several years and then get to plant it wherever you wanted.  Given my lack of green thumb, I think I'd have to go that route!  I wouldn't want to be charged for killing a tree in my care!

Hosting a (Vegan) Halloween-Cookie Decorating Party!

My friend L casually mentioned wanting to decorate Halloween cookies.  Two weeks later, we did!  His wish was my command (although he never actually asked).  Anyway, fun was had.  I baked vegan sugar cookies and mixed up some vegan royal icing in four different colors.  It was my first time going vegan with both of them, and I was pleasantly surprised!  I pretty much picked recipes at random off the internet, which is a risky thing to do when baking for guests.  I was quite careful with how much liquid I added to the royal icing, choosing to add only 3/4 of the suggested amount and adding a tablespoon at a time until the consistency was moist but not runny.  Luckily, they both came out well and it made me happy that my vegan friend could participate.  Along with assorted decorating gels, multicolored sanding sugars, and Halloween-esque sprinkles, folks made some pretty amazing cookies. 

My friends are definitely talented.  The evening was a great excuse to light a fire in the fireplace, put on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and mull some hot sangria apple cider.  Oh my god, it turned out so good!  I am not a big fan of alcohol, but I like it in theory.  As a foodie, I get that it is a whole other genre of taste and culinary creativity.  I do like sangria, and I love mulled apple cider, so I decided to try out a combination.  I mixed a half bottle of sulfite-free organic red wine and a half gallon of apple cider in a saucepan, then added a cup or two of fresh cranberries, two sliced oranges, a cinnamon stick, split in half, several whole cloves, a dash of ground ginger, and a couple of tablespoons of sweetener.  I warmed it over medium heat, starting about 20 minutes before guests arrived.  This way they would be greeted with the warm, sweet, and spicy scent of it simmering away.  The cranberries cooked and popped, and eventually disintegrated into little tangy bites that were fun to slurp up from the bottom of the cup.  I thought I had invented the hot apple cider sangria thing, but apparently someone got to it first.  In any case, it's a recipe that's going into my keep pile!