A Different Christmas

This Christmas, my thoughts are less "Let It Snow" and a little more "Away in a Manger." I'm not wishing away the snow, and I'm not bah-humbugging the heart-warming, holiday traditions, nor am I cynical about the child-like excitement that comes from exchanging gifts.

It's just that my thoughts have been obsessed with the story surrounding the birth Jesus. "The tinsel and the lights are nice" and fitting, even, because He came to be the Light of the world. He brought Hope for lives filled with Joy and Peace where before we were simply lost in darkness.

But His Light didn't look like glossy Christmas presents and twinkling lights on fresh cut evergreens. It looked radically different -The story of Jesus' birth is messy, dirty, smelly and downright risque.

A girl winds up pregnant. Her boyfriend decides to marry her but swears they aren't sleeping together. No one is okay with this, and they are subsequently shunned by their families and dropped by all their friends. They road trip in a beater car across country, and when they get to their destination, no one will let them through the door, much less give them the guest room or even let them sleep on the couch. The girl ends up having the baby in a garage, using the dog's bed for a cradle.

That's the kind of story that changes the world? It's crazy. It's over-the-top, you've-got-to-be-kidding-me, just plain crazy.

Here's another crazy thought: What if she had had an abortion?

On second thought, that isn't so crazy. Women - and girls just like her - have abortions every day. In fact, given the circumstances, she was crazy not to. For heavens sake, she got booted out of her house and even ended up having her kid in a barn, amidst animals who poop on the floor and pee in the hay. Nasty. It was not like she was a nobody, another teenage pregnancy statistic from the ghetto. She was not well-to-do, but her prospects had been pretty good. She had a lot going for her. And her pregnancy wreaked havoc on all that.

Yet, without that child, the world would be lost.

And that is the Christmas story.

So while I belabor whether to replace our sofas with hay bales and forego the garlands and twinkling lights, I want to ask you to join me in celebrating Christmas a little differently this year. Join me in standing alongside women and girls who are unexpectedly pregnant, who are scared about the scandal and scared about what having a baby will do for their plans and prospects. Organizations like the Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in our town and other similar centers across the country set out to provide a supportive environment for these women. They are creating choices for pregnant women, by providing resources and a supportive network and counseling them through their decision to parent, adopt or abort their baby.

As you check off your holiday list, consider giving one more gift - the gift of Hope, hope in an unknown future for an unexpected child.

Make a donation by clicking here to visit my fundeasy.com page.

To learn more about the mission and ministry of Hope PRC; visit www.friendsofchoosehope.org.

Pregnant? Scared? Struggling with a past abortion? Know someone who is? You are not alone in this. Write me at athalia(at)littlecreeklife.com or visit www.choosehope.org.

Spaghetti Squash Frittata

I am coming close to a weekly meal plan, one that has eight (maybe nine?) meals on rotation. Boring. To shake things up a bit, I decided to cook spaghetti squash to serve instead of the durum pasta I usually cook for my sweet Blueberry Gal. It did not work out, and it was not because she did not like it. I over-baked the lovely squash and the strands became lumpy mush. Alas.

Even I, in my more-vegetables-for-children enthusiasm, knew it would not pass as thin spaghetti, no amount of lovely marinara sauce could hide it. I forsook the over-baked squash and boiled durum noodles and heated a can of cannelloni beans (for me). The over baked squash sat in the fridge, still in its rind, for a few days while I weighed my options.

A search turned up a spaghetti frittata. While the recipe called for leftover pasta noodles, my squash seemed a reasonable substitute. I gave it go, got nervous and tossed in two more eggs just to be sure, and watched the vegetable dish puff golden in the oven. Before this experiment, I would have considered a frittata to be a potato dish. Once again, thank you, Karina Allrich for expanding the scope of ingredients and techniques in my kitchen.

Below are the ingredients I used. This was a two bowl, one skillet, fork and spatula production. In this recipe I use a 12 inch cast iron skillet with deep sides. I am crazy about cooking with this skillet, so long as I do not have to pick it up.

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash, baked and scooped from rind
4 oz chevre (soft goat cheese)
2 pieces thick-cut bacon, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 large portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 red corno di toro pepper, seeded and chopped (or sweet bell pepper)
8 sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted and chopped
2 sprigs fresh basil, torn
7 eggs (divided, 5 + 2 eggs)
3/4 plain greek yogurt (divided, 1/2 + 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Heat cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
3. Cook the chopped bacon in the skillet until it begins to release its fat.
4. Add onion and mushroom, cooking until just limp.
5. Toss in red pepper and reconstituted sun dried tomatoes and basil. Remove vegetables from skillet and set aside.
6. Strain spaghetti squash of excess water (press through sieve or colander or just squeeze between hands).
7. Whisk 2 eggs and 1/4 cup greek yogurt until well-incorporated. Mix into squash to coat evenly.
8. Spread the squash mixture into the warm cast-iron skillet, pressing against sides and bottom to create a "crust."
9. Dust with salt and black pepper.
10. Drop soft the chevre in soft clumps, creating a cheese layer on top of the squash.
11. Spread vegetables evenly over the cheese.
12. Whisk remaining 5 eggs and 1/2 cup greek yogurt briskly and pour on top.
13. Grab a nearby utensil (I think I used a fork and then my flat spatula when I misplaced my fork) and shuffle everything just a bit, making sure the egg mixture thoroughly seeps in everywhere.
14. Dust with a little more salt and black pepper.
15. Call your neighbors for help lifting the skillet into the oven.
16. Cook for 30 minutes (mountain altitude) until puffed and golden and lovely.

Tips:

• You can double check doneness with a little pat on top: it should be springy and feel solid. If the top is browning but the pat test yields a soft (not done) center, cover with foil and cook another oh-so-many minutes.
• I followed Karina's advice to let the frittata cool for ten minutes before slicing. Honestly, any recipe that calls for cool time is a blessed thing. I sliced and peeled pears for a sweet and crunchy compliment to the delicate frittata.

Enjoy!

Little Creek Risotto

Normally, I would add cooking notes after the ingredients and the cooking directions, but I feel differently about risotto. If you have not cooked it before (or have not cooked it in a long time), let's all make sure we know what we are getting into before this party gets started.

Notes
I have heard it say that risotto is a "house dish" and reflects the individual flavors of the chef making it. If ever a risotto suited this little mountain family, it is this one.

This dish is about commitment. Making risotto requires a slow-cooking process in which the rice releases its starch and creates a creamy dish. In our cabin, this comfort food is a speciality that is cooked only when I have the luxury of an uninterrupted hour and the patience to stand in front of the stove for that stretch of time. Rare indeed.

A little tongue in cheek, I would compare cooking risotto to making a pie crust: the ingredients are simple and straight-forward, but the technique and timing takes a bit of know-how. This article explains the how-to basics of risotto making. My style is a lazy one. No simmering pots or ladles or sautéing and removing and replacing. This is a one pot, mason jar, big spoon approach, and whatever goes in the pot, stays in the pot. Secondly, I am in the no-cream camp. That is cheating, not simplifying, not short-cutting, but cheating. One should not cheat oneself out of the natural creaminess of a risotto well done. Amen.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp bacon grease (or butter or oil, if you must)
1 cup short grain rice, such as arborio
1 large carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
1 celery stalk, diced (1/2 cup)
1 med onion (1/2 cup)
1 quart low-sodium broth or stock
2 cups water

4 oz mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh herbs, minced (sage, thyme)

1 cup cooked dark-meat turkey, chopped
1 cup sweet green peas


Directions

1. Heat bacon grease in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Toss the carrot, celery, onion in hot grease and braise 2 minutes until the onions are slightly translucent.
3. Add the rice and stir.
4. Just before the rice begins to stick, add a cup of stock and stir. Allow the rice to soak in most the stock, stirring in an uncovered pan.
5. When the rice has mostly absorbed the stock, add another half cup of stock and stir. Repeat until the rice is al dente (about 30 min cook time and just under a quart of stock for me).
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add fresh herbs, mushrooms and a half cup of stock (or water), cook for 5-10 minutes.
8. Add the turkey and the peas, and toss to heat through.
9. Add just a bit more stock (or water), cover and remove from heat. Let stand 10-15 minutes.
10. Scoop into bowls - or ramekins for the individual "pot" experience.
11. Serve with sliced pears on the side.
12. Beam from ear to ear.