Cooking as an antidote to the holiday hubbub

It is a cliché…rooted in reality…that we are often so busy trying to make the holidays special that we end up being too exhausted to be able to celebrate in a meaningful way. Holiday movies and television shows are made almost every year about this phenomenon (it’s the basic plot line of A Charlie Brown Christmas). Amy Grant wrote a holiday song about it. We seem to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do all the things.

I assume it has always been this way. And since the pressure points are different for everyone, I don’t want to presume to offer a one size fits all solution. But what I can do is encourage each of you to carve out moments for yourself as you are able. For me, mealtimes often have to be that moment. If you like to cook, going through the memorized motions of a simple, familiar recipe can be calming. (Even the clean up afterwards…allowing you a minute to restore order to your kitchen…can make your world feel a bit more peaceful).  You have to sit to eat (or at least you should!), why not take advantage of the moment to slow down? Light a candle…set the table…put on some music.

So for this month’s newsletter, I wanted to offer some simple meals and recipes that can be on the table with minimal work (and without creating a big pile of dishes to be washed afterwards). But even if the recipes seem too complicated and you want to set them aside until after the holidays, I hope that during this busy season you will occasionally take the time to feed yourself well, making the things that make you feel nourished, and that give you the energy to enjoy the beauties of this season of lights.

Baked Risotto

I used to teach a class called “Quick Weeknight Meals for the Holidays.” The class included recipes that could be on the table in a short amount of time…or if the time wasn’t exceptionally short, that could be completed in a mostly hands-off way. One of the recipes in that class was for baked risotto. I thought of that recipe one evening this month when I was trying to come up with something for dinner that was relatively quick to prepare and that would use up a significant amount of spinach (and some mushrooms). I knew I could always make pasta (I make this pasta a lot), but I really wanted to change things up a bit.

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