That Sweet and Special In-Between Time
We had our final Christmas celebration over the weekend. The festivities finally feel “over” and now we are settling into a different time: The Pause. That sweet, special, in-between week where I’m not ready to let go of the holiday season— I don’t quite know what day it is, I’m still drinking coffee from the Christmas mugs, listening to Christmas music, attempting to refresh the stale cookies with apple slices in the tins, but also finding little corners and drawers to clear out and organize, making lists, thinking of what I resolve to do more of and less of, ordering a fresh book stack, and enjoying the feeling of something imminent coming— something new and good and refreshing.
I have decided I am in hibernation until the New Year, doing a little pantry challenge, and then I have to do a major restock. Azure order, meat order, and a regular grocery store run. The tree and most of the decorations will stay up until the Epiphany, although I did put my tablescape away, because we used all our candles and I wanted to get out a Christmas puzzle :)
Christmas is different now…I am no longer the child but the mother making Christmas happen, but not only was it my duty but it was my joy to do so! And I definitely think I cracked the code for Christmas week cooking, because for some reason we can’t survive on Christmas cookies alone all week! Here’s what I did:
Day 1: Roast a fairly large chicken, hard boil eggs and make a batch of mayo. Use the mayo to make devilled eggs and serve them with a roast chicken dinner with other simple fare (bread & butter, green beans, a potato dish, etc)
Day 2: Pick off the rest of the chicken and put back in the fridge for later. Cover the carcass with water and simmer all day into a rich broth. While the broth is going slow cook a local ham and slice it thin when it’s done. Serve as is with simple sides again or turn into sandwiches (we did Italian sandwiches with pickled banana peppers I preserved in the summer and homemade dressing)
Day 3: Make a batch of chicken soup using the broth, frozen veggies, and leftover chicken. Make chicken salad with the mayo and any chicken left. You should have celery in your fridge at this time of year anyways ;) Enjoy the soup with bread and save the chicken salad for lunches or snacks.
Day 4: Make a hearty potato soup with what’s left of the ham or leave the ham out of the soup and serve ham & mustard sandwiches with it instead.
Of course Christmas falls on a different day of the week each year so this can easily be maneuvered around various get togethers and celebrations. We filled in the gaps with leftovers, a batch of homemade yogurt, Christmas cookies, bread in the freezer, and the snackities I made like devilled eggs and cranberry salsa, which made it feel like I hardly had to think about cooking real meals that week, but we were still nourished and eating well!
This week I am boiling noodles in bone broth to make a simple pasta salad with the leftover Italian dressing (from Day 2 above), using leftover mayo to make a dip for fried chicken, pulling out frozen fruit to make a honey-sweetened jam, making a loaf of 100% fresh milled sourdough sandwich bread, and boiling potatoes for hashbrowns. Serving simple dinners and maybe a fun treat for New Years Eve like sourdough soft pretzels or from-scratch brownies.
I pray you too are enjoying The Pause. Happy New Year!
—Kaetlyn