I'm pine-ing for you
— December, it's cold outside
We find ourselves in a magical season. We are deep in holiday cheer and slodging through the snow - could be literally or metaphorically - to festivities. The end of the year brings along festivities that saturate the social calendar. With experiencing the downpour of events myself, I wanted to keep December lighter and digestible in hopes that this month’s newsletter would be something to look forward to rather than another thing on the never-ending and always lengthening to-do list this time of year.
As I will later discuss in the ‘Reminders’ section, I want to quickly mention here before diving into the holiday dilly dally that if this is a painful time of year for you, firstly, please know my thoughts + prayers are with you. Secondly, if it is better for your mental health, please skim through this as little as need be. Find comfort in some non-Christmas/festive tunes, make delicious food from this winter menu, and take care of yourself during this season. For those that look forward to all the cheese - again literally or metaphorically - that this season offers, please read on.
Whimsical Winter
Ways to use herbs + spices this Christmas:
— herbs in a warm cup of bone broth to sip on (I like adding turmeric, pepper, + ginger as well)
— thyme + sage with baked brie
— star anise + cinnamon in holiday sangria or fancy cocktails
— masala for a soul-nourishing curry
— all the warm spices (allspice, ginger, cinnamon, + cloves) in gingerbread
EAT
December mood board
— peppermint everythinggggg
— espresso martinis
— potential December intentions: get outside + go for a walk to explore Christmas lights in your neighborhood. make a peppermint baked good. cook a hearty soup. jump in a car with family/friends, listen to Christmas music, and drive around looking for Christmas lights. make homemade focaccia bread.
What I’m cooking ✨CHRISTMAS EDITION✨
Christmas Eve:
— so you don’t have to think about what to cook before you cook all day. growing up, my mom always made a pasta dish for Christmas Eve, so you could say these suggestions are inspired by my childhood.
Zucchini Involtini (vegan, can be made v if using ricotta cheese or omnivorous by adding meat to the tomato base)
Pappardelle Pasta with Portobello Mushroom Ragu
Breakfast:
Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal w/ Walnut Streusel
4 types of frittata (DF options)
Hors d'oeuvres:
Feta-Parmesan Roasted Stuffed Dates With Honey-Walnut Herb Crunch
Chrissy Teigen’s Secretly Spicy Deviled Eggs
Goat Cheese Dip w/ Fig Jam + Pecans
[God Bless] Carbs:
Easy 1-Pot Mashed Potatoes (vegan)
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower - so good even diehard potato eaters love it
Mashed Potatoes (not vegan)
Veggies on veggies on veggies:
Kale Salad with Persimmons, Roasted Chickpeas, & Fried Shallots
Green Beans with Toasted Pistachios and Lemony Whipped Feta
Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
The Main Event:
Christmas Roast Dinner (vegan)
Baked Ziti w/ Roasted Veggies (v)
One Pan Cranberry Rosemary Chicken
Apple Cider Braised Lamb Shanks
Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Fig Sauce
Drinks:
Espresso Martini
— Add 1.25 oz espresso, 1 oz vodka, 1 oz Kahulua, and 0.5 oz Bailey’s (DF version available) to a cocktail mixer. Shake and bake baby; cocoa or cacao on top!
Spiced Persimmon Old Fashioned
Sweets:
Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies w/ Maple Glaze
Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars from the queen, Martha, herself
Additional ideas:
For Each Season’s ‘Winter Recipes’ Pinterest Board
For Each Season’s ‘Christmas Recipes’ Pinterest Board
LISTEN
Christmas Playlist
— The perfect Christmas playlist for your time spent cooking, in the background when driving around looking at Christmas lights, your work commute for a pick-me-up, or for Christmas morning as you open gifts and/or spend time with loved ones.
Winter Playlist:
— This season’s playlist gives us some pep in our steps before a busy day, just enough coziness to curl up with by a warm fire juxtaposed with enough energy to keep us going once the holiday season has whined down.
READ
Book recommendations based on mood for the last month of the year found here.
REMINDERS
Food is to be enjoyed!
The holidays are such a fun, playful, and inspiring time with food but can also be a point of stress or trigger for some individuals. I want to recognize that I think our modern society has a lot a lot of unhealthy habits with food. I do not turn a blind eye to that. The balance of enjoying food and taking care of our health is often stigmatized in certain social circles and can be such a sticky canvas to navigate. Here are some intuitive eating reminders I give myself + clients during the holidays. Please remember that you know your body best, what season of life this is for you [a microlevel of the holiday season we are in!], and what decisions are best for you in your food journey.
REFLECT
“The cure to FOMO is to make fun by yourself” - Lydia Trautman
— While my dear friend said this rather off-the-cuff at dinner the other night, I had an immediate visceral response and shouted, “that’s going in the December newsletter!”. So here we are; let’s dissect. I have dear friends around my age wrestling with singleness, post-divorce grief, or married friends who struggle to be by/with themselves when their spouse is away. With technology being right at our fingertips, I think our generation hasn’t had to get comfortable being with themselves or being bored. For all those who fall under any of the aforementioned categories or those simply looking to grow in comfortability with spending time of your own, let us find hobbies, stillness in silence, and things that fill our cups for the sake of filling our cups. Let us, as Lydia beautifully said, create our own fun!
“I want a house with a crowded table and a place by the fire for everyone” — This was a quote I read that jotted my memory to something our pastor said at church the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. No one should spend a holiday alone. As I get deeper into adulthood, a revelation I have had is being blessed by chosen family. Since Todd and I live in Oregon while most of our immediate family reside in California or other states, we have had to build a village and choose family here. While I recognize the holidays are a time that lifts people’s spirits, gives us something to celebrate and gather around, I also recognize the holidays can be a painful, dark time for others. I do not want to write surrounding the holidays without acknowledging this. If you have extra room in your house during this holiday season and know those without a big social circle, no family close by, or for some reason have the potential of spending the holidays alone, I challenge you to open your home to them. I will be doing the same.
“God, allow my heart to be at peace in knowing that what is meant for me will never miss me, and what missed me was never meant for me. Let Your will be done in my and my life. Help me to see the beauty in your endings. Amen.”
— yes and amen to this.
COMING SOON
— blueberry gingerbread family recipe
— London city guide coming this month to Substack [for paid subscribers]
— hydration guide coming soon to Substack [for paid subscribers]. An early edition was accidentally sent out [oops, that was me] and unfortunately still needed revising, so that has been taken down for the time being.
Enough from me!
Making the most of each season,
Mads