O Little Town of Bethlehem

A very blessed Christmas Eve Eve to you all! Despite all the challenges of 2020, Christmas will soon be here. I'm finding comfort in the reality that Christmas can't be hindered. If anything, this year serves as a reminder that, even in difficult circumstances, the good news of Christmas  cannot be diminished. 

In some ways, this piece that I am sharing is, to me, a bit symbolic of the hope of Christmas and a season of perseverance. This particular piece is called, Follow Me to Bethlehem, and is available through Bits and Pieces by Joan. I purchased this piece at least three years ago, possibly longer, eager to add a nativity banner to my Christmas collection. Even though I've completed a number of wool pieces through the years, this is one that had a journey of its own. It also involved some additional steps before proceeding to stitching the individual appliqué pieces in place.

As you can see, the individual pieces are stitched on top of a quilted background. This meant that the first step was getting some backing fabric to go with the flannel background and having it quilted. The next step was cutting the quilted piece to the appropriate dimensions and stitching the binding in place. I then elected to fuse and stitch the stable and palm tree pieces before proceeding to the people and the animals. With the multiple tiny pieces for the hands and faces and then trying to determine which colors in the kit to use for which individual, I let myself get a bit overwhelmed at this stage in the process and turned my attention to other projects. Later this summer, I managed to push through to get all of the figures cut and fused. The project then sat for a few more months until I found myself at a spot in which I couldn't avoid settling down to finish this project any longer. As I set small goals and persisted, I found that I was actually looking forward to spending time on the project. Sooner than expected, I was at a point where I could see that I would actually finish it.

I anticipate that, for many of us, 2020 has been fraught with both seen and unseen challenges. For me, this piece reflecting the story of Christmas, will serve as a tangible reminder of persisting one step at a time, even when it would have been easier to avoid the situation and even during stretches of frustration and inertia. 

My Scripture reading this morning was from the Old Testament book of Micah. Many of us are familiar with Micah 5:2 which tells that the Savior will be born in Bethlehem. This morning, I was particularly struck by the promise and hope in Micah 5:4. A very Merry Christmas to all!

And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. Micah 5:4

Turkey sausage and kale chili

I will readily admit that this sounds a bit unusual and not something that would be at the top of my list to try. This is a recipe we first tried a few years ago - probably looking for something to do with the last of the tomatoes and kale. This recipe has become one that we look forward to pulling out each fall. Given that the predominant colors are red and green, it is also a chili that could work well for dinner during the Christmas season. Please accept my apologies for the Halloween tablecloth in the background. Let's just say that my good intentions for an October food post just didn't happen.
So - a quick word about kale and how we came to preparing recipes that include kale. It's been several years now that we started growing kale in our garden. We use one of our raised beds for the kale crops - cabbage, kale, and collards. We've found that the kale tends to grow quite well, and it is more pest-resistant than the cabbage. Given that we're not exactly part of the kale smoothie brigade, we've needed to find other uses for our kale. In addition this recipe, we have a Portuguese kale, potato, and sausage soup that we enjoy. We've also used some kale in curry dishes.

Before I move on to the recipe, here are a five fun facts about kale, or leaf cabbage. The picture below is of curly kale, which is the type we've been growing in our garden.

1. Kale originated in the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor. It is believed to have been cultivated as early as 2000 BC.
2. Kale was introduced to the US by Russian traders in the 19th century.
3. Although kale originated in temperate climates, it is pretty hardy and can survive temperatures as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Just the same, it is typically grown as an annual rather than a perennial.
4. Kale is a great source of vitamins, including A, C, B6, and folate as well as several dietary minerals including iron, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. As with most vegetables, the dietary content of these vitamins and minerals decreases with boiling.
5. Kale is a bit of a comfort food in many European countries and is and commonly served in soups or with potatoes, sausage, and/or bacon. How can anyone go wrong with sausage and bacon?

So, let's get on with the recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 lb spicy turkey sausage (we typically buy a package of 5 large links and then remove the casings)

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 tbsp chili powder (feel free to start with less and adjust from there)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (see about note with the chili powder)

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (ok to substitute a 15-ounce can)

1 15-ounce can cannelloni beans

3 cups chicken broth - think of this as a starting volume and adjust from there

1 large bunch kale, chopped into pieces - I am usually going out to the garden to cut what is available and then use my best guess as to whether it looks like what a bunch from the store would be

Steps

•  In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and then saute the onion until it is soft and becoming translucent.
• Add the turkey sausage and cook until it is cooked through.
• Stir in the garlic, red pepper, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano. Cook until the peppers are tender, roughly 6-7 minutes. A word about the seasonings - keep in mind this is coming from someone who likes a dish that packs a bit of heat. Don't be afraid to start small. The turkey sausage that we typically use is quite spicy. We also have some New Mexico chili powder that I picked up on a trip a few years back. When we use this particular chili powder, we will typically start with about a third of the amount specified in the recipe. Don't say I didn't warn you. Here's a picture of everything simmering in the pot. We typically make at least a double batch - go big or go home.

• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about one minute.
• Stir in the tomatoes, beans, and chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Here's a picture of the brand of beans we typically use along with a picture of the chili before we stir in the kale.

• Stir in the kale and simmer until the leaves are tender. Stir in any additional chicken broth to get the chili to the desired consistency.
• Enjoy with bread or crackers!

Spooky Days

I haven't written for a while, but decided this might be a good time to start again. Over the past few months, I haven't spent much time at the sewing machine. My sewing has been more focused on handwork and taking advantage of spare bits of time wherever I can catch them. 

Believe it or not, this project caught my eye back in late May. It features fabrics and a pattern designed by a quilter I follow on Instagram, Amanda Niederhauser, aka Jedi Craft Girl. You can check out her website here and also follow her on Instagram. A number of her patterns feature cats, and her posts often feature her Bengal cat, Mufasa.

This fun piece went together quite quickly and now is a nice Halloween accent in my upstairs family room. The project features fabrics from Amanda's Scaredy Cat fabric line that was distributed by Riley Blake designs. The hard part for me was deciding how to arrange the fabric squares to ensure variety and to avoid having the cat or the letters sitting over black squares. I also wanted to keep the pieces that featured a cat's face or a pumpkin in its entirety positioned for visibility. Fortunately, the cat and the letters had been laser cut and pre-fused - always a nice bonus! If you look closely at the pictures below, you might be able to see the blanket stitching outlining the letters and the cat. Of course, black on black can be a bit challenging.

I chose to have the piece quilted using an edge-to-edge bat design. It seemed a fun choice to add to the mix of cats, pumpkins, and bones without being too distracting. If you look closely at the picture of the back, you should get an idea of how the bats are scattered across the design.

I'm certainly not going to argue that 2020 hasn't been filled with spooky days. It's probably fair to say that most of us have grown quite weary of COVID-19 and the prevailing uncertainty that has come with it. Independent of COVID-19, these past few months have brought their own share of discouragement and uncertainty my way. Over the past few weeks, I've been spending some time in the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. While a major theme of each of these books is the coming and then actual judgment on the nations of Israel and Judah, God never leaves His people without hope. Even though the time of judgment came, it would not last forever. This particular verse from Isaiah has been a source of hope and comfort to me over the past few weeks, and I hope you will find it meaningful as well.

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;

I will guide them on paths they have not known.

I will turn darkness to light in front of them

and rough places into level ground.

This is what I will do for the,

and I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 (HCSB)

Pondering Poutine

It's been a while since I've last written. Certainly these past few months have been a bit intense, and I've found myself with some consistently long workdays with limited time for anything other than academic or work-related writing.

Given that today marks the start of a new month, it seems as good a time as any to write again. Many of you are already aware of our quirks and the ability to turn about any holiday into a food-related event. Today we give a shout out to our neighbors to the north - Canada. July 1 is Canada Day. Canada Day commemorates the Constitution Act, 1867, which united the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single dominion within the British Empire. Canadians typically celebrate Canada Day with fireworks, parades, concerts, and barbecues. We thought that we would create our own Canada Day celebration with poutine for dinner.
For those of you who are not familiar with poutine, it is essentially cheese curd and gravy over fries. Think of it as a Canadian version of chili cheese fries. I'm not totally sure as to whether poutine is a routine part of Canada Day celebrations, but I can say that it has become one our favorite Canadian foods. I first became aware of poutine in 2010 during the Vancouver Olympics - most likely through some type of televised special feature. When my travels took me to Montreal later in 2010, I sought out the opportunity to try some poutine for myself. Let's just say that I continue to seek out good spots for poutine whenever I am in Canada, and we've worked to refine some of our own skills.

If poutine is really just fries, cheese curd, and gravy, what skills might one need to create great poutine? Here are a few pointers that we have picked up through making our own poutine and experiencing poutine at other locations.

1. The cheese - Really, it's your own preference for type of cheese curd. We tend to prefer white cheddar cheese.

2. The gravy - Most poutines feature a beef broth-based gravy. I will share how we prepared ours a little later.

3. The fries - Most poutines will include a thicker cut fry. It's up to you whether you bake or deep fry them. For today's poutine, we went with the deep fryer. 

4. The extras - This is where you can get creative with what you feel may complement the cheese and gravy. I've seen variations that include bacon, Philly-style beef, as well as sautéed peppers and onions. 

Here are a few of our favorite locations in Canada for acquiring poutine. Hopefully, we will have a chance to visit them again.

• La Belle Patate - locations in Victoria and Vancouver. We've been to the one in Victoria which is a bit out of the way from the main part of town. If you aren't paying attention, you might miss this location. They have multiple varieties of poutine including La Belle Special and Meat Lovers.
• The Pink Bicycle - yes, that's really the name of the place. It is also located in Victoria. Their Pink Bike Poutine has a pretty amazing rosemary gravy.
• Eddie Burger Bar - this spot is in Banff. My husband had a trip to Banff a few years ago, and I looked up places for poutine. He ordered a burger and poutine and decided that the burger was pretty amazing, until he tried the poutine. I'm hoping to visit this spot myself.
• Montreal Poutine - I'm fairly certain this is the place I visited in Montreal. The pictures of the outside seating look very familiar and the location on the map is about right. This place is located in the old part of the city. 

I wish I could take credit for tonight's cooking, but my husband took over while I was in a Zoom meeting. I did have him take some pictures to document the process.

Creating the Gravy:

Step 1: Saute some bell pepper and onion (the onion was from our garden

Step 2: Assemble the other necessary ingredients

• Make a roux with about 1 stick of butter and 1/4 cup flour. Stir in 20 ounces of beef broth and 10 ounces of chicken broth (yes, really). Season with some salt and stir in the sautéed onions and peppers. your gravy will look something like this:

Step 3: Prepare the fries. As I mentioned, we elected to use the deep fryer

Step 4: Assemble the poutine. Put some fries in a bowl, stir in a little gravy. Add a few more fries and some cheese curd. Add a little more gravy and eat!