At The Tree Farm

There are certain days each year that help us to mark the passage of time, to notice the growing and changing of our family, to remind us to pause and remember. The day after Thanksgiving, the day we find our Christmas tree, is such a day for our family.

We began this tradition when my oldest was the age of my youngest, when she made the trek with us out of the city to a lovely Christmas tree farm and helped us to select our perfect tree while riding in the same baby carrier that my infant now sits in.

On today's walk through the woods at the tree farm, we passed the lot from which we selected that first family tree four years ago. The lot is now filled with baby trees that grow and change each year, waiting for the time when they will be old enough for picking. Like these baby trees, my little ones are ever-changing, still years away from adulthood and yet so quickly growing up.

At last we arrive at the mature tree lot and take our time finding this year's perfect tree. Each year we say that our tree is better than the last. And maybe it is. Maybe each year is even better than the last...

If your family is selecting a Christmas tree this year, I highly recommend two books that we enjoy in the days leading up to finding and cutting our tree: Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell, and Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray.

Cultivating Calm During the Holidays

The holiday season is full of merriment: lots of entertaining, a busy and prolific kitchen, gatherings with family and friends, nurturing new traditions within our little family, decorating, preparing, celebrating. Full of merriment, but full.

Among all of the excitement and enchantment of the season, I am trying to cultivate calm in my home. At this time of year, kids--and grown-ups--can get so easily over-stimulated and over-scheduled. I am working on finding the right balance between welcoming so much goodness, welcoming so many opportunities to gather together with family and friends, and helping us not get so over-booked that we miss those calm, peaceful moments to reflect on the magic of the season as a family.

Cultivating these calm moments over the coming weeks will take some effort and vigilance on my part. It will take being selective about our holiday happenings, balancing active and quiet times each day, setting limits and altering plans if necessary.

The holidays can become overwhelming for both children and parents. As I embrace the joy of the season, I am watching my little ones, noticing if the rhythm of our days becomes too strained, and cultivating moments of calm amidst the merriment.

Weekly Mothering Challenge: Try Batch Cooking

I have been endeavoring recently to perfect the art and skill of batch cooking, making lots of food at once to eat and then freeze for later. With Daddy taking some time off from work this week and Thanksgiving festivities happily drawing me closer to the kitchen, this is a good time to work on batch cooking. I am trying, as best I can, to *simply* double (or triple) everything I am making these days. We eat some now and save some for later to maximize time and effort.

Once I become more skilled at batch cooking, I am thinking we may purchase a separate freezer for our basement storage area for extra food that won't fit in our small pantry refrigerator. So far it's been helpful to have extra bowls of lentils, and lasagna, and pasta sauce waiting in the wings for days when I don't want to cook or know what to serve.

In this month's issue of Natural Life Magazine there is a great article about using batch cooking to promote community and convenience, suggesting strategies for forming small batch cooking groups that work together to make large meal portions to serve several families throughout a month. Such a fabulous idea!

In addition to preparing quarts of spiced squash and apple soup, mounds of biscuits, and many other goodies this week, I am also using farm-fresh cranberries to make several batches of this very yummy cranberry bread recipe that my aunt graciously passed along to me:

Auntie's Homemade Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries
4 tsp grated orange peel
3 T sugar
(mix these three ingredients and set aside)

3 C sifted flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 C sifted sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 C orange juice
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 C water
1/2 C melted butter

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, add eggs to orange juice, water, and melted butter and mix. Add to dry ingredients and stir enough to blend and moisten. Add cranberry mixture and optional nuts and mix, being careful not to over-mix.

Add to greased 9x5x3 loaf pan (or separate into two pans), bake for approximately 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Eat immediately, or for best results, cool completely, wrap in tin foil, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Enjoy!