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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2016 14:51:40 GMT
Thus far, we have received the following: 3 tins of cookies, a large tin in the shape and designed look like a streetcar, of pralines, several small loaves of breads, 2 bottles of wine, one bottle of limoncello, a basket of various cheeses and crackers.
I have cranked out a dozen jars of lemon curd, six jars of Morrocan Preserved lemons and a vat of limoncello, (yet to be bottled up). Also, the 10 boxes of whole lemons which were shipped out ten days or so ago.
Oh, and our dog Papi has received some special treats as well. Some homemade dog cookies and a couple of rawhide chews and a very cool bandana.
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Post by casimira on Dec 17, 2018 16:07:16 GMT
Bereft of a lemon crop this year due to last year's hard freeze that literally nipped the blossoms in the bud I am having to get more than a bit creative in the kitchen with making gifts .
I have been making some herbal vinegars and oils and I still have about a dozen pint size jars of preserved figs that I put up this past summer.
I guess I'll have to start baking soon. Quick breads are easy and not too expensive to make.
I do have a huge bag of pecans that I have yet to crack so, I can get creative with doing some things with them.
This will be the first year in 25 years or more that I have not had lemons this time of year. I had to break it to my brother and some other loved ones up North gently as they so look forward to getting a box of lemons each year.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 17, 2018 16:49:45 GMT
I was thinking what I have been given in the food department over the years, and I would say that about 80% of the time it is spices and maybe 20% of the time chocolate. And when I give things, I would say it is about 80% chocolate and 20% spices. I think I almost never give actual "food."
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Post by mich64 on Dec 17, 2018 18:28:22 GMT
My favorite food gifts that I receive every year at Christmas time are a meat pie from my mother-in-law and a tin of butter tarts from my mother. I frequently gift chocolates, candy, jams, cookies or wine. Nothing homemade but I try to find unique treats when I travel for our parents. I also search the grocery stores for specific spices my mother-in-law can not get here.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 18, 2018 1:54:11 GMT
I give: tourtières and empanadas, some meaty (including poultry), some vegetarian according to the preferences of the recipients. Obviously wines and cheeses. Chocolates to those who love them.
The tourtières (large and small) are homemade. The empanada fillings are homemade, but often I resort to premade "tapas" - crusts? dough rounds? available just round the corner.
Casimira, I'm very sad and sorry about your lemons. The climate is a bloody mess, and it isn't just warming
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Post by casimira on Dec 20, 2018 20:47:41 GMT
Thanks Lagatta. At least the trees are not dead and I recently cleared the grove, did some pruning and heavily mulched them. Here's hoping for a banner year in 2019.
Mich, spices are really great gifts to give to the right people who you know will use them. I so wish I had bought more exotic spices when I was in Istanbul. The Spice Bazaar there would blow your mind. Overwhelming but goodness gracious the display and selection was heavenly and the aromas sent one off into an olfactory near overload.
A friend of mine just dropped by a couple pint jars of pickled mirlitons. Made with white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, cider vinegar, black peppercorns, salt, coriander seeds, dill, mustard seed, garlic, chili peppers, shishito pepper and carrots. The raw mirliton sticks take on this fabulous medley of flavors.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 21, 2018 0:58:52 GMT
I received a lovely gift of food today. A friend who has been starting up a boulangerie had been making some rye bread (100% or nearly so) and gave me half a loaf. I also have a knife to slice very thin slices. Yum!
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Post by mich64 on Dec 21, 2018 2:18:45 GMT
Casi the Spice Bazaar sounds amazing and yes, something I would really enjoy! What an experience that must have been. Before I went to Northern Ireland in September I did some research on unique shops in Belfast and found this delicatessen named www.sawersbelfast.com that had so many interesting and local products, I could have spent hours in there! That is where I purchased spices and jams. Lagatta I now have a huge craving for some rye bread! I gave up all bread, rolls, bagels, buns etc. about 6 months ago and combined with a 40 minute walk (outside or on my treadmill) approximately 4-5 days a week, I have lost 30 pounds and am still losing. My skin has also changed dramatically. But, for a Christmas treat I think I might gift/treat myself to a half loaf of rye bread! Enjoy your thin slices!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2018 2:42:07 GMT
Mich ~ that is really impressive! You are an inspiration.
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Post by casimira on Nov 23, 2020 13:52:54 GMT
A friend of ours gave us a huge basket of blood oranges from his tree and I gave him a basket of Meyer lemons. (my blood orange tree finally bit the dust and I don't plan on replacing it as I never got much of a yield from it because of the varmints getting to the fruit before it was ripened.) I started to make some blood orange and Meyer lemon marmalade yesterday. It's been quite a few years since I have made this but I want to put these beauties to good use. Another friend has offered me some grapefruit from his two trees and I will likely use them for the same as well as making some candied grapefruit peel. I like to use as much of the fruit as is humanly possible and not waste any of it. This years citrus crop here has been one of the best ever.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 23, 2020 19:30:53 GMT
Surely the only thing in the world better than bitter orange marmalade might be a blood orange & meyer lemon marmalade! Or maybe grapefruit marmalade. Sounds like heaven.
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Post by casimira on Dec 23, 2021 16:28:34 GMT
I have had a bumper crop of lemons this year. Never have I had so many in all the years I have had these trees. So far, I have shipped out at least 10 boxes (each box containing @ a dozen or so lemons). All of my neighbors (except one bitch) from our "old house" have received a bag of @ 10 and the same goes for our "new" neighbors where we are currently living. Yet, I still have 50 or 60 left. I am kicking myself because one of the many things I don't have access to is my juicer which is packed away "somewhere". The other frustrating thing is the tiny kitchenette where we are has zippo counterspace and a stove I am not familiar enough to "put up" jars of marmalade or the like. GRRRRRR!!!
In the meantime, we have received gifts from some neighbors and out of town folks. ALL of them are either cookies, shortbread, pound cakes etc. In a word, sugar. It's a virtual bakery over here! I am not complaining but, I wouldn't mind a bottle of wine here or there rather than all these sweets.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 23, 2021 18:56:58 GMT
Oh, I can think of worse problems, casimira. It is great that you had so many lemons and were able to distribute them. I'm sure that it is a rather rare (because who thinks of lemons?) and appreciated gift and probably inspires people to find ways to use them that they had never thought of before (since it isn't lemonade season). My only gift was the box of chocolates from the city of Paris, which I have not opened yet. (I might give it away to somebody else.) It was amusing going there on the 20th -- the first day of distribution for people who had missed the official day on the 1st, even though distribution will continue every day until January 7th. I have never seen a queue so long at the M airie, like a wartime bread line. I think that we were all in a combination of being angry (probably with ourselves) for missing the first distribution day and a fear that somehow they might run out if we waited any longer.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 23, 2021 20:28:30 GMT
My sister asked me to make her a Christmas cake as her gift, and as I'd already made her a patchwork cushion (which she loves) it meant that she has a completely home made gift this year.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 23, 2021 21:32:35 GMT
Ah, the wonderful memories of the covid years....
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Post by casimira on Dec 25, 2023 16:53:21 GMT
We received the loveliest of food items from varying friends and neighbors. Various types of preserves, my favorite being a Lemon and Pear Marmalade. The other favorite was a tin of cookies with a combination of lemon and lavender.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 25, 2023 18:52:39 GMT
Are you in your rebuilt house yet, casi?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 25, 2023 21:32:31 GMT
My sister asked for a christmas cake again this year....a bigger one this time.
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Post by casimira on Dec 26, 2023 18:21:53 GMT
Are you in your rebuilt house yet, casi? Thank you for asking Kerouac. Yes, we finally (after almost 2 and a 1/2 years) were able to move in mid-October. We had a big party in November that was a combination housewarming and my 70th birthday celebration. There were so many people that came, our current neighbors and neighbors from where we were living during the time "in exile". Along with out-of-town friends, we had local musicians perform and lots of food and libations. The star of the party was our architect who modestly let many people bombard him with compliments and questions.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 26, 2023 18:57:39 GMT
That's great newz !
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Post by bjd on Dec 26, 2023 20:04:27 GMT
Glad to hear that, Casi. You must be so happy to be in your own place and with lots of gardening to look forward to.
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Post by mich64 on Dec 26, 2023 20:14:36 GMT
Casi, that is wonderful news! Congratulations on completing the project and welcoming all to your new home. It sounds like a fabulous party! Happy belated 70th Birthday! Hoping the New Year brings many new memories in your new home.
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Post by casimira on Dec 27, 2023 17:23:32 GMT
Thank you, good people, for your kind words.
The garden is still a work in progress. The house is not as set back on the property as much as we would have liked. Due to some zoning issues, we were limited in how far we could set it back. In the meantime, I am looking for a mason to do some brick work (brick path and two brick raised beds). I have a gazillion ideas of course and we have the wrought iron fence in the front to plant the many vines and climbing roses I have chosen to plant. All these specialized laborers are so costly. I would do it myself but the raised beds would be out of my league.
Due to my sporadic posting for various reasons it's nice to know that some members have taken an interest and have responded to the project we undertook and all that was entailed. It means a lot to me. Thank you again. xx
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Post by fumobici on Dec 28, 2023 5:20:40 GMT
I'm very happy for you that you got resituated successfully. What a thing to have to go through! Just the thought of even getting a bathroom or kitchen remodel terrifies me, even though if I'd probably like the final result.
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Post by mich64 on Dec 28, 2023 20:53:07 GMT
During a recent ten day vigil at the hospital, we came home at the end of the day to food gifts (lasagna, meat pies, banana loafs, cookies) either left at our door, brought to the door or sent home by friends. In the hospital palliative care suite, there was constant food being brought in to sustain the 8 to 10 people at a time that were at my dear sister's bedside day and night. After the first week my niece and nephews were getting pretty creative, one night my niece came in with this huge bag filled with a dozen portions of creamy chicken pasta and another day they brought in a slow cooker and cooked a roast of beef with vegetables. We were afforded every convenience the nursing/hospital staff could provide from fridge space to microwaves. My sister loved these big family dinners.
My dear eldest sister passed away peacefully after a 3 1/2 year fight with colon cancer on December 18th in her 64th year.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 28, 2023 21:01:46 GMT
So sorry to hear that mich.
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Post by mich64 on Dec 28, 2023 21:14:09 GMT
Thank you Mick. She was such a lovely and kind sister, daughter, wife, mom, grandmother and friend to so many. She worked up until 3 days before being taken by ambulance to the hospital making sure her payroll got in for the Christmas pay period. She was dedicated to her job of 35 years but ever more dedicated to her husband, 4 children and 6 grandchildren. I will never forget the love in that room and what a blessing it was for our family too spend so much time together with her, lots of food, stories, giggles, gossip and prayers.
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Post by htmb on Dec 28, 2023 22:45:05 GMT
I’m so sorry, Mich. It sounds like your family surrounded your sister with a tremendous amount of love and support to the end.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2023 0:35:53 GMT
Oh, dearest Mich -- that must have been so hard for you to write and essentially re-live. What a beautiful family you have and what a shining star of the family your sister must have been. Thank you for telling us.
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Post by fumobici on Dec 29, 2023 5:06:12 GMT
My condolences.
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