 X-mas eve and x-mas morning
On Christmas eve we have continued the tradition my husband's Mom does at her home in Manitoba, Canada....
We used to drive out there every Christmas...12 hour drive from here in Calgary....we had some hair raising trips through white-outs, black ice and snow...we decided to stop the madness when we were almost hit head on by a guy driving on black ice using his cruise control...we usually had four days off from work so did not stop anywhere along the way, except to gas up the vehicle, even when the road was too slippery to even stand on, as time was too short....
anyway...
( I tend to ramble on....hope you're all not to bored to read on...)
We serve up an X-mas eve dinner with a Polish influence...
First we have borscht...which my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law make each year from their garden...
Then we have perogies and cabbage rolls... We made perogies about a month ago and froze them...I will make the cabbage rolls X-mas eve day....
...traditionally the meal should be meatless...but we cheat a bit and have salmon...either baked or canned...we also make head cheese from the pork hocks and allow that to be served as well...
...we usually have a jelly salad with fruit or veggies added in...
...along with this a green salad with the oil and vinegar dressing she (Teenie...my Mom in law) she showed me how to make
...then we have to have Kutya...it is a dish made with whole buckwheat, poppy seeds and honey....this is to bring good fortune in the new year...they used to go outside and throw it on the roof to bring good luck to the family...when they had the farm it was tossed into the garden to encourage good crops in the following growing season...
... Teenie always made me a cherry slice so I make that and also pineapple delight to honor my Mom, who is now deceased but loved that dessert and loved to make it for us as much as we loved to eat it.
Then the presents used to be opened....we now wait for X-mas morning..except that we open one small one each that night...
This year I am going to make Cranberry muffins X-mas morning from a recipe that can be made the night before, refrigerated, popped into the muffin tins and baked in the morning... will send a batch to my sister's as well so they can enjoy a fresh muffin with their morning coffee as well
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