Hello Blog Friends!
I trust you are enjoying a Blesséd Christmastide.
Needless to say, the past week has not contained as much CTM work as is usually the case, although the week did start off with our final session of the Alumni Advent Study Program. Interestingly, even though it was so close to Christmas, we had our largest turnout, with 6 people present and 3 sending regrets. Michelle’s Advent 4 Reflection, based on the 4th candle’s theme of “Love” was so well thought out and left all of us with several important points on which to ponder.
Monday morning, the votive candleholder sample photos were added to the Drive folder and there were a fair number of “Christmas Greeting” emails, which needed to be acknowledged. Every morning has also started with between one and two hours of intensive shovelling, as quite a lot of fresh snow has fallen. It is essential to keep on top of the snow since, if it gets too deep, it is extremely hard work to clear.
It would be a mistake to say that the balance of the week has had nothing to do with Day Camps as on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the Feast of Saint Stephen and also tomorrow, there has been a steady stream of Team Alumni, accompanied by their spouses and children, coming to visit. I sometimes fear that these visits are along the lines of “we must go and visit because she is alone” but, this year, I’m pleased to report that, (due to large quantities of refreshments!) there were no sulky children, everyone seemed to have a good time and nothing got broken!! Definitely a win-win situation, YAY!
Christmas Eve, Alexander and Sarah brought Serena and Owen and they especially enjoyed exploring the house. After they left, I went upstairs to straighten things out and saw they had tested every bed (think- Goldilocks and the Three Bears!) and had “rearranged” and number of Christmas decorations.
Christmas morning, Janice and Matthew came with their two “littles”, Maddie and Mellie. They are in Montreal for two weeks visiting Janice’s large family and to make the effort of driving into the city, from her parents’ home in the suburbs was really special.
On the Feast of Saint Stephen, Jillian, Victor, Amelia and Clara, came for afternoon tea. Jillian is often mentioned in this blog and is the younger sister of Janice. For the six months before her wedding she boarded with me, in her first year of teaching as a “English as a Second Language Specialist”, so we have been close friends ever since. I get to see her and her baby quite often, as she is still on maternity leave but, for the first couple of weeks of December they were in Ontario visiting her husbands’ relatives, so it was lovely to see her again and to all have tea together (although I never even saw baby Clara as she was brought into in the house bundled up in her car seat and slept peacefully for the whole visit!).
Finally, tomorrow afternoon, Anna, Elijah and Nathanael, who stayed here in the summer around the time of her father’s death, have come from the Maritimes to visit her mother, and will be dropping by after viewing the special display of Crêches, held every Christmas at St. Joseph’s Oratory.
It is truly moving for me to see these people who we trained as young teens, when they signed up to join the Day Camp Teams, turn into responsible, Christian parents, with growing families of well-behaved and happy children and I am, touched that they choose to spend a portion of their Christmas Holidays bringing them to visit in my home.
As it is now Saturday afternoon, I must get cracking and do some baking as supplies of goodies urgently need replenishing, but, of course, the post cannot close off without a recipe!
Tuesday evening, I was craving Asian food and found a new recipe for a different type of Okonomiyaki, always a favourite. This vegetarian version is definitely a “keeper” and was so easy to make.
Noodle Okonomiyaki
- 2(3oz) instant-ramen noodle blocks
- Boiled water
- 8 large eggs
- 4tsps tamari
- 4tsps toasted sesame oil
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- Salt & pepper
- ½ medium green cabbage, halved, core removed and thinly sliced crosswise
- Olive oil
- Sriracha, for serving
- Mayonnaise (preferably homemade), for serving
- Sesame seeds, for serving
Place the noodles in a large, heatproof bowl, top with about 6 cups just-boiled water, and soak for 7 to 8 minutes Meanwhile, place the eggs in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the tamari, sesame oil and ¾ of the green onions (keep some for garnish); season with about 1tsp each of salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Drain the noodles and loosen them up with chopsticks. Add the cabbage and the noodles to the eggs and toss well to make sure everything is coated.
Heat an 8-inch skillet on medium-high. When hot, drizzle with oil and add ¼ of the cabbage and noodle mixture. Use a wide spatula to tuck in the sides around the skillet. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and leave to cook for 6 minutes, until the bottom is golden. Uncover and top the skillet with a plate that is slightly bigger than the skillet, then flip the pancake so that the cooked side is facing up. Slide it back into the skillet to cook the other side. Leave to cook on medium, uncovered, for another 6 minutes. Transfer the pancake to a plate and continue cooking the other three pancakes, wiping the pan clean and adding another drizzle of oil between batches. To serve, drizzle each pancake with Sriracha and mayonnaise, and scatter over the sesame seeds and remaining green onions. (Pancakes can be cooked ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours in an airtight container. Reheat in the skillet.)