With a pinch of nostalgia

No, I haven't forgotten you.  It's been a busy few months though and blogging, especially when I am not feeling particularly pithy or insightful, tends to take a backseat at times such as these.  Anyhoo...

Food, as is often the case, is foremost on my mind, but more so because of Christmas.  I have always known that there are some foods I only prepare around the holiday (even though the family enjoys them and have said more than once that they wouldn't mind getting more frequently), but it never hit home exactly why.  Then a couple of days ago, C and I were trying out a new cookie recipe and I had a huge, "oh duh" epiphany.

The cookies were a basic chocolate chip recipe but instead of chips we used semisweet chunks and we also added chopped pecans and Heath bar bits.  Just for the heck of it we sprinkled some sea salt over the top:

Chewy texture, chunks of chocolatey, toffee goodness!

Then we tasted the cookies.  Since there are so many recipes out there, our unspoken agreement is all new recipes have to be outstanding enough, as is, for us to make them again.  I glanced at C.  He nodded his head and said, "Good."  Just good?  "Well, it's a good recipe and it's a good cookie."  But, not great?  He chewed thoughtfully for a moment.  "Well, it doesn't have any nostalgia."

Sharp kid, my son.  And that's when I had my epiphany.  So many of the things I make, especially around such an emotionally-charged time as Christmas, I make because of the associations I have with particular recipes.  Crunchy jumble cookies are very good cookies but I especially love them because I got them from a respected colleague (now blissfully retired) and I typically make them on the day we decorate the Christmas tree.  Passion fruit jello is a recipe from my aunty who has been so afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis she is no longer able to cook; this recipe was a staple at our New Year's brunches at Grandma's place.  Blueberry banana jello mold is my grandmother's recipe; she got it from her younger sister and I loved it so much she made it at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  When she was no longer able to make it, I copied out the recipe from her box of cards and have been making it ever since.  It's the same thing with her pumpkin chiffon pie.  Though they aren't "Christmas" recipes, I often make guacamole and ratatouille because they are foods my brother and sister made for me when I visited them at their respective homes in Seattle and Boston.

"Good" food feeds the body but "great" food feeds the heart.  I can't believe it took me that long to figure it out.

Merry Christmas to all!