Pretty much every holiday has some kind of yin-yang emotional struggle attached to it. Well, okay, maybe not President’s Day or Groundhog’s Day, they’re fairly Switzerland-like as far as holidays go. I’ve never heard of someone say, “Groundhog’s Day makes me cringe; I always associate it with my Uncle Ed fighting with his third wife, and everyone drinking too much and regressing to their worst adolescent selves.”
Figuring out what to do for New Year’s Eve is always a fraught decision. Do you go to the big party? Do you make reservations at your favorite restaurant? Do you stay in and watch the ball drop in Times Square? Do you actually make the trek to Times Square?
It all started at the mall. I was doing some holiday shopping last month and went into Nordstrom. There was a girl near the door handing out samples of the roasted garlic and potato soup that they were featuring that day in the café. I wouldn’t normally accept a sample, but the smell was too wonderful to resist.
It’s Christmas time in Burgundy and I am surrounded by all the reasons I moved to France: friends, family and a life rich in simplicity. It’s hard to believe that we have just a couple more days until Christmas and then in a flash, 2009 will be over. To add to the Christmas spirit, we’ve been blessed with several days of snow and Beaune is festively lit with garland and twinkle lights that illuminate the cobblestone streets.
At some point in my childhood, my parents became the proud owners of an electric fork.
Not an electric knife — a commonplace item by the mid-70s, every modern kitchen had one — but an electric fork. It looks a lot like any other gadget of its era, but unlike my mom’s pastel pink Sunbeam rotary mixer or our avocado green General Electric automatic can opener, this kitchen tool was (and is) a rather convincing fake.
In addition to decorating mountains of gingerbread and sugar cookies, a beloved Christmas tradition in my family was eating lefse on Christmas Eve. My Norwegian Great Grandmother would cook the thin potato pancakes every year in her tiny apartment on a piping hot griddle. As soon as the pancake was golden and toasted, we would slather on some salty butter and sprinkle a bit of crunchy sugar.
One of my favorite parts about the holiday season is making homemade gifts for friends. Ninth grade marked the beginning of this tradition, when I handed out clear bags of my simple chocolate-covered toffee to classmates. Doing this made me realize that giving handcrafted gifts with a personal touch felt more unique and heartfelt than anything I could buy at the store. I know my friends agreed. I received requests for that toffee every Christmas until graduation, and we all remain close to this day.
Throwing a holiday party is one of my favorite things to do. The holidays provide excellent opportunities to cook up wonderful recipes and share good food with friends. The only problem is the expense. Holiday parties can be pricey. Luckily, my partner and I have devised ways to keep our costs down without sacrificing holiday cheer!
I’m honored to be a guest at The Kitchn. I’ve gleaned so much useful information over the years from The Kitchn, Apartment Therapy: Chicago, and the rest of the sites, and from their friendly and intelligent community of followers. I could name many instances when, because of the sites, I’ve learned something useful or bought this or that to make my house more pleasant and organized. I’d even say that my life has become a little more enjoyable from the non-material things that I’ve absorbed from their ideas and feedback.
This cake was hilariously disastrous.
I’ll start from the beginning: I was making this cake as a test for my annual prime rib Christmas dinner with friends. Since sweets are my thing, I try to make something different every year.
(This guest post originally appeared at Gregor.us)
Exxon is like the government. It’s constitutionally unable to face reality. This has been the case for some years now, and has been reflected in their refusal to accept that spending billions annually would not result in any appreciable growth in their oil reserves. I’ve been snickering for years at XOM’s stuck-in-time approach. Here’s a snippet of a post of mine from a year ago, Advice to Major XOM.
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of ExxonMobil. Each year brings a new promise to grow production and build reserves “the old fashioned way.” They spend 20 billion. They spend 40 billion. The CEO is interviewed, and gives his patient outlook on the price of oil. (has no idea). Cash builds up on the balance sheet. The company is praised, for not being aggressive. The company is criticized, for not being aggressive. More cash builds up on the balance sheet. Investor groups become alarmed, at an apparent lack of strategy. Production stays flat, year after year. Reserve replacement flattens.
When Rex Tillerson was made CEO of ExxonMobil a few years ago he was asked for his outlook on the price of oil. Rex stated that was not his job, and that frankly he didn’t care. Now, that’s probably the kind of attitude that caused the Rockefeller heirs to probe the board, for a new strategy. While misunderstood as a push for investment in Alternative Energy, the Rockefeller group was correctly identifying the fact that Exxon was led by an intellectually incurious CEO, and that the company was sleepwalking its way into a paradigm shift in energy supply. Spending 20 billion a year just to keep production and reserves flat does, indeed, indicate a state of denial.
Whether Exxon’s corporate culture of denial has changed or not is unclear. However, Exxon today has purchased for itself one of the best run Natural Gas producers in the United States, with its all stock deal for XTO. (they should have paid cash and de-hoarded some of their dollars). XTO, Run by Bob Simpson, has assembled a fine collection of shale NG properties and conventional oil production in the continental US over the past five years, and is quite the prize. One wonders if XOM will have to compete a bit further, however, before the deal is actually closed.
A more poignant and broader question however is as follows: does Exxon see a shift coming, finally, to energy policy in the US that would favor natural gas? Given XOM’s devotion to doing things the old-fashioned way, I say maybe. But unlikely. I doubt very much Exxon would make a deal that would depend on the whims of future policy decisions, out of Washington. No, Exxon makes deals based on the hard-bitten truths and laws that oilmen of old would live by. So while I can’t give them credit for having any vision, they do know history. And that’s what you get with Exxon, visionless management–but safe, disciplined management.
Perhaps this is an apt moment to post the most recently updated chart of Non-OPEC crude oil production. Because that’s the real reason for today’s deal. Developing new oil production here in the West, except on a small scale, is tough. Exxon is too big to add reserves therefore on the oil side through development. Indeed, in recent years, Exxon has not been able to boost its annual reserve replacement ratio above 100% via oil. So instead, it obtains reserves of BTU’s another way, via natural gas. Needless to say, but this puts a finer point on how all the global majors will add to reserves in the years ahead: through more acquisitions of North American NG.
Read more analysis of the energy industry at Gregor.us >>
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Croquembouche, a spun sugar tower of cream puffs, is French for “crunch in the mouth.” Of course it’s French – who else would concoct such a perilous pile of pastries?
Traditionally served at weddings and holidays, it’s made of cream-filled pâte à choux pastry and anchored with caramel. And, along with most things having to do with weddings or French pastry, I have always considered cream puffs firmly outside my area of expertise.
Here in Portugal we have many traditions of holiday food, but from North to South, at the Christmas Eve table, there’s something that you can’t miss: King Cake and Codfish Boiled With Potatoes, Eggs and Cabbage (dried and salted codfish). When I was a child I just hated both! I still don’t eat the King’s Cake candied fruits. And when a child sees a table sprinkled with sweets and all sorts of tempting food, and is told to eat boiled fish with cabbage at dinner, what a sacrifice it is!
This Christmas will be my first with homemade Christmas ornaments. Growing up, I always had the most perfect Christmas trees complete with dozens of ornaments my mother had collected from various trips around the world: they were always perfectly color-coordinated and so beautifully lit that it would break your heart to see the Christmas season go.
I know I’ve only just arrived here at The Kitchn and I was raised to always be a polite guest, but I’m going to start this guest post out on a note that could ruffle some feathers. I’m a mug of spiked hot mulled cider in and I’m feeling a little daring, so here goes nothing: I don’t much like Christmas cookies. Blasphemous, I know. Especially for a food blogger. Writing a holiday guest post. Mere days before Christmas.
In the past few years, our family has ‘modernized’ our Christmas feast. The whole turkey, potatoes and pie menu seems tired following on the coattails of Thanksgiving, so we try to make it more fun. This year we’re doing grilled pizzas (I realize this is a blessing that comes with living on the Southern West Coast) and I’m experimenting with a few different treats. Serving individual desserts feels personal, as though I am passing on an edible gift to the loved ones at my table.
Skepticism: every student’s favorite high-school class
When I was in high school and college I used to write letters similar in passion to Molly Freed’s epistle about Copenhagen, anthropogenic global warming and the doomsday scenario she forecasts for her generation [“This growing panic,” Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 10].
Then I got older, and wised up to the fact that adults are frequently wrong, that teachers are just as biased as anyone else, and that it’s my duty to engage in critical thinking and exercise good judgment when assessing the truths that other people are promoting.
I hope Freed grows up to be equally skeptical about what she is taught, reads and hears.
— Kathy Schwartz, West Seattle
Setting a positive example for the world
Paul Krugman’s column “Climate policy we can afford” [Opinion, syndicated column, Dec. 8] argued that cutting greenhouse-gas emissions is affordable, as well as essential.
I believe that not only is it affordable, but it’s the best opportunity our nation has to become a leader in green technology, create millions of new jobs and power our nation with carbon-free energy.
However, I disagreed with Krugman on the use of cap and trade as the best incentive to accomplish this. We do not need another system based on complicated derivatives that allows offsets for big polluters. A better incentive is to charge fees on carbon at the source, and rebate the revenue to citizens to compensate for higher energy prices.
This is a straightforward way to encourage investors and consumers alike to find alternatives to carbon fuels. It is immediate, transparent and predictable.
We’re ending another decade that’s the warmest on record. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is already 387 parts per million, well above the safe level of 350 ppm.
Time is short; Congress must act quickly to create a practical way to quickly cut U.S. carbon emissions and set a positive example for the world.
— Anne Engstrom, Seattle
Pledging to be carbon free for climate change
I applaud The Seattle Times editorial, “Pledges, not pacts, for climate change” [Opinion, Dec. 6].
International focus must be on policy that will reduce atmospheric CO2 levels to 350 parts per million to avoid runaway climate change. Scientists say this is still feasible if we act quickly.
The best way to accomplish this transition to a more stable climate is a carbon fee with rebates. Gradually rising fees on carbon fuels would provide predictable incentives for investment and innovation in clean technologies and decrease fossil fuel use. Full rebates of the fees to individuals would protect consumers from rising costs.
Current focus on a cap and trade approach is a mistake. Cap and trade is too slow, too expensive to administer, and is failing to effectively curb CO2 emissions in Europe.
Our neighbors in British Columbia have already received their first checks from B.C.’s carbon fee and rebate program. A carbon fee system is cheaper, faster and more effective than cap and trade.
Let’s implement a carbon fee and rebate system for our children and grandchildren’s sake.
— Sue Berlin, Seattle
I am not exactly sure what most people eat for breakfast on Christmas morning. There is often a lot of talk about dinner: roasts and hams, traditional side dishes, and glittering desserts. But the day has to start somehow; you can’t dig through stockings and unwrap presents on an empty stomach. And it’s Christmas, so it better be special. That means no bowls of cold cereal or skimpy slices of toast.
Many people still struggling in Seattle
As the director and manager of programs that work day in and day out with Seattle’s homeless and low-income populations, we would like to respond to Danny Westneat’s recent column “Homeless count down, eyebrows up” [NWWednesday, Dec. 9].
One fact remains abundantly clear to those of us who provide housing and supportive services in Seattle: homelessness is not going away.
This fall, the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) had more than 8,000 households on our waiting list for subsidized housing. These numbers represent people of every description —homeless adults, seniors, working families with children who have never before faced life on the streets. The last 18 months saw such a dramatic climb in the number of people waiting for housing, LIHI took the unprecedented move of scrapping our wait list, in order to immediately serve the families and individuals with the greatest need.
The most recent LIHI housing project, McDermott Place in Lake City, recently began accepting applications for housing. Within two weeks we had more than 300 applications for 75 units, all of them coming from people desperately in need of a place to live.
Usage of the Urban Rest Stop (a hygiene center that provides free showers, laundry and restrooms) has been climbing steadily. Each month this year has shown a 15-20 percent increase, with the biggest percentage increase among families with children.
Quantifying the number of people struggling with homelessness is a tremendously complicated endeavor. We applaud the city’s efforts to track the numbers of people using shelters, however, we are also aware that simple numbers, however they are generated, cannot possibly capture the complexities of homelessness in our region.
— Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director, and Ronni Gilboa, Urban Rest Stop Project Manager, Seattle
Filed under: Motorsports, Sedan, Europe, Jaguar, Specialty
We can thank the Italians for some of the most enticing race machinery ever to grace tarmac. But in this case, the Italians have taken a British saloon and transformed it for track duty.
This racing version of the Jaguar XF made its debut this past weekend at South Africa’s Kyalami circuit, where the Superstars Series held its season finale. The Italian touring car series pits all manner of specially-prepared machinery – ranging from Chevrolet Luminas and Chrysler 300s to Audi RS4s and the Maserati Quattroporte we reported on earlier – against each other at circuits around Italy, with one round this season held abroad. While you may not recognize any names from the current roster of drivers, the handicapped former CART Champion and F1 driver Alex Zanardi is set to race for BMW in the Italian series.
Few details are available on the new Jag touring car’s specifications, but it was prepared by Italian racing garage Ferlito Motors to replace an aging machine based on the old S-Type. For its race debut, the new XF racer finished 12th – dead last of the cars that finished the race, but at least it finished. Follow the jump for the press release and check out the (unfortunately low-res) images in the gallery below.
[Source: Superstars Series]
Continue reading Race-spec Jaguar XF touring car debuts at Kyalami Superstars
Race-spec Jaguar XF touring car debuts at Kyalami Superstars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
