{"id":460,"date":"2013-07-17T19:46:12","date_gmt":"2013-07-18T00:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/?p=460"},"modified":"2016-11-02T19:52:11","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T00:52:11","slug":"feasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/17\/feasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Feasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today I\u2019m joining in with my sweet friend, Katharine Barrett, as we continue to celebrate Christmas in July on her blog \u00a0http:\/\/www.katharinesthoughts.net<\/span><\/p>\n

When I start thinking about preparing for Christmas Celebration with my family, food is one place where I pull out all the stops. In short, we feast. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More important though are the feasts for our souls. Participating in Christmas musicals, going caroling, watching our children\u2019s programs, and attending services that celebrate the birth of Christ like \u201cThe Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols\u201d feed our souls with warmth, hope, love, joy and gratitude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially so when we attend the Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve. When we arrive we each receive an unlit candle and make our way to our seats. The children are fidgety in their Christmas outfits. They want to light the candles. There\u2019s no nursery for the babies, they come to the service with the families. Most of them are enthralled with the decorations and the singing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pastor sits in a chair at the front and the children who can be trusted to not wander off are escorted to sit at his feet.\u00a0 He begins the familiar reading \u201cIn those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We settle in, absorbed in the story, thinking what it must have been like. Watching the children\u2019s faces caught up in the telling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The joyful carols ring out and fill the room. The strains of \u201cImmanuel\u201d, \u201cJoy to the World\u201d, \u201cAway in a Manger\u201d and more remind us how He has Graced us with His Holy Presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then-<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Silence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n

A faint glimmer appears at the front and the sound of\u00a0Silent Night, Holy Night<\/em>\u00a0begins with a single voice. Slowly drifting toward the back, gaining volume as each candle is lit from another and another voice is added. By the end of the song, the room is filled with light and the echo of the last notes hangs in the air. The pastor breathes the benediction and we leave silently, the hush still holds us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"lightoftheworldweb\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This. Is. Christmas.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The celebration of the birth of the Redeemer, the Lamb of God, the Holy One, the Savior of the world. Messiah. Immanuel. God with us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We go silently to the car and are quiet on the drive home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At home, the kitchen is the center of my world for the next few hours. Final preparations for Christmas Celebration at our home.\u00a0 I\u2019ve made the cookies with the kids, and determined the menu. Now, with music flowing, the baking begins!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are rolls to be made, muffins to be prepped, a chocolate torte and a Meyer Lemon pound cake waiting in the wings.\u00a0 I may even have time for a few truffles and\u00a0 who knows what else I\u2019ll come up with!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve added these\u00a0old standbys<\/span>\u00a0and my kids\u2019 favorites below \u00a0Questions? Clarification needed? Please add to the comments and I\u2019ll clarify for all!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(just click on this:\u00a0<\/span>link<\/a>\u00a0t<\/strong>o my recipe page and scroll down to find these)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nathalie Dupree’s Quick and Easy Rolls<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember watching her make these on her show on PBS when my youngest was little- the cooking shows were his favorite to watch at lunch time.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pumpkin Muffins<\/span><\/p>\n

Although these may seem more suited to Thanksgiving tables, there was almost a revolt in the family one year when they discovered I was not planning to make these for Christmas. I gave in and made them even though they didn’t go with the menu!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Blueberry Muffins<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve made these for years for breakfast Christmas Morning and on weekends. I usually buy a large amount of fresh blueberries and make a batch or two; then I freeze the remainder by spreading them out in one layer on a cookie sheet (with sides) and freeze then transfer to a freezer bag and use them in this recipe. If I have guests then I make it as a bread using a bundt pan {think “My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding” where Harry(Harriet) brings a bundt cake to the family party}\u00a0The neat thing about this one is that it can be modified into other kinds of muffins.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Monster Cookies:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

so called because they are so big. I use red and green M&Ms for these at Christmas time. I started making these because there were a kazillion teachers I worked with and only one of me and I wanted to give them all a Christmas Present. Every year they would start asking me as soon as we got back from Thanksgiving: “When are you bringing Monster Cookies?” I would make a batch and place them in the break room with my hot cider concoction and they would be gone by 1 o’clock!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Today I\u2019m joining in with my sweet friend, Katharine Barrett, as we continue to celebrate Christmas in July on her blog \u00a0http:\/\/www.katharinesthoughts.net When I start thinking about preparing for Christmas Celebration with my family, food is one place where I pull out all the stops. In short, we feast. \u00a0 More important though are … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,195],"tags":[198,25,156,197,199],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-recipes","tag-christmas-in-july","tag-god-with-us","tag-immanuel","tag-katharine-barrett","tag-recipes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460\/revisions\/461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordsfromthehomefront.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}