St. Nicholas Day

Whoa we are into December already!  Are you ready for this holiday season and winter break? We are kind of ready.  Both the moms come to visit this month which means happy children and possible date nights for the hubs and me.  I'm happy to have extra hands to help me keep the kids happy and to help us on a holiday craft and food making spree!  December is another month with many holidays and the first one we talked about was Saint Nicholas Day.  This holiday is one I grew up with.  Saint Nicholas Day is one that is celebrated in Germany and the kids have been discussing it in their German class at school.  Traditionally children leave shoes out and they are filled with fruit, or small treats.  In my house growing up, we had our stocking hung early and that's what "St. Nick" would leave a small gift in for us on his celebration day.   For those of you that did not grow up in a Catholic home that celebrated St. Nicholas day here's what I can tell you about the holiday. Historically speaking, there not much really known about Nicholas.  Though he's one of the most popular saints in the Green and Latin churches, his existence isn't attested by any historical document. He was probably the bishop of Myra (Turkey) sometime in the 300s.  He was best known for his generosity.  One story that popped up over and over again in my research was his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters or marriageable age.  Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man's window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married.  Over the centuries, this particular legend evolved into a custom of gift-giving on the saint's feast day.

For Saint Nicholas day I thought it would be fun to leave surprises for the boys teachers.  So for our craft we created our own paper candy canes to accompany some sweets.  Since this holiday is about giving, the boys and I are going to sneak the gifts into the classroom.  We just put a few gold coin chocolates and a little note saying Happy St. Nicholas day.  We have our craft all assembled and will just have to sneak around distributing them on December 5th.   

I found these cute paper candy canes here.

Here's how we made the candy canes:

First cut paper into square shape.

Fold paper and cut off excess.

Next draw lines on the paper as shown below.

Draw different color lines on paper with a 90 degree angle.

Roll up paper and secure with tape or glue dot.

Roll and secure paper.

Then curve one end around a marker to make the top of the candy cane.

Curving the end of the candy cane.

Finished product.

For our Saint Nicholas treat we decided to make Marzipan.  At the Christmas markets I have seen St. Nicholas man-shaped breads and marzipan candies.  I chose the easier of the two for our food and found this Dutch marzipan recipe for us to try.

Marsepein (Dutch Marzipan)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup blanched almonds (We used almond meal so we could skip the grinding)
2. 1 cup confectioners' sugar
3. 1 egg white
4. ¼ teaspoon water (original recipe called for lemon juice)

Method:

Grind the almonds. Add the sugar, the egg white and the water. Grind the mixture very fine. Let the marzipan stand for 24 hours, under a damp cloth. Form hearts, dolls, letters, animals and other fancy figures.

From The Real Dutch Treat Cook Book, by Rie Ykema-Steenbergen, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1949

Almond meal

Sugar

Shaping his marzipan into a hovercraft

A few more traditional shapes

The marzipan was very easy and basic.  It was almondy and sugary and much like store bought or Christmas market bought marzipan I wasn't completely impressed with it- but the children thought it was good and it was like a grainy playdough which made a fun time for all.  

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Reformation Day

For many Protestants, particularly Lutherans, Reformation Day is one of the most important holidays, next to Christmas and Easter. Reformation Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in October and honors the beginning of the Reformation, commemorating Martin Luther's posting of ninety-five theses at the entrance to the Castle Church in the town of Wittenberg, Germany, in AD 1517. 

Luther, an Augustinian monk, doctor of theology, and resident of Wittenberg, is considered by Protestants to have rediscovered the fundamental tenants of Christian faith, thereby setting the stage for a confrontation within the Church that would eventually lead to the Reformation.  Reformation Day also celebrates the religious, social, and political changes brought about by the Reformation.

I found a site that listed the 95 theses here. 

For our craft we made little hammers.  The kids selected corks from the giant stash I have managed to save over the years and popsicle sticks from my recycle cabinet.  I cut a slit through the corks for them and they slid the sticks through to make a hammer.  Then they decorated as they wished.  When finished they were ready to be little Martin Luthers, or as they prefered, Thor.

Corks and sticks

Carefully cutting the cork

Hammer almost done.

Posing away with his finished product.

For Reformation day food I decided to make a German dish since Martin Luther was from Germany.  If your kids are like mine, they love sweet fruits and bacon.  So I decided to give this traditional German soup a try.  I had thought about doing spatzle because everyone loves noodles- but thought this soup sounded more adventurous.  Turns out I should have stuck with Noodles:)  My oldest wouldn't even touch it, but happily ate the left over bacon.  My adventurous middle child tried it and gave a large yuck!  The baby picked out the bacon and ate.  So the real story here is that we are genetically all in favor of bacon but this soup was a no go for us.  To be fair I did not totally follow the directions.  Boiling bacon for 2 hours was not in our time frame so if I had done that rather then pan fry and add drippings to the water maybe some things would have come out differently- if you manage to have a tasty outcome let me know where I went wrong!

Nordfriesische Birnensuppe

Ingredients (Serves Four)

• 400g smoked bacon
• 500ml water
• 500g pears
• 100g raisins
• 500ml buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Method

Bring the water with the bacon to boil, cover and cook for two hours. Peel the pears and remove their cores, then slice them into rings. Remove the bacon from the water, add the pears and raisins and let them cook for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, mix the buttermilk, flour and sugar. Pour into a pot and heat while stirring, then add to the pears and raisins and let them steep for another ten minutes. Cut the bacon into four pieces, put them on four bowls and pour the hot pear soup on top. 

Started out promising bacon and pears.

Look at the kids face- he can barely hold it:)

I suggest bratwurst or spatzle for your German food for reformation day, but at least our craft was super easy and a crowd pleaser.  Thanks for reading! 

Holy Cross Day

September 14th is The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, The Triumph of the Cross, or Holy Cross Day.  It is celebrated in different Christian denominations, including Greek Orthodox, Anglican, and Catholic.

According to legends that spread widely, the True Cross was discovered in 326 by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena and Constantine. 

"The date of the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. This was a two-day festival: although the actual consecration of the church was on September 13, the cross itself was brought outside the church on September 14 so that the clergy and faithful could pray before the True Cross, and all could come forward to venerate it. "(http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/243.html)

Cross

For observance of this holiday Catholic and Anglican's will hold services with red vestments worn.  In Eastern and Oriental Orthodox practices there are fasting and feasts around the holiday.  The Ethiopian Orthodox also celebrate the finding of the Cross however they follow the Ethiopian Calendar and celebrate Holy Cross day on Meskerem 17 which corresponds to September 27.

The Cross today is a symbol of Christian belief.  Christians believe that Jesus, was the son of God and died for the sins of man on the Cross.  Therefore, for Christians, the significance of finding the Cross of Jesus's crucifixion is great.

For our craft we made a "stained glass" cross using tempera paint, parchment paper, and construction paper.  A stained glass looking cross seemed like a good nod to how the inside of churches are typically decorated.  To make this I drew a  cross onto the construction paper and cut it out.  

Cross cutout of the construction paper

I then got out the tempera paint and let my Middle son finger paint and mix the colors on a piece of parchment paper.  It was a fun way to review what happens when you mix colors too.  

Color mixing finger painting.

When he was done I taped another piece of parchment on top of his work of art and sealed in the sides.  Then I taped his masterpiece on the back of the construction paper with the cross.  When we taped it up on the window the light shone through showing his paint swirls.  I used red construction paper since that is the color used to decorate the church on Holy Cross Day.

Finished product- our "stained glass" cross

For our food I didn't see any obvious food connection to the holiday so we made hot crossed buns.  While this is a recipe that is often associated with Good Friday or Easter I thought it fit well for Holy Cross Day.   Recipe found here

Our version of the recipe was:

For the buns:

• 2 cups 2% Milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable Oil
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (additional) Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• If you want -raisins, dried cranberries, or currant

For the glaze:

• 1 whole Egg White

For the Icing:

• 1 whole Egg White
•  Powdered Sugar
•  Splash Of Milk

Preparation Instructions

BUNS

Combine 2 cups milk, vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour. (I got distracted and didn't add the flour right away it still rose but not as much as I think it would have)

Pouring yeast into milk, oil, and sugar mixture.

Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.

Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar process, then fold the dough again.  This is also the point where you would add raisins, currants, or cranberries if you were adding them.  We didn't add them because my oldest doesn't like them and we didn't have any in the house at the time.

Adding sugar to the dough

Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes or if you are approaching bedtime like we were put on the glaze and throw them in the oven:)

Putting on the glaze

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees

GLAZE

Take  egg white and brush onto each roll.

Bake for 20 minutes, give or take, or until tops of buns have turned nice and golden brown.

Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Waiting for the buns to get done baking.

ICING

Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.

Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they're completely cooled first.

Finished product

Before the first bite. 

These went over very well in our house.  The boys could barley wait for them to cool so we had a few hot and the icing melted and dripped but was delicious.  More were enjoyed at breakfast the next day.