Photo: Erin Wong and her band entertained at the Sisters by Heart's “A Cup of Christmas” event at the VFMC on December 3.

As a special treat for their regular Christmas gathering, the Sisters by Heart group of Verona offered up women of all ages in the community an evening of holiday cheer and entertainment on December 3 at the Verona Free Methodist Church.

Sisters by Heart is a local community-based women’s group with six committee members, which runs out of the Verona Free Methodist Church. The group was started up nine years ago by Evelyn Snider, who regularly organizes and emcees the events, which cost just $5 to attend. She was inspired by the former VFM Church pastor and his wife, David and Linda Rigby, who had started a similar group at their church in Florida. The group puts on four events each year and the proceeds help to support various services and community groups in the community. Proceeds from Monday night’s event will help support the Verona Community Association's Christmas for Kids, a campaign that collects funds to buy Christmas gifts for children in need in the local community.

The evening opened with a special performance by the Harrowsmith Bell Ringers (photo right), a group of 13 youngsters from the local community under the direction of Karen Snider, who performed two selections of bell ringing carols.

The featured entertainment was singer and speaker Erin Wong and her band The Citadel Worship Team, who come from the Kingston Citadel Salvation Army church in Kingston. Erin and her group have been playing together for close to 10 years and their highly polished sound filled the fellowship hall with inspiring Christian-themed tunes. They received a warm and enthusiastic reception from listeners. The players included Erin singing lead vocals, Josh Wilkins on guitar, Les Carr on keyboards and back up vocals and Sarah McCourt playing cello. The group has recently put out their first CD titled “Adoration” and proceeds from its sales will go towards supporting the Laurie Fund, which helps send Kingston children in need to sports camp. Erin’s talk, which she titled “A Cup of Christmas”, focused on the true meaning of Christmas and the benefits of striving to keep an abundantly overflowing cup of Christmas. She read a definition by an unknown author of the word “peace”, which said that peace “does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work, but rather to be in the midst of these things and still be calm in your heart.” This was Erin's second visit to Sisters by Heart and judging by the quality of her performance and her warm reception, it won’t be her last.

 

St. Paul's United Church Sunday School in Harrowsmith is no stranger to outreach projects. The past several years have seen the children raising funds through bike-a-thons and craft sales to purchase livestock, school and medical supplies for under-privileged countries and special projects in Haiti. This year the children are learning of Canadians who live in poverty and who need the generosity of others to survive and feed their children. This year our Sunday school is asking for community support during the Harrowsmith Santa Claus parade on December 1 at 10 a.m. Volunteers from the church will be collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations to help assist the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation (SFCSC) food bank and Christmas hamper project. Last year St. Paul's and their sister church, Trinity United in Verona, packed 34 Christmas hampers. As well, the Sunday school is selling Christmas earrings handcrafted and generously donated by Helen Lamb to help raise funds. You can purchase these earrings for $5 by contacting our church office at 613-372-2525.

Jennifer Linton, SFCSC food bank coordinator, spoke with the children and congregation on Nov. 18. All were shocked by the statistics and information presented. Since 2008, food bank usage in Canada has increased by 31%. Last year the SFCSC food bank provided 423 families, which included 783 adults and 551 children, with food hampers. The food bank reached this number by the end of the first week in October this year! Why the increase? Jennifer explains, “There are many reasons people turn to the food bank: wages not keeping pace with inflation, job loss, sudden unexpected expenses like car repairs, increased hydro bills, illness or accident. The first reason is huge and one that Food Banks Canada is focusing attention on.”

Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada stated recently, “It is shocking that, in a country as prosperous as Canada, hundreds of thousands of children rely on food banks to have enough to eat each month. Though food banks do what they can to fill the need, too many kids are still going to school on empty stomachs.”

It is completely unacceptable for any child or any human being to go hungry in Canada...in Frontenac County...in Harrowsmith. So please, this year support our food bank either by bringing your donations to the parade, dropping them in the bin at Trousdale’s Foodland in Sydenham, or dropping donations off directly to the SFCSC office on George Street in Sydenham, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 4:30.

Rev. Patsy Henry of the Harrowsmith-Verona Pastoral Charge summed things up by saying, “After having made contributions to help those in need in our community to get through the weeks ahead, let us resolve to call upon our leaders in this country to take action to alleviate poverty and hardship and much lessen the need for food banks at all. Let’s make this a merry Christmas for everyone and make it our mandate in 2013 to continue to support those who need our help the most.”

 

 

Recipes

One of the great traditions of Christmas in France is the Reveillon dinner.

In some incarnations it is a dinner that only starts after midnight mass, and continues on until the morning, when parents greet their children for opening presents under the tree. Presumably, everyone then goes to bed to sleep away most of Christmas Day.

Le Réveillon literally means “eve”, but also refers to the coming of a new day as an extension of the verb réveiller – to wake.

There are versions of Réveillon dinners throughout the French Diaspora as well as in France, particularly in Quebec and Louisiana, and the traditional foods have been adapted to local produce and culinary traditions.

For those interested in the idea of local food, the Quebec Reveillon dishes are easily adapted to the 100 mile or even the 15 or 20 kilometre diet.

But first to the south of France, to the Provence region.

Christmas begins on December 4, St. Barbe's Day, with the planting of wheat germ in saucers on wet paper towels. By Christmas Day the miniature wheat fields will be placed in the family crib.

Family crib, or crèche scenes, located in courtyards or in front of homes, are still common, and they include Provencal “santos” or “little saints”, clay figurines that are produced in workshops throughout the region and sold in Christmas markets that spring up each November.

On Christmas Eve, the Provencal version of Le Reveillon includes “les treize desserts” (13 desserts) that are served after mass. Before mass, on Christmas Eve, “Le Gros Souper” is served. Numbers are important in these meals as they all have a religious significance. There are 3 white tablecloths on a large table, signifying the Holy Trinity, with 3 white candelabras and 3 saucers of sprouted wheat germ on them. Le Gros Souper consists of 7 dishes, ranging from simple vegetable dishes such as chard, cauliflower, and spinach, to snails and omelettes. The supper is a “lean” offering in memory of the 7 sufferings of Mary, and it is accompanied by 13 bread rolls.

After mass, “Les treize desserts” are set out. While everyone is supposed to sample each of the 13 desserts, it is not as onerous, or fattening a task as one might think, because the desserts are not 13 different cakes and pies.

The desserts vary from town to town or region to region, but they generally include the four mendicants, referring to four orders of friars who had turned their back on earthly things and survived by begging. The desserts include dry figs (Franciscans), almonds (Carmelites), raisins (Dominicans), and hazelnuts (Augustinians). Dates, symbolic of Christ, are served as well, as are two kinds of almond nougat: a hard black nougat, symbolizing the forces of evil, and a soft white nougat symbolizing purity and goodness.

Fresh and candied fruits constitute some of the other desserts, and there are often oreillettes (light, thin waffles) served. An olive oil and orange flavoured bread, called “La pompe a L'huile” is another tradition.

In Provence, “Les 13 desserts” are left on the table from early on December 25 until December 27.

Another tradition that comes from southern France was the burning of a Yule log in the fireplace overnight between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This has come down to us in dessert form as “La Bûche de Noël”

Réveillon dinners in more northern parts of France are often elaborate feasts, including foie gras, oysters, lobster, sausages, wine, ham, goose or turkey stuffed with chestnuts and fruit, followed by cheese, pastries and sweet dessert wines or cognac.

I'm not sure how such combinations of rich food and wine work to réveiller the revellers, but it sounds like it might be worth a try.

In Louisiana, cooking for Reveillon took on a Creole bent, with New World traditions such as game pie, local seafood and la croquembouche (a tree made up of chocolate covered cream puffs)

Réveillons have died out as a home tradition in Louisiana over the last 100 years but they have made a comeback in high end restaurants, particularly in New Orleans, where Prix fixe Reveillon dinners are served throughout the month of December as a means of generating tourist and local traffic during one of the slower months of the year.

The famous New Orleans chef, Emeril, is serving Mississippi rabbit tourine, spiced cured foie gras, followed by a main course of Louisiana popcorn rice and tasso stuffed quail with black eyed peas and bacon smothered cabbage, and pecan pie with caramel sauce for dessert at his NOLA restaurant in the French Quarter this month at a cost of $60.

But long before Le Reveillon travelled down the Mississippi it had put down roots in New France.

The stories of the Order of Good Cheer demonstrate how feasting was used by the early governors of Quebec in the 17th Century to keep up the spirits of the immigrant population who had to suffer through long, cold winters. They are also the stories of how a distinctly Canadian cuisine was born.

To this day, the Réveillon dinners in Québec demonstrate how hearty rural French cooking has been adapted to the agricultural realities in the land of ice and snow and maple trees that we also share in Eastern Ontario.

Tourtières are a Quebec Christmas tradition like none other. Originally they were a pie made out of the meat of the tourtes, or passenger pigeon. Due to over hunting, partly but not exclusively for use in pies, the tourtes became extinct in 1914, and tourtière now generally refers to a meat-filled pie.

There are as many tourtière recipes as there are cooks, but they do fall into two or three categories. In the Lac St. Jean region, tourtières are still often made using chunks of meat (pork, beef, and sometimes chicken) as well as potatoes and other root vegetables.

Elsewhere it is more common to use ground pork, sometimes cut with ground beef to make a pie that is made of only meat, onions, and spices such as nutmeg, allspice and cloves. As well, tourtières can be a mixed meat pie including any variety of wild game, often deer or moose venison. Ham cooked in maple syrup is also popular, as are maple pork baked beans. For dessert, sugar pie or runny maple fudge as well as a Bûche Noël can be served.

 

Recipes

I have included a number of recipes that tend towards the rich and filling end of the Reveillon spectrum. Even if the weather has been unseasonably warm of late, we are still faced with 15 hours of darkness each day and we know the bone-chilling cold is coming on. So if there is a time to eat comfort food, we are there now.

There are recipes below for Ham and Maple Syrup, Maple baked beans, and for a simple tourtière. As well, while lard and pork scraps on toast does have its appeal, I have included instead a recipe for chicken liver pâté, also a Québec tradition, instead.

For dessert, a nod to the Bûche Noël, and a French inspired apple cake recipe courtesy of Andrea Duggan, formerly of Sunsets Restaurant, whose blog Cookingwithandrea.com includes step by step directions for desserts and many other dishes.

Ham and Maple Syrup

Ingredients

1 smoked ham (approx. 4 kg. or 9 lb.)

2 cups maple syrup, combined with 10 cups water

2 cups raisins

2 cups maple sugar, crumbled

1 teaspoon dried mustard

2 teaspoons while cloves (optional)

4 teaspoons apple juice

In a large pot bring the ham to a boil in the maple syrup water. Reduce the heat and let simmer on low heat for 3 to 4 hours, or until the ham is tender. Remove the ham from the water and let sit for 15 minutes or until cooled. Reserve a few cups of this water for later use. Once ham is cooled remove the rind and set aside.

In a bowl crush the maple sugar and mix with the mustard and apple juice, stir well till blended. Add the cloves to the maple sugar and juice mixture and let sit for 15 minutes until the flavors blend together. Place your ham in a roasting pan and baste your ham with the maple sugar juice mixture, making sure to heavily coat the whole ham. Add a cup or more of the ham water into your roasting pan and add the ham rind. Add the raisins, placing some over top of ham.

Bake ham for 40 to 50 minutes in a 300°F oven. Baste your ham often, adding more ham water if needed, the more the tastier it will be. Remove from oven and place on serving platter, pour the raisins and maple syrup drippings over the ham.

Serve with mashed potatoes, carrots and turnips all whipped together.

Note – The outcome of this dish is dependent on the quality of the ham.

 

Maple baked beans

1 lb small white pea beans

1 onion

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon summer savory

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 teaspoons chili powder

1½ cups maple syrup

¼ lb salt pork

½ teaspoon salt

Soak beans overnight to cut down on cooking time. Drain and place in a 4 quart bean pot. Mix seasonings and maple syrup together and stir into beans. Add enough water to cover. Peel onion and remove root and blossom ends. Push whole onion down into beans and place the salt pork next to it. Bake covered in a 250 degree oven for about 8 hours, checking on them every hour or so and see if you need to add water so they never dry out.

When finished if you want the sauce to be thicker, then you can always stir in some refried bean flakes and let sit to thicken.

 

Tourtières

1½ pound lean ground pork or

1 pound lean ground pork and ½ pound lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon ground sage

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a saucepan, combine pork (or pork and beef) onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.

Spoon the meat mixture into the piecrust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminium foil.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

 

Chicken liver pâté

1 lb fresh chicken liver, cleaned

1 cup milk

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup chopped yellow onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons green peppercorns, drained

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ cup cognac or ¼ cup brandy

chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

In a bowl, soak the livers in the milk for 2 hours and drain well. In a large sauté pan or skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken livers, 1 tablespoon of the peppercorns, the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the livers are browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 5 minutes. Add the Cognac and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through but still tender. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Discard the bay leaves.

In a food processor, purée the liver mixture. Add the remaining butter in pieces and pulse to blend. Fold in the remaining 1 tablespoon peppercorns and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Pack the pâté into 6 individual ramekins or small molds, about 4 ounces each. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours. Garnish the tops with parsley and surround with croutons or French bread. Serve with sweet pickles, if desired.

 

Apple Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

4 large apples (if you can, choose 4 different kinds)

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons dark rum (optional)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8-inch springform or non-stick 9 inch pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in small bowl. Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the cores. Cut the apples into 1- to 2-inch chunks (pretty big chunks)

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Pour in the sugar and whisk for a minute or so to blend. Whisk in the rum and vanilla. Whisk in half the flour and when it is incorporated, add half the melted butter, followed by the rest of the flour and the remaining butter, mixing gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the apples, turning the fruit so that it’s coated with batter. Scrape the mix into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it’s even-ish.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean; the cake may pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for five minutes.

Carefully run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the spring form pan, making sure there are no apples stuck to the side of the pan. Allow the cake to cool until it is just slightly warm or at room temperature.

 

La Bûche de Noël (Yule log)

This is a flourless recipe so it is light and has the added advantage of being gluten-free.

Cake

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

6 large eggs (separated)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut in pieces

¾ teaspoon cream of tartar

 

Chocolate whipped cream filling

1 cup whipping cream (35% butterfat)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons sugar

1½ tablespoons cocoa powder

 

Grease a 17 x 12 inch (43x30 cm) baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and then butter and flour the parchment paper.

While the eggs are still cold, separate the eggs, placing the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Cover and bring to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes). Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and cool.

Place the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy (about five minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the melted chocolate and beat only to combine.

In a clean mixing bowl, and with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture using a rubber spatula or whisk, a little at a time. Don't over mix. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is puffed, has lost its shine, and springs back when gently pressed, about 15 -17 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Cover the cake with a clean, slightly damp towel.

For the chocolate whipped cream: in a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, sugar, and cocoa powder and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least one hour so the cocoa powder has time to dissolve.

Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. Once the cake has cooled, spread with the cream (set 2 tablespoons aside) and then gently roll the cake, peeling off the parchment paper as you roll (the cake may crack). Trim one end of the cake at an angle and set it aside. Then place the cake, seam side down, on your serving platter.

Take the slice of reserved cake and, using the reserved whipped cream, attach it to the side of the cake so it resembles a branch.

Cover and chill until serving time. Dust with icing sugar, the snow on the log, and eat.

 

Photo: a choir of angels at the Verona Methodist Church’s third annual “ A Walk to the First Christmas”

With a cast of 28 characters, the Verona Free Methodist Church’s third annual “Walk to the First Christmas” once again delighted guests, who were treated to a journey back in time to the historic day of Jesus' birth.

The over 150 guests who participated in the walk were guided by a narrator through the church, which had been elaborately transformed into various sets depicting the scenes that led up to the birth of Jesus. Guests visited the manger in Bethlehem, King Herod’s throne room, a Bedouin tent in the desert, and many more indoor and outdoor scenes, each boasting its own set of characters who acted out the story of Jesus’ birth.

Robed in typical dress of that time, the characters, played by members of the church’s congregation, included Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Gabriel, a choir of angels, shepherds, three wise men and a very imposing King Herod, who lorded over a sumptuous meal that he invited guests to share with him in his guarded throne room. The meal was a definite highlight of the evening, in which guests were treated to an authentic first century supper that included matzo ball soup, dried fish and manna bread, honey cake, roast beef and other delicious and timeless munchies.

The tour began at the scene where guests first come upon Mary, who is visited by the angel and told of the child that she will soon give birth to. We follow Mary to her meeting with Elizabeth and then later to her meeting with Joseph, with whom she shares her news. We next follow the couple to the manger in Bethlehem where baby Jesus is born, and on the way witness a group of shepherds visited by a choir of angels, telling of the Messiah’s birth. The angels appeared from behind a black curtain, dramatically back-lit in their flowing white robes and surrounded by exquisite angel dolls suspended from the ceiling overhead.

After enjoying the elaborate meal in King Herod’s throne room, we next followed the wise men outside of the church to a dark and cozy Bedouin tent where the three wise men bestow their gifts. This scene brought our walk to a close.

This was the third year that the church has put on the event, which was the brain child of long-time VFMC board member and youth leader Scott Ball. According to Scott, the event takes roughly two months, and hundreds of hours to get up and running. Ball's goal every year is to bring something new to it. Though he was hoping for the addition of live farm animals to this year’s walk, that unfortunately did not pan out. However, the event remains remarkable for its creators’ attention to detail, including the first century meal at King Herod’s throne room. The menu was painstaking researched and included ingredients and recipes that would have been eaten at that time in history.

“I've gone to Bible college and done a lot of studying and what I tend to see in a lot of churches is that for events like these the guests are often just sitting in seats and hearing the story in a very passive way. I wanted to do something different, in a way that gets people involved in the learning, where they can walk literally side by side with the characters as the story unfolds and actually become an integral part of the action”, Scott said.

The event ran on Dec. 16 and 17 and the play was performed numerous times by a hard working and dedicated cast and crew that included a very amiable group of kitchen servers in Herod’s kitchen. Thankfully the king decided to spare them on account of the excellent meal they prepared.

I asked Scott what he hopes guests will leave with, other than a belly full of authentic first century AD fare. “One thing I really hope is that people will come away with a sense of just how humble Jesus' birth was, along with a sense of what it might have been like to have lived back in that time, when life was quite a bit more difficult.”

The event is indeed one of a kind and that was Scott's aim. No doubt next year he will add a few more changes that will keep the crowds coming back for another First Century Walk In Verona.

by Susan Ramsay, Early Literacy Specialist

“So, are you ready for Christmas?” My eyes fall to the ground. I have not yet finished my shopping or gift wrapping. I have not baked shortbread or decorated the Christmas tree. “Ummm,” I mumble, pushing back a mixture of guilt and panic, “There’s still a bit of time before Christmas…isn’t there?” In a fast-food/high-speed internet world my response feels totally incompetent. Even Santa provides instant delivery on Christmas Eve.

But, I know if this question was asked a little differently, I could hold my head high and answer with a smile. If I was asked, “Are you enjoying getting ready for Christmas?” my answer would be “Oh yes!”

Sometimes I think we can focus on questions with too narrow a perspective. I was reminded of this when I read a study by Mary Ann Evans and Jean Saint-Aubin called “What Children Are Looking at During Shared Storybook Reading”. In this study the researchers displayed children’s books on a computer monitor. Each child's mother or preschool teacher read the books while the child sat on the adult's lap wearing a headband that recorded the child’s visual fixations. What did the researchers discover? Children spent very little time examining print in books. Instead they focused on the pictures. Preschoolers spent, on average, five seconds per book looking at text, and three minutes looking at the illustrations. If parents think that their children are absorbing how to decode print during story times, researchers warn, they are mistaken.

But deciphering letters and knowing how words look and are spelled is only one component of literacy learning. Children have to understand that text is meaningful before they are motivated to decode print. Without comprehension, decoding skills are useless. Of course children will look at pictures when a story is read. Pictures in children’s books show the meaning of written words. Pictures help children think about the storyline and how the story relates to their own experiences. Only after children soak in the meaning, humour and nuances represented through a book’s pictures, will they choose to pay attention to print.

Questions are important to ask, but it can be too easy to feel discouraged by questions that dwell on a narrow perspective. Decoding skills do require parents and educators to teach letter names and letter-sound relationships explicitly, but comprehension skills, vocabulary and narrative skills are essential literacy skills too. Children do gain emergent reading skills when someone in their life takes the time to read to them often.

Seeing the bigger picture is important. The next time someone asks “Are you ready for Christmas?” I will remember that this is a question that could be asked differently. I will remember that preparations for one day do not need to consume the pleasure of the Christmas season. There is good reason to slow our busy pace, and many good reasons for taking time this holiday to read stories your child loves to hear.

 

Susan Ramsay is the Early Literacy Specialist for Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington. You can contact her at 613-354-6318 (ext 32)

Chipits Noel Crisps By Ruth Wendorf

Manitoulin Cream Cheese Balls By Jean Brown

Mincemeat Hermits by Marilyn Meeks

Orange Waffles with Burst of Cranberry Topping

Rainbow marshmallow Fudge

 

Chipits Noel Crisps Submitted by Ruth Wendorf 1/2 cup butter3/4 cup granulated sugar1 egg1/4 tsp almond extract1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 cup semi-sweet Chipits3/4 cup coconut3/4 cup chopped maraschino cherries, well drained

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and almond extract. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Mix in Chipits, coconut and cherries. Drop from tsp onto greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350o for 12 – 15 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Manitoulin Cream Cheese Balls by Rev. Jean Brown 1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese1/8 tsp salt1- 10 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained10 graham wafers, crushed1 Tbsp. Sugar1/3 cup icing sugar½ cup coconut10 maraschino cherries, choppedsmall lump of butter

Combine cream cheese, icing sugar, salt, coconut, pineapple and cherries. Chill mixture for 1 hour (will be soft). Combine graham wafers, butter and sugar. Drop teaspoon of chilled mixture in to wafer crumbs and roll in balls. Freeze. Takes 10 minutes to thaw. This is an old Manitoulin favourite- for sure.

 

Mincemeat Hermits By Marilyn Meeks 1/2 cup butter or margarine1/2 cup soft shortening2 cups brown sugar2 eggs1&1/4 cups mincemeat1 cup walnuts3 1/2 cups flour1 tsp soda1 tsp salt1 tsp cinnamon1/2 tsp nutmeg1/4 tsp cloves

Heat oven to 350o. Grease cookie sheet.

Beat butter, shortening, sugar and eggs until fluffy.

Stir in mincemeat and walnuts. Mix flour, soda, salt and spices together. Stir into butter mix until blended. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes.

 

Orange Waffles with Burst of Cranberry Topping

Orange Waffles:

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened (4 oz.)2 cups cake flour (lightly spooned into cup and leveled off) (8 oz.)4 tsps. baking powder¼ tsp. salt1 Tbsp. orange zest2 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup whole milk

In a small saucepan over low heat, or microwave-safe container, melt the butter. Allow it to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until evenly blended. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and whole milk until well blended. Add this mix to the flour mixture and mix with a fork just until all the flour is moistened. Stir in the butter just until evenly blended. The batter should be lumpy. Use batter immediately after preparation. Cook the waffles and remove them to the oven racks to keep warm until serving. Serve with hot cranberry topping. Of note, these waffles freeze perfectly and reheat in just a few minutes in a toaster or oven preheated to 300˚F.

Burst of Cranberry Topping

1 cup water 1 ½ cups sugar 3 tbsps cornstarch 4 cups fresh (or thawed frozen) cranberries

In a medium saucepan, stir together the water, sugar, cornstarch, and cranberries. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stop stirring, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 minute, swirling the pan occasionally. The mixture will be thickened but pourable. Keep it warm or reheat it before serving.

 

Rainbow Marshmallow Fudge 3 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips2 Tbsp butter1 can regular Eagle Brand MilkPinch of salt1 – 2 tsp vanilla2 cups coloured miniature marshmallows

Melt chocolate chips with butter, Eagle Brand milk and salt. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Fold in 2 cups miniature marshmallows. Spread evenly onto parchment lined 8x8 inch square pan. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares.

 

 

For a long time one of the most nostalgic traditions of Christmas, celebrated in paintings, Christmas cards and stories, was the idea of heading out to the woods with the children to find and bring home a beautiful Christmas tree. With much joy and fanfare the tree would be set up and decorated, and the home would be filled with the fragrance of the forest.

But for many years now, the custom of using real Christmas trees seemed to be headed for the dustbin of history for several reasons, including the seeming wastefulness of cutting down a tree to adorn a house for a few weeks; fire safety concerns; the work of cleaning up after a live tree; and the increasing sophistication and appeal of an astonishing variety of artificial trees.

While many of those reasons will stay in place, the tide has definitely turned for at least one of them, the first one.

Just this week the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources sent out a press release about the question of using real vs. artificial trees, saying the ministry “has the answer, and it just may surprise you…”

The press release goes on to say that natural Christmas trees have a smaller ecological footprint than artificial trees do.

“In the most definitive study of the perennial real vs. fake question, an environmental consulting firm in Montreal found that an artificial tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years to be greener than buying a fresh-cut tree annually. The calculations included greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources and human health impacts.

Many people feel guilty because they are sacrificing a living tree during the holidays. They think they are helping to protect the environment.... but it’s actually greener to get a natural tree than an artificial one.

Christmas trees are generally grown as crops on farms, so cutting one is …more like harvesting Halloween pumpkins. Not only does buying a natural tree help support Christmas tree growers in northern and rural Ontario, but going out to a Christmas tree farm to cut a tree is a wonderful experience for the whole family; one that they will remember fondly for the rest of their lives!”

The Ontario Forestry Association, Master Gardeners, and many naturalists have been saying similar things for years, pointing out as well that real trees can be processed into mulch or used to provide shelter for birds and animals after the Christmas season.

But now that the MNR has also weighed in on the subject - there you have it. We can start swinging those axes with clear consciences.

Locally, there are three tree farms in our area: Crooked Hills Farm, 1560 Over the Hills Rd., Clarendon, 613-279-3214; Skootamatta Tree Farm, 2800 Old Flinton Road, 613-336-8774; and Alton’s Tree Farm, 3254 Harrowsmith Rd., Sydenham, 613-376-3717. As well, real trees are available at many retailers.

 

 

 

Photo: Verona’s tree alight

The recent balmy weather allowed for lengthier than usual Tree Lighting festivities at McMullen Park in Verona on Nov.25. Attendees, who included Deputy Mayor of South Frontenac, Mark Tinlin, and Councilors Bill Robinson and John McDougall, enjoyed snacks and beverages and live carols courtesy of Ross Clow.

This year’s festivities included a surprise visit by the white bearded man in red who gave out candy canes to all of the kids under the newly lit tree. The celebration put on the Verona Community Association as usual marks the official beginning of the Holiday season in Verona. Wayne Conway of the VCA pointed out the fact that the huge spruce tree in McMullen Park, which has been lit up for close to 15 years now, is no longer in top form and might in fact be dying. It was donated to the park by Dr. Day and his wife Louise back in 1997. Prior to hanging the lights on the tree, numerous dead branches had to be cut from its base. Though Wayne thinks that the tree will still be able to be used for a number of years to come, the VCA is now considering planting a new tree in the park.

Debbie Lingen led the evening’s festivities and the festive countdown, and regardless of a few missing lower branches, the tree looked as beautiful as ever.

 

Photo: Erin Wong and her band entertained at the Sisters by Heart's “A Cup of Christmas” event at the VFMC on December 3.

As a special treat for their regular Christmas gathering, the Sisters by Heart group of Verona offered up women of all ages in the community an evening of holiday cheer and entertainment on December 3 at the Verona Free Methodist Church.

Sisters by Heart is a local community-based women’s group with six committee members, which runs out of the Verona Free Methodist Church. The group was started up nine years ago by Evelyn Snider, who regularly organizes and emcees the events, which cost just $5 to attend. She was inspired by the former VFM Church pastor and his wife, David and Linda Rigby, who had started a similar group at their church in Florida. The group puts on four events each year and the proceeds help to support various services and community groups in the community. Proceeds from Monday night’s event will help support the Verona Community Association's Christmas for Kids, a campaign that collects funds to buy Christmas gifts for children in need in the local community.

The evening opened with a special performance by the Harrowsmith Bell Ringers (photo right), a group of 13 youngsters from the local community under the direction of Karen Snider, who performed two selections of bell ringing carols.

The featured entertainment was singer and speaker Erin Wong and her band The Citadel Worship Team, who come from the Kingston Citadel Salvation Army church in Kingston. Erin and her group have been playing together for close to 10 years and their highly polished sound filled the fellowship hall with inspiring Christian-themed tunes. They received a warm and enthusiastic reception from listeners. The players included Erin singing lead vocals, Josh Wilkins on guitar, Les Carr on keyboards and back up vocals and Sarah McCourt playing cello. The group has recently put out their first CD titled “Adoration” and proceeds from its sales will go towards supporting the Laurie Fund, which helps send Kingston children in need to sports camp. Erin’s talk, which she titled “A Cup of Christmas”, focused on the true meaning of Christmas and the benefits of striving to keep an abundantly overflowing cup of Christmas. She read a definition by an unknown author of the word “peace”, which said that peace “does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work, but rather to be in the midst of these things and still be calm in your heart.” This was Erin's second visit to Sisters by Heart and judging by the quality of her performance and her warm reception, it won’t be her last.

 

St. Paul's United Church Sunday School in Harrowsmith is no stranger to outreach projects. The past several years have seen the children raising funds through bike-a-thons and craft sales to purchase livestock, school and medical supplies for under-privileged countries and special projects in Haiti. This year the children are learning of Canadians who live in poverty and who need the generosity of others to survive and feed their children. This year our Sunday school is asking for community support during the Harrowsmith Santa Claus parade on December 1 at 10 a.m. Volunteers from the church will be collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations to help assist the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation (SFCSC) food bank and Christmas hamper project. Last year St. Paul's and their sister church, Trinity United in Verona, packed 34 Christmas hampers. As well, the Sunday school is selling Christmas earrings handcrafted and generously donated by Helen Lamb to help raise funds. You can purchase these earrings for $5 by contacting our church office at 613-372-2525.

Jennifer Linton, SFCSC food bank coordinator, spoke with the children and congregation on Nov. 18. All were shocked by the statistics and information presented. Since 2008, food bank usage in Canada has increased by 31%. Last year the SFCSC food bank provided 423 families, which included 783 adults and 551 children, with food hampers. The food bank reached this number by the end of the first week in October this year! Why the increase? Jennifer explains, “There are many reasons people turn to the food bank: wages not keeping pace with inflation, job loss, sudden unexpected expenses like car repairs, increased hydro bills, illness or accident. The first reason is huge and one that Food Banks Canada is focusing attention on.”

Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada stated recently, “It is shocking that, in a country as prosperous as Canada, hundreds of thousands of children rely on food banks to have enough to eat each month. Though food banks do what they can to fill the need, too many kids are still going to school on empty stomachs.”

It is completely unacceptable for any child or any human being to go hungry in Canada...in Frontenac County...in Harrowsmith. So please, this year support our food bank either by bringing your donations to the parade, dropping them in the bin at Trousdale’s Foodland in Sydenham, or dropping donations off directly to the SFCSC office on George Street in Sydenham, Monday to Friday 8:30 to 4:30.

Rev. Patsy Henry of the Harrowsmith-Verona Pastoral Charge summed things up by saying, “After having made contributions to help those in need in our community to get through the weeks ahead, let us resolve to call upon our leaders in this country to take action to alleviate poverty and hardship and much lessen the need for food banks at all. Let’s make this a merry Christmas for everyone and make it our mandate in 2013 to continue to support those who need our help the most.”