A Christmas story for you…
Once
upon a time, in a far far away land called “le Lac St-Jean” lived a
French Canadian family, my mother’s family. Every second year or so, my
mother would decide to celebrate Christmas with her family; which meant
music, tons of grandma’s food (yummy!) and skidoo rides very late at
night. Even though the road to get there was long, I didn’t mind; it was
worth it every time. During the train ride, we would talk about 
grandma’s “tourtière du Lac St-Jean” (wild meat pie), her amazing “pets
de sœur” (a.k.a, nun’s farts, a dessert) and also her “soupe aux
gourganes “(broad beans soup). We also anticipated the skidoo ride.
Believe me, for city kids like my brother and me, going on a skidoo ride
at 1:30 am was a thrill of a life time. All that said, what called my
heart the most was the Midnight Mass! I don’t know what it is about the
sound of a choir in a Cathedral, but ever since I was very little, it
has always made me feel really close to Heaven, so close it’s
simply indescribable.
The
preparation to go to the Mass (just across the street) was an event in
itself. All the kids had to go upstairs and take a nap for at least an
hour. I have to admit, we were pretty obedient; those who did not
sleep, didn’t get to go on the skidoo ride that took place right after
Mass. Well, we didn’t want to be left behind that’s for sure! While we
were sleeping (or doing a really good job of pretending to…) the women
would get all the tables ready. Food was everywhere! Each mother also
had to lay down the winter gear for her kids, the pair of long mittens
that covered your entire forearms, the huge winter boots and the one
piece snowsuit; let me tell you, no one was cold. As for the men, some
would get the bonfire ready at the cabin in the woods, (our skidoo
destination) while others made sure all the skidoo’s had gas and were in
good mechanical condition. Everybody knew their part; the collaboration
was astounding.
Then,
just around 10:30 pm all the mothers came upstairs to get their kids
ready for the Midnight Mass. The beauty of that moment is that ALL the
girls/women: mothers, daughters, grand-daughters, nieces and 
aunts
(and grandma of course), were dressed in white, and the boys/men:
fathers, sons, grand-sons, nephews and uncles, (and grandpa of course)
were dressed in black and white; absolutely every member of
the family without exception. When I think about it my heart melts.
Once inside the church, we all sat together, waiting patiently for the
angels to start singing. You see, the particularity of that Mass, is
that all the members of the choir had angel wings attached to them. We
called it, the angel choir of Christmas. Some churches had the live
Nativity Scene, we had the angel choir. I loved it! I used to close my
eyes gently and keep them close all through the songs. I literally let
myself float on each note. I was way up there amongst the angels. When
the last note evaporated, I would slowly open my eyes with perfect peace
in my heart.
After mass was
over, we all rushed home to get our snowsuits and mittens on for the
skidoo ride. The air was filled with electric energy, laughter and
giggles. Outside, the sound of the skidoos was so loud; we had
to look for sign language to communicate with each other. Within 20
minutes we were all riding along. After a while a glittery orange light
would be waving at us; it was the bonfire “telling us” we were almost at
the cabin where hot vanilla milk and ice cream with warm cinnamon
apples were waiting for us. That part of the evening was truly unique to
our family. After our little treat we would all go back home to feast,
sing and dance. Our celebration could last until the break of dawn; for
us, there was no Christmas morning.
I
don’t go to Mass anymore, or wear white long satin gloves at Christmas,
but I did create my own little family traditions. Things have changed,
and sometimes I wish my kids and grandkids could live one of my
childhood Christmases, but life moves forward and brings with it new
experiences.
Today,
I want to provide a recipe that you can incorporate into your Christmas
memories and if you like it enough, maybe it can become a new tradition
for you. This recipe is particularly good to have on hand for aging
parents who are burdened with diabetes. With everything else on the
table having one dessert that contains no sugar/carbs might be welcomed
not only by those who are protecting their ketosis but also those who
are monitoring their sugar intake! Enjoy!
Zucchini Apple Crisp (by Rebecca Mascano)
Ingredients:
2 cups of zucchini sliced and without the peel
2 packets of Splenda
Juice of one lemon
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
1 packet of Walden Farms Pancake Syrup
1 Ideal Protein Apple and Cinnamon soy puffs packet
“I can’t believe it is not Butter” spray
Preparation
Peel zucchini, cut lengthwise and then in fairly thin slices
Toss the zucchini in the bowl with the Splenda, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and syrup.
Place the zucchini in a baking dish
In the bag, crush the apple and cinnamon soy puffs, sprinkle them on the zucchini
Spray the top with the spray
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes
And dig in without guilt!
ジョーダン1
A. 提供しますコンパクトのラインの充電器と大規模な明るいディスプレイと無料グッズ LED などの機能を容易に持っている TMS の簡単なメンテナンスの統合です。それからことができるかもしれない鉄道駅ですか？あなたのワードローブに保持するためにつもりです。まだ、再びスリル滞納を認識します。私の家族の女性へのニュース リリースを楽しませる彼は送信を待ちます。あなたはそれらの感情を保つデザイナーはほとんど常に反復されますおそらく場合です。