Shortcut to Mushrooms

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me. . . . .


I have had this recurring fantasy lately where I become a fabulously sucsessful chef for some form of obscure European royalty and prepare a feast themed on the twelve days of christmas complete with the french hens, five donut rings, six geese, roasted of course, seven swans (how does one cook a swan?) a huge cake topped with marzipan drummers, maids, ladies, and lords.

Then of course I come back to the first Christmas and how it was an event which was surrounded by the most abject poverty. Of course the irony is that twelve days later come the kings who bring the costliest of gifts. Of course Chesterton reminds us that the learned wealthy men come later, it being the poor who make it there first. It is of course easiest for the humble shepherd to greet the infant. Still the point is, the magi DO make it there and there is a little room for a little excess, a bit of opulence in honor of the king who was been born.

I have fallen in love with paper crafts this Christmas and we even made a star mobile out of the gold cardboard that our Christmas Eve smoked salmon came in. The girls and I also decorated our upstairs windows with lots of paper snowflakes and chains. It certainly makes the winter seem much less dreary!