Hello hello and welcome to Episode 44 of Life On the Brink!
It's full-on Christmas time, and today we're combining Christmas with one of my other favorite things: cooking.
While it's true that here at the podcast we aim to cultivate simply joy in our everyday lives, there's also something special about those traditions you only get to experience once a year. So today we're talking about cooking traditions, the taste of Christmas. And it's featuring not one, but two very special guests...my Puerto Rican grandma and my great aunt from Panama!
Cooking is not a new subject to us (just click the category on the blog main page to see all the episodes so far!), and today we're focusing on those very special things that we make during this season...and maybe only once a year.
What’s in my teacup? The English Tea Shop’s “Chai Charge”, from their advent calendar (my current Little Joy)
I love traditions. I think they're lovely, and Christmas traditions are the perfect combination of rare and consistent, meaning that we only enjoy certain things during this time of year, but we also enjoy them every year!
Historically, a holy day like Christmas was cause for celebration, a pause of work. It was sometimes the only day out of the year that certain dishes would be cooked, first out of the rarity of funds or time, and then out of tradition.
It’s not uncommon to see a Christmas table decorated with a goose, turkey or ham, and many different cultures around the world have sweets and pastries that have become specific to the Christmas season (gingerbread has been around for centuries).
INTERNATIONAL TRADITIONS
It’s interesting to see some of the unique dishes that have made their way into tradition around the world. Here are just a few that I would love to be a part of:
Italy: Christmas Eve is often celebrated with what’s known as The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Historically Christmas Eve was a fasting day, so this tradition came out of an abstaining from meat until Christmas Day. lotsa seafood
Japan: Starting around the 80’s, it’s actually become a big tradition to have KFC on Christmas. No, really!
France: Christmas dinner is often sealed with a grand cake called a Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log cake, complete with meringue mushrooms! I've been working up the courage to make one for Christmas Eve, and this might be my year!
Puerto Rico: Christmas is always punctuated with pernil (a seasoned pork roast) and coquito, an eggnog-like adult beverage.
...and there are so much more! From mince pies in the U.K., tamales throughout Latin America, pavlova in Australia and New Zealand, and innumerable fruit breads throughout the world, there are so many yummy ways to celebrate.
Check out these articles if you're interested in more!
YOUR FAVORITES!
I asked on Instagram what you associate with Christmas and got some delicious and interesting answers, to include:
"Eggnog, fruitcake, peppermint oranges"
"Gingerbread things and nutmegy things"
"Sugar Cookies"
"Ginger cookies! Snowball cookies! All cookies!"
"Anything with clove..."
Plus some pretty unique answers:
"Ham with brown sugar sweet potatoes. Like eaten together."
"Donuts. Every year."
"Oddly enough, oysters. My family always has them on Christmas Day."
I love seeing all the similarities and the vast differences between answers. We all have different traditions and sometimes the flavor of Christmas is particular to you or your family. I know that's true for me!
MI FAMILIA
For me and my family, Christmas Eve is the main culinary event, with Christmas morning as a close second, and today I'm talking with the woman who makes all that happen: my grandma.
She's from Puerto Rico, and every year we have a (somewhat) traditional Christmas Eve dinner. I'm so happy to welcome her to the podcast to talk about all things cooking and Christmas!
But this episode is doubly special, because it so happens that my great aunt, my Tia Estela, is in town. She lives in Panama and I hadn't been able to see her for 6 years. So the three of us are talking about Latin American Christmas traditions, the food and drink and culture, and where the two cultures at the table differ here and there.
It's such a beautiful and special conversation that I won't be able to really get the gist of it here in the shownotes. I highly recommend giving the episode a listen (start at 15:30 for this section) to get all the good stuff!
I hope you enjoyed all the yummy goodness in this episode. I certainly enjoyed recording it and learning throughout. Please leave a comment with cooking traditions of your own!
Grandma’s Little Joy: All of the framed photos she keeps in her house. Each time she looks at one of them she is reminded of that memory and it brings her joy every day.
Tia’s Little Joy: She loves receiving a phone call from someone she hasn't talked to in a while. I think that's just so sweet, why not take a moment this holiday season to reach out to those you love but might not have spoken to in a long time?
What We’re Listening To: Asalto Navideño, a Christmas album by Willie Colon that is the absolute staple of Grandma’s house. This is the sound of Christmas Eve to me and it’s so much fun.
Thanks so much for listening! Please leave a comment letting me know what things you love to cook (and eat) during this special season.
Also, be on the lookout for a special cozy breakfast recipe in the coming days, and have a lovely week!