When Christmas falls on a Wednesday (as it did this year) it creates a 16-day holiday.
Behold-- The Lost Art of Sledding.
The familiar Christmas carol line "and Mom & Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!" is never so true as in years like this... years when Christmas (and thus New Year's Day) fall on Wednesdays. That's because this essentially creates a 16-day holiday-- from the Friday before Christmas (December 20th) to the Monday after New Year's Day, January 6th. After all, what employer with any sense would seriously expect actual productivity from employees during workweeks with major holidays falling smack on Hump Day? Throw in the weekends at each end, and we've got ourselves an extended holiday.
When Chef Cathy and I ran our restaurant/take-out store in the Berkshires back in the day, a 16-day stretch like this one year meant busily feeding roomfuls of tourists every night, putting our accounts into the black for at least part of forthcoming winter. Same thing for the motels and B & B's that put them up. And if the weather cooperates, ski areas similarly start their winter seasons from a position of financial strength. For couples without children, this 16-day Christmas is the perfect occasion for a long getaway vacation-- anything from skiing way out west to visiting southern hemisphere wine regions to simply lolling on a faraway tropical beach.
However, for those with energetic youngsters to amuse, feed, and manage, these 16 days might seem endless... indeed, hellish for some. Here perhaps the best possible survival tip:
GET THEM SLEDS FOR CHRISTMAS!
...and maybe winter boots, gloves, and what we used to call "snowsuits." In recent decades, outdoor childhood play has steadily gone out of style in proportion to advances in personal electronics. However, the timeless benefits of sledding (and skating, and snow fort making, and snowball fights) are many--
EXERCISE
For every exhilarating sled ride down a hill, a child must also carry his or her sled to the top. There's a useful life lesson in there somewhere. And in addition to said life lesson, that walk up the hill provides two more benefits-- it provides your children exercise that they wouldn't get, say, playing video games, and this exercise keeps them warm enough to enjoy additional hours at such play. And with all that unintentional exercise, the little darlings will likely sleep better.
COST-EFFECTIVE FUN
Between lift tickets and proper equipment, taking kids to a ski area for a day costs a fortune. Sleds and ice skates are a lot cheaper. Snow is free.
GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK
Kids who sled or otherwise play outdoors in the winter give their parent(s) and/or caregivers a little breathing room... time to clean, read, do yoga in front of your TV... and, of course, prepare a proper belly-warming lunch for a gaggle of children after a morning of winter outdoor play. Here is the traditional and time-tested menu for this occasion--
Sourdough bread, REAL cheese, and butter... cooked in an iron skillet.
Makes me warm just looking at this.
GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES & TOMATO SOUP
Yes, the Grilled Cheese Sandwich seems rather self-explanatory; however, it IS possible to make it greater than one might imagine, and equally possible to make a version that is utterly horrible. HERE is a great take on the topic (recipe & helpful hints) from Recipe Tin Eats, one of the more useful cooking sites in the blogosphere. Just to add our own $.02--
--By "REAL cheese" we mean you should avoid the mass-produced substance labeled "American Cheese"... much of which is not actually cheese. I personally prefer cheddar (American-made, yet perfectly good) or Swiss (which might also be American-made.)
--This is a perfect situation for iron skillet cookery, as a heavy iron pan distributes heat evenly. (A second iron pan makes a good weight for pressing the sandwich as you cook it.)
--Feel free to insert extra goodies like (cooked) bacon or ham... or tomatoes, if you are not serving tomato soup.
Ah yes, the soup... if you find yourself tempted to just buy a few cans of ready-made tomato soup, here's what you're getting--
I've seen a lot worse out there, but you can pretty much replicate this list with a tweak or two and produce a much tastier result. (I don't completely avoid flour, but I'd rather not drink it.) Here's a recipe that yields a similar-tasting soup while giving you a lot more control over the quality of the ingredients--
2 35 OZ. CANS HIGH-QUALITY WHOLE ITALIAN TOMATOES (like SAN MARZANO)
1 1/2 CUPS HEAVY CREAM (Read the label! Many brands contain additives.)
3 TBSP BROWN SUGAR
1 TSP BLACK PEPPER
SALT TO TASTE, VERY CAREFULLY
MILK (AS NEEDED)
Thoroughly strain the tomatoes, preserving the juice. Roast the tomatoes on parchment paper under low broil until they get a little darker. (This greatly enhances the flavor.) Purée them in a 2-quart (or larger) blender with the reserved juice, heavy cream, and brown sugar. Carefully add salt and pepper to taste, and thin as needed with milk. Simmer to allow the flavors to blend, making sure to avoid boiling it.
To hold until serving time, use a double-boiler set-up (large pot inside a larger pot) to prevent scorching.
NOTES:
No need to get seedless tomatoes. After a good roasting, the seeds magically disappear in your blender.
Be careful to avoid purchasing canned tomatoes with added flavors such as basil or garlic.
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