Sunshine Soup

Sunshine Soup is a staple of our Winter Solstice Banquet tradition. The secret to a great result is the fresh pumpkin. Where I live in Seattle, it is much easier to find pumpkins in the grocery store around US Thanksgiving than it is in late December, so I buy three pie-sized pumpkins and deconstruct and freeze them. This recipe makes enough soup for 10, so be warned.

Sunshine Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion diced
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
8 cups fresh pumpkin (a 4 lb pumpkin will yield about this much)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups half and half
~ 1/2 pound gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Sauté the onion in the butter until it turns until it starts to turn golden. Add the stock, pumpkin, and bay leaves. Cook until the pumpkin is tender - about 15 minutes or so.

Remove the bay leaves. Purée using an immersion blender.

Add salt, pepper, half and half, and cheese.

When the cheese is mostly melted, turn down the heat and add the citrus juices.

Sweet Cheeses: An Instant Pot Story

I’ve been working on several of the dishes that Doug and I are planning for the Winter Solstice Banquet next Saturday. One has been vexing me particularly; cheesecake. Last year my results were pretty awful looking though edible. I was determined that I would solve the last of my cheesecake problems this time and be proud of what we set before our guests at the end of the ritual meal. Here are my results:

I ate one already

Sweet Cheeses

Mini lemon cheesecakes fit for a low-carb queen

Yields six cupcake-sized servings

Equipment

Medium and small mixing bowls
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Hand mixer Do not over-mix things
Spatula
Silicone baking cups
Cooking spray
Instant Pot (just go get one)
Wire rack

Ingredients

8 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated erythritol
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 drop lemon essential cooking oil or 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 beaten egg at room temperature

Make batter

Take your cream cheese, sour cream, and egg from the refrigerator the night before to be sure they are not even a little chilly. The reason for this is that if they are cold you will have to over-beat them to get the batter smooth and that is a disaster waiting to explode inside your Instant Pot.

Using a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese and sour cream until fairly smooth. Do not over-mix.

Pre-mix the erythritol, cornstarch, and salt.

Add half the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula.

Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and either zest or drop of lemon oil and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Put away your hand mixer. Put the beaters into the dishwasher and forget they are there. Hand mixer? What’s that?

Using your spatula, gently fold the beaten egg into the batter until just combined. Do not over-mix. Stop it. Quit mixing now.

Pressure cook

Spray the bottom of your baking cups with cooking spray.

Ladle batter into cups. Gently lift cups a half inch or so and drop them on the counter repeatedly to smooth the top of the batter and encourage air bubbles in the batter to rise to the surface. Use the tines of a fork to pop the bubbles, then repeat the dropping to re-smooth the surface.

Put a half cup of cold water into your Instant Pot. Depending on which kind of rack you have, you might be able to fit six silicone cups in all at once. I’m doing two batches of three so that they cakes aren’t distorted by being crowded on the rack.

Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 26 minutes. Allow 8-12 minutes after the cooking cycle for full natural pressure release. Remove the cakes and place them on a wire rack to cool to room temperature. If cracks have formed in the top of the cakes, they will mostly or fully close up during cooling.

When cool, put your cakes into the refrigerator overnight. Do not skip this step.

Serve with some fruit element. I make a mixed berry compote. If you make that with erythritol as well you can keep your overall carbohydrates down to ~ 2 grams per serving.

Project 60: Solstice Tree Skirt

After ten years of not really celebrating Solstice after moving to my no-dining-room condo in Greenwood, in 2018 Doug and I restored the Winter Solstice Banquet, complete with full-sized Solstice tree.

This year, I decided to invest in one of the extremely fabulous tree stands that I had seen in BC. That, however, meant that I needed something to go around the base for maximum fabulousness. I remembered that I still had a considerable supply of crimson velvet. I bought it when I bought all the drapes for my place so that I could make additional matching accessories if I wanted. I have done; four sofa pillows, a lumbar pillow for my office chair, etc.

I dug through my stash and lo-and-behold there was enough left to make a tree skirt. Seattle has become a kind of fabric desert in recent months with the downfall of Pacific Fabrics, Nancy’s Sewing Basket, and the desperately inconvenient relocation of District Fabrics. All we have now is Jo-Ann Fabrics. Sigh. I knew I wanted something gold to go around the hem, so I screwed up my courage and resolved to wash all my clothes after spending time in the PERFUMED HVAC environment of the Jo-Ann store on Aurora. Ugh. Anyway, such is the strength of my commitment to Solstice.

I found some nice gold fringe, bought it, and zoomed back out into the fresh air.

I think it will look really nice under the tree.

Project 59: Handfasting Shirt

So, on 2 October 2019, Doug and I made it official in grand style. We had our handfasting ceremony at our beloved Olive and Grape here in homey Greenwood followed by a Greek taverna night to celebrate. Needless to say, I needed a new outfit.

I decided that the Retirement Aloha Shirt was the design I wanted and set about making it. I followed up with a new pair of black jeans, but they’re just like the ones before them, so I didn’t take a photograph.

A year and a day later, on 3 October 2020, we will be married at the Scottish Cultural Centre in Vancouver BC where we first met. I like circles.

Reul Dòchas nan Rìgh

About a year and a half ago I was approached by the Vancouver Gaelic choir about writing them a new Christmas carol. At first I was a bit dubious about it. After all, I'm a Witch and I wouldn't touch Christmas with someone else's broomstick, but it didn't take long for another thought to occur to me: I sing songs all the time bout being in love with pretty girls and that's not ever going to happen either.

So, I set to the task. I asked myself what about the nativity story was relatable. Royalty? Travel? Extravagant gifts? Yes, to all of these, but most importantly, hope. That's the power I see in that aspect of Christianity and for good or ill, it has entranced mankind for a while.

The Gaelic vision of the nativity includes Saint Bridget, who in some accounts is magically transported from The British Isles to Bethlehem in time to minister to the Virgin Mary. That's a pretty transparent co-opting of the goddess Bridget, of course. Gaels in the time of conversion were unwilling to utter forsake her, so they made her into the foster mother of Christ, which in their culture was the most honored position.

So, I imagined Bridget, Mary, and Joseph - quite a trio - encountering the three Kings: Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar. The result was this song. Anyone who wants the sheet music and / or sound file can drop me a message and I'll send it along.

Reul Dòchas nan Rìgh

Reul dòchais dha'n triùir a thàinig bho'n Ear;
toirt naidheachd ro aoibhneach do chlann daoine gu leir.
Togaidh sinn sùil ort thar linntean nar crìdh.
Nach toir thu dhuinn solas, Reul Dòchas nan Rìgh!

A' mhaighdean chiùin shèimh, Brìd gheal ri taobh.
Seann Iosaph, fear-faire do'n leanabh beag naomh.
Nach foiseil an triùir siud san stàbul cho finn
nuair a ràinig triùir eile fo Reul nan Rìgh.

"Chuir sinn ar cùiltean ri caisteal 'us cuirt
'us thog sinn oirnn falbh thar fàsaich air cuairt
a' leantainn na reul ùr a nochd dhuinn san Iar."
Ars a Mhòrachd, Balthasar, mu Reul nan Rìgh.

Thug iad tìodhlac, Mirr, tùis, agus òr.
Agus rinn iad adhradh do mhac Rìgh na Glòir
na laighe sa mhainnsear ann am Bethlehem bhinn
air an oidhche a chunnaic Reul Dòchas nan Rìgh.

The Star of the Hope of Kings

A star of hope to the three who came from the East;
bringing joyful news to all mankind.
We look to you across the centuries in our hearts.
Won't you give us light, The Star of the Hope of Kings!

The soft gentle maiden, Bright Bridget beside her.
Old Joseph, guardian of the little holy child.
How peaceful these three in that distant stable
when three others arrived under the Star of the Kings.

"We set our backs to castle and court
and set off across the desert
following the new star that appeared to us in the West. "
Said His Highness, Balthasar, of the Star of the Kings.

They brought presents, myrrh, frankincense, and gold.
And they worshiped the son of the King of Glory
lying in the manger in sweet Bethlehem
on the night that saw the Star of Hope of Kings.