Merry Christmas, 2011!

Good morning!

Words, memories, cooking, says the subtitle to this blog, so let's get to it.

The word is my Chinese Word of the Day, from Transparent Language, who kindly send me a new word every morning. (Each one more incomprehensible than the previous, and harder to write, I may add.) Today's word is , "Cheers!", which seems appropriate and timely.  So, Jiayou to all, and I hope your day is more merry than not. Though a shadowy contemplative Christmas is not a bad thing, taken in the right spirit.  I expect ours will be neither shadowy nor contemplative, and it may not be cheery either unless you count football cheers. (I don't)....but it will be a good day because Taterton will be comfortably ensconced on the sofa with Benjamin watching whatever Big Game comes on today.

In memory, I remember the many Christmases of my childhood and some of my younger adulthood. I remember a perfectly magical day in 1950, when I went looking for a Christmas tree in Brownsville, down around the market square and finally found one in some little grocery lot. It was a scrawny and neglected little thing, but I was pleased to get it, pleased to be out shopping on my own, pleased to be learning my home town on my own. I was twenty one, but in mentality I was about--fourteen, I' d guess.  I had led such a sheltered life, an incarcerated life really.  It was a nice carcel, but it was a jail nevertheless, and it had not prepared me for quite a number of life's experiences, even some of the most basic ones.  But it was a beautiful morning and a happy experience, out and about like a grown-up, learning about my very interesting town.

And now to food.  For a person who's practically been eating like a vegan, trying to get my cholesterol down like every American, without taking pharmaceuticals unlike every American, I have drastically cut down my intake of beef and all other meats. But this last few weeks since Theo was in the hospital, I have been eating out whenever I could and that means meat in some form usually unless you eat tofu and I am not fond of tofu. I was going to roast a dry little turkey breast for Christmas, but Ben wanted a roast of beef. Well, I did ask him.  So we went out the other day and bought the beef roast, two ribs (huge at that), and that is what we'll have.  "Well-trimmed," caroled the butcherette, as she slung it onto the scale. Yes, but you'll see how much more I'll take off it today before slinging it into the uncalibrated but now familiar oven. I'll roast it at a high temperature, trying to melt down that excess white fat, and so what if it isn't pink inside? No, I have learnt the oven enough. The roast will be dark brown outside, and the inside will be tender and rosy pink, and it will be delicious.  I hope.

So love to all, and have  a lovely day, with cheers or with contemplation, or ideally enough of each to make it a good one. YAZZYBEL