Christmas Recap & Two No-Sugar Recipes

It already seems like months ago--I can't believe Christmas was only last week. To say I'm exhausted from all the holiday revelry would be an understatement. My house is still a hideous mess.

To recap the holiday's events, our family party was Christmas Eve, starting at 6:30pm. There was ham, potato salad, ambrosia (also known as 5-cup) salad--two kinds: regular and sugar-free. My Christmas wouldn't be the same without that particular confection, and I was glad to come up with a sugar-free option (well, as sugar free as it can be while containing fruit). There were baked beans and rolls and a cheese-lettuce-tomato platter for those who wanted to make a sandwich. I served shrimp & cocktail sauce as well as a scrumptious chevre spread with fresh blackberries and crackers. My mother brought pies and cakes for dessert, and I made a no-sugar-added banana pudding to rival my husband's sugar-FULL banana pudding.

The recipes for the sugar-free ambrosia salad and banana pudding are below.

Christmas Day brings my brother & sister-in-law's annual brunch, which was delicious and a fun opportunity to spend time with my brother's jolly in-laws.

Mr.W and I had planned to go to the movies, too, but we were too exhausted. We took long afternoon naps, instead, and managed to watch a couple of videos.

On Friday we took a drive into Syracuse for some post-holiday shopping deals, which were a-plenty! I was able to replenish my ribbon stash and get next year's holiday cards.

Saturday Mr.W and I finally made it to the movies to see Yes Man, which was exactly the mindless funny-biz that I wanted it to be. I really enjoyed it--and that's quite a compliment, because I generally don't care for Jim Carrey flicks. After that, we went out for a well-earned supper at a restaurant. Can I just say that I'm hammed out? The rest is going in the freezer!

Sunday... Church, Sunday School... more napping, and the Atlanta Falcons won again!

Finally we're back to normal. Mr.W is at work. I've done some grocery shopping. All is as it should be once again.


Sugar Free Ambrosia Salad
This is a variation of the famous 5-Cup salad that is oh, so delicious. The fruit obviously has natural sugars, so this should still be eaten in moderation--but it was a very good low-sugar option for the diabetics.

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
1 can (about 11 ounces) mandarin oranges in sugar-free syrup, drained
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
16 ounces low-fat sour cream
1 cup sugar-free coconut-flavor cookies, crushed (optional)
sugar-free instant vanilla pudding (you'll use only about 1-2 teaspoons of the powder... read on)

In a large bowl, combine pineapple, mandarin orange segments, coconut, sour cream and crushed cookies. Carefully sprinkle in some pudding powder, stir and taste. This is what will add the final sweetness that is missing by not using marshmallows--keep sprinkling, stirring and tasting until the desired level of sweetness is reached. I used about 2 teaspoons of the powder.



No Sugar Added Banana Pudding
This, too, should be eaten in moderation, since it does contain bananas. Adjust the fat content by the kind of milk you use for the pudding.

1 package (about 8 ounces) sugar-free almond (or desired flavor) cookies (I used Joseph's)
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
1 4-serving size box sugar-free instant banana pudding mix plus milk, prepared according to directions FOR PIE

On the bottom of a serving dish (or even a wine glass for individual servings), cover the bottom with cookies, then top with banana slices. Gently dollop prepared sugar-free pudding on top. Repeat layers, ending with pudding. Garnish with a few more cookies on top, if desired. Chill several hours or overnight before serving, to allow cookies to soften.

Apples and Thyme: Christmas Memories

When I was a very little girl, before my mother's illness invaded our lives, Christmas was a sweet time of year. My brother and I were the only children in the family at that time, and we were indulged by all the adults.

My family celebrated Christmas Eve at my grandmother's house. My aunt, along with her husband, my uncle and his girlfriend, and my mother, brother and I would arrive in our holiday best at g'ma's house for a meal of cold cuts, cheeses, cold potato and macaroni salads, ambrosia salad, baked beans, assorted rolls and pies--pumpkin, apple and blueberry. G'ma isn't one to cook, so the party was made up of store-bought foods and quick-fix dishes.

The beans were the only hot dish--that sounds strange to my ears now, but then it was a real treat, and we didn't know any better. And I remember watching g'ma as she made my favorite. The ambrosia salad was a magical mixture--a can of this, a can of that, a sprinkle of something else, stirring in something creamy, allowing me a little marshmallow or three as I watched expectantly for the delighfully fluffy salad to be ready.

Of course I was always very excited... after weeks of waiting, Christmas had finally come! And indulged we were--there was no waiting until after the meal for us. No, once the food was put out, we grabbed platefuls and headed into the living room in front of the decorated artificial tree in the corner and started handing out gifts. When everyone was surrounded by their wrapped boxes and half-nibbled plates of food, the mayhem began. Rip! Tear! Bits of paper flying everywhere with an intermittent, "Oh!" or "Wow!" Shouted thank-yous were hurled across the room to various gifters as the giftee immediately moved onto the next package to see what lay beneath the pretty paper and ribbon. And we ate, and played, and talked, and laughed, and ate some more.

We were allowed to stay up way past our bedtimes on Christmas Eve. My younger brother often fell asleep at g'ma's house, but I never did. I always wanted to be part of the action. It was one night when I could play with my aunt and uncles without a bedtime, and it was wonderful. The food was left out for hours for seconds, and thirds, then some dessert, and even another sandwich later if we wanted it.

We would go home around eleven or twelve o'clock for bed--but not before leaving a snack out for Santa. No simple plate of cookies at our house. No, we served something a little more sophisticated for Mr.Claus: plate of sliced cheese, and a glass of wine.

Christmas morning we awoke to a wild array of gifts from Santa, plus special candy tree decorations left by that jolly old elf. Gifts from Santa were never wrapped at our house--the man is far too busy for that, you know. But he did always spend some time putting together some special large gift so that we could get right to playing with it. I remember my kitchen set, complete with little pots and pans, and a sink, and some pretend food and plates. Back then they weren't made of molded plastic like they are now. In the 70s they were made of courrogated cardboard, carefully painted just so.

That must've really been a tedious toy to put together, because I remember Santa drank all the wine we left for him.

Much later on, I found out that my uncle would arrive at my mother's apartment after we were asleep to help her put together toys from Santa, decorate the tree with candy canes and foil-covered chocolate ornaments, and toast the sunrise on Christmas morn with a little wine and cheese.

Christmas day brought a more intimate meal at g'ma's house, since my aunt and uncle would attend holiday meals with in-laws and other friends. I was even allowed a little bit of wine in a glass for the occasion. It tasted horrible to my young palate, but I drank it anyway, because it was something grown-up to do on special occasions.

It was such a long time ago, and so much happened afterwards, that it's hard to really believe that was my own life. It's almost like it was something I'd seen on television. Future years were full of pain and difficulty after my mother became sick. And those are times I won't go into now, because this is a post about happy times. Times that I choose to remember now, instead of those other unhappy ones.

As an adult, I spent a number of years trying to capture that same holiday magic that I remember, but I never quite figured out how. I don't know why, really. Perhaps because there are no longer any children in my family. I have no neices or nephews, or children of my own. At any rate, Christmases no longer take on that special fascination for me. So I plan gifts and parties and meals, and try to keep myself busy. And I pray and worship and focus on the birth of my Savior instead of the commercialism that tries to pervade the season.

The Christmas traditions I now have include a Holiday Open House during the month of December, when friends and family drop by sometime on the specified date for a visit and a bite to eat. This year will also include a tree-trimming, which I have always wanted to do. It seems an intimate thing to share.

Mr.W and I enjoy a quiet Christmas Eve just the two of us, and we exchange gifts with each other privately. In years past when we lived in other cities we liked to go to a movie on Christmas Eve--but here in Central NY the movies are not open, so a dvd is often a stand-in.

Christmas Day is when we host the family meal mid-afternoon. I usually cook a ham with various sides--I keep this one simple. But one thing I always include is g'ma's ambrosia salad. Even after all these many years, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without it. It's one small way, year after year, I can celebrate my family the way it was, the way it should always have been.

Originally named Five Cup Salad, the original source of this recipe is unknown. It was a commonly-made concoction in the 70s, and is posted everywhere. One very clever blog that I just ran across has a gorgeous photo and identical recipe here. It must've been a widely-published recipe back in the day!


Ambrosia Salad

1 cup mini marshmallows
1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup sour cream

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve, or serve immediately.


This is my entry for this month's Apples & Thyme foodblogging event, co-hosted by Vanielje Kitchen and The Passionate Palate. See the roundup here.