The holidays have come and gone, they were exciting while they lasted, and my family and I had a wonderful time. Now, the weather has changed, and many members of my family and various friends have the coughs, sniffles and whatever it is that seems to get into people’s systems this time of year. My youngest daughter was in this weekend. After attending a funeral in Hondo, she came here to spend some time with me, and we took down my Christmas tree, she did some cleaning for me, and as I had recently purchased shades for my sewing room, she cut them to size and hung them for me! We had a great time visiting and re-hashing the holidays, which we both decided had been a wonderful time.
January 6 was the feast of the Epiphany. This word is from Greek and means appearance. It is also called the Feast of Lights, Feast of the Three Kings and Twelfth Night. It concludes the period allotted in the church calendar to the Feast of the Nativity. In the West, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the Three Kings, or Wise Men, to the infant Jesus. It is a major Christian feast commemorating the appearance of Christ. The Nativity itself was celebrated on this day, but, in the fourth century A.D, it was assigned to December 25. What began as a most solemn feast, Twelfth Night became a time of revelry, especially during the sixteenth century in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
It is the Feast of the Three Kings and Twelfth Night of Christmas that we are interested in, for this column! And, yes, I know that by the time you get this edition of the paper, it will be too late to make the cake and celebrate, but save it for next year, or maybe, next year, I’ll be a little more efficient with my column!
The start of Mardi Gras, is always Twelfth Night (12 days after Christmas), which commemorates the visit of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem. The Spanish give gifts on Twelfth Night instead of on Christmas. Amongst the French, it is Petit Noel (little Christmas), on January 6th, when balls are held. (The ending is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is February 10th this year). The opening celebrations took place in private homes and culminated in the eating of the Gateau du Roi (King’s Cake), that was made of brioche batter. Hidden away somewhere in the cakes was either a small bisque or China doll, or a bean, usually a red bean and sometimes covered in silver or gold leaf. Tradition says that the person who chose the piece of cake with the doll or bean inside, would become king or queen of the ball. He/she was then held responsible for hosting the next ball in the next week. The balls continued until Mardi Gras itself. Among the wealthy, actual gold and diamond jewelry was sometimes substituted for the bean or doll.
The cake is frosted and then sprinkled with colored bands of sugar. Purple represents Justice, Green represents Faith and Gold represents Power.
Now, let’s talk about soup, the weather has finally changed from summer, almost straight to winter. This coming week we’re supposed to have some very cold days. The following cheese soup and potato soup are both really delicious. This Monday, I took a friend’s place as hostess to our Pokeno club and decided to make the “Soup in a jar” recipe that was in the paper not long ago. It turned out delicious and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.
Cheese Soup
¼ cup butter or margarine
½ cup each, finely chopped carrot, celery and onion
½ cup flour
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups each, chicken stock and milk. (Canned chicken broth can be used
1 pound shredded cheese (1 cup cheddar, 1 cup Velveeta and ½ cup American)
Salt and pepper to taste if desired (salt may not be necessary if you used canned broth).
Sauté together the butter or margarine, carrots, celery and onions. Stir in the flour and cornstarch; cook and stir until bubbly. Add the stock and milk. Cook and stir until smooth and thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Potato Soup
3 or 4 large Russet potatoes
Water (I had chicken broth and used that to cook the potatoes, very good)
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 onion, chopped
¼ cup diced celery
1 to 2 cups milk or half and half or a combination of both
Salt and pepper to your taste
1 cup shredded or diced cheese (optional)
Salt and pepper to your taste
Parsley (optional)
Peel potatoes and cut into small chunks, place in pot and barely cover with water. Cover and cook until tender. While the potatoes are cooking, sauté onions and celery until onions are transparent. Set aside. When potatoes are tender, use your potato masher and lightly mash them leaving some un-mashed. Stir in onions and celery, add milk, and bring just to simmering. Add cheese if used. Heat gently until cheese melts, stir in parsley if used.