Decembers Past, Present and Future
This week my mind has been busy with thoughts of Decembers past, present and future. This year’s decorations had to be hung beyond the athletic reach of our kitten Peekay who has now experience his first snowflakes from inside our glass windows and doors. Before cold winds and rain arrived last week, I took a walk in our back woods and cut down a small cedar that’s now secured on the backside of our raised flowerbed at the top of the driveway. Shaped like a chubby little bear, the charming little tree is now festooned with red glass ornaments and 300 tiny white Italian lights. And along our quiet meditation path leading to the sculpture garden where birds, squirrels and deer come to feed, small red ornaments dangle on cedar branches like cranberries strung on a Christmas tree.
That week as I worked to create a magical outdoor holiday landscape, my thoughts traveled back to snapshots of Decembers past. One was of a miniature round frame containing a black and white photograph of my sister Kim and me sitting on a department store Santa’s knee sometime in the early 1950s. From my vintage ornament collection, I recalled a few that my mother decorated with seashells and pearls in the mid 1950s. Because Peekay can dislodge anything shiny and bright, an indoor tree won’t be happening this year. Instead Peekay cat naps next to collection of soft wool socks or drags around a red, white and green felt garland made of Nepalese felt that was sent to him by L.A. friends Pat and Gary.
Another treasured memory is a picture I took with my Brownie camera of my sisters sledding down our front lawn in McLean, VA on an aluminum saucer one snowy Christmas in the late 1950s. A few decades later my younger sisters Kim and Kelly took long walks with me and my dog Sam when they spent a Christmas with us at Breakfast Creek. I still wear the red and black plaid Liz Claiborne jacket from those walks when I drive to the “Lodge” in Grass Valley where Kit lives and continues his regimen of rehabilitation. Memories of my mother’s hand decorated ornaments and that vintage plaid jacket take me instantly back to those precious and cozy December days of yore.
Kit and I were married in Los Angeles on December 21, 1982. Because our 1920s Beverly Glen Canyon cottage was quite small and the afternoon mild, the ceremony and festivities afterward took place outdoors. After moving to Nevada City in 2021, Kit and I bundled up in warm great coats and celebrated our wedding anniversary in downtown Nevada City at the historic National Hotel. While that won’t be possible on our anniversary this weekend, I hope that it will be again someday. In the meantime, Kit continues to cycle on an exercise bike along rugged backroads in Scotland and at locations around the world via videos on an iPad provided by the PT staff at the Lodge.
This December and in the winter months ahead, I will find joy in cooking one pot meals I that can eat alone or share with neighbors. To celebrate our anniversary this weekend, I’m making risotto with broccoli from a recipe in the November 2024 issue of BHG (Better Homes and Gardens). It will be assembled and baked in my vintage cast iron Le Creuset pot and shared with Kit at the Lodge. Happy Anniversary my love, and buon appetito to you each and all.
Broccoli Risotto Bake
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups dry Arborio rice
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine
12 ounces chopped broccoli florets
4 slices prosciutto
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a 4-5-quart Dutch oven or Le Creuset pot melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and one of the minced garlic cloves. Cook stirring 5-6 minutes until tender.
Add rice. Cook and stir 3 minutes more. Add broth and wine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add broccoli, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cover and place pot in the oven. Bake 10 minutes until rice is just tender.
Meanwhile for the gremolata, cook the prosciutto slices in a large skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil until crisp, about 6 minutes (turning once). Transfer to a paper towel on a plate. Add remaining 2 minced garlic cloves to skillet and cook over medium heat about 30 seconds. Crumble prosciutto, transfer to a small bowl; then stir in the garlic, parsley and lemon zest.
Remove baked risotto pot from the oven; stir in remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the Parmesan cheese until creamy, and top with the prosciutto gremolata.
