Merry Christmas!

      Today I watched the movie Chocolat. As I sat their staring at scene after scene filled with delightful chocolate (along with Johnny Depp) I knew for sure the story had to have been written by a woman. Joanne Harris to be exact. I don't think a man could have come up with a story where chocolate is central to the plot.  However, despite being caught up in the chocolate, there is a quote in the movie that stood out to me as worth remembering:

"I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, by what we resist or who we exclude. We have to measure our goodness by what we embrace, what we create and who we include" 

— Chocolat

What do you embrace?
What do you create?
Who do you include?


Don't  forget to just enjoy spending time with the people you love and don't forget the whole reason we celebrate Christmas. I wish you all a merry merry Christmas!!


We all remember when "Hey there Delilah" was on every single radio station 100 times a day... For awhile that was great until it was too much. Here's another Plain White T's song worth listening to:

Hot Chocoolate

          Stop.Listen has now entered the 21^st century!! This is good news! If you have facebook it is completely free to take a couple seconds and click “Like.” So please share the love! Thanks!

It’s still been snowing and snowing here lately and since I have not had to go anywhere, I love it! I've included a pic of the latest dumping. Right now it looks absolutely beautiful outside because the sun finally came up.

One of my favorite winter traditions back at home is hot cocoa. I have memories of sledding and playing outside for a couple hours and then coming inside for a cup of cocoa with marshmallows on top- more the better. I’ve tried different kinds of cocoa from the store but nothing beats my mom’s recipe. It’s easy to make and you can cut down or double the size depending on how many people you are entertaining. It's delicious!

Quick and Easy Hot Chocolate

4 c powdered milk
¼ c +1 T cocoa powder
1 ¼ c cane juice crystals
pinch of salt
10 cups water
2 cups milk, half n half, or cream

In a large stock pot combine everything except the milk. Stir with a wire whisk and heat on medium until all is very hot and dissolved being careful not to boil. Remove from heat and add the milk. Serve in mugs with a few mini-marshmallows on the side.

 

Christmas in Denmark    

In the United States usually the gift and stocking tradition is based on Santa coming down your chimney and bringing you your gifts, ho ho ho. It’s different in Denmark though. Starting the 1^st of December the Christmas stockings are put up and every morning the kids awake to see what “the Elves” have brought them. Kinda cute.

My previous TSA post was only talking about airports and such. It sounds like Big Sis wants scanners and TSA checkpoints at bus stations and other various public places. I think we have a bit of a problem... how is treating US citizens like criminals really helping? Obama did promise more jobs and such, so maybe this is his way of helping that one out.

And that's Emily reporting to you from Denmark

Denmark

    So it’s time I shared more about Denmark. December is crazy busy for the typical family because this is the Jule season! So it’s now time I started talking about Denmark’s uniqueness!

First, let’s go over the pate. During my first weekend in Denmark I asked what the dish was and everyone told me pate. It’s sometimes sold in a pan that looks bit like meatloaf, but a lot smaller. One usually puts it cold on toast- I did that a few times over the week. The taste wasn’t too bad yet I couldn’t quite place it. The actual Danish name of the dish is liverpostej, which is pronounced something like Loobastah. I never saw the spelling, just heard it spoken. At one point, I finally had a chance to ask my host mom what it was. Come to find out it is a pig liver dish. Next time it was served I tried it again but somehow I wasn’t able to eat it… I’ve never liked liver and now that I know what pate is, I will be eating a lot less of it. 

    One of my favorite songs by The Killers is Spaceman. As I was listening to their album this afternoon, I started paying attention to the lyrics. At one point the song goes like:

The song maker says, "It ain't so bad"
The dream maker's gonna make you mad

The spaceman says, "Everybody look down"
It's all in your head

Sometimes it makes no difference what is going in your life, often how you feel has everything to do with perspective. Adjusting to some of the Danish culture has been a bit challenging and having one of my favorite Holidays spent away from my family, while hearing about all the fun they had was difficult. As I was sitting there amongst strangers I felt a bit lost. But in a way, that was my choice. I think it’s easier to feel sorry for oneself than to step outside one’s comfort zone. We really are victims of our own perspective. 

Rice Pudding

 Is delicious! The pudding itself is not that sweet but it’s served with a cherry sauce on top- which is delicious. It’s usually a Jule Tradition to place a whole almond into the dish and stir it around. Then, the person who finds the whole almond in his/her bowl gets a present that is normally at the table. I participated in that last weekend and it was fun. I’ll share the recipe next post. It’s yummy! Usually it's made for the evening before Christmas. Interestingly enough, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th of December instead of the 25. 

And that’s Emily writing to you from Denmark. 

Gas is around $8 USD per gallon. Ouch.

One last note- it's been freeezing cold here these last few days and we have quite a bit of snow to show for it. Will be interesting to find out how much we do get before it stops!