Mushroom Eggs

   When I was a small child back on the farm, I heard folks talking about "mushroom eggs".  We were often told to "make sure to get the egg" when we were ridding a garden of the mushrooms.  Mostly, we were on the lookout for "Devil's Toadstools" or stinkhorns.  Mom hated those things so if any started popping up in the gardens, she assigned the younger kids to the job of getting rid of them.  As a kid, this was a bit confusing but, hey, I accepted that mushrooms were like chickens and they came from eggs.  I knew that chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese all laid eggs so why couldn't mushrooms?  Plus, we had proof!  While grubbling around under the mulch to pull the toadstools, we were sure to find lots of the white, round "eggs".  

  Well, a long time has passed since then and I have not thought too much about mushroom eggs until a nephew made reference to them.  It seems that it was his task to get the toadstools and their "eggs" from his grandmother's gardens.  I related the story about my childhood task and he and I giggled over the ongoing "kid chore".  After that, the mushroom eggs were promptly forgotten until today.  Back behind the grape arbor, there was a perfect specimen of a mushroom with the "egg" still attached!  No, this was not a stinkhorn but a mushroom that a squirrel had obviously upended.  The egg being the part that is normally underground...the root, so to speak.

  A thought came to me as I sat staring at the upended mushroom.  Did other folks call these things "eggs" and were other kids given the chore of sifting through mulch to find and discard the eggs?  Was this something that was strictly a family thing?   Don't even try "Googling" it as all you will find are 163,000,000 (no lie) recipes for scrambled eggs with mushrooms and, honestly, that does not even sound too tasty to me unless you also throw in some onion, peppers and cheese.

  

Erik's Cookies

  Christmas traditions are carried on generation after generation.  Whether it be placing Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve or ringing Christmas Bells at midnight.  The customs vary from place to place and from family to family.  There are several "hand-me-down" favorites that have made it through the ages here on the Bayou.  We still sing carols from the small paper books that Mom used as she played so happily on the old piano back on the farm. We still bake until "the cows come home".   We still hang the old cloth socks from my childhood (not the newfangled stockings) from the mantel.   We still enjoy family time.  These will always be a part of our holidays.  There are a few "new" traditions that I started with my kids that I sorely miss since the kids have grown up and left the Bayou.  I miss watching Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Judy Haynes in "White Christmas" with my oldest son.  It was one of our favorite times together.  After he was "in the know" about Santa, he stayed up late to help me on Christmas Eve, then we would settle in to watch the movie together.  Watching the movie is not the same since he is on the island so very far away.  Some day..maybe...maybe.  Then, there was the tradition of lying on the floor and looking up through the Christmas Tree with my daughter when she was a tot.  We continued that even when she would come home from college.  That has gone the wayside, too, since she is married and in her own home creating their own happy traditions.  Some day..maybe...maybe.   The tradition with my youngest son was making new ornaments for the tree each year.  This, too, has ceased since he is grown.  Although, he is still on the Bayou, his ornament-making days seem to be something of the past...perhaps a fond memory.  Again..some day..maybe...maybe...

  Now, I have sort of inadvertently stepped into another tradition.  For the past few years, a certain nephew has always gotten a plate of his favorite cookies.  Erik proclaimed that the Plum Dot cookies are the "best ever cookies".  His fondness for the baked treats lead to me baking two batches each year...one for all visitors to the Little Bayou House and one batch just for Erik.  In fact, I now call these "Erik's Cookies" when I start to bake.   His ooohs and ahhs over the baked goodies are all it took for this old aunt to make sure that he has his very own supply.  That young man knows how to smooth talk an old lady into baking for him but, then again, he is mighty special to me!  

  Today, the tradition of baking "Erik's cookies took place.  Not a one of the cookies made it to the treat table as they were secreted away so they would be ready to be presented to Erik.  No one gets to eat off that plate!  Tomorrow, the second batch of the Plum Dot cookies will be baked and those will be placed among the other trays to be sampled by any and all who stop in for a visit.  Christmas traditions on the Bayou say that you will not go away hungry!  Last year, I fretted that I would have to alter the recipe due to the fact that I had used my very last jar of plum jam.  How thankful I was to see that the plum trees outdid themselves this summer.  Sixty-three jars of plum jam line the shelves so it was easy to reach up, grab one and fill the cookies for Erik!  (Just so you will know, the recipe for the Plum Dot Cookies is on the Cooking on the Bayou page on this blog.  Happy baking!)

It Has Become A Tradition

  For the past few years, I have tried to slip out of the kitchen long enough to get a photograph of the sunrise on Thanksgiving morning.  Sometimes it is hard to do since cooking for the "Big Day" involves a major undertaking.  I was smart this year, however!  I did something that I have never done before and it was one of those "smack my head" moments.  Duh!! Anything to make any mealtime easier is a happy thing but when it comes to large, all inclusive, family meals, a few moments saved here and there can be a lifesaver.  This brilliant idea was such a no brainer that I cannot believe I have never done it before!  

  I am one of those folks who has a myriad of crockpots or slow cookers.  Duh!  Use the crockpots!  Yep, with Mark wanting all traditional foods, Darling Daughter being a vegan, Son and Son-in-law being big meat-eaters and me being a pescatarian the meal preps were a bit overwhelming so I solved it all by pulling out the crockpots.  Mark's traditional green bean casserole, the sweet potato pone AND the ham were all cooked in the slow cookers!  Brilliance!  That freed up the oven for the turkey and dressing (a regular giblet type and a vegan cranberry sauce filled one).  Of course, the stove top came into play for the mashed potatoes, gravy (vegan and turkey), plain green beans (for those not able or willing to eat the casserole), plain cauliflower (again for those not willing to eat roasted cauliflower soup).  Elizabeth and Robbie brought the soup, a delicious salad and some of the best yeast rolls that I have ever eaten!  We finished this all off with 3 different desserts!  But! It was those crockpots that saved hours!  Everything was in place and ready to go before sunrise!  I am thankful for so many things but added to the list this year are two more things.  I am thankful for brilliant ideas and for the invention of crockpots!

  The Thanksgiving sunrise custom came into play several years ago when I had a houseful of people all wanting a huge meal.  Well, with that many folks, a gigantic turkey had to be roasted so I was up in the wee hours of the morn.  Once the bird was in the oven, there was nothing else to do but head to the pier to collect my thoughts before the hubbub of the day started. Once everyone else was awake, it would be ridiculous to even think of escaping to the pier.  While I was there, the sun peeped up over the pines and crept into the gazebo across the way.  It appeared as if the sun was housed by the large gazebo.  When I showed Darling Daughter the photo, she dubbed it "The House of the Rising Sun" after the well-known song.  That first photo was taken nine years ago and I am still scurrying down to the pier each Thanksgiving morn to get my "House of the Rising Sun" photo.  This morning did not disappoint.  

Coast Tradition

  I took a picture today of Mark and our son, Mark, Jr. shucking oysters.  The two of them had some great "together" time as they sat far down the hill from the house.  Here, away from the hubbub of the chattering, giggling and baby-talk (the sweet baboo of a granddaughter is here!), they could share a bit of closeness without being interrupted.  While I so longed to be with my son, it did my heart the world of good to see the two of them enjoying a bit of quiet time together.  I slipped down the hill to catch a few pictures of the happy time.  When my sister-in-law saw the pictures, she remarked how this seemed to be a Coast tradition.  That remark struck a chord with me in more ways than one.

  I know Missy was referring to the oyster-shucking being a Coast tradition but, the truth be known, this father/son oyster-shucking thing is also a tradition.  For possibly as far back as civilization here, whenever fathers and sons needed a bit of time together for whatever reason, a couple of sacks of oysters could provide them with the perfect venue for a meeting of the minds.  If a son needed a bit of fatherly advice, if a father needed to reprimand the son in a gentle way or the two of them wanted to chat about some recent exploits, some private time could be gained by shucking a few oysters.  Most of the time, the women of the household would respect that need and sort of steer clear of the "shucking yard".  Sure, a lot of the ladies could shuck as well or (in some cases) better than some of the men.  They were often right out there helping but when the guys came in and announced they were "gettin' some oysters", that meant "we need time."  It was understood and respected.  This great Coast tradition of father/son time has carried on for years.

  Today's shucking time brought smiles to both of the Marks and to all of us at the Little Bayou House. While they were outside confabbing, Joanna, Mary Ruth and I were having our own "time".  The bond between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was glued a bit stronger by the addition of a sweet baby.  I feel so blessed!  Perhaps that old-time father/son tradition of oyster-shucking was also meant to give the ladies of the house a bit of together time.  If so, I consider this one great tradition and intend on preserving it as long as I can.  I simply adore my daughter-in-law and always hope to maintain our closeness with special attention.

The "New" Christmas Tradition!

I have been talking a lot about "old" traditions of the holidays and how nostalgic items can make a place feel warm and homey.  The Little Bayou House was decked out in all sorts of antique Christmas decorations and childhood items this year just because at times I need to be reminded of all of the traditions of times past.  Today being Christmas Day, Elizabeth decided it was high time to start a "new" tradition!  Off the top of her head, she proclaimed that we would paint Christmas Octopi!  (Just so everyone will know, octopi is one of the many plurals of octopus along with octopodes, and octopuses!)  Anyway, this new tradition would be recognized each year with a new octopus picture painted by each of us!  I was game!  As storms ripped through the area creating a big mess, she and I created paintings of octopi!  We gathered the canvases, paints and brushes and set to work.  Neither of us had any idea of just what we were going to paint..we just started.  As we painted, we talked..we giggled..we spent a wonderful afternoon and on into the late hours of the night sharing.  Sometime during the late afternoon, we compared pictures and realized that even though the paintings were very similar, they were very different.  Our similarity in styles cannot be denied but each painting had its unique touches.  We both decided that this was definitely something that we would love to continue doing..our tradition had been born.

The Christmas Octopi Paintings!  Mine on top and  Elizabeth's on the bottom!

Once we were finished with the paintings, we exchanged them.  She will take mine home with her and I will hang hers in the Little Bayou House.  These paintings will not go any further.  As our first, we will keep them as cherished mementos and each year, the new Christmas Octopi paintings will be exchanged as gifts between us.   This might seem a tad strange to a lot of folks but to us, it is perfect.  We share something other than a painting..we share a time spent with each other.  Our love grows stronger each day and our collection of Octopi paintings will grow each year.  And we all know that you can never have too many Octopi paintings! New traditions are fun!

Reminiscing..

"Have an old-time Christmas for old-time's sake!" The Christmas tune was playing and I was reminiscing! Old-time Christmas! Seems that the older I get the more I long for things to be the way they used to be. I miss the kids hanging their stockings on Christmas Eve..I miss the family gathering around the tree awaiting the handing out of gifts..I miss the carols being sung in the car as we went shopping..I miss old-time Christmas! The family traditions are all being put on hold for a bit as my family is scattered far and wide. It is to be expected and is not a bad thing, but I do miss these things. For some reason, it is not a lot of fun to do these things by yourself! There were certain things that each child and I would do together that seemed to be "our" special tradition. For instance, ever since I can recall, my oldest son and I always watched the movie "White Christmas" on Christmas Eve. We would wait until all the hustle and bustle was quited down, the make some hot cocoa and settle in to watch the movie. I still try to watch it every year, but it is not the same as when he is here. Then there is the one particular little, odd thing that my daughter and I used to do almost every year. After decorating the tree, we would turn out all the lights in the house except the tree lights and then would lie under the tree. We would stare up through the branches, looking at all the ornaments and live in a fantasy world for a few minutes. Dumb? Maybe.. but to us, it was a special moment. That made it precious! Today, anyone seeing me under the tree might think I fell off the ladder or lost my marbles or maybe both! My youngest son and I always made special ornaments. These could be anything from raffia angels to beaded satin ornaments. With the overload of ornaments in the closet, it seems a mite redundant to make more. I am sure if I suggested it, he would reluctantly abide but somehow I am not sure he would really enjoy it now that he is an adult. These things are all things of the past..things I miss..things that I think about as I slowly get my house decorated. You know..come to think of it..I might ask if my son would like to make a few ornaments for old time's sake. And I might just call my daughter and ask if she would like get down on the floor and stare up through the branches and dream just for old time's sake! She in her apartment and me at home..should be interesting sharing a moment via the phone! And.. maybe.. just maybe.. even if we are not together on Christmas Eve, my oldest and I can watch "White Christmas" at the same time.. you know.. just for old time's sake....