December Menu for 2014

Episode #6: Streamline Your Schedule ... Pumpkin and Winter Squash Seed Giveaway

December Menu for 2014

I’m thrilled, first to have completed the December Menu both for Escape into a Simple Life and for my household. As I anticipated in podcast episode #6, creating this menu turned out to be quite a task. That’s because of the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays, and also the special feast days my family will be celebrating.

In the article, In Search of a More Meaningful Christmas, I explain my motivation for introducing new traditions to my family, and they have been receptive. Our celebrating the Feast of Saint Nicholas and Santa Lucia Day last year brought a new depth to our Christmas season. This year, we’ll celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas, finishing up on the Feast of Epiphany in January.

I have the feast foods all figured out, now. It took a little doing, tracking down foods for the lesser-known feast days. For some, I never found a thing, which makes sense. Those feasts were about something greater than food, like the sacrifice of Christ for our sins or peace on Earth. Food just isn’t the point on those days. I decided to follow ethnic cuisine in those cases, and the result is something of a international smorgasbord.

A couple of notes are in order. Since I was making the menu for others besides myself, I added toast, a roll, or a salad at times when I normally would skip them. Also, some of the meals call for more costly items like Cornish game hens, but the recipes can be made from chicken, instead. The menu is highly adaptable in this way.

I mostly left beverages off the menu because tastes vary, but I did include wine a couple of times, where it is a traditional part of a feast, like Bishop’s Wine on Saint Nicholas Eve. If you don’t partake, you might want to substitute a party punch or mulled cider instead. My family’s beverage of choice at meals is usually water.

Because this is a month fraught with opportunities to put on weight, I did my best to include lighter fare such as salad lunches and soups for dinner. For the most part, I went for skinnier recipes and tried especially to balance things out on feast days. However, there is a time to feast and a time to fast, as the Bible informs us. I don’t think we should give up all restraint, but sometimes its important to just enjoy the day.

If you’d like to know more about the feasts of Christmas, I’ll be discussing them on Wednesday, December 3rd, and also in the December 5th podcast about creating a more meaningful Christmas. If you aren’t already a subscriber, consider signing up to receive these posts. There is a weekly digest option, or you can elect to receive posts as they publish (usually three a week). This will ensure you receive articles on doable crafts, easy homemade recipes, the monthly menu, a seasonal shopping guide, a monthly home maintenance schedule, garden calenders, videos and podcast episodes, all completely free. Subscribe me.

Download or Visit the December Menu.