Just one more thing about varenyky: My mother's version of the stuffing was a combination of (cooked, then mashed) potato & cottage cheese. That worked very well.
That sounds really good - with potato - I think I'll try a little of each.
This reminds me of a snack food I had in Korea - made the same way except the filling is different of course. They were really good.
There seems to be a variation of this sort of dish in many cultures, danon ... all of them scrumptious.
msolga,
Here's a recipe for some Austrian cookies that's really good this time of the year=
Vanillekipferl
2-1/4 sticks butter not margarine
2-5/8 Cups flour
1/2 Cup plus just a little sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 Cup plus a little ground up almonds
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients together with hands to make sure that it is mixed well. Chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 335° F.
To form cookies take about 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll into a little log. Then form into a crescent.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for about 22-25 minutes at 335 degrees. Cool just slightly after removing from oven and roll cookie in a mixture of 2 tsp vanilla sugar, 2 tsp burbon vanilla sugar, and 4TBSP of powdered sugar.
Maybe ul can improve on this - I copied it from the net. My ex-mom in law from Vienna made these each year ahead of time an put them in a tin till the holidays. Delicious.
The recipe for vareniky, or the perogy variant, always seems so simple. But it's not, it's not. Thank goodness they're very popular here, so you can easily buy them in the store.
Now, I'd call today fourth advent, but in some churches it is the fourth sunday of advent, or sunday of the fourth week of advent.
Found this, which has a lot more symbols than I'm used to
Here's an interesting image of St. Nicholas, with his helper Peter, and some speculaas, on a label
The talk I had yesterday with my friend and NIHM's post stayed with me all day and brought up memories of discussions I had with my children: Why Christmas? Or Easter?
Is this really all about Religion in the meaning of "Churches" who separate more than unify, here Catholics, there Protestants, here Islam, there Jews. "Churches" displaying pomp and glory- power ?
The culture in which a person grows up has its own traditions and rituals, which binds people together, make them feel at home and in a way secure- even if this is only for a moment. These rituals combine all senses- smell, touch, sight, taste, and view. ( Just think of the different food, music, decorations described here). In my opinion it is more spiritual than religious. Shared rituals can make people recognize what we all have in common instead of dividing us even more.
Feasts and their rituals take us out of the everyday hassle, they stop the world for a moment, give time to reflect, share and to be grateful, kind of refuelling the inner person.
As you see I am all for Christmas- the way I grew up it is a combination of a family feast and Christian believe.
Still I prefer the revolutionizer over the sweet baby.
Speaking of speculaas:
this
is an old wooden form for it.
I owe one, too, only with animals on it.
(It's from pre 1800 [because of the motifs], but my granmother used it until the 60's of last century: still some flour in it :wink:)
(Perhaps I should try to make a scan?)
Ul, you and nimh have spoken very much to why I put this thread into travel and culture instead of religion.
It is the sharing of cultures that can bring people together, while religion so often seems to move them apart.
Christmas when I was small was about hamburger, mrs. hamburger, hamburger's brother and his wife - sharing stories of family and Germany with me. There was no church-going, no hymn-singing. There was special food and harbour music and laughter. As I grew up, it became (for me) the one time I was absolutely sure I would see my uncle - who was one of the nicest men I've ever known. He worked for the city, often as a compressor operator on the streets in the poorer parts of town. He always had candy and treats and smiles for all the little kids. As much as he'd say he wasn't a Christian - I learned a lot about sharing from him.
Walter Hinteler wrote:(Perhaps I should try to make a scan?)
Here it is:
On the one site are 7 mammals, on the other birds. (Since it's oo big to scan it completely, I scanned those parts with my favourite "Plätzchen" in it
)
Walter - that is gorgeous!
Thanks for scanning.
I liked those speculas very much: not only, because grandmother made them sooooooooo tasty, but because no-one else had a horse or a cock or a swan.
That's great Walter - I had thought the figures were carved into the board - but I see they are high relief figures. Great.......
I can see the gamsbat (sp) on the goat...!!
Thanks!!
I have bought a few cookie presses at auction, and in 2nd hand shops. NOTHING at all like your wonderful piece, Walter.
They ARE carved, the relief-like appearance is due to the scanning, like for wood-cut prints (only deeper).
I really don't know, how they actually came in grandma's family.
But since it's really a very nice piece, and since all of grandma's male ancestors were forest officials at the same nobel family, I suppose, it was a gift from them.
Walter, yours look like ours, which is still in use- in Germany.
No swan, but shepherds and other figures, the other side has lambs and birds- doves I believe.
My uncle would knet the dough, it was too much and too heavy for my mother- big family, so a lot dough- and I hope I will get my share here too.
