You can never be sure what mood Benson will be in as he comes galloping, stomping, or sneaking up the stairs in the morning. Some mornings he’s already on overdrive, and that 3-year-old brain is spilling over with ingenuity and energy. Some mornings are magical, and his little blond self is full of snuggles and sweetness. And some mornings, well, they’re the other thing.
Since we hit December though, we can be assured there’s a secondary mood attached, and that is the holiday spirit.
The first words out of Benson’s mouth each morning are something to the extent of, “Is it Christmas now?” He’s having a hard time distinguishing between the Christmas season and Christmas Day itself. Yes we have decorations up, we’re playing Advent music and doing nativity crafts and reading holiday books, and it is Christmas … and also it’s not.
You may be shocked to learn that Brian does not pepper me with similar questions and enthusiasm. He’s not a Scrooge – in fact, Benson is the one who says “Bah humbug!” thanks to his cousin’s tutelage – but he’s very invested in dairy farming projects right now, and doesn’t spend a lot of time pondering potential cookie shapes or must-watch holiday movies.
To be fair, I don’t either, but I do love Christmas, the season and the day, and having a son who’s old enough to be so enthusiastic about it is delightful.
Brian made the error of bringing the Christmas tree down from the attic before he had time to hang up the lights: a rookie mistake that landed him lots of badgering from Benson until he had to give in to save everyone’s sanity. It worked out fine for me, since Benson was well diverted multiple times then hanging up and taking down our motley smattering of ornaments before it even mattered at all.
I have very fond memories as a child of getting the Christmas decorations out with my mom, and seeing the house transform into cozy, cheerful reds and greens, with twinkling candles and lights. I think that was more like a whole-day kind of project, whereas my decorating takes at least half an hour … but it’s just the right amount of stuff for me. Although I might need more eventually if Benson keeps pilfering pieces for his room downstairs.
We need to start working on holiday baking here soon, but I’m not a big cookie person, so my motivation is less than my son’s here as well. Get me started on other forms of Christmas treats, though, and I’m more inclined. I don’t know how traditional it actually is for holidays, but I’m looking at a German-style cheesecake – partially because it looks lovely but honestly mostly because it uses a very fortuitous ingredient that I just so happen to have made recently. Quark!
Because what would you make for Q week? Just not a lot of options here: we don’t want a quilt or a queen, and that basically leaves us with quail or Qatari food. But I happily remembered quark, a type of Eastern European creamy cheese. It has a wide variety of uses, and can be eaten plain, with fruit, used in baking, cooked with, or however. I have rarely seen it available to buy, but the good news is that it couldn’t barely be easier to make. Turn up the Christmas carols while you prep it, and you might soon be humming along with quark the herald angels sing.
Homemade Quark
Fresh soured cheese might seem like an oxymoron, and it definitely is a bit paradigmatic – especially since quark isn’t considered a “true” cheese, but it’s hard to know what else to call it. It goes by different names and can mean different things in different regions, but the good news is that you don’t have to understand all of it to enjoy it. My father-in-law had just been given a small container of quark at a dairy meeting, and it was good, but my biased opinion is that homemade is better. We enjoyed that one with hot pepper jam, but it’s good treated like cream cheese or cottage cheese or yogurt!
Prep tips: if you don’t have a yogurt strainer, cheesecloth stretched over a bowl works too, just is messy.
• 1 quart cultured buttermilk
• ½ cup cream
Whisk the buttermilk and cream. Crockpot on warm for 8-12 hours, or bake at 200° for 2 hours. Drain; and if desired, salt and/or whip until smooth.
Amanda Miller lives with her husband, two young children, and whoever else God brings them through foster care on the family dairy farm in Hutchinson. She enjoys doing some catering, teaching cooking classes, and freelancing, but mostly chasing after her kids. Reach her at hyperpeanutbutter@gmail.com.
