I have missed out the opportunity to write about Fall, its celebrations and the lovely dishes that come with it. There was too much going on with the readjusting to some sort of normality when I had to resume my in-office job, post Covid-19 lockdown and Stefan had to start his in-person classes. It has been a déjà vu pre-Covid marathon that has kept me busy and away from my blog.
Now that I am enjoying a well-deserved holiday break and while I can still smell the festive season in the air, I feel like writing a bit about the best time of the year, despite the ongoing and never-ending lockdown. I cannot have enough of Christmas, the best season of all, my favourite celebration of the year. From its wonderful carols, the snow, the cooking that is going on and on like there is no tomorrow, the decorations, the coziness of the season that no other season has the privilege to have.
Under normal circumstances, we would spend Christmas away from home, at a chalet, skiing and while that would indeed be our special time and great winter fun, I am more than happy to have to stay home and enjoy the kind of Christmas that I was spending as a child in Romania: a simple celebration of good food, helping my mom with everything that was being cooked and served for Christmas and New Year, the Christmas tree, small presents, a cosy warm house and spending time with family. How could I not miss that time when the simplest things were so precious and so unforgettable to this day.
Not being able to shop in person around the holidays and avoiding to put up with the online shopping and its inevitable delayed deliveries has been, once again, a look back to where I am originally coming from, where during the communist regime, food was the main joy to share and to gift. When visiting relatives and friends, the expected gifts would have been our home-baked cookies and cakes, our famous Boeuf (Russian) salad or our families’ homemade wine. Exchanging culinary gifts, sampling them, exchanging recipes was the best joy of all.
This end of the year has been that kind of year when I have been cooking and baking continuously, sharing Christmas cookies, our traditional Cozonac (walnut sweet bread), my mother’s flan, a delicious biscuit salami, and some of our favourite desserts and dishes including several forgotten and rediscovered traditional Romanian dishes. There is nothing more rewarding to a cook rather than seeing how much his or her food is being appreciated and enjoyed by others and this is exactly what I have felt when sharing all these goodies with our friends this year.
This has been also the year when I did not feel that I wanted anything material for Christmas. You get to a point in life, and more so in the midst of a pandemic, when you realize what matters in life: the best gift of all is to know that you and your family is healthy. This is all I have been wishing and praying for. All the other things seem so inconsequential if health is not in the picture. I have tried to make the best of this year, cooking and baking like no other year, starting my blog, working on my cookbook, enjoying the most amazing cookbooks that I have been gifted, to name a few.
It has been an unusual year for most of us, a year when many lost their dear ones, a year where we have been humbled and subject to stay indoors to reflect more and enjoy the simplest things in life more, a year where for the first time in almost two decades, I have not been able to visit my family in Romania which has broken my heart.
Yes, it has been tough, but let’s appreciate that we have each other, that we have managed to handle the pandemic somehow, that is in us to never give up and try to get going, remaining optimistic and trusting that 2021 is going to be a better and healthier year that will allow us to return to our regular routine. Let’s take what we have learned as a result of this pandemic and try to be better, more considerate, kinder, more loving and less judgmental. To a better and healthier 2021!!
Comentários