A Low Key Christmas

We had a beautiful Christmas day--somewhat quiet, but after staying up very late for Christmas Eve services, a low key Christmas was what we needed.

On Saturday, I bought a fresh turkey.  I honestly can't tell the difference in taste between fresh and frozen.  Ours was organic--again, I can't tell a difference.  I bought it because it was on sale for $1.61 a pound, which seems like a good deal.  Plus, I get a chance to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner all over again.

We used supermarket challah for our communion bread on Christmas Eve, and I took some of the leftovers home with me.  Yesterday morning, I decided that it would make as good a basis for stuffing/dressing as any other bread.  So I spread it out on a tray to dry out a bit.

I also experimented with cranberry relish.  I had bought a bag of cranberries, and I had an apple that needed to be used.  Usually I'd make it with the food processor, but that's been packed away since summer.  So I put the cranberries and the cut up apple in a 9x13 pan along with some sugar and orange zes.  I baked it for an hour, stirring occasionally.  It was delicious.

We started the turkey on the grill and finished in the oven.  We ate a bit of turkey, carved the rest, and settled the bones into the stockpot for a long simmer.

We had family phone calls throughout the day, which was nice.  Some years, I feel sad that we're not all together.  This year, I'm grateful that my family members all seem to be in good health and happy spirits.

I've also enjoyed the Facebook posts of friends and family.  Some years, I'm not online at Christmas because we're traveling.  That component of our celebration made me smile too.

I'm trying not to feel fretful about what's ahead of us, especially as the stock market opens again today.  I'm going to keep my good Christmas spirits as we begin the shift into normal life.