Christmas Eve Sermons, New Year's Eve Soup, and New Year's Day Reflections

We had a quiet New Year's Eve, but that's not unusual for us.  I am a go to bed early person, and the ringing in of a new year isn't enough to make me want to stay awake until midnight.

However, I did wake up at midnight.  I heard some booming noises and thought that it must be midnight.  It was.  I got up to see if I could see anything since most of our trees have lost their leaves; I thought I might be hearing municipal fireworks displays, but I couldn't see anything.  I know that my neighbors weren't shooting fireworks, and I saw one light burst from the neighborhood that's near the Wal-Mart across the street from my neighborhood.

As I went back to sleep, I reflected on how happy I am that my neighbors aren't the type to spend the days leading up to New Year's Eve and all of the night itself shooting fireworks.  Our South Florida neighborhoods were, and by New Year's Eve, I was exhausted--and I don't have any PTSD issues, so I can only imagine how difficult it is for veterans who do.

Our New Year's Eve day was low key too.  Because the church I serve in a very part-time capacity was having a Lessons and Carols day, with no sermon and no communion, they didn't need me and offered me a day off.  I decided it made sense.

It felt weird to be home, however.  I did some grocery shopping early in the day.  I'm hearing from so many places about disease upticks, and so many people I know are sick, so I decided not to go to in-person church nearby (we did attend several virtual services, both our North Carolina church and our Florida church).  I took a COVID test; happily, my congestion isn't COVID.  I am headed to see my parents tomorrow morning, and I want to stay well.

We made a pot of soup; I had seen the recipe on the Fresh Market website before I did the grocery shopping, and then we made soup together.  I'll paste the recipe below because it's one of those flexible recipes that's also very healthy and quite delicious.  I want to remember this recipe.

In terms of goals for the coming year, my goals don't change much from year to year.  I want to keep moving towards health and away from things that aren't life giving.  So, more fruits and vegetables!  More strength training along with the walking that I do!    More poetry writing!  More reading offline! More of creative pursuits, especially if I'm watching TV!  Less exclamations and more quiet determination!!!!

And if you've been waiting patiently to read my Christmas Eve sermon (which also works well as a New Year's Day sermon), I posted it here on my theology blog.

Here's that great soup to help some of these goals along:

Seafood Soup/Stew

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 2 c onion, chopped
• 1 ½ c fennel bulb, chopped (reserve a few fronds for garnish)
• ¼ c carrot, chopped
• ¼ c celery, chopped (we used extra fennel bulb instead of celery)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (makes it very spicy--I would not use more)
• 2 c bottled clam juice (I couldn't find this, so I used some frozen fish stock that I had)
• 2 c canned crushed tomatoes (I used the 14.5 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes)
• ½ c dry, un-oaked white wine (such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)
• 3 strips orange peel (cut using vegetable peeler)
• 2 sachets (.25 ounce) The Fresh Market Saffron (about ½ tsp loosely packed)--I didn't use
• 1 ½ lb cod, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used tilapia)
• ½ lb sea scallops and/or peeled, deveined shrimp (I used the smaller, cheaper frozen bay scallops)
• 1 dozen small clams, scrubbed and rinsed (I couldn't find any--I used 2 cans of chopped clams and the juice)
• 1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and rinsed (couldn't find, didn't include)
• Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving (I just used fennel fronds)

 

Directions

1.       Warm oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel, carrot, celery and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring often.

2.       Add garlic, 1 teaspoon black pepper, fennel seed and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute while stirring.

3.       Stir in the clam juice, tomatoes, wine, orange peel, saffron and additional 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The broth should reduce and thicken a little. Discard the orange zest.*

4.       With the stew gently bubbling (but not boiling), stir in the fish, clams, and mussels. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels open fully, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the scallops; cover, and let stand until the scallops are opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard any clams and mussels that do not open.

5.       Serve immediately, topped with fennel fronds and parsley, alongside toasted sourdough slathered in aioli (we just had buttered sourdough bread).