You're Rock Candy Baby, Hard, Sweet and Sticky

A rare Christmas and Christmas Eve off was enough for celebration, let alone a promised storm rolling through.  How blessed we were to have this moment in time.  

New Year's Eve Plate 

Ba'Corn Casserole from Food Wishes

In researching a fun side dish I came across this Korean snack food that seemed fitting for a seat at 2020's dinner plate.  I wanted everything to be bold and packed with a punch to the gut, like the entire year.  The sweet and salty ham represented all the surprisingly positive struggles that happened and now continue into the next, the roasted, sticky pineapple chunks drunk on pan juices beneath.   The once fresh, innocent fruit baked, broiled, and caramelized to it's bursting point, only to return markedly better.  The cheesy, spicy, bacon corn casserole, a magical medley of all the good memories, each corn kernel representing a great day had.  The buttery corn bread symbolized the newly formed solace in daily activities, pulled from inside in these unsettling times. 

Chipotle Pineapple Glazed Ham

Pecan Pumpkin Bread

An afterthought desert came in the form of this pumpkin bread that turned out to be a sweet delight! Walnuts and toasted pecans subbed for ginger, cloves and walnuts to make it perfectly moist.  I could understand God in a bread like this. That little crunch of the toasted oatmeal mixed in as a reminder to stop and notice what is good, always.  

Tiny Crock Queso Blanco

Finally a use for that tiny little crock pot that came with the larger one.  A queso snack for dipping symbolized how small indulgences have provided so much joy this year.   

Skillet Buttermilk Cornbread

P's Holiday Bloody Mary

After all is said and done, it's natural we'd remember 2020 for it's abundance of bad news.  So much that most of it went unstudied like roadkill from a speeding car.  Who has time to process all of the muck,  to form solid opinions before a dozen other catastrophes took their place?  I can only trust we have to keep feeding the right wolf while acknowledging the deep humor in all of it, especially the parts we play rolls in.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."