The Essence of Giving: December Poetry

Here we are again, another monthly poetry group post and this time I'm furious. Furious, I tell you.

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I've asked my boys to write me a guest post many times. Especially College Boy. He's amazingly thoughtful and articulate, truly passionate about certain subjects that interest him, I would love to share his point of view. But it hasn't happened. Well, I wrote one for them, a joke which, sadly, no one got. It's tough to have my sense of humor. {{sigh}}. 

Anyway, when College Boy came down to the kitchen last week, saw me looking at this blank page and asked what I was doing, I told him I was trying to write a poem using the theme "Giving." "Oh, I could do that," he said. My face lit up. I mean really, my face lit up. "You could?" I asked. "Sure," he said.

And he did. He stood in my kitchen and out of his mouth, in rap form, came an amazing piece of prose. I kept saying "type this out, don't just stand here, get this down." 

Did he?

No.

I've asked him a number of times to recreate it, but he says he doesn't remember. 

So you're stuck with me again this month. 

Sorry.

The Essence of Giving

 Mesmerized
by the dancing fire
the warmth,
colorful displays.
Thoughts wander.

December
packed stores,
long lines,
longer bills. 
To show we care.

Gifts
large and small,
meaningful,
and obligatory.
What for whom?

Food
prepared together,
you chop,
I'll stir.
Group effort.

 Holiday Leftovers Wontons

Family
'round the table,
talking at once,
laughing in unison.
The essence of giving
thrives.

Before you go, click on these links to more poetry by some of my friends: 

Diane of On the Border shares Giving, Wrapped. 

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Giving . . . and more giving. 

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares Tis the Season For Giving.

Holiday Leftovers Wontons

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup cooked leftover mashed potato, room temperature
1/2 cup cooked leftover stuffing, room temperature
3/4 cup cooked turkey, chopped, room temperature
2 TBSP cranraisins
1 cup oil
12 wonton wrappers

OPT: cranberry sauce for serving.

Directions:
*Mix together the mashed potato, stuffing, turkey and cranraisins.
*Place some water in a bowl.
*Lay out half of the wonton wrappers. Place a TBSP of the turkey mixture into the center of each wrapper.
*Dip your finger into the water bowl and wet all edges of the wonton. Fold the wonton into a triangle and press all the sides to completely seal the filling inside. Cover with a damp towel.
*Repeat with the rest of the wontons.
*Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet until hot. As it heats, put a tiny piece of stuffing into the pan, when it sizzles it's ready.
*Place half of the wontons into the hot oil. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom is brown and the wontons are floating. Carefully turn and cook the other side for 1 minute. *Remove to paper towel to drain. 
*Repeat with the rest of the wontons.
*Opt: Serve with cranberry sauce.

Sweet Potato Pecan Cake with Maple Glaze: Warm and Cozy Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Warm and Cozy.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

I made Sweet Potato Pecan Cake with Maple Glaze. Because nothing says warm and cozy like a fire in the fireplace, a hot (spiked) seasonal drink and the aroma of a holiday cake baking in the oven.

Sweet Potato Pecan Cake with Maple Glaze

I've heard a lot of people talk about Sweet Potato Pie. It sounds delicious but I have to admit I've never made one. The flavors are so representative of this holiday season I decided to try to develop my own version. But since the holidays are about family, I was unsure how mine would feel about a Sweet Potato Pie. How could I change it up in a way that would be well received?

Cake. That's it. Cake. 

I knew I wanted the cake itself to not only include sweet potatoes but other flavors of the season. College Boy loves sweet potato served with brown sugar and maple syrup so I used that as my inspiration.

For ease, and because I knew I'd be adding a lot of flavor, I started with a boxed cake mix and a can of sweet potatoes. I decided to layer the mix with a swirl of cinnamon and maple syrup in the center.

I topped with the rest of the batter and baked.

More maple syrup mixed with powdered sugar for a simple glaze over the top once the cake was cool and it was ready to serve.

This cake filled my house with all of the aromas of Fall and the holiday season. 

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:


Kia of Think in English shares Warm and Cozy Around the World. 

Kayla of That One Birch shares a way to show holiday love when baking cookies aren't your thing, A Very Merry Fruit Pizza.

Kristin of Little Mama Jama shares Cozy Winter Afternoons and Tree Lighting Traditions. 

Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares how to make a Mermaid Tail Blanket.

Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Inexpensive Gifts for Anyone!

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Tips for Building Community in the Blogging World.

                  

Sweet Potato Pecan Cake with Maple Glaze

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1 (15 oz) can sweet potatoes
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
3 eggs
2 oz chopped pecans

1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2  cup brown sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
*Drain, mash and whisk the sweet potatoes.
*Mix together 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Set aside.
*Beat cake mix, sweet potatoes, water, oil, pumpkin pie spice mix and eggs for 2 minutes. Mix in the pecans.
*Pour half the cake mix into the prepared pan. Top with the maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon mix and swirl in. Top with the rest of the cake mix.
*Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until center of the top springs back to the touch.
*Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
*Mix the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the remaining maple syrup. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Secret Subject Swap: Looking Back While Moving Forward

Welcome a Secret Subject Swap. This month 13 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: How was 2016 and what do you hope for in 2017?
It was submitted by: Sarah of Not That Sarah Michelle.
                      

Like all years, 2016 had its highs and lows. In the public arena it was a staggering year of losses: David Bowie, Gwen Ifill, Janet Reno, Leonard Cohen, Gene Wilder . . . too many to mention. And in my private world, suicide hit close to home and sent me reeling.

It was a year of hope as well. Breast cancer hit my family hard and sent me flying home on a few days' notice. Through this frightening time I was reminded of the old adage "actions speak louder than words." I witnessed the most amazing example of acceptance, determination, positivity, and grace.

I don't think I have to tell anyone that this was the year of a pivotal presidential election. I saw swastikas, the KKK and bigotry yanked out of the closet and welcomed into the mainstream. But I also saw an older Jewish man very successfully connect with many of our youth and welcome them into the process.

On a personal note, I saw my older son work through some very difficult decisions in terms of voting decisions. I commend him for going out to meet Bernie (after the primary), hearing him out, speaking to him and to other people at the rally. I am in awe of how much maturity it took for him to decide whether or not he could vote, and to finally make what he considered a bad choice, but for all the right reasons. 

And, despite all of my encouragement I had to accept, even respect, that my younger son found himself incapable of voting in the very first election for which he was eligible.

Peppermint Chocolate Holiday Cookies

2016 was the year that the day to day plight of being African American collided with the consciousness of all Americans. Black Lives Matter and not just to black people. As a result we are finally in the infancy of seeing our police force being held accountable for the actions of those who do not belong on the job. But just as we acknowledge we need to hold those who choose this career to a higher bar, we need to acknowledge that the majority of officers do their job well and deserve our respect. 2016 was the year that we saw our police become targets. Police must be respectful. But they are human beings too and must be respected.

The radicalization of the youth of this planet by Isis resulted in violence beyond comprehension. Uncivilized behavior has made inroads into our civilization. As a mother I am just as concerned with the psychological aspect of the recruitment of our collective youth not just in this country but in the world. I am especially concerned because I do believe that hatred that has moved out of the closet and into the mainstream in this country and is what fuels this fire. I fear we are setting a terrifying example for the next generation through the normalization of bigoted and divisive vitriol. And through the unprecedented autonomy and lack of accountability associated with our president-elect.

I always look forward to the Olympics and this year I think we all needed the break. But it ended with a scandal that was a true black eye to America. We must be better than this, all of us, including our youth as they go out in the world as representatives of our country.

Through all the good and the bad of 2016, I hold great hope for 2017. I see people reaching out to each other in meaningful ways. I see our youth questioning the path ahead. I see strides being made to combat cancer and Alzheimer's. I see discussion aimed towards removing the stigma from mental health issues and treat them with the same vigor with which we fight physical illness. I see the strength of the internet and social media in connecting us globally and in providing information not as easily available in the past. I see empowerment. I see hope. I am confident that I will see peace. And healing.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out. See you there:


Not That Sarah Michelle
The Bergham Chronicles 
Spatulas on Parade
The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver
The Lieber Family Blog 
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy
Never Ever Give Up Hope 
Simply Shannon 
A Little Piece of Peace 
Confessions of a part time working mom 
The Angrivated Mom Blog 
Climaxed 

Peppermint Chocolate Holiday Cookies

                                   ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

 
Ingredients (makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies):
1 stick butter, softened
1 stick margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 tsp peppermint extract 
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Peppermint Oreos (about 9 cookies), crushed
1 cup Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses (about 30 candies), chopped
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Cream butter, margarine and sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs and peppermint extract.
*Starting on the lowest speed until incorporated, beat in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the crushed Oreos, chopped candies and mini chocolate chips.
*Using wet hands, roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place on Baking sheets. NOTE: cookies will spread.
*Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until they start to brown. Leave on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before removing.