Christmas in Gainesville, Virginia



Christmas Eve services were at Nicole's parent's non-denominational church in Manasas.  It was a lovely service with much singing and praise.  What a wonderful way to share our first Christmas Eve together after the marriage of our children, Jacob and Nicole.

After the service, we all met at The City Square Cafe in downtown Manasas.  This is a favorite restaurant of Gary and Esther and I am very happy they shared it with us.  http://www.citysquarecafe.com/

From left to right:  Andrew, Esther, Nicole, Jacob, Gary, Brian, Sarah, and Elizabeth

The next day was Christmas and I came back to spend the afternoon and evening at the Gary and Esther's home.  Brian and Sarah were also there along with Jacob and Nicole.  I was so very happy to spend this special time with my children, their spouses, and Nicole's family.  Although Keith was in Missouri, he joined us by phone. Gifts were exchanged and dinner was served.  It was a good time.

Gary sits comfortably in the beautifully decorated living room

Jacob and Esther getting ready for dinner on Christmas Day

Nicole prepares a salt-encrusted beef tenderloin for dinner.  After the salt was removed, it was  most tender and juicy!  I had never seen meat cooked this way and I was impressed!

Sarah and Nicole

Esther and her delicious desserts!

Santa Dog has the best spot in the house...

Christmas in Ashburn, Virginia

Christmas in Ashburn began Sunday December 23rd with a family dinner at Clyde's Restaurant which is located a few blocks from my brother's home in Ashburn, Virginia.  I had also spent Christmas Eve and Day with Nicole's family in Gainesville. Keith and I had been staying a few days at The Lansdowne Resort for the wedding of our son, Jacob, and Nicole.  The Lansdowne Resort is located between my brother's home in Ashburn and Middleburg where the wedding took place the weekend before Christmas.  Here are the links to both The Lansdowne Resort and Clyde's Willow Creek Farm for more information about what they have to offer.  I highly recommend both!

http://www.lansdowneresort.com/

http://www.opentable.com/clydes-willow-creek-farm

There was a gingerbread replica of Clyde's Restaurant and farm buildings!

Keith and Jacob relax in a couple comfortable leather chairs in one of several rooms in the restaurant.

Brother John found a cozy spot by the fire.

From left to right:  Corinne, Kristen, Jacob, John, Keith, and Elizabeth

My dessert was a yummy chocolate yule log with a meringue crafted mushroom!

Keith and I try out the old fashion sleigh outside.

Since Clyde's is so close to my brother's house, we include it on our walks whenever I stay with him. 

After our stay at Lansdowne Resort, Keith had to fly back to Missouri and I stayed the rest of the week at my brother's house.  Here Corinne is busy baking cookies.

A lovely Christmas scene in my brother's living room which even included The Mormon Tabernacle Choir on TV for Christmas Eve.

What a perfect Christmas Eve that included a snowfall which brings out the child in us all...including Kristen as she makes a snowman on the deck.

A couple days after Christmas, I was able to enjoy time where my other niece, Amanda and her family live.  We had made traditional Kolache  together that afternoon and had a nice dinner from a local Italian Restaurant.  From left to right:

Gus, Kristen, Clare, Corinne, Max, Vince, Veronica, Amanda, Faustina, Catherine, John.  Baby Cecelia and I are not in this picture.

Beti's Kolache

It was a special Christmas in 2012.  I have decided to share my special recipe handed down from my mother with my east coast family and now for anyone who wants to enjoy this special Slovak/American pastry.

    

Beti's Kolache

Ingredients:

Cold Yeast Dough
4 cups unbleached flour
1 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sour cream
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
about 1 cup confectioner's sugar and about 1 cup flour on hand

Walnut Mixture

1 pound walnuts, ground
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Options: I have tried other ingredients such as whole wheat flour or adding 1/4 cup wheat germ/bran to the unbleached white flour, margarine instead of butter (it is less likely to burn if you are not watching very close), sea salt, low-fat or no-fat sour cream, skim milk or other milk or can milk, Splenda instead of sugar. All these work but sometimes you loose something else either in lightness or flavor; it is up to your own taste. This may be where you make your own style. There are many options for fillings instead of walnuts. My mother sometimes would use cooked prunes or preserves especially when we would "taste" too much of the yummy walnut filling and she ran out.

Procedure:

In a large bowl, cut butter into flour and salt (sifting makes no difference). In a smaller bowl, mix egg yolks, sour cream and yeast together. Add to the larger bowl with the flour and salt and mix well. I have never used a mixer but do it by hand; your choice. This makes a soft dough. Divide into 2-3 portions, wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate. They can be rolled-out as soon as you make the walnut mixture. These can also be wrapped in wax paper and refrigerated overnight and set out a little while before rolling the the next day. Butter will be harder to work than margarine, if cold.

Use a grinder for the walnuts. I use a cast iron manual one like Mom did. I had used an electric one for 7 years when we lived out at the farm because I also used it to grind meat and all baby food. It didn't last as long as the manual one. It is a good thing to have on hand. In a medium bowl, add the ground walnuts, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Set aside. You could even do this the day before and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use 2 small bowls; one for extra flour, one for confectioner's sugar. Place a sifter nearby. Use board that has been floured first then sifted over with confectioner's sugar. You will do this for each dough portion, flatten out on the floured board by hand then flip over on more flour. The flour is to keep the dough from sticking, the confectioner's sugar is for sweetening the dough. Roll the dough ball 1/8 - 1/4" thin, cut into diamond shapes. You can use a 3" cutter like I do now or cut any size parallel lines then cut slant lines in between for a diamond shape size you want.

Fill each diamond shape with about 1 teaspoon walnut mixture. It should not extend very much outside the "baby-blanket" fold. If it does, just clean the filling up with your teaspoon and saving for the next one. It will expand so leave some room. The dough does not expand much so each kolache roll can be put on the cookie sheet very close but not touching. This fold is basically the two long sides of the diamond brought to the middle with a little crossover. If they do not stay put, pinch the dough a little for now. If you want to make them large with extra filling, you may need the full "baby-blanket" fold that includes the bottom folded in. Make it your own style.

Now hand beat the egg whites and brush on each kolache. This holds them together and helps seal in the mixture somewhat. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Watch closely; if you smell them, they are probably done. Golden brown is what you want. Remove almost immediately from pan onto cooling rack that has newspaper or sometime under it for cleanup. If any of the mixture comes out, take your teaspoon right away and scope it up and roll into a ball before it hardens. These extra 'walnut balls' were an added treat and quickly disappeared! When completely cooled, dust all with sifted confectioner's sugar. Enjoy.

There are many different recipes for Kolache dough and different fillings including cooked apples and a poppy seed/raisin filling I will try next year. I have had many requests for my Kolache and always have had great compliments. I had only given this recipe to family members and now will share it with anyone as it gives me a chance to share a special part of my Slovak heritage.

So here I have some photos of the actual process both from my home in Missouri and then at my niece's home in Virginia.

In my home, you can see all the actual ingredients used.  This year I tried using a new sugar substitute called Nectrise made by Splenda.  It worked out alright but not as sweet.  I also use whole wheat flour and it is good but heavier.  I make mine with a diamond-shaped cookie cutter so they are all uniform in size and I can better estimate how many I can eat per serving.

The rest of the photos were taken at my niece Amanda's home and included her husband and 7 children.  Also included were my other niece, Kristen who is visiting from California.  My brother John and his wife Corinne were also there.  It was a great time to share my recipe at Christmas.



  

The first batch, I showed them how to roll out the dough.

Then I showed them how to cut out diamond shapes without a cookie cutter.

Now Kristen's turn.

Amanda quickly learned to cut the diamond shapes using a knife.

  

Kristen steps up and starts filling the diamond shapes as Amanda continues.

Now both are making the special roll-up and placing on the cookie sheet to be brushed with beaten egg white.

The first batch is pretty as a picture!

After a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar, the kolache are divided up.  Notice the container with all the walnut balls.  Amanda had a lot of mixture remaining from a previous cookie bake and it was a great time to cook along with the regular kolache and made a yummy cookie all by themselves!

Now my mother's Kolache tradition at Christmas lives on as it is passed onto two more generations.

Happiness

Life is about balance.  I have recently read a book by Andrea F. Polard, PsyD titled, "A Unified Theory of Happiness - An East-Meets-West Approach to Fully Loving Your Life."  I highly recommend it to anyone that seeks to find a balance in their life and an understanding of what it takes to find Happiness.  Today's world is often filled with unhappiness, fear, materialism, and greed.  This book opens the whole of happiness that is accessible to everyone.  If you read it, it will help you find happiness...or help happiness find you.

In Part 1, two modes of consciousness are discussed with a questionnaire to help us turn inward and offers feedback which can increase awareness and point us in the right direction.  There's an automatic tallying on the author's website that can be accessed:  www.andreapolard.com

In Part 2, The Basic Mode is broke down into 5 Chapters along with Exercises:

The Fragility of Life
Ambition
Competence
Connection
Confidence

In Part 3, The Supreme Mode is broke down into 5 Chapters along with Exercises:

The Strength of Life
Receptivity
Tranquility
Reliance
Lightheartedness

In Conclusion, there is a synthesis of Western and Eastern thought which is The Theory of Elastic Consciousness.  As Albert Einstein said, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."  We need to honor the complexities of life and reflect them in a comprehensive understanding of happiness. Life participation means rising above the experience of self and touching consciously into the stream of life that takes us along for a ride and go with the flow.

The Two Wings of Happiness are the mental modes in which we experience our participation in life.  The Basic Mode is active and based on life's fragility where we focus on and strive toward the seemingly distinct definable realms of life.  Experiences in this mode require effort.

The Supreme Mode is nonactive and is based on life's strength.  It is where we focus on the whole of Being (being in the present and/or recognizing a Higher Power) in which we all partake, a focus that has no clear distinctions but is consciousness itself.  Once learned, this focus takes little or no effort in the usual sense and gives us strength and nourishment.

Happiness cannot be explained from only one mode.  In balancing the two modes, neither Western nor Eastern thought alone can teach us to respond well to life as it really happens, and neither one alone lends itself to full life participation.  There's a wonderful story example in the book taken from Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist."  In it a wise man advises a young man who visited a wondrous palace while trying not to forget his task of not spilling some oil in a spoon. "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon."  Simply put, focus on the miracle of life in the Supreme Mode without neglecting our primary pursuits in the Basic Mode.  If we are committed to making happiness a priority, time and experience will help us access the two modes in a balanced way.

The Theory of Elastic Consciousness helps integrate the various types of engaging experiences in the Basic and the Supreme Mode.  The human condition is one in which perfection is not attainable and variety is part of our biology.  Our minds will deaden if we become inactive for too long.  If we continually interact only loosely with the external world while remaining unaware of Being, the rubber band becomes limp.  Instead of recuperating, we become sluggish and our minds too muddled to experience our participation in life.  This is the fate of too many people who resort to surfing TV channels, computer sites or other mindless acts of consumption. There comes a point when we must refocus on Being. 

The pursuit of Happiness is a good moral choice.  Happiness will always be based on choice.  Awareness of our Basic Mode and Supreme Mode helps our consciousness stay elastic.  By learning about the two modes of consciousness and by practicing them, you too will be visited frequently by the guest of happiness.  Just try not to use force and try to refrain from grasping.  Remain open to the experience of joy always.  Again, go with the flow.

After reading this book, I noticed much similarity to the yin-yang polarity rooted in Chinese philosophy.  The author is an expert on China and her style of writing has a poetic rhythm I found vibrant.  What is different about this book is that it makes the whole of happiness accessible to all.  This book shines and I hope you read it and glow with flow as I have.  Enjoy.