eat & drink

Holiday celebrants and fans of “A Christmas Carol” can raise a toast to Charles Dickens by enjoying one of his favorite cocktails, the “Sherry Cobbler,” courtesy of Margaret Kaplan’s “How to Drink Like a Writer: Recipes for the Cocktails and Libations that Inspired 100 Literary Greats” (Apollo Publishing). While Dickens did not mention the Sherry Cobbler in “A Christmas Carol,” the beverage does make an appearance in another of his works, “The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit.”

No matter the age, everyone will ask for this delicious dessert. It’s your holiday hot chocolate toppings and stirrer all in one.

CChristmas season is just around the corner, and although we are in the midst of a global pandemic laced with fearfilled uncertainty, the world around us seems to keep on spinning. Despite the media telling us it may not be safe to gather and that there might be a shortage of things to buy, we still remain optimistic and faithful that good things are still to come. Before I share with you ways to recycle and reuse Christmas clutter, I want to share a story. I’m just going to say it … gift-giving has gotten wildly out of control. A wise parent shared this with me and it changed my entire perspective. As parents, we want to shower our children with swag from Santa, and some of us go broke doing it. Literally. Most of the time, they don’t even open it all for weeks or maybe even months. The sad truth is, Santa isn’t the same for every kid. While my kids were returning to school from the holidays several years back, they began sharing what Santa had brought them for Christmas. Santa was then, and still is, very real in our household. He had brought a PS3 and a four-wheeler that year. He had always been SO generous (while I was slap broke and probably in hock over my head). Some of their classmates may have gotten a new pair of sneakers and a Lego system. Others may have gotten a new coat and a coloring book or maybe a new shiny bike. Here’s where it stings. While it may remain unspoken, kids have to wonder why Santa was more generous to one and not the other. Just the thought of that hurt my heart. No child should have to think that they didn’t make the cut on Ole St. Nick’s awesome list! It’s up to us as parents to show our kids the beauty in giving, but at the same time, remembering that Santa is an “equal opportunity” fella. Even the movies depict Santa as only giving one gift to each good boy and girl. The moral of my rambling story is, it’s OK to shower them with gifts, but let Santa remain the seasonal staple that spreads joy, just not in the form of an ATV. Now on to the good stuff. After Kris Kringle has come and gone, the gifts have been opened, and the turkey has been eaten (with plenty of leftovers to spare), I’ll wager that

many of you find yourself thinking … now what? In the post-Christmas period, it’s pretty much too late for a lot of reducing materials before they enter the waste stream, but you probably have tons of potential around the house to reuse and recycle, the remaining two Rs en route to a lower impact on the environment. All those now-used gift boxes, gift bags, wrapping paper, tissue paper and envelopes that survived the gift-opening frenzy of the past few days without too many rips and tears can be stored for reuse in the same form next Christmas. Direct reuse of Christmas cards may seem a bit too tacky, but parts of them can be cut into gift tags and even decorations next year. Parts of holiday catalogs and promotional mail also might be saved for similar uses. Those that are too far gone can be recycled with the rest of your regular paper recycling, except for papers with foil backing and tissue paper, which usually cannot be recycled. Your Christmas tree also can begin a journey of recycling when you finish with it in the ashley bacon house. First, stop can be as a temporary brush pile for the birds, rabbits, squirrels and other small creatures of your backyard. Lay the tree on its side in the preferred spot in the backyard, secure it with a rope or wire, and you’ve set up shelter and protection from harsh weather and predators. Later, after the needles have dropped from the tree, it will continue to serve as a brush pile; it can be used as the base of a growing brush pile with the addition of trimmings and prunings from around the property; it can added to another, existing brush pile; or it can be ground into mulch. Most plasticware - knives, forks, spoons, servers and the like - may be designed for the convenience of single use followed by discarding into the trash, but those utensils generally can be cleaned and reused many times over. There’s no sense you can’t put it all up for next year! This Christmas season, let’s remember the beautiful reason we gather, focus on giving from the heart and taking just a few extra minutes to pay homage to Mother Earth. May the peace and joy that comes with Christmas bless you all.