Family Foxhole

I’m not a pie fan for three reasons: I don’t like to make a crust, I don’t like to eat a dry, flavorless crust, and I don’t like cold, syrupy fruit. But sometimes I wanna make pie, you know? If that describes you, you might like this one.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. flour
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 c butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 c. milk or combination of milk and cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• nutmeg

Directions

1. Heat over to 250 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pie plate.
2. Mix all ingredients at high speed for 2 minutes.
3. Pour ingredients into pie plate. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

This Advent, we’re committed to doing acts of kindness each day. Today’s suggestion comes from Honey:

“Clean up a mess that someone else made.”

Above, sometimes you make more of a mess than you can easily clean up yourself. 

This Advent, we’re committed to doing acts of kindness each day. Today’s suggestion comes from Lion:

“Give someone a sincere compliment today on something you saw them accomplish. Be specific about what they did and be specific about what you liked about it.”

 

 

This Advent, we’re committed to doing acts of kindness each day. Today’s suggestion comes from Bananas:

“Most nights you probably kiss some people in your family goodnight. Tonight, kiss everyone goodnight.”

The Goodnight Kiss by George Stinson

We love Advent in our family. It’s a time of entering into quiet, stillness, and reflection as we mark the start of the new liturgical year and the journey toward the manger, a place that reminds us of the Divine’s desire to be with us in ways that we understand–but that also radically disrupt our notions of power. It also means quiet nights illuminated by candles and a deliberate slowdown of our pace to allow us to focus. As much as some of us also want to rush toward Christmas, each day of Advent is its own moment. To help us slow down (rather than just count down), we are creating an Advent calendar of kindness this year. Today (December 1) is our first day, and we spent it in the creation of our calendar, which will appear day-by-day on this blog.

You can create your own (even if you’re not starting on December 1) by simply drafting a list of simple things people in your family can do to show kindness. Our rules:

1. It has to be something that everyone can do for everyone else. That is, nothing can be outside of someone’s skillset.
2. You have to do it for everyone in the family.
3. Total daily time commitment should be under 10 minutes.

Your family might have different rules or needs, of course.

Above, our little forest of paper trees that sits on our shelf each Advent season. Underneath the larger ones are pieces of candy. Each day, the Family Foxhole children get to pick a piece as we count down the days until Christmas.

At least some of the days this month, we’re sharing things we’re thankful for. Today, from Bananas:

“I’m grateful for Jello. Am I allowed to say that? Because I am.”

At least some of the days this month, we’re sharing things we’re thankful for. Today, from Bananas:

“I’m grateful for Christmas!”

At least some of the days this month, we’re sharing things we’re thankful for. Today, from Honey:

“I’m thankful for people who are good gift givers. I am grateful for the attention that they pay to what brings others pleasure.”

Mary Antoinette Lorania Pike and Sarah Adeline Pike by Joseph H. Davis, currently on display at the American Folk Art Museum

Buttery, sometimes sour, with crisp bits but a custardy center–this is a non-traditional bread pudding, an indulgent breakfast, or an excuse to use up (or buy) white bread.

Ingredients

• 1 stick of butter
• 5-7 slices of day old* white bread, cubed
• 1 can of crushed pineapple
• 4 eggs
• 1 c sugar

*Bread becomes stale as it ages, but this is not what you want in this or any recipe. The reason is because stale bread still contains too much liquid in it, so it won’t absorb the liquid of the recipe well. When you read “day old bread” in a recipe, you can create your own (and stale bread can be where you start!) by cutting bread into 1/2 inch cubes, then cooking 10-12 mins in a 275 degree oven.

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs, beating well.
3. Add pineapple, undrained.
4. Fold in bread gently until moistened.
5. Spread into a casserole dish or 9×13 pan and cook until edges begin to brown, about an hour.