Sunday 9 December 2012

Tis the Season of Eating...
#Monday Listicles

And so the countdown begins. The house is decorated, the tree is up and Riley is waiting ever-so-patiently for Christmas. Baahaaahaaa…yea right. As the old Meatloaf song goes Two out of three ain’t bad right?

Bridget came up with this week’s Monday Listicles topic:  “10 Things Food” since "it’s the season of eating right?"  Why yes…yes it is. Where do I begin. 

I love all things Christmas! I remember the magic of Santa growing up, playing Blackjack after Christmas dinner with the adults when we were kids and best of all being able to eat whatever we wanted and not having to worry about those ummm 5 or so…wait…who am I kidding here…10+ extra pounds. *sigh*

So in the spirit of Christmas I am going to take a walk down memory lane with some of my favourite memories of Christmas foods when I was growing up and how things have evolved over the years



1.      Pop and Bits & Bites:  A treat on weekends when we were growing up was “a as in one pop. However at Christmas…the pop flowed freely along with the very seasonal Bits & Bites. Pretzels were the first to go leaving a bowl of undesirable Shreddies. Who even likes Shreddies... well besides G’s brother?!?   



2.      Wine and Cheese:  Now that I am all grown up…wine flows freely and I have discovered fancy-schmancy taste treats like brie and my new found favourite “Applewood Smoked Cheddar”.








3.      Icy Cups:  Who remembers these foil wrappers?  We used to save them, pound them flat and make crafts with them. Stores like Michaels did not exist and if you needed popsicle sticks for that log cabin…get licking!





4.      Toffifay“Toffifay is too good for kids!”  Advertising in the 70’s…it’s no wonder I stockpile these as an adult.







5.      Mixed Nuts:  You knew Christmas was close when the bowl of mixed nuts and crackers appeared. All natural and childproof. 




6.      Pistachios:  The senior-friendly nut. With an increase in age comes a decrease in fine motor skills so back to the basics of using your bare hands to crack these suckers. Salt being an added bonus.








7.      Cabbage Rolls:  My mom used to make cabbage rolls only at Christmas. I guess because she was the only one who ate them. It wasn’t until later that I realized it was not just a Christmas food.




8.      Sweet Potato PieListed as one of the 10 everyday super foods, sweet potatoes have now become one of our turkey side dishes although I am pretty sure it was meant sans the melted butter and brown sugar topping.







9.      Japanese Oranges:  If you were really, REALLY lucky you might find an orange or two in the bottom of your stocking on Christmas morning. Back when I was growing up mandarin oranges came from Japan, were individually wrapped in green tissue, were packed in a wooden box and only available at Christmas time (or that’s how I remember it).





10.  Santa Strawberries:  Something new for 2012! Saw these on Pinterest or FB and had to give them a whirl. So cute and pretty darn tasty too! Yes I made these ones.




What do you like to indulge in over the holiday season?  Don't forget to head over to our hostess extraordinaire Stasha's place to see what everybody else came up with.

39 comments:

  1. The nuts!! I always wanted to crack them, but never eat them. Then I left a big nut-mess all over the table and floor. Memories. How fun! Great list! And very interesting about the Mandarin oranges.

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    1. The only ones I ever ate were the hazelnuts...go figure?!? Hmmmm...maybe that's how I developed a love for Toffifay.

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  2. Your list brings me back! Bits and Bites, Icy Squares and Toffifay were part of my holidays, too. And I remember that Mandarin oranges used to come wrapped in green paper, too.

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    1. The Mandarin oranges just aren't the same when they're not wrapped cuz ya know...it's all about the presentation. :)

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  3. I still get my mom a box of Toffifay! And I do remember the icy cup chocolates - and we used to make little tin foil armies and have battles! LOL

    Also, there will always be mandarins or clementines in the stocking toe in this household!
    Great list!

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    1. Clementines!!! Nooooooooooooo......

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    2. It's small town in Canada...I have to take what I can get. they're lucky it's not a grapefruit some years :)

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  4. I totally remember icy cups and toffifay. I didn't totally love either of them, but had no problem stuffing them in my face. That brought back memories.

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    1. I don't remember particularly liking the icy cups either. I mostly ate them for the foil wrappers. It was like a competition who could make the flattest ones. ;P Hey...I grew up in the 60's. Eeep.

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  5. Enjoyed your list so much. I always love to see what you come up with. I remember the elaborate carved out tree slice of a bowl our nuts were displayed in. It had a fancy rack for the cracker and those sharp pokey things used to get the meat out of walnuts. I CANNOT imagine putting weapons out on my table now. Besides the fact, I don't think anyone ate anything besides the almonds even back then.

    Those Santa strawberries look amazing! Ellen

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    1. That's right...I forgot about the fancy rack for the crackers and pickers. I doubt they even sell those now-a-days! HA!

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  6. Excellent list! I still remember that Toffifay commercial and was so excited when I found out that they still make them! Woo hoo!

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    1. I cracked up when I found that commercial...good ol' YouTube. They are SO addicting! :O

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  7. I didn't know I grew up under a rock, but I have never even heard of #'s 1, 3,4, or 9. Mixed nuts is the only one we did have. My grandma is the only person I know with a nutcracker just like the one in the photo. It's so interesting to see the traditions of other folks. Great list.

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    1. I still have the nutcracker that we had growing up. I use it to crack crab. :D

      You must try Toffifay! I love that they aren't really sweet which allows you to eat the entire tray without getting sick. Eeeep.

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  8. I am getting hungry reading everyone's lists this morning. LOL! Now, I want to make cabbage rolls! I love me some toffifay. Great list!

    Julia @ Mom on the Run x2

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    1. I actually could go for some cabbage rolls too! Something I've never tried to make myself. Hmmmmmm...

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  9. One of our silly holiday only treats was/is Shirley Temples for some reason. It's not like we couldn't make them any other time, but we don't!

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    1. I LOVED Shirley Temples!!! They were a special treat for us too!

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  10. Oh, I still love those icy cups! And you can built so many things out of their wrappers! But the cabbage rolls? No thanks! ;-)

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    1. Haaahaaa...never used to like cabbage rolls growing up but ^^see my comment above^^

      I haven't seen icy cups anymore. Just the icy squares and the wrappers aren't nearly as fun.

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  11. Absolutely ADORED this list! I had total flashbacks especially with the toffee one! Great job! :)

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    1. Thanks! Your list is making it very difficult for me to stay away from Pinterest. Just sayin... ;P

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  12. Those Santa strawberries are so awesome!

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    1. The hardest part was finding strawberries at this time of year. I thought they kept fruit in cold storage year-round?!?!?

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  13. I've been wanting to try those strawberry santas, they look delicious!

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    1. It didn't take too long at all. A little finicky but they were fun! :D

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  14. I am happy that at least three of your dishes could kill me. I am not tempted to eat those.

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    1. I'm guessing a severe nut allergy??? Ditto for my older son.

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  15. This post was great. But I totally should not have read it because now I'm just sitting here drooling. So. much. tasty. food.

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    1. Reading everyone's lists was definitely the downside of this week's topic...especially on an empty stomach!

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  16. Just hand me some of that wine and cheese and pistachios....I'll be just fine.

    Now I'm craving even more stuff.

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    1. You need a balanced diet Terri. Fruit and the drop of dark chocolate on the toffifay is good for you. Just sayin'

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  17. What a great list! Icy cups and toffifee were special Christmas things at my house too. We always got a mandarin orange in the toe of our stockings too, as well as some nuts. Another special Christmas food was Laughing acow cheese, and my personal favourite - smoked oysters!!!

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    1. Smoked oysters! Wow...you were either a very sophisticated kid or are you talking about now?!?

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  18. Those Santa's are ADORABLE!!! and was it really that horrible to eat ALL those Popsicles just for the sticks :)

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    1. The crosses we had to bear even as kids...Haahaa!

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  19. Now I'm going to have to make your darn little Santa-berries! Cute and tasty?! Who wouldn't?

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  20. Those Sata's look cute! Hubby bought horseradish cheese the other day. A tad spicy but oh so good!

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