4 • December 2016 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


& Prosper! ST. NICHOLAS: THE WONDER WORKER Cloverdale, CA. ished family whose daughters,


Eat Well by Executive Chef Ron Skaar ~ ronskaar@comcast.net ~ 707-490-7636 ~ Nicholas of


Myra was a 4th century Chris-


His parents passed away when he was young which leſt him quite wealthy. With this wealth Nicholas developed a penchant for secret giſt giving. Many miracles were attrib-


uted to Nicholas’ intercessions. Which is why he became the patron saint of merchants, ar- chers, brewers, pawn brokers, repentant thieves, students, children and sailors. Nicho- las is also the patron saint of Greece and Russia. Nicholas’ divine intervention


brought children back from the grave and saved sailors from certain death on the high seas. He dropped giſt s of gold down the chimney of an impover-


lacking the necessary dowry to marry, were about to sell themselves into slavery.


tian “boy bishop” T e money miraculously from Asia Minor.


landed in stockings


daughters had hung by the hearth to dry. In the Neth-


erlands, the Dutch anx- iously await the evening of De- cember 5th each year, for it is St. Nich- olas Eve or the night of Sinterk- laas. Sinterklaas is an elderly, stately and serious man with a fl owing white beard dressed in a red cap and cape. His helpers listen through the fl ue in dwellings to hear if the children are acting naughty or


the


nice. Sinterklaas traditionally rides on a white horse. In Holland and other Eu- ropean coun- tries children their


leave clogs or shoes out


on St. Nicholas Eve fi lled with hay and carrots to feed the horse. Sinterklass then leaves giſt s for the young- sters to discover the next morn- ing.


In the 16th century St. Nicho-


las became Father Christmas or Old Man Christmas in Holland,


Pere Noel in France and Kris Kringle in Germany. Dutch and German settlers to the New World brought


their old stories and traditions along with them and the con- cept of Santa Claus was born, in America. During the War of Indepen-


dence the inhabitants of New Amsterdam reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition. Wash- ington Irving’s 1812 “History of New York” features a dream sequence with a St. Nicholas type character that soars over the city’s roof tops in a fl ying wagon. T e St. Nicholas or Santa


Claus who is alive today sprang from the imagination of New Yorker Clement Moore. In 1822 his “Twas the Night Be- fore Christmas” was published, describing a kindly old man who toils all year long making toys up at the North Pole in preparation for one night’s visit to children all over the world. T e sleigh with its eight


rein-


deer and their curious names were invented for the enter- tainment of his own children. Refreshments of hot choco-


late, pepernoten, speculars, let- ter shaped pastries, chocolate letters, chocolate coins and marzipan fi gures are popular treats in the Sinterklaas tradi- tion. A recipe for the tiny spice cookies pfeff ernuesse, peper- noten in Dutch, is included.


Weird Facts & Fun Trivia - 2


The Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister) was designated as the Offi cial Crustacean of Oregon in 2009.


America has more varieties of crabs than anywhere else in the world.


The smallest crabs are the pea crab, which live inside oyster shells, and can be less than 1.5 mm. The largest crab is the Japanese spider crab, which reach 12 feet from leg tip to leg tip, and a body 18 inches by 12 inches.


Crisco, introduced in 1911, was the fi rst solid hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Initially it was not a huge success - women were even reluctant to accept 1½ pound cans of Crisco as free samples! Many of the early users of Crisco were Orthodox Jews, since it contained neither lard or butter (meat & dairy) it could be used at any meal without violating kosher dietary laws. Commercial success for Crisco came during the First World War due to shortages of lard.


PFEFFERNUESSE Ingredients:


DIRECTIONS:


½ cup molasses ¼ cup honey ¼ cup shortening ¼ cup unsalted butter 2 eggs


4 cups all-purpose fl our ¾ cup white sugar ½ cup brown sugar


1 ½ teaspoon ground carda- mom


1 teaspoon each ground nut- meg, cloves, ginger and black pepper


2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon salt


4 • December 2016 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. In a


sauce-


pan, over moderate heat, stir the fi rst four ingredients until creamy. Let cool to room tem- perature and stir in the eggs. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add molasses mixture and stir until combined. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and roll into small acorn size balls or


use small cookie


scoop. Arrange on parchment covered cookie sheets, at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, cool on rack and dust with confectioners sugar be- fore serving. Makes about 80 cookies.


How can you ever be late for anything in London? They have a huge clock right in the middle of the town.~ Jimmy Kimmel


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