Snow Dance

Our first Christmas married!  I had high hopes for blankets of snow covering the entire farm.  A table full of cookies waiting patiently to be decorated.  Quiet bliss, old movies and lots of cuddling.  Well, some of those things happened.  But Christmas day was punctuated by nap after nap after nap – Mark with a terrible migraine and myself with severe cramping and insatiable weariness.  We spent some time with both of our families despite being less than our best.  Lots of travel…too much travel.  And now recovery is the remainder.  As I age, leaving home, even for a short time, becomes more and more arduous.  

All I need now really is snow.  I think the lack of snow and the unseasonably warm weather has really thrown us all for a loop.  Although in a way it seems sacrilegious to pray for snow when you're a farmer's wife.  But when we do finally get snow, I hope then my Christmas craving will cease.  Perhaps in that sense, it’s not so much a Christmas craving but a winter craving.  During the spring, summer and fall, all I fantasized about was our first months married, being in a snow-covered dreamland.  But everywhere I turn there are signs of spring.  I think the warmth and hint of budding on fruit trees makes me wonder if we’ve been cheated.  Robbed of our winter-time.  I keep trying to push away thoughts of what this warm wave could mean.  Instead, I want to focus on how to keep this season’s cheer with me all year round.  The hustle and bustle of spring and summer could use a dose of slow.

These opposing energies of winter and warmth are an excellent analogy for our new marriage.  Mark wakes almost every morning, ready to face the day.  He is lost without a project.  He doesn’t enjoy being idle and very quickly becomes restless indoors.  I on the other hand, could spend hours in the comfort of home.  I like to take on projects slowly and with a great deal of thought and deliberation.  I relish slow, quiet moments and don’t like to rush.  

But the beautiful part of our union is when Mark is ready to catch his breath, I am here to welcome him into rest.  And when there is a task that is too much for just one, Mark is first in line to see to it that the job is completed.  We are a complimentary pair, making new little traditions every day; my favorite of which is sharing an orange each morning at breakfast.  The two of us seem to always find a way to come together, no matter how different our dances may be.  

Even though Christmas has come and gone, the promise of a new year is upon us.  A new husband, a new family, a new home, a new routine.  But the newness is just a blanket wrapped around the old.  It is a new story for me, but an old one of love.  A story that we all know by heart, but that I finally get to live inside of.
 
For me, nothing says Christmas like Terry's Chocolate Oranges.  Every year since I was very young, my mom always put one in my stocking.  I love the joy that comes with giving it a good smash on the table and eating one citrus-y slice after another.  I thought it would be fun to make my own version this year, especially since Mark and I have a breakfast orange-sharing ritual.

The happiest and healthiest of new years to you all with love from the farm!

Chocolate Orange
Makes 1 large orange

Ingredients

1 large navel orange
12 ounces good quality chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
orange zest, juice or orange extract (optional)

Method

Slice a large orange in half horizontally.  Using a small, sharp paring knife, carve around the orange flesh and then scoop it out with a spoon.  Save the orange flesh for another project, or eat as a snack.  Set the two orange "cups" into a muffin tin or bowl to hold them upright if they won't on their own.

Chop the chocolate or if using chips, pour them into a heatproof bowl along with the cream.  Melt over a double boiler until completely smooth.  Add orange zest, fresh orange juice or orange extract, off the heat if desired.

​Pour the chocolate equally between the two orange slices.  Place the oranges in the fridge until set up and firm. 

Cut the chocolate orange into segments and serve.