2002-12-30 1:45 a.m.
holiday offerings

Giving gifts to your employers goes back all the way to pleading with the gods to give you prospering crops or for your master not to whip you when you don't carry water for him fast enough.

Thankfully, we've evolved a bit culturally since then.

Even so, the attorneys I'm working for were pretty damn generous � in proportion to my wages, not theirs � by slapping me with a Christmas bonus.

As a way of saying thanks, I'm slapping them both with homemade pralines which sent Amy (my downstairs neighbor) into orgasmic bliss.

I'm with E.Bess...homemade gifts are the shit, hands down. Last year, I gave Rachel her own chair for the studio (granted, S sewed the cushion and helped paint it), and everything I can make myself feels so much more satisfying for the effort. Hell, I would've sculpted a little Buddha for Dad to go with his gift if I had any skill at that. Maybe something in Play-Doh next year.

L is the best. She gave me what she didn't realize was a present...juggling balls. I had Mom digging through her apartment before she moved to find my old Fergies � that I bought in college so I could learn to juggle while I lived with ten or so jugglers � but to no avail. I don't know why I care, but I think it'd be a good skill to finally develop. I always saw juggling as somewhere between meditation and clowning on the discipline skill, something that's fun and entertains others when you're good, but requires a lotta practice.

Foodie note: I made a helluva risotto for Christmas dinner, so I'm gonna share.

Peel and dice a good-sized butternut squash. Saute it in butter with dried thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper, plus kosher salt and black pepper. Once it's soaked up the butter and spices, turn the heat down a bit and cover it, letting it cook covered until tender.

In the meantime, throw together a basic risotto: saute a fat onion (diced) with butter and a little olive oil. Once the onions are translucent, throw in an appropriate amount of Arborio (short-grain, NEVER brown) rice (1.5 to 2 cups), let the rice soak up the onion and butter flavors, then start adding warm chicken (or veggie) stock to the rice 1/2 cup at a time. (You'll probably use up 4 cups, or 2 small cans.) Once the rice gets tender, add the squash mixture into it, stir well, then add a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese to the mess and stir again.

We had this with some za'taar chicken and spicy green beans, with red velvet cake for dessert. Hot friggin' damn.

I don't usually address the world at large in here, but lovelove to everyone who sticks their fingers in it every time they look me up, and thanks to the fresh peeps who've been emailing...it's nice to swap thoughts and e-spit now and again.

It hasn't been an easy year, but the Chinese curse has been in full effect: "may you live in interesting times." See yas after the new year if not before, and...

(because we're all such Tolkien geeks)

...expect me when you see me.