On behalf of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society, I鈥檇 like to wish all of you a peaceful and blessed Christmas, and every good thing in the coming year. Though Christmas will be very different for all of us this year, let鈥檚 try to focus on the hope and joy of the Christmas message: peace on earth, good will towards all. We can all make the world brighter in our own small ways. Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca
Many plants and the food they provide are associated with Christmas. For many, delicious kutia is a Christmas Eve staple, with wheat and poppy the two important ingredients. The wheat crop was so important to our ancestors, and was honored by inclusion in one of the main dishes of Christmas Eve. A sheaf of wheat is placed in the home is a hope that the crop will be good next year.
The produce of the garden can take centre stage with borscht: carrots, celery, ruby-red beets, crispy cabbage, and onions all combine to make a delicious soup. There is also the tart flavor of the cabbage soup, or the creamy and velvety flavor of mushroom soup. Sweet Pea made all three, but at Christmas, the mushroom soup with carrot and celery was my absolute favorite, and to this day my sister and I still reserve this special soup for Christmas only.
Potatoes and onions are part of another Christmas Eve favorite: pyrohy. What could be tastier than those fluffy little pillows of dough and potato, drizzled with melted butter and golden onions fried gently in butter for a long time until they emerge as amber-colored morsels as delicious and sweet as candy? Our cousin makes sauerkraut pyrohy, bringing cabbage to centre stage with sauerkraut, or we can use the tender leaves for holobtsi, cabbage rolls.
A dear friend of ours, long since passed way, loved the dish of broad beans, onions and garlic, three more treasures from the garden. To this day, whenever we see this simple but delicious recipe, we always think of him and his enjoyment of this 鈥渃omfort-food鈥� dish.
The garden yields many special dishes that we treasure at certain times for certain events. These delicious foods are truly the fruits of the earth, resulting from the labor of our hands and backs, and they so deserve our respect and appreciation.
Yes, this has been a difficult year in many ways. I know many of you are facing sadness, losses and disappointments that were unforeseen last Christmas. I pray that by next Christmas, there will be comfort and healing for you.
That great Christmas song 鈥淗ave Yourself A Merry Little Christmas鈥�, though a cheery enough tune, is one that always brings a tear to my eye. It鈥檚 bittersweet, and speaks of the hope that sad times will be out of sight, and troubles be miles away. 鈥淭hroughthe years we all will be together, If the fates allow鈥�. Only God knows what will come in the days ahead. But let鈥檚 鈥淗ang a shining star upon the highest bough鈥� and pray for health, brighter times, and a world that is more like the 鈥渘ormal鈥� we used to know and perhaps took for granted.
So from my precious husband Keith and me, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. May you be blessed with health, a cheerful heart, laughter, joy, and special people to share these gifts with in the coming days. Thank you to you dear gardeners who so generously share your joys and insights with me, and thank you to our friends at Yorkton This Week for their continued hard work, and for the gift of bringing us local news. God鈥檚 blessings to you all! Merry Christmas!
