January 2025 - The Wonders of Winter

​Sudden Seeing
 
Bright Jupiter and
Winter’s full moon crown the sky
And glisten on the sea.
 
There is no dead of winter.
Light lingers in the dim stars
Crowding around Venus,
Jupiter and the moon.
The northern lights and comet
Dust drift through the snow-heavy
Pine boughs and glitter
On the ice above the foxes’ den.
Light lives in deepest silence
When the wind barely murmurs
Through the maple’s empty branches
Left bare when the birds took flight.
Here, time and solitude marry
And engender the moments
When every epiphany comes to light.

​Winter’s fierce energy has inspired myths and legends over the centuries, giving birth to countless works of art and beauty. The themes of darkness evolving into light, hope following despair, what is lost being found and discoveries coming unexpectedly from dark places abound in the coldest season. Miracles are often associated with winter, as the Earth appears to have died, and darkness has descended, yet colorful crocuses break through the snow and the songbirds, thought to be gone forever, return with their beautiful music as the whole world comes back to life.
​

 
 
In the black pre-dawn,
Winter’s huge waves crash the sea
Wall, foaming like stars.
 

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​Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale includes many of these themes, with anger, jealousy and death re-emerging as repentance and reconciliation. A lost child is found, and a beloved wife, once shunned, miraculously returns to life.  The British romantic poet, John Keats’ beautiful narrative poem, “The Eve of St. Agnes,” written in 1819 to commemorate St. Agnes’ Day, January 21, contrasts the darkness and cold of the winter landscape, “…Ah, bitter chill it was! The owl, for all his feathers was a—cold; /The hare limped trembling through the frozen grass…” with the colorful warmth and hope of young love. In a Romeo and Juliet-like love story, the hero prepares a feast for his true love as she sleeps: 

 
…he from forth the closet brought a heap
Of candied apple, quince, and plum and gourd;
With jellies soother than the creamy curd,
And lucent syrops tinct with cinnamon;…
These delicates he heap’d with glowing hand
On golden dishes and in baskets bright
Of wreathed silver. Sumptuous they stand
In the retired quiet of the night
Filling the chilly room with perfume light.
​

​Many meaningful events take place in the cold, dark month of January. The New Year is celebrated at this time, with many traditions, customs and special foods associated with this new beginning. In the American South, people eat Hoppin’ John, a savory mixture of black-eyed peas and rice, to bring good luck in the new Year. My January, 2021 blog, “A Year of Hope,” includes the recipe for Hoppin’ John, which I look forward to making and eating every year, even though I now live in Hawaii. Here in the Islands, many Japanese Americans celebrate Japanese New Year on January 1, along with the people of Japan. On our website, in the Tea Book section, the January menu in the “Calendar of Tea Parties” chapter provides the menu and recipes for a Japanese New Year’s feast, similar to the one Wayne and I host each year for our friends and neighbors. The go-to food item on this menu is ozoni soup, a light fish broth with fresh vegetables and mochi (sticky rice) balls, guaranteed to keep you healthy and strong throughout the new year.

 
Even the huge green
Taro leaves rip from the earth
In winter’s wild wind.
 

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While January 1 marks the new year in the Western World and Japan, most Asian countries use the lunar calendar to calculate the New Year. This year, Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, will begin on New Year’s Eve, January 28, and continue to be celebrated until February 4, 2025.  This festival, which is often extended for sixteen days, will include all sorts of feasts, fireworks, lion dances, monetary gifts, parades and lantern festivals, all dominated by the color red. In Chinese culture, red symbolizes fire and energy, leading to vitality, good luck and prosperity.
 

 
Stars glitter in the 
Black winter sky. Red lightning
Flashes on the sea.
 

​ 
Chinese New Year and Hanukkah are not the only major holidays that last longer than a single day. The generations of Americans who grew up celebrating Christmas as one day, December 25, filled with red-coated Santas in ubiquitous matching red stocking hats and trusty red-nosed reindeer, might be surprised to discover that traditional Christian faith communities such as Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and many other ancient orthodox Christian churches celebrate Christmas not as a single day, but as a season, sometimes referred to as in the old Christmas song,  “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” In addition, centuries ago, the Roman Catholic Church chose to celebrate Christmas Day, referred to as The Nativity of the Lord, on December 25, based on the Gregorian calendar, whereas the Greek Orthodox and many other Orthodox churches, based on the older Julian calendar, dated Christmas on January 7.
 
In the Roman Catholic Church today, the Christmas Season begins on December 25, (although Christmas Vigils, known as “midnight mass,” often occur on the evening of December 24,) and concludes with the celebration of The Baptism of the Lord, around January 8. Within the Catholic Christmas Season, the liturgical colors are neither red nor green but white and gold, in the interior church decorations and the vestments worn by the clergy for religious services during this period. The Greek Orthodox Church has an even longer Christmas liturgical season of forty days from the birth of Jesus to his presentation at the Temple forty days later. During this time in January, special emphasis is placed on the celebration of many events in the early life of Jesus, notably the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally associated with the arrival of the Three Kings, (also known as the Three Wise Men or Three Magi) who traveled from the east, guided by a star bringing symbolic gifts to the baby Jesus.
 

​Orion moves south 
In the winter sky. Breakers
Pummel the north shore.
 

 
You may have noticed that the word “epiphany” appears in the last line of the poem, “Sudden Seeing” which appears at the beginning of this blog. Today “epiphany” has a variety of meanings in everyday life. Popular culture compares an epiphany to an “aha moment” or a “lightbulb experience,” as in the moment when Thomas Edison’s experiment with electricity came to life. More scholarly sources online define the word “epiphany” as “a sudden and striking realization or perception of something’s meaning or nature. It can be a scientific breakthrough, a religious discovery or a philosophical recognition.” Webster’s succinctly defines “epiphany” as “an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure.”
 
Another source, Oxford languages, takes a more religious perspective in the following three definitions of “epiphany.”

1. The manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi in Matthew 2: 1-12.
2. The festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.
3. A manifestation of a divine or supernational being.

 
Throughout the centuries, the Feast of the Epiphany, focusing on the journey of the Three Kings to visit the new-born baby Jesus, grew in importance and became a significant element in the Christmas narrative, as the Wise Men perceived the Christ Child as “a manifestation of a divine being.” Over time, special festivities were associated with Epiphany, and unique foods were prepared and consumed on this feast day. During the Middle Ages, French Benedictine monks who had a special devotion to the Epiphany developed a lovely dessert named Galette des Rois, or King Cake to be shared and eaten communally in celebration of this joyful and holy day. King Cakes remain popular in France and other French-influenced areas such a Quebec and New Orleans.

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Galette Des Rois is usually made from puff pastry filled with an almond paste cream and is available in bakeries throughout the French-speaking world. Over time, the custom of inserting a feve or party favor into the pastry, usually a bean, an almond or a small porcelain figurine, has evolved, turning this religious holiday into a “Queen or King for the Day” party with the honor going to the person who finds the feve in their slice of cake. A variety of recipes for Gallette des Rois are available online and in Cookbooks. I have selected two to share with you, a small, simple Butter Cake with a touch of lemon from Gourmet’s Best Desserts, requiring no expensive puff pastry or almond paste. I adapted the second recipe, which I found online at allrecipes.com by adding a layer of homemade apricot jam (made by my trusty co-author, Kathleen,) to the bottom layer of puff pastry, harmonizing with the almond paste filling. What these two recipes for Galette des Rois have in common is the golden-brown color, the crisscross or diamond pattern on the top and the small feve inside, indicating who will be king or queen. Whichever cake you choose, Happy Epiphany to all!
 

 
Bright Jupiter and 
Winter’s full moon crown the sky
And gleam on the sea.

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Galette des Rois
French Butter Cake from Gourmet’s Best Desserts

​This simple butter cake recipe can be made completely by hand, requiring only a mixing bowl, an eight-inch round cake pan, a fork and a pastry brush.
 
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
Pinch of salt
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 ¾ sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon water
1 whole almond (to serve as the feve)
Additional butter for the cakepan
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
 
Approximately 8 servings
 
Butter an 8-inch round cake pan
Have a pastry brush handy

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, lemon rind and salt and form a well in the center. Lightly beat 5 of the egg yolks and pour them into the well in the dry ingredients.  With a fork or a pastry blender, blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
2. Add the butter and knead the dough with your hands or a fork until all the ingredients are incorporated.  Press the whole almond into the dough and press the dough into the cake pan, spreading it evenly.
3. Beat the remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the egg wash over the dough with a pastry brush. Make a diamond pattern in the top of the batter with the tines of the fork.
4. Bake the Galette in the center of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, run a knife around the inside edge, and turn the galette out onto a decorative serving plate. Cool completely before serving.

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Galette des Rois
French Puff Pastry Cake to Celebrate Epiphany, from allrecipes.com
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​This Galette is also easy to make, as it is essentially a process of stirring up the filling in a blender and assembling the filling into a package of purchased puff pastry. 
 
For the Almond Paste Filling:
¼ cup almond paste (from a 7-ounce package of Odense Almond Paste)
¼ cup white sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
 
To Assemble the Pastry:
 
1 package (17.25 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed at room temperature for approximately 40 minutes
Approximately ½ cup apricot jam
1 beaten egg
1 whole almond 
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
 
Special Equipment: Food processor or blender, large baking sheet, parchment, rolling pin, dinner knife, pastry brush, sharp paring knife, sieve, cooling rack, offset spatula, decorative serving platter
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Cover a large baking sheet with parchment
 

1. Place all of the ingredients for the Almond Paste Filling into a food processor and blend until incorporated. Set aside.
2. Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry to an 11-inch square and cut the pastry into an 11-inch circle with a dinner knife. Cut the second sheet of pastry into an 11-inch circle also. Place the first pastry circle on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the second round on a plate and refrigerate it.
3. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam on the first pastry circle, leaving a space of 1 ½ inches from the rim of the pastry. Mound the reserved almond paste filling over the jam, leaving the same margin. Press the whole almond into the filling.
4. Remove the second pastry sheet from the refrigerator and place it over the filling, lining it up with the bottom pastry circle. Press down to seal the edges together. With a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg over the top of the pastry. With a sharp knife, make a crisscross pattern over the top, not cutting completely through the pastry. Add a few slits all the way through to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Quickly remove the pastry and sift 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar over the top. Replace into the oven and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cool on a wire rack.
6. To serve, transfer the Galette onto a decorative serving platter using an offset spatula. Serve warm or at room temperature. Galette des Rois is best the day it is made, but it can be re-warmed in a 200-degree for 10-15 minutes.