I thought covid and all its social restrictions was a bummer. And it was a bummer for a myriad of reasons. But at least we could still get together with dear friends and relatives at Christmas. Even if it was only for a short time in someone’s garage, responsibly spaced around a portable propane camping fire. (And yes, we actually did enjoy a bit of Christmas together exactly as described!)

But this Christmas was the pits. Both Andy and I were ill. We think we had RSV. But it could have been the flu. (And yes, we had this year’s flu vaccination!)  But hey, we could have had both of these darling infirmities at the same time! Now wouldn’t that be special! Because we had symptoms from both at various times during our illnesses. And we still aren’t 100%! Almost 3 weeks for Andy and about 10 days for me. Humbug! (That’s what we’ve chosen to call what we had/have. The 2022 HUMBUG!)

So, we missed Christmas Eve with our dear friends Jim and Margo and Christmas day with relatives and close friends because of what’s “going around”.

But you know, while I was sitting in my favorite reading chair on Christmas day feeling ever so sorry for myself, I realized how exceedingly lucky I was to have Andy to spend the day with. And how blessed we both were to have close friends and family that were able to be together. Even if this Christmas we couldn’t be there with them. I realized all of us were the lucky ones. We had a home. We weren’t being bombed by some power-hungry Russian maniac. We weren’t out in the cold with no way to get warm, stay warm, or feed either our loved ones or ourselves. We were lucky. Just plain lucky!

So what if Mr. C. and I couldn’t spend Christmas as planned. We had fresh running water. A nice cozy bed to climb into when we felt chilled. Food to eat when we got hungry. We had everything we needed to get healthy. We were safe. Whereas so many of the world’s population could not say those three little words. I am safe. And I realized how horrible that must feel to not be safe. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would mean.

So, did I have a great Christmas? Yes, I did. I was given the opportunity to realize how truly blessed I am. Sometimes it takes something like a brief illness to remind us of our blessings and to put our wonderful lives in perspective. Thankfully I was able to learn a valuable lesson as I was recovering. And thankfully, I had been able to finish most of my baking before my body was invaded by germs. (I’ll take my luck wherever I can find it!)

And one of the best cookies I made this year was this recipe for gingerbread biscotti. I found the recipe on theoliveblogger.com site. Delicious. I made a small change, of course I did, but the main recipe is all Melissa. So, if you too love gingerbread and biscotti, then this is the recipe for you.

As we all approach the new year, I hope we can keep the spirit of Christmas alive throughout 2023. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to find ourselves wishing each other a merry “whatever” every time we met. I’ll start. Merry 2023.

And as always, peace and love to all.

⅓ c. unsalted butter, room temp.   

1¼ c. brown sugar, lightly packed

2 lg. eggs 

2 T. molasses

1 tsp. vanilla   

2¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed 

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon  

½ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda   

scant ½ tsp. fine sea salt

½ c. finely chopped candied ginger

white chocolate, for drizzle

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Stir in the candied ginger making sure each tiny piece is coated with flour.  

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, just until well combined. (The dough will be very thick).

Using your hands liberally greased with butter, divide the dough in half. On the parchment paper lined baking sheet, pat each half into a 10×2-inch rectangle.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a light golden brown and slightly firm to the touch but NOT hard. Remove from oven.

Cool for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on. After 10 minutes, cut each log diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices.

Turn cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. (They should be slightly golden on both sides.)

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely before drizzling with melted white chocolate. Allow white chocolate to harden before storing the biscotti in an airtight container.