I know my “Holiday Baking Challenge” is officially over, but you really didn’t think I could go without baking for long, did you? I actually thought I’d be able to take a nice long break. Baking and blogging for twenty-four days straight is quite a task, even more ambitious than I had originally realized. But after all the fanfare from Christmas died down, I found myself on Monday morning with nothing to do. Let’s face it. The week between Christmas and New Year’s isn’t a particularly good time to look for a job. Most people are on vacation, and the few who are in the office are wishing they were on vacation. So although I sent out a few resumes, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. And then it struck me. The 2009 holiday season isn’t yet finished. New Year’s Eve is always worthy of a good celebration. And how better to celebrate than with a tasty baked good or two?!
For years now, I’ve been listening to all the jabberwocky about foods that should be eaten at the New Year to bring luck, money, or both. And year after year I’ve eaten it up (both the words of wisdom and the foods to go with them) – first the pork and sauerkraut when I was living up North, then black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread living in the South. Not one to mess with the fates, I figured that choking down a couple shreds of sauerkraut or spoonfuls of collard greens was sufficient penance to pay if it meant I’d be rewarded with beneficence throughout the year.
And then a few days ago I realized that none of it had worked particularly well for me. Ever. Pork, schmork. And beans? Please. There’s only one thing that beans have ever given me, and it ain’t luck or money, I’ll tell ya that! And don’t even get me started on the collards or sauerkraut. Obviously the time for me to take this whole lucky New Year’s foodstuffs issue into my own hands is now. It seems reasonable to think that if I can find a New Year’s food tradition more suited to my taste, it might result in a better 2010. So why not give it a go? What do I have to lose? Possession is 9/10ths of the law, right? All I have to do is claim the best tradition as my own and embrace it wholeheartedly. Surely there must be some kindred spirits out there who think that the luckiest way to ring in the New Year is with some tasty morsel made with butter and sugar, and lots of it.
And guess what? There are!! In fact, there are numerous countries around the globe that celebrate the New Year by eating sweets. (Seriously, WHY has it taken me almost 40 years to find out about this?) According to the Readers Digest and Epicurious websites, the round and/or ring shapes of cakes and donuts represent “coming full circle” and are customary parts of New Year’s feasts in Greece, Mexico, Poland, Hungary, and the Netherlands, to name a few. Ding, ding, ringy ding ding! Jackpot!! I feel my luck turning around already! And no, I don’t mean that I’m going to Krispy Kreme for a box of hot glazed donuts to eat as the clock chimes 12 tomorrow night. I mean that I'm going to make both a cake and donuts – Vasilopita, a Greek cake with a coin hidden in it, and Olie Bollen, donutty/frittery confections from Holland that are sprinkled with powdered sugar - and ring in the New Year right! Since both have to be eaten warm, I'll have to finish this caper tomorrow, so stay tuned!
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