MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS!

You thought, I completely abandoned you, didn't you?

Sorry! 

So, Christmas in the Toyoda household!

Things got to be a little too comfortable, if you know, what I mean!

      I let it slide for a while, allowing Hanah and Sonny to recuperate from an intense schedule of study and work, and they took full advantage! 

This is a scene of winter "hibernation" in our home. Sonny is under a blue blanket, hiding from my camera, Chickie is happily napping on his lap and Hanah is that big lump next to Sonny.

As Christmas Eve arrived, we began making plans for a Holiday dinner. Hanah and Sonny watched Great British Baking Show for the last week of their hibernation and, I guess, got a little inspired (or cocky), because Hanah announced that she'll make a chicken pot pie! Taka reminded me every day of his desire to partake of the chirashi sushi rice, so, that's what I decided to make.

Hanah pulled out our tiny Christmas tree and decorated it. She also decorated Sonny!

                                       

     In the evening of the day before Christmas she and I made the last brave attempt to buy some more presents and groceries, but still forgot certain things!

     On the morning of the Noel... Well, it, actually, was the afternoon, when I made the kids clean up the living room, and we gathered to distribute the gifts. Poor Sonny has terrible luck with his presents. Even though his present was the first one I bought online, it still didn't arrive in time for the Christmas. He had to contend with the promise, that it will come! I got myself, Hanah and Taka some sweaters as well as slippers and a new electric toothbrush for Roberta. 

By the time we finished our gift-giving, it was already late afternoon, and my children still had to buy some missing ingredients for their feature dish - the pot pie!

     They started to cook after five o'clock. I decided to remove myself from the kitchen for the reasons of wise parenting, as well as because of my poor health. Of course, I helped by washing dishes, cutting vegetables and offering advice, when they asked for it, but they, largely, did everything by themselves.

Sonny made bread out of the ready bread mix and the pot pie's crust. I secretly had serious doubts about their ability to cook that dish, but they had a good time, and I tried not to dampen their spirits.

I made chirashi sushi rice and waited. Tick-tock! By nine o'clock dinner was ready, table set (my mother would turn in her grave to see such shabby table) and the members of the family gathered around.

I asked Hanah numerous times, how we were supposed to eat the pot pie. Usually these are made as individual meals and have runny contents inside the crusts. She haughtily rebuffed my questions. Her pie was contained in a big pot that we have. 

As Sonny cut into it, I understood that, my doubts were in vein: the pie's contents became so thick, they didn't ooze at all! To our polite

inquiries Hanah admitted that she "followed a few recipes", which, of course, meant, she didn't follow any of them! But the pie's crust was perfectly light and flaky! Sonny might have a real talent for baking!

Each of us got a big slab of a pie and some of rice. My dish  couldn't lose: it contained shrimp, smoked salmon and caviar! Yum!

All in all, it was a good evening, although Hanah was totally pooped out and declared, she was heartbroken because of her failure to produce a tasty pot pie. We all heartily ate it, except for Roberta, who, with an aspect of a cat, suspicious of some unknown food, carefully pushed it to the edge of her plate.

The Merry Christmas was over. An evening of feeling stuffed and bloated has begun!