Cranberry Margarita

I'm not much of an alcohol drinker, but there are some drinks that I do like. On a warm summer evening, a margarita will always sound great. Being that we live in Southern California and Christmas is usually a warm "summerish" day, why not put a holiday spin on your evening margarita? They will go great with Christmas tamales too.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 min

Servings: About 3 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I recommend using a brand that is 100% juice without added sugar)

• 3/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 3/4 cup tequila

• 1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau or Triple Sec

• ice cubes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Get your ice. Fill your glasses with ice.

2. Add the alcohol to a shaker. Fill a shaker with ice, and add the tequila and triple sec. Shake until the shaker is frosted on the outside, which should take 10-20 seconds.

3. Pour. Strain the alcohol into the glasses.

4. Finish. Pour the cranberry juice on top of the margarita, and squeeze a lime wedge into the drink. Garnish with another lime wedge, and drink up!

   
   

   OPTIONS

   Low carb. Replace the Triple sec with fresh squeezed oranges.

   Blend it. Add the tequila, triple sec, cranberry juice, and juice from the lime wedges into a blender with some ice. Blend until the mixture is smooth, then serve with a straw. 

   Flavor the rim. The traditional way to drink a margarita is by salting the rim. To do this, pour some kosher salt or coarse salt on a plate, then run a lime wedge around the rim of your empty glass. Dip the rim of the glass in the salt, then continue making the drink. I like to use Tajin in place of salt for a spicy kick. If you’re not a fan of salty or savory cocktails, you can use a sugar rim instead. 

   Holiday sparkle. Add a bit of sparkling water to your mix.

ENJOY!

My Vegetarian Chili

One of the things I missed most when I became a vegetarian (18 years ago) was a delicious bowl of chili. At the time there were very few readymade options and I wasn't interested in risking it on a potential recipe failure. I eventually came across a few different recipes that I combined and put my own spin on, and ended up with a great family crockpot favorite.

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hr 15 min

Servings: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

Vegetarian Chili

• 1 (28-ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies

• 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth

• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano or regular oregano

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 to 2 teaspoons Cholula hot sauce

• 1/3 cup couscous
  

Toppings

• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese or Cheddar

• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• 1/2 - 1 ripe avocado

• Sour Cream

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients but the couscous, shredded cheese, cilantro and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

• Five to 10 minutes before serving (depending on temperature of slow cooker) add couscous, cover and cook, until couscous is tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

• Just before serving, top each serving with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro and a few slices of avocado.

• TIP: serve with or over cornbread.
  

ENJOY!

Scandinavian Christmas Dinner

Right now is the busiest time of year at Folke. It's the holidays that bring everyone in for dining sets to host family and friends. Our vintage Scandinavian furniture has already seen many holidays, so we thought it would be nice to share in the the Scandinavian traditions with you. Christmas in Scandinavia revolves around an array of different customs in each country. Here are a few of the Nordic ways to celebrate.

Winter is officially here and in Scandinavia, Christmas is a time to bring light, joy and happiness to the darker days of the year. As we approach the holidays, let’s get to know the traditions that make Christmas one of the favorite holidays for Danes, Norwegians and Swedes.

Juleaftensdag in Denmark

The Danes celebrate Christmas on December 24 and they call it Juleaftensdag. It’s a time for enjoying the company of family and friends with a nice dinner spread, which usually consists of roast pork, duck or goose served with plain boiled and/or roast potatoes, with a side of boiled and herb-seasoned red cabbage. In most families, grandmother’s famous gravy should also be sitting on the table. For dessert you’ll have risalamande, a hot rice pudding served with cherry sauce. As the tradition, there will be one almond hidden in the pudding and whoever ends up getting the almond, wins a small gift.

After dinner comes the most important part: dancing and singing around the Christmas tree. The tables are moved out of the way to make room, old and young hold hands and the carolling begins. When everyone is out of breath, then the gifts start getting passed around from under the Christmas tree. Hopefully everyone gets what they had wished for and the family enjoys some candy and mulled wine (called gløgg) together.

Julaften in Norway

Just as in Denmark, Christmas in Norway takes place on the eve and is all about family and spending time together with the people you love. Norwegians start celebrations early (usually by the first of advent) with a lot of eating! A couple of the traditional dishes are "lutefisk" and "pinnekjøtt". You’ll also find roast pork, Christmas sausages, ribs and much more on a typical Norwegian’s Christmas table.

Many Norwegian families also celebrate “little” Christmas on Dec. 23 where they eat rice pudding (also with a single hidden almond), build a gingerbread house and decorate the Christmas tree. Many Norwegian families will also attend a Church service just before sitting down for dinner.

After dinner, the family will gather around the Christmas tree and sing or for some, also dance. For families with young children, Santa Claus will pay a visit and hand out all the presents. After a long and eventful day, relaxing is usually the finale.

Julafton in Sweden

Many of the Danish and Norwegian traditions are also shared with the Swedish ones – with a unifying theme to gather and spend time with family and close friends. Christmas season in Sweden begins at the arrival of the first advent and continues into a month of decorating, gift shopping, baking, cooking and just getting into the Christmas spirit.

Swedes will also celebrate Christmas on December 24, with many families having their own traditions for the day. What’s different in Sweden than its counterparts in Norway and Denmark however is the Christmas food that is served on a julbord (Christmas table) – which is a big buffet, or smorgasbord, filled with different dishes. Some of our favourites include lots of pickled herrings with different seasonings, Janssons frestelse, meatballs, prinskorv (lightly smoked sausages), different kinds of cabbage, omelettes, cured salmon, julskinka (Christmas ham) and ribs to name a few. However, the rice pudding with a hidden almond is (surprise) part of the Swedish tradition too.

As with the Norwegians, Swedes also get a visit from Santa who hands out the gifts. Some families might also dance and sing around the Christmas tree then as with all traditions, relaxing. During the evening it’s all about playing games, drinking mulled wine, cracking nuts and eating candy.

If you’re not familiar with some of these traditions they may seem a bit odd, but one important thing to remember from this is that the main reason for celebrating is to be able to spend time with the people you love. It’s also a really good excuse to eat loads of food and candy, stay inside, cuddle and just relax.

Wherever you are or whoever you are celebrating Christmas with, we hope you are showered with love and happiness.

The Scandinavian word for Christmas is "Jul" in Swedish, Danish and "Jule" in Norway. The word stems all the way back to the Viking era, and is a modern variation of the words Jól or Yule - a pagan holiday that was celebrated in mid-January.