guest post: in which leanne is tricked into making kringle
Okay, so a few weeks back, I posted a meme from Mayberry Mom about the holidays. LEANNE, a longtime reader and internet friend, posted her responses to the meme in the comments, specifically mentioning a holiday dessert her mom used to make but she’d never made — and that I’d never heard of but sounded yummy: KRINGLE.
Cavalierly, I emailed Leanne and suggested that if she would send me the recipe, we could make it “together” each in our own kitchen thousands of miles apart, and document the experience. Then I read the recipe which involved intimidating things like yeasted dough, and steps that had to be taken over more than one day, and I chickened out; but she followed through — and sent me pictures! I believe that technically, this is Leanne’s first blog post. Perhaps we are witnessing a food blogga in the making? Leanne, what say you?
And now, for your salivatory pleasure, I present The Amazing Kringle Adventure Featuring the Fabulous Leanne…
I’m a mom of 2 (a boy and a girl) who lives in Wisconsin, enjoys baking, and loves to read and write but seems to spend more time reading and writing for others (the children and work, respectively). Also I’m addicted to chocolate. Like the kringle recipe, I got that from my mom 
I’ve been wanting to make kringle for a long time, but I was always put off by the recipe. Even my mom would note that it (along with other recipes that she would make and we kids loved) was “putzy.” Over time I’ve decided to embrace “putzy.” I’d like to share these baking traditions with my kids. I’m guessing my mom felt the same way.
The Recipe: Danish Kringle
Day One
Filling
12 oz. dates, pitted and chopped into pieces
2-3 tsp sugar
Place dates into a pot. Add just enough water to cover the dates. Add the sugar. Cook the dates until the water is nearly gone (about 30-45 minutes). Refrigerate the cooked dates overnight.
Dough
4 c. flour
2/3 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. shortening
Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening. Set aside.
Scald 1 c. of milk and cool to lukewarm.
Meanwhile, prepare a yeast mixture. In a measuring cup, measure 1 inch of hot water; add 2 packages of dry yeast and 1 tsp. sugar. Add the yeast mixture to the lukewarm milk.
Taking 4 eggs, separate the egg yolks and egg whites (save the egg whites in the fridge for the next day – my mom likes to divide the egg whites into 2 containers as she finds it easier to prep 2 kringle at a time, rather than 4 all at once). Add the egg yolks one at a time to the milk-yeast mixture.
Finally, add the milk-yeast-egg mixture to the flour-salt-sugar-shortening mixture. Chill the dough overnight.
Day Two
The next day divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, about 9 inches by 15 inches.
Whip the egg whites til you get nice white peaks that are fairly stiff. Dab the eggs whites onto the dough, leaving room around the edges. Top with the cooked dates. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar.
Fold the dough into thirds, making the first fold smaller than the second fold. Seal the edges.
Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Bake for 20-30 minutes at 375.
When the kringle has cooled, frost it. (my mom combines powdered sugar and milk to make her frosting – about that much powdered sugar and easy on the milk so that you don’t add too much and then need to add more powdered sugar. Been there, done that.)
The Execution:
Day One
What was I thinking?
Just start assembling the ingredients, Leanne. That’s not so hard. You can do this.
This will be like making cinnamon rolls.
But cinnamon rolls don’t take TWO DAYS.
This is crazy. Also, I’m hungry. I need a snack. Yes, I need a snack before I get started. Oh, and I’m supposed to be taking pictures to document this experiment
I’m not procrastinating. I’m documenting. And snacking.
So making the filling (at least the date part) wasn’t so bad. Dates, water, sugar. Cook. I can do that.
And even making the dough wasn’t so hard. Except for the glitch. The recipe calls for 1 cup of shortening. I had half a cup (why, oh, why didn’t I check before I started? It’s a nasty habit of mine – I have ingredient “X” so surely there is enough). So I substituted some butter. Please let that be okay.
I put everything into the fridge to wait for Day Two.
Day Two
Today is the day when I find out if this really was a crazy idea. Though I’m pretty sure I know the answer. Yes.
I pull out the dough and it’s quite sticky. Maybe too sticky. I work in some flour as I prepare to roll it out. I manage to roll out the 4 rectangles, but all the while thinking something isn’t quite right with the dough.
But it’s time to whip the egg whites. I have never whipped egg whites in my life. Ever. I just start giggling nervously as I turn on the mixer. I whip and whip and pretty soon they look good enough to me. They seem stiff.
I’m supposed to “dot” the egg whites on to the dough, but smearing seems like so much more fun. So I smear. And giggle some more. I do “dot” the date mixture – smearing the dates only further smears the egg whites and not in a good way. More giggles. It looks a bit goofy on the dough, but I just keep going.
Now I must fold the dough.
The dough is stuck. Too sticky stuck.
I try to massage the dough up with some flour. It sort of works, but by now I’m laughing hysterically. The dough is tearing. It doesn’t look pretty. I somehow manage to fold the dough into kringle-like form. But I must still get the forms onto the cookie sheet. The forms that are still pretty well stuck onto the table. I am so glad that no one is home to see what I have done.
After much more flour and laughing, the forms get transferred to the sheet where they will rest and then bake. I think I should have used two sheets instead as they are awfully cozy on the one sheet.
After two hours of resting and rising, they are beginning to become one kringle.
I bake the 4-in-1 kringle.
It smells heavenly, reminding me of when my mom used to make kringle.
Once the kringle is out of the oven and has cooled some, I frost it while my 5 year-old son, who is now home from school, hovers. He can’t wait to have a piece for snack. Though I do warn him that I will try it first to see if it tastes okay.
And it tastes pretty good. Not quite like mom’s (it’s the dough that seems most off), but not bad for my first attempt. Though I learn it tastes even better when it’s completely cooled. My son asks for more and I feel pleased.
The first kringle is nearly gone, and three more wait in the freezer. When they are gone, I’ll try again.
Posted by calm mama on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pm in holidaze, guest blogger, recipes | 4 Comments » | 
where have all the blog posts gone?
Holy heck. Where have I been?
Not feeling verbose lately. Preschool transition is hard on both of us, it turns out.
But… There is a guest post coming to this space soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
And then I hope to catch up on all the drama, and resolution, shortly.
Posted by calm mama on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 6:18 pm in just me | 1 Comment » |
cirque du soleil’s ovo with toddler: yes we can
Alt title: Cirque du Ican’tbelievehesatstillthewholetime
My hope is that some other parent who is out there googling cirque with toddler or ovo take my 2-year-old? will come across this post and get half price tickets and some courage.
There wasn’t much info for me on the internet when we were trying to decide. Could a young 2-year-old sit through a two hour show with a half hour intermission? Would the darkness, the stage lights, the loud music, the smoke machines, scare him?
This is what I knew: Ovo is a show about bugs, starring a Ladybug and an Egg. A LADYBUG. And a GIANT EGG.
Come on, people. How could we not give it a try?
As previously mentioned in this space, we took the least possible financial risk, scoring half-price tickets from Goldstar for a matinee show in the cheapest section. We considered pretending Jonah was under 2, and thus taking him for free, but in retrospect, we were glad we’d gotten three tickets; him having his own seat was worth the extra dough.
Our seats were in the last row of the far corner of the circus tent. An usher gave us the most wonderful booster attachment that raised Jonah to the perfect viewing height. Possibly the best part about our seats is that we were right next to the cucarracha-costume-clad orchestra, which featured a bebopping bouncy violin player. VIOLIN PLAYER! Yes.
Jonah sat utterly and completely still the entire first hour, hands in his lap, eyes traveling from the action on the stage, to the musicians, and back. Personally, I thought the costumes could have been more bug-like, but Jonah had no problem identifying the ladybug. Some others, he’d ask and we’d guess. They’re rather avant-garde.
There was a giant furry flower hanging from the ceiling that Jonah decided was a lion and no amount of argument from us would convince him otherwise.
Occasionally he would ask where the ladybug or the egg went, when those items/creatures were not onstage.
At intermission, we asked him if he wanted to go home or stay. Definitely stay. He was, again, remarkably still and rapt through the entire second half. I wondered what all the contortioning and flying around and high wiring and trampoline bouncing seemed like to him. He doesn’t have the context to know that these are unusual behaviors for human bodies, does he? Didn’t matter. He liked it.
With about 15 minutes to go in the second half, he started to get squirmy, crawling around on me, on the chair. Turned out what he really wanted to do was bum rush the stage and GET AT THAT LADYBUG, which I discovered as soon as he got himself down the stairs — we were trying to leave during the finale, figuring his patience had gone thin. He slithered out of my grasp and took off; but I caught him around the waist, his arms and legs pinwheeling “Laydeeeee BUGGG!!!” he cried.
The actors gave their bows and exited the stage. Jonah was desolate. Where did she go? Would she be coming back? “We should see the show again!” he declared.
Do you know the way to San Jose?
We bought the book on the way out, definitely a worthwhile purchase. He LOVES paging through it and talking about how the grasshoppers bounced off the wall. It’s nice for us to know now that those yellow/red people were fleas, and anybody with fur on their legs was a spider.
I’d consider going again. It might be fun to get seats a little closer to the stage and more towards the center. The costumes were much more exciting close up. The back row may have helped it be a less overwhelming experience for Jonah though. A pole did obstruct our view slightly through a couple of acts but nothing too terrible. I personally could have completely done without the (seemingly obligatory — this is my fourth Cirque show) overlong clowning segment with audience participation in the late-middle of the show.
Otherwise, two enthusiastic toddler and parent thumbs up!
Posted by calm mama on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 12:34 pm in family activities, toddlerhood, recommendations | 4 Comments » |
the preschool diaries: we’re not out of the woods yet
Today was rough. He was fine about arriving WITH me. He immediately tried out about four different activities in five minutes. But as soon as I made my move to go, he turned into a screaming gluey monkey, wild-eyed, clinging to my leg like I was a tree and he was going to climb it no matter what.
He wasn’t buying the hey-come-read-a-book thing today so we had to do it more forcefully, uncurling him, still crying as he was being carried to the reading nook. I stood at the front door, listening to what seemed like a subsiding protest, and then I left.
I posted about my insecurities on Facebook today and received the most amazing support and advice from friends. I do believe the things they told me, that this type of behavior is normal, that he’s just finally realizing that preschool isn’t going to go away, that he’s really going to benefit from the social interaction and the independence, that his crying is even part of the separation — letting me know I am still needed. And that Scott and I are great parents and he’s an amazing kid.
But man, this still sucks.
I was consoled by the fact also that on previous days he’d been difficult to dislodge when I’d arrived to pick him up. But I did the math today and realized that was only the case on days when I was picking him up earlier, either between art class and lunch, or between lunch and nap. Picking him up at 3:00 has been different. He’s in a funk post-nap. I finally saw the chart today and he’s been falling asleep at around 1:20 or 1:30 which means when they wake him, sometime before 3, to put away his mat, put on his coat and boots, he hasn’t gotten a full two-hours which — when he naps — is his norm. This could be contributing to the subdued-to-weepy demeanor I’m witnessing.
Or it could be the rain. Because that first day, when 3pm meant he was in the yard with other kids, he’d been fine and had wanted to stay and have his snack with the group.
But the other thing, and this is part of what is so tough, is that tonight at bedtime, he kinda freaked out.
After the usual books, potty, songs, crib, he didn’t want me to leave the room. “I’ll be in the hallway” he usually says, giving me my line, which I say back to him. Tonight it was all manner of protest “No hallway! One more song! Want a snuggle. Mommy stay in the room. Bring the chair in the room.” I said no, that I would be in the hallway, that it was time for bed. I bent over the crib for a kiss and a hug and left. He started crying hysterically and screaming. This hasn’t happened in MONTHS. Scott and I were momentarily stumped.
The whole fear of caving in to tantrums had me stuck in the hallway for a few minutes. Then I went back into the room and had another talk with Jonah. I told him I’d heard him crying, that I was just in the next room, that I loved him no matter what, no matter where I am. He made it clear that he was not happy with me for leaving, and that he wasn’t terribly impressed that I could hear him cry and NOT come to his aid.
I said, “Daddy and I are going to stand in the doorway for a minute and talk, okay?”
He assented.
We the parents looked at each other quizzically. Then inspiration. “Jonah, I am going to sit in a chair in the doorway, okay? Right where you can see me.”
Again, he assented. This was basically us taking a step/scooch backward from when we’d done the sleep-consultant prescribed training technique. Scott and I both sat in chairs outside of Jonah’s door and meditated there together. We could hear him whisper-chatting to himself. After meditation, I grabbed the new book I’d picked up for myself from the library and even after I was pretty sure he’d fallen asleep, I stayed put for a while. There was something soothing to me about sitting in that chair and reading.
I want him to love preschool. I think I’m still afraid I may not have chosen the right place, and on some level he’s keying into that insecurity, reacting by not feeling settled, and using it to his advantage in his overall protest against being without me for any portion of the day. I am also pretty sure he’s having a good time there when he gets over my exit, and that he’d withhold that information if it meant making me feel guilty.
Sure, these are complex psychological manipulations that I am attributing to a 2-year-old. I’m just being silly, overthinking, the usual stuff. Or am I? (Duh duh duh…..)
Today, after school, I asked him what I’ve been asking every day, “So, what did you do today at preschool?”
He smiled and said/asked, “Anything?” — perfectly mimicking the hopeful/fearful tone and word that I usually say next when he doesn’t respond.
And then he did what he has done several pick-ups running. He only reported on the remark-worthy details of my arrival at the end of the day.
“Mommy brought you a sippy cup with juice in it.”
Ah well. Some things I guess I’ll never get to know.
Posted by calm mama on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 9:30 pm in preschool, toddlerhood, conversations | 6 Comments » |
the preschool diaries: transition completed?
On Friday, Jonah had his first full day, 8:30-3. It took some convincing for him to stay there without me. The bells helped. Anyone who has been in a Montessori preschool will recognize these bells. I am curious myself as to why these are THE bells. Is there something special about the shape?
His teacher Wendy plays them while singing songs during circle time. Which makes them extra cool.
We were the first to arrive that morning, so it also helped that I waited until the second kid made an entrance before making my exit.
When I returned to pick him up at 3pm, he was in the playground, apparently just at that moment checking to see if I was in the Pirate Ship play structure. Or having a Pavlovian response to hearing the lock giggle in the side gate. (I infer these things because he and the teacher made a beeline for me as I walked in, chatting about me, the gate, and the Pirate Ship.)
The afternoon teacher informed me that he did indeed nap. I have yet to check the log book to see how long said nap was but any sleep procured by anyone, especially in a new environment like that, is definitely a gold-star achievement.
The longer-day kids were all having snack at the picnic table in the yard, so we stayed for a while and he picked at the leftovers in his bento box.
* * *
Friday to Tuesday seemed like it would be an eternity to me. Why was I only doing three days a week again? All that work adjusting and…
But by this morning I think we were all ready for him to go back.
Almost all of us anyway.
In the car, on the drive over, Jonah informed me that in fact he does NOT like preschool.
“No preschool. No FRIENDS in preschool. Chandelle is NOT there. Chandelle is NOT nice. You want MOMMY to go to preschool WITHYOU.”
When we arrived, as I was getting him out of his carseat, he tried playing his last card, “How about let’s go to YOGA CLASS?” (In the past, his car monologue on the way to mom-toddler yoga class has been “NO YOGA” in repetition, whining tone, ad nauseum, so you know he was really trying to get out of preschool if that was his alternate suggestion.)
He protested again at the bottom of the stairs. “NO PRESCHOOL.”
“How about we just go up the stairs?” I asked.
At the top, I opened the door for him, “You go inside, I’m just going to put your lunch in your cubby and then I will come in.”
And he trotted right through the door like it was nothing at all.
We were the second ones there (I don’t know what’s up with other parents; if we’re paying for 8:30 to 3, we’re getting there at 8:30). I came in and stood in the coat nook, chatting with Chandelle while Jonah and Alexander (an amazingly gentle and outgoing kid who has been super friendly to Jonah since our very first visit back in December, showing him the ropes) played with play doh.
And then Jonah asked for the bells again I helped him set them up in a row, and then gathered my things. He began to play.
“Okay Jonah, Mommy’s leaving. Say ‘Bye-bye.’”
“Bye, Bye,” he said, without looking up or pausing. I gave him a kiss, a thumbs up to Chandelle, and exited.