December-The Month To Ponder.

December is the month that brings an end to the year as we know it.
It also brings a new beginning to a brand new year for many of us.

December is a month of wonderment for me, it holds so much joy, magic, and hope.
A month to open up to the truth, if you are a believer, and to the possibilities if you are not, that life as we know it is a miracle, that we didn't just happen, that greater forces are with us always, just waiting for an open door.

All things are connected, all things have a root as far back as we can track, all people are related, isn't it an awesome thought to know that we have the blood of the first man on earth running through our veins in some tiny way.

Do you know the history of man?
Do you know the history of plants?
Do you know the two have a very close relationship as far back as times beginning.

Many plants that we admire and cherish today have a Bibical history.

One of those being "Cloves," an early writing by Dr. Pigafetta, the physcian who accompanied Magellan around the world. In his book published not long after his return in 1522, he said: " I went to see how the clove grows. The clove tree is tall and thick as a man's body...its leaves resemble those of the laurel and the bark is of a dark color...the cloves grow at the end of the twigs, ten or twenty in a cluster...When the cloves sprout they are white, when ripe, red, and when dried, black. They are gathered twice a year, once at the Nativity of our Savior and the other at the nativity of St. John the Baptist...These cloves grow only in the mountains, and if any of them are planted in the low lands near the mountains , they do not live...Almost every day we saw a mist descend and circle now one and now another of these mountains on account of which those cloves become perfect."

Don't you find that little bit information to be just " chilling." For most of us I'm sure we tend to think of cloves as just another spice in the cupboard.

My grandmother taught me much about our beginnings and much about cookies.

I share this recipe with you in honor of my grandmother Lily .

(RICH CLOVE COOKIES)

1 cup real butter
1/2 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
2-1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
Whole cloves
Sifted confectioner's sugar
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Combine the first 4 ingredients.
Gradually blend in the sugar.
Beat in the egg yolk.
Gradually stir in the flour.

Chill dough one hour until it is stiff enough to handle.
Shape into 1 inch balls.
Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Insert a whole clove in the center of each.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325* for about 20 minutes( until lightly brown)
Do not over bake

Roll in powdered sugar and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Good with hot Apple Cider!

Make these for your grandmother if you are lucky enough to still have her.
If not, make them for your grand-daughter and share a grandmother story.

Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com