Laid-Back Holidays

Food, Holidays

The holiday season was good for me this year, although it was very low-key compared to some of the pre-covid celebrations in Panama

Thanksgiving this year was celebrated with a home-cooked dinner at my friend Terri’s house, with all the traditional American-style dishes – turkey, ham, dressing, green bean casserole, broccoli/cheese/rice casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cranberry-orange jello salad, with cherry pie for dessert. Everything was delicious!

On Christmas Eve, I had dinner at Ngadri, a fairly new local restaurant that focuses on locally grown ingredients. I had eaten there a couple of times before, and this menu did not disappoint. It started with a festive cocktail that featured intriguing botanical snippets, garnished with a little candy cane.

Welcoming holiday cocktail

The appetizer included crispy vegetable chips and shrimp in a light creamy/citrusy sauce with diced green apples. The tartness of the apples contrasted nicely with the shrimp and sauce. The main course featured ham with a guava sauce (very good), mashed taro (like mashed potatoes), and asparagus in a cream sauce.

Vegetable chips and shrimp appetizer

The main course – delicious!

The dessert was adorable – a little gingerbread house that was shared by three of us. Great presentation, and the gingerbread cookies were crisp and tasty. Good food and good conversation were the theme of this evening – there were nine of us at the table. I knew most of them, and met others for the first time. We lingered over dinner for more than three hours, enjoying the food and camaraderie.

The modern-style gingerbread house dessert. So cute!

My dinner companions

Christmas Day was a quiet at-home time, watching several holiday movies and enjoying a glass of wine. A couple of days after Christmas, I cooked my own holiday dinner with a turkey breast, dressing and gravy, and cranberry sauce. And just before Christmas, I bought myself a present – an electric ice cream maker. Merry Christmas to me! LOL!

New Year’s Eve was VERY casual – one of the restaurants had a “PJ Party” theme for brunch that morning, so I invited my new neighbor to join me and wore my lounging-around-the-house attire. Nothing too special about the menu, although it was good – an omelette and diced potatoes, with a couple of Bloody Mary’s. The evening was spent at home, watching the ball drop in Times Square and enjoying the fireworks go off all around my house at midnight.

However the holidays are celebrated, life is good – and may 2022 be better than the last couple of years! Cheers!

4 comments… add one
  • Sara Klehn-harvey Jan 17, 2022 Link Reply

    Happy New Year, Myra!

  • Warren Jan 17, 2022 Link Reply

    Myra You were move active than I, though I certainly enjoyed a relaxed New Year’s day. Thanks for that!

  • Lee Ann Kelley Jan 18, 2022 Link Reply

    Myra
    Happy New Year!

  • Peter Baxter Jan 22, 2022 Link Reply

    You are looking good, there! Food also looks good.
    Hope your 2022 is great!

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