365 Comments

Love Chrismukkah! Thanks Joyce for all of your insights and commentary through these crazy times both here and on MSNBC. You ARE, a National Treasure!!!

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I’ll make a pizza.

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From the local grocers frozen case?

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No no no… From flour mix of regular flour and whole wheat.

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Excellent. DoorDash will be by around 5 for mine.

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This is just the humor thread I needed, touché

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I made lasagna.

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I instead bought a Costco chicken and have made wonderful chicken soup all week. Now it’s pizza time.

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She really is ❤️

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It's the humor, the chickens, the bake-offs, the "we're in this together." Joyce should be the Voice of America, not...well, you know: Frozen Carrion Lake.

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We are in this mess together. Happy to be on your side.

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Happy Holidays to all “Civil Discoursers”. Take a much needed mental break and enjoy this time. Don’t let you know who ruin the day!

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Joyce, I have been so grateful for all your work during the past 3 years, especially. I am hoping you and your family all have some extra special moments of awareness. Thanks for helping me stayed tuned in to my own. It has been tough. I won’t lie. Parts of my life are in the amyloid flush that is happening, right now. Having to let go, and remember my own purpose for showing up.

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Second all that... and wishing you strength and resolve to carry on and move forward with fresh purpose.🙏

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I make my rugelach with seedless rasperry jam and fine chopped chocolate. I alternate between the traditional triangles and just rolling the filled dough into a log and cutting pieces like strudel. Happy Holiday season!

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omg... that sounds sublime... any chance you have a recipe or link? 🙏

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You can use any rugelach dough and change the filling to whatever you want. Just use good jam and chocolate.

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Sounds like you've got a rugelach-hamentaschen thing going...

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How do YOU have time to bake all day? Did you knit people stuff, too?

Nothing but love for Joyce Vance!

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It’s necessary to do things like cooking, baking, knitting, sharing cookies to help maintain sanity in this insane time we live in.

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Absolutely ♡

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And she’s an artiste!

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I love hearing about people's holiday traditions. Happy Chrismukkah!

In my home today was the fourth Sunday of Advent. We gather around together and light all four candles of the Adventswreath and sing and listen to holiday music and eat traditional German Christmas cookies. That includes Lebkuchen, Russichbrot, Zimtsterne, Spekulatius and other treats as well as the traditional Advent cake called Stollen. My friend from Vienna always bakes delicious Kipferl. We also have nuts and fruits and friends over.

I am here in the US, but before I left Germany I visited my local the Christmas market and drank Glühwein and had Bratwurst in a crispy bun. My heart goes out to those run over in the Magdeburg Christmas Market. Our world needs healing.

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Yes, that was so tragic and heartbreaking! People want some joy in their lives and there is always a crazy Scrooge to mess things up. Have a lovely holiday, Linda!

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Marlene, you have a lovely holiday as well. ✌🏽

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Thank you SO much, Joyce! You’ve given me some new ideas for this week since my family also celebrates both Christmas and Chanukah! You’ve really made me stay in this fight together with all of us, just when I’ve almost left staying up-to-date on politics due to the stress on my mental health it’s caused! I’m an artist, neonatal ICU nurse and mother of 3 married to a surgeon and staying engaged with the news became SO depressing after our Kamala lost the election, but YOU, Joyce, have gotten me re-engaged with your posts here that always include your beautiful, warm human spirit. Again, I thank you and wish you & your family a joyous end of year holiday season! XxxxxxxOoooooo🔯💜

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Today was cookie day at our house with my friend, my daughter and her two girls. It was truly cookie chaos, making about 12 dozen cookies! Happy Holidays to all.

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Happy Holidays!

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Can I get the recipe for the cookies? Thanks!

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Hi Donna! I'm not sure if you were looking for the sugar cookie recipe from Joyce or the rugelach recipe. Just in case it is helpful, this is the latter one from Ina Garten and the cookies are delicious!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rugelach-recipe-1944318

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Thank you for the link! They sound wonderful, even though they are something that is far outside my dietary guidelines.

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Likewise Susan on my dietary guidelines as well :(

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I'm sorry you have to deal with that, too, Ivan. Things like that are tempting, but in truth, I really don't miss them.

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The gluten-free folks feel your pain, along with ours!

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My dietary guidelines are for being pre-diabetic. Gluten free folks might be able to make those because there are now gluten-free flour mixes available.

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Those flours are kind of an experiment -- you don't know if they work until you spend your money and time, then taste the product. Nobody wants a batch of wannabe cookies, if you know what i mean.

More power to you for sticking with your guidelines. My brother was diabetic, and he told me it's an illness that's "really worth NOT getting." Hope you find something yummy that's within your limits...

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Thank you, Noorilah. I am terrified of getting diabetes, so I have voluntarily chosen to limit my carb intake. There are some things I won't give up - like persimmons, or overnight oats for breakfast, or quesadillas (though I usually peel a layer off my tortillas). I've got enough things wrong with me that I don't need to add diabetes to the list. And I really don't miss things like cookies. You might want to check out gluten free food blogs, because a lot of specialized food bloggers have done the experimentation for you, and can give you the names of products they have found work well. I did that with low carb sites, and read through some of the interesting sounding recipes to get a feel for them. If they sounded good, I tried subscribing. The other thing I looked for was how complex the recipes were; if they involved procedures I didn't want to do, I let them go. I'd be happy to discuss this further if you want.

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Thank you for the link, they’re much easier than I thought they would be.

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You're very welcome. If you have the time, they are well worth it!

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Thank you, CC!!

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You're welcome!

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Looks yummy - but Joyce wrote she uses cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. There are many recipes on the web for cottage cheese rugelach that could be used with the filling your recipe has. Thanks!

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I didn't expect that Joyce would be putting her recipe that uses cottage cheese in the comments section, so I was just trying to offer a good recipe for rugelach in general for anyone who didn't want to look online for a recipe. I figure some people might not care if it uses cottage cheese or cream cheese, as long as it tastes good. I've only made Ina Garten's recipe and loved it so much I never tried any other. For those who assumed the link led to a "cottage cheese" rugelach, sorry to disappoint. In any event, happy celebrating to everyone.

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Thank you!

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Don't forget the Penzeys spices...best on the market!

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They are having an awesome sale!

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I have my grandmother’s handwritten recipe card for sugar cookies (which were the absolute best). It is literally just a list of ingredients.🌟💕

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Just like my grandmother and mother. I still carry that little file box I was give 45 years ago.

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A grandmother's recipes are the absolute best. I inherited my the paper-clipped, overstuffed recipe book from my "Nons". I call them "a little of this, a little of that" recipes. So great to cook that way!

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I made a cookbook from my great grandmother's (and her sister's) handwritten (in pencil!) recipes so we could have a digital copy and also took pictures to keep of her handwriting. It is amazing. . .lists of ingredients and no standardized temperatures of course, so instructions like "cook in a medium warm oven." No time, no temperature! A whole different world then. Thankful for my modern conveniences like temperature control and standardized measurements! I'm going to look up a recipe for rugelach.

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Stop it! I’ve already gained three pounds since Thanksgiving!

🎄Merry/Happy Joyce.

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Joyce: that is so funny! My mom made rugelach with sour cream & my aunt (her sister) made it with cream cheese! I make mine with greek yogurt.

Enjoy your holidays!! Good Health & Happiness & every good thing!

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I have greek yoghurt that I need to use up. I'm going to try it!

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Happy Hannukah this week! 💛

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Chag Sameach, Joanne!

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Chag Chanukah to all, and to all a good eight nights.

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God bless. Keep up your important work

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Look outside. The solstice has passed. The light is slowly returning. If you will be with family and friends, cherish them. If you are happy alone, I’m happy for you. Whoever you are you have us. These dangers will pass if we are strong and confront them together. I am looking forward to the new year. A struggle for truth and justice is good for the soul. Stay healthy. Take care of yourself and those you care about. Don’t be nice; be kind.

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Why don’t you change your username?? You don’t sound like oldandintheway at all!

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I think it is very important for us to GET IN THE WAY as much as possible over next few years.

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Similar to "getting into some good trouble" like the late, great John Lewis said! I like "GET IN THE WAY"!

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