Recently I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Since this is the story that has come to define the meaning of Christmas for many, I was amused by how much emphasis is placed on food. Flowery language, goes on and on, describing delights ranging from turkey to pudding. At one point the narrator admires a stick of cinnamon calling it “long” and “strong”, “Wow! its just a cinnamon stick” I chuckled to myself.

I was seized by this idea, what if I wanted to write a story that would define Christmas, my way, what food would I have in my story.

A Christmas Carol Burger (red bun + green meat)

To connect with the birthplace of Christmas, I used a Palestinian yabrak recipe but changed it a little. Also I made red burger buns to complete my color scheme. Now all I have to do is write a story to incorporate this recipe into.

A Christmas Carol Bread Buns:
1 + 1/2 cups of tomato juice
4 cups of flour
1 table spoon of olive oil
1 package of yeast
salt and pepper
Some black sesame

I mixed all the ingredients. Allowed the dough to rise to 2 hours. created little balls out of it. Sprinkled with black sesame. Allowed to rise again for and hour. Baked for 10 minutes on 400.

A Christmas Carol Meat:
1 pound of ground beef
grapevine leaves
sliced tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

I placed 5 or 6 leaves in a circular fashion. Placed a meat patty in the middle. Covered it up into a package. Place sliced tomato into the bottom of a pan. Placed meat with seam side down. More tomato on top. Sprinkled with salt, pepper and olive oil. Backed on 350 for 45 minutes.

The end result was super yummy.

This is one of many recipes I created to inspire me while writing a novel about food.