Many years ago when my family became Adventist, we started exploring how to cook and eat vegetarian. My mom had started back to college when my brother and sister and I were in late elementary and junior high; she became good friends with her Spanish teacher who was a Seventh-day Adventist, and our families became fast friends.
The first time we had our new friends over to our house, my mom announced that they were vegetarian. Immediately my dad, who was planning to make his famous beef tacos, asked excitedly, “What’s a vegetarian?” “They don’t eat meat!” my mom exclaimed! “Then how am I going to make tacos?” Dad asked. (Side note: not long afterwards, the three of us kids decided that, instead of being called Seventh-day Adventists, the people from this new church should really be called “Seventh-day ODD-ventists” because of their peculiar eating habits and going to church on Saturdays!)
But in that moment, with his apron already on and spatula in hand, my dad’s creativity burst into action. He set aside the beef, and his first creation came to life in the skillet: an amazingly delicious sauté of chopped onions, mushrooms, and pecans, along with some spices. We liked it so well, our family never went back to the beef! He began that day a long tradition of ingenious stove-top creations, and would later coin the long-standing family phrase, “You’re not really eating tacos unless they’re dripping off your elbows!”
Well, this story really isn’t about tacos, though they were very delicious! But what transpired that day headed our family in a new direction of opening our minds to new possibilities of cooking, and opening our table to new friends.
We began exploring this new world of vegetarian recipes. Not long after my dad’s taco transformation, my mom made her first – and last – attempt at homemade gluten! (Very adventurous for a brand new learner of vegetarian cooking!) Then we discovered the Apple A Day cookbook (“Vegetarian Cookery by Doctors’ Wives”) in the late-1970s, and enjoyed exploring a whole new range of recipes: Grape-Nuts Roast, Oatmeal Patties, Special K Loaf (one of our family favorites), Cottage Cheese Patties, and many others.
Along the way, we came across a recipe for Walnut Meatballs. And we liked them. A lot! So much so, that we forgot their original name and dubbed them “Swedish Meatballs,” after my mom’s heritage, I guess. And they became a family favorite. There was only one problem: they took a lot longer to prepare than most other recipes, and that meant that we really only had time to make them during the holidays and on very special occasions.
Over the years, moms and daughters have chopped and stirred, and formed them together side by side; or grandmas and granddaughters have stacked the meatballs and sautéed the sauce, one standing behind while the other, draped in a too-big apron double wrapped around her, stood upon a stool. We developed two distinctly different sauces for them, because not everyone likes the same thing: a specialty barbecue sauce (the original), and a creamy mushroom sauce.
There are two things about the experience of making these most wonderful meatless meatballs that strike me today. First is the essence of being intentional. You can’t just decide, last minute, to throw together Swedish Meatballs. You have to be intentional, because they take time. Believe me, the frozen meatballs in the store are not even close! (We tried that once, being short on time, and said, “Never again!)
But being intentional is one thing that Christmas is about. It’s not just any other day, and it’s not just any other holiday. It’s Christmas! It deserves the Very Best! It deserves all the forethought, all the time, all the care, and all the love we can give. In a way, I’m glad that Swedish Meatballs take a long time to prepare. It makes them special. But it also gives us the gift of being intentional, standing there, side by side, with our mother, daughter, sisters, granddaughters, spending beautiful time creating something together that the family will love.
Second is the gift of welcome. Years ago, our family experienced welcome: into a friendship, a community of faith, and a relationship that has broadened and deepened through the years and become our own. And it was around a table – with chopped mushrooms, onions, and nuts, instead of what we were used to – where that began. Over the years, our Christmas table has often welcomed more than just our family, as I am certain many of yours also have.
Whenever I take the time to chop those nuts and onions, I can’t help but remember my dad standing there in the kitchen that day with his spatula in the air and that look of surprise and uncertainty on his face, wondering how to solve his dilemma. He may have never realized it, but that moment locked in my mind our family’s sense of adventure, intentionality, and welcome.
Today, whenever I make Swedish Meatballs I savor those moments of intentionality and welcome. Those moments spent together. In those moments when we are finally seated around the table, time stands still. All that has been so busy leading up to this moment – spinning nearly out of control – fades from view. And a crystal droplet of time is etched in my mind – the people, the sounds, the laughter, the smells, the flavors, the lights, the warmth, the love. Etched, and kept, and remembered. This, is Christmas Present.
SWEDISH “MEATBALLS”
Makes approximately 30 servings, because there will be lots of people at your table and because you definitely want leftovers.
Ingredients:
- 3 3/4 cups cracker crumbs (2 1/2 columns of Saltines)
- 2 1/4 cups ground walnuts (or pecans)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 finely chopped small onions
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon sage
- 2 1/4 cups grated Longhorn cheese
- 4 pressed garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup minced parsley
- 12 eggs
- Tiny bit of cooking oil
Instructions:
Step 1: Mix all ingredients above, except eggs and cheese, and sauté in a tiny bit of oil for about 10 minutes to crisp up the ingredients.
Step 2: Combine sauté mix with eggs and cheese.
Step 3: Form into walnut-size meatballs and place into oiled casserole dish(es).
Step 4: Pour Barbecue sauce (or Mushroom sauce) over meatballs in casserole dish(es).
Step 5: Bake covered at 350* for 30 minutes.
BARBECUE SAUCE:
Ingredients:
- 1 cube margarine
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
Step 1: Sauté onion and margarine. Add other ingredients. Simmer 15 minutes.
Step 2: Pour over meatballs before baking.
MUSHROOM SAUCE:
Step 1: Mix one can mushroom soup with 1/2-3/4 can of milk (diluted slightly less than the amount for regular soup). Stir well to smooth lumps out.
Step 2: Pour over meatballs before baking.
Heather Miller loves courageously and lives intentionally. She is Grandma, Mom, wife, sister, daughter, counselor, and friend. She writes and paints. And sometimes she gets the time to make the most beloved Swedish Meatballs.