Happy Christmas!

☆¸.•*''*♥☆♥*''*•.¸☆ Happy Christmas ☆¸.•*''*♥☆♥*''*•.¸☆

 

 

to you and yours from me and mine.

 

 May you have lots of fun, food and good company.

 

 

Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve and all shopping, kitchen prep and housework is done. Phew!

Vegetables all in their pans; all frozen items needed have been unearthed from the freezer and are defrosting slowly in the fridge; dining table has been laid for lunch; soft drinks, wine and fizz are in the fridge and I am now sitting quietly with a glass of mulled fruit punch, a bowl of cashew nuts and Michael Bublé (sadly, only on the radio, not in the flesh!)

If I’ve forgotten anything, it’s too bad; we’ll just have to do without.

Big Day tomorrow and the sooner you go to bed, the sooner Santa will come…!

Two Days 'til Christmas

It’s Christmas Eve Eve – only two days ‘til the big day! How’s the food prep going? I think I'll make my Cranberry and Apricot Puds later, they’ll keep perfectly well in an airtight tin until needed but, other than that, it’s all nice and easy and relaxed here at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so organised, but I bet things won’t feel quite so laidback on Christmas morning!
  

True to my word, I did decorate my cake last Sunday but I’ve just realised that I haven’t put a pic of it on here. To be fair it doesn’t look much different from last year’s but, if you have a winning formula, stick with it; there’s no point in trying to re-invent the wheel. We've already cut into the cake and it's going down very nicely - I hate eating Christmas cake halfway through January so we always start early. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Every year I think about doing something different for some of the festive meals, but I seem to always fall back on the old favourites. Maybe that’s the essence of annual celebrations, though; it’s nice to see the dishes which prompt memories and evoke good feelings and it’s also not a great idea to try something new for Christmas lunch when all eyes are on you!

The butter has been out of the fridge to soften for a couple of hours, so I’d better get on with those puds…

Ten Days 'til Christmas

Well, I haven’t posted for a fortnight, so I bet you think I’ve been sitting around doing nothing. Au contraire, mes amis.... the Christmas tree and decorations are up, the lights in the front garden are twinkling and I have also been very industrious in the kitchen. Although I haven't cooked anything new I’ve made a batch of Not Sausage Rolls, a batch of Cheese and Onion Mini Quiches, Christmas Red Cabbage, Mushroom and Sherry Sauce, Mushroom Duxelles for our Nut Roast Wellington and two batches of Mince Pies.

This little lot is all residing snugly in the freezer ready for dipping into when required, although I have to say the stock of mince pies is diminishing rapidly because Mr Simply Veg keeps eating them!

Much as I love food, food shopping is really starting to get on my nerves now; everyone seems to have gone into “I must buy as much food as possible - the shops are closed for one whole day” mode! Now, I confess I’m as guilty as anyone of stuffing the freezer and pantry to the gunwales at this time of year, but from the way some people are staggering out of the supermarkets, eyes glazed and trolleys heaving under the weight of food, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were preparing for a six month siege! What on earth do they do with all that food?

For a bit of light relief I think I might retrieve my Christmas cake from the depths of the pantry tomorrow and give it its festive topping of marzipan and dried fruit and nuts. This is the best bit about Christmas; all the nice foodie bits and pieces which make it special. It’s just the shopping I hate…