On The 5th Day Of Christmas!

I did more baking this year than any other year that I remember and I really enjoyed it. One of my traditional bakes is a chocolate and nut ring that is a recipe I have been using for many years.

Have fun. Toots for now and thank you for calling by and taking the time to read my blog.

...and a good time was had by all!

I find it hard to believe that I have only posted 3 posts in December but that meant I was super busy getting ready for Christmas. I have done soo much baking this year and enjoyed testing and tasting new recipes.



Photo shoots with my grandchildren in August meant I was ahead with ideas for my Christmas cards this year!






I was the lucky one....having visited all of our daughters for Christmas, we got to have 3 Christmases!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I will definately be going on a diet in the New Year!

Feeding the 5000!

Well it certainly felt like I have fed the 5000! Last week I spent most of it, preparing, shopping, cooking and serving a roast turkey - and all the trimmings to the ladies at our church.....all 35 who had signed up! There were 25 who turned up on Thursday on a wet and windy evening which, unfortunately kept the rest away. I bagged up little packages of shortbread fingers in cellophane baggies and tied each with a ribbon to give as gifts.

A fun time was had by all and there's been no let up since and - just like Santa, I have a list and I am checking it twice! Phew!

This is a link to a cool Santa site that personalises a message to your child - or even an adult. This one is for one of my granddaughters - Eden.

PNP > A message from Santa Claus Portable North-Pole

Here's hoping you are all coping with your preparations for Christmas. Don't forget the Martha Stewart website for some great ideas. http://www.marthastewart.com/

Toots for now,

Stir Up Sunday!

Welcome to December. For me, it's the month that conjures up so many memories of when I was a child, gives me a warm and cozy feeling and brings ideas to awaken all of my senses.

Stir-up Sunday fell on 22nd November this year. However, I made my Christmas Puddings the next day! There is a lovely recipe in the latest issue of 'delicious' which was an old 'Great Granny's Christmas Puddings' of a lady who was featured. I haven't made my puddings for some years and as I am feeling particularly nostalgic and a little more organised this year, I decided to do so.

It's not too late if you would like to make them. The mixture made 7 different sizes - finishing with a small one to taste!

Great Granny's Christmas Puddings

Dry ingredients -

300g fresh white breadcrumbs
100g self raising flour
1 teasp mixed spice
1 teasp ground cinnamon
1/2 whole nutmeg, very finely grated
350g raisins
100g mixed peel
50g flaked almonds
250g suet
225g demerara sugar
225g sultanas
225g currants
2 carrots, peeled and very finely grated
2 cooking apples, peeled and very finely grated

Wet ingredients -

Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 small wine glass of brandy
2 tbsp black treacle
4eggs, lightly beaten.

First, I gathered all of the dry ingredients...

... grated the spices...

Measured the fruits and placed them into a very large bowl.

Adding the suet, flaked almonds and sugar...

Then I grated the zest of the orange and lemon...

... squeezed the juices and added them to the mixture.

In went the grated carrots...

...and grated apples.

I beat the eggs lightly and stirred into the mixture...

...along with the treacle......and the brandy....by which time the smells were intoxicating!

...and no....*grins*...I don't drink alcohol - I just use it for a preservative in cooking.
Now for the fun bit. Tradition has it, that you stir with a wooden spoon from East to West, giving the mixture a thorough stirring.

Then cover with a damp tea towel and leave overnight for the flavours to infuse.

Next day, spoon mixture into pudding basins...

...cover with a piece of greaseproof paper...

...then a layer of foil on top of that...
...and tie with a piece of string to secure the wrappings - leaving a loop to lift the scalding basin out without burning yourself.
Steam each pudding (depending on the size basin you use), for about 6 hours.

This is a small pudding - reserved for tasting! Yum!

Place a clean piece of greaseproof paper over the basin and another sheet of foil. It keeps it fresh until Christmas....or whenever you choose to eat it. Steam each pudding again for about 2 hours. Happy eating.

I did change the ingredients myself slightly. For instance, I used wholemeal breadcrumbs and not white. I omitted the mixed peel and added an extra amount of fruit and the packet of beef suet is 200 gms, which is all I put in. The proof of the pudding was in the eating and it was very moist, fruity and delicious. I don't think I shall be buying any more store bought puddings.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas.

North & South!

I've been away....visiting my youngest daughter 'up north'! A fun time was had by all.....and we were thoroughly entertained by our 3 youngest grandchildren.

The youngest of the 3 - Little Miss Ashley and I made cupcakes one day. She enjoyed mixing the ingredients - which, I do believe got a little mixed up - no fault of her own!!
We took far too long at each stage - what with the little photo shoots inbetween, tasting the mixture and visits to the smallest room in the house!
The recipe called for 2 teaspoons of mixture in each case and in the oven they all went.

As you might have noted....there are no photos of the final product! LOL. They all overflowed the paper cases and sunk in the middle. Huh! We should have gone to Tesco!

We had a little Christmas whilst we were there....party and presents, much to the delight of the children. Ethan is becoming reluctant to pose for the camera....I think he's been hanging out with his older cousin!
The Princess in her party dress - complete with a little sparkle dust on her face...

... and posing with her mama.

Eden has become a big fan of Michael Jackson, so for her pressies...I got items that she would really appreciate. First, an MJ t-shirt which went straight on her, a sequin hat and an MJ calendar ....I think she was pleased.

We were entertained another day with her mimicing her mother! In fact the whole family, which gave us cause to be more careful how we conduct ourselves in the future! LOL. Here, her dad and brother found her rather amusing.

I LOVE this photo of the 3 of them having a fun moment together.

Eden is quite happy to pose for her 'Papparazi' nanny, so we had a photo shoot. I have edited some of the photos in Roxiosuite and changed them to black and white...is that an MJ song coming?

Whilst there, Keeley showed me her project! It's a doll's house that she bought for Ashley for Christmas. There is still some to complete - like the hall and stairs but it was bare when she bought it. She has painted and decorated it and bought the furniture and little items she has found in the shops. For instance, the vases are actually light pulls that she has painted. She recovered the sofas in purple to match the walls.

She bought the house for about £50 in a sale but has spent about £250 more to furnish and decorate it!

...and there we must leave them....until next time anyway.

Have a Thuper Thursday and keep dry.

Toots for now.