A GUID NEW YEAR TAE ANE AN A

I firmly believe that no one does New Year like the Scots,Hogmanay (I hope I spelled that correctly) has a life of it's own north of the border and the further north you go t he livelier the celebration and the nearer to the true New Year Festival.


There seems to be something in most religions which expresses the need for light in the winter months and the setting of bonfires and the carrying of torches feeds this need although most people have forgotten the reason for such celebration.

Darkness awakens the pagan in all of us,the need to cast light into dark places, to drive out fear and uncertainty still lives within every man and no shame to him for that. Metaphorical fires just don't do it for us,we need to see the light and feel the warmth it gives us.

Christians talk of seeing the light and they is no coincidence,since in its early days when competition from pagan faiths was great the church needed to express itself in ways easily understood.

Seeing the metaphorical light of God meant a leap of faith from belief in what could be seen to a faith in the invisible and for some it was a leap too far. Having faith in the impossible became a virtue,that in itself is strange since it often clashes with the very human instinct to survive.

At the beginning of a new year and speaking as a pagan I hope and pray for toleration between faiths for truth be told it is the “There is only one God” faiths which cause the problem, the my way or no way brigade who cannot tolerate each others beliefs.

Take a look at Jerusalem considered a holy place by several faiths diametrically opposed top each other in every way,fought over for centuries and still in torment. Palestine, stamping ground of Jesus Christ and His apostles is a battle field its population is steadily being cleansed form its environs by the one race in the world who should know better.

Jewish history particularly it’s recent history is filled with the horror of ethnic cleansing of one faith by another,they remember,we remember, and yet they want to drive the native Palestinians from the face of the earth and feel justified in so doing...how can they?

Christians and Jews have one thing in common,a total lack of regard for any view but their own and a single minded insistence that they alone are the chosen of God.

God is love, God forgives all those who truly repent, Would it not be better not to do these evil things in the first place.

My ancestors were persecuted by Christians all down the ages and yet we are peace makers,cultivators and artists. We work with nature not against it and we are above all, tolerant of others beliefs and I will tell you why that is so. It is because we hold the truth in our hands every time we plant a seed,we see it in the sun rise and feel it's strength in the birth of a child.

What ever great power governs all things cares for all men equally, it is mankind himself who makes distinctions not God.

In the New Year let us be tolerant and caring and let us be willing to share our world in good faith with each other . That is my New Years hope, and my nightly prayer.

Happy New Year to every one and may al your dreams come true.

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

THE LAST WORD

For anyone who has been following my Christmas tips I have a final piece of advice if you wish to have a stress free and economical Christmas next year.....begin now!

It's not just a matter of buying a few cards and the odd roll of gift wrap in the sales it is a frame of mind, which should soon become second nature,try it this year and see what I mean.

There were many tips in my Christmas blogs and a re reading of those will tell you that a little forward planning does wonders and save a fortune, for instance,if you are going to make your own cards,gift tags or boxes for home made gifts begin now to store away any card, bits of ribbon or pretty string, suitable sized jars for preserves or sweet. Small scraps of fabric or old clothes which could be cut up to make jam jar covers or decorate cards.

By the summer when the jams are to be made you will have all you need to make your preserve jars into pretty gifts. If you are lucky and have fruit bushes in the garden or live where blackberries and elderberries,crab apple and bullace,rose hips or Rowan live you will have only to buy the sugar to make your preserves By the time the pickling season ends in October you will have shelves full of gorgeous produce for yourself and your friends.

If you can keep a small corner of your mind on the matter throughout the year,picking up bargains whenever you see them in shops of church bazaars,car boot sales and so on you will soon have quite a collection of small gifts for friends and relations, not to mention stocking fillers for the children.

I apologise if this sounds like stating the obvious but in times such as these when money is not plentiful we still want to give our families the very best and planning in this way spreads what cash there is much further,it is fun to watch the cupboards filling up with goodies and satisfying to know that you are storing up treasures for Christmas time,for both family and friends.

Above all have fun,involve the family in fruit picking,label and lid cover making,that way you will keep the fun and the spirit of Christmas in your family all the year round. Corny,yes but true.

And now in the words of Tiny Tim “God bless us,everyone.”

COCNUT AND CHERRY COOKIES

Having caved in yesterday half way through my baking I was happy to be back in my snug kitchen again, with all the cookie jars empty yesterdays baking was not sufficient,and besides,making cookies as one of my

Using up all the lovely bits and pieces left over from the Christmas baking made up for the dark and gloomy day. The kitchen was warm,Pa was out,perfect conditions for a grey day bake in.

8 oz butter

10 oz sugar

10 oz plain flour

2 oz desiccated coconut

3 oz dries cherries chopped

1 egg yolk slightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

pinch of salt

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy them add the egg and vanilla essence and beat again.

Stir in the flour,salt cherries and coconut and mix to a dough.

Line three baking sheets with grease proof paper and place walnut sized balls of the dough on to the prepared trays and flatten with a fork dipped in hot water.

Bake at 190o for 12-15 minutes,remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These cookies are equally good with chocolate chunks and hazelnut pieces, or my favourite white chocolate and pistachio.

Today the cats shared the kitchen for aver half an hour with only the occasional cuss word from Moth and Twiggy too behaved with more than usual graciousness. Whooooopi

GONE BAKING

Avie has been extremely busy today manufacturing mountains of oatcakes and preparing biscuits for the weekend, and has retreated to her bed worn out; normal service to resume tomorrow.

FAST AWAY THE OLD YEAR PASSES

And jolly good riddance some might say! I must admit that speaking as a keen grower of fruit and veg that 2021 was a total wash out in every sense of the word.


On the other hand we did get our stair lift,wet room and downstairs loo installed after several years of banging heads with the powers that be, a definite plus I would say.

I am making no plans for the orchard just at the moment as its fate is still in the lap of the Gods but the other two garden areas,small though they be will have a makeover this year and be adapted to the needs of vegetable growing,beans salads,peas etc. I will not be beaten!

Our two cats,while not exactly matey are at least ignoring each other at the moment and we are thankful for the peace and quiet engendered by this turn of events, the two of them caterwauling sounded far too much like violin practice with a novice piper thrown in for good measure......dreadful!!!!

No sleep again last night, although I was tired sleep escaped me and at two this morning I was on line researching the dubious business interests of one of our local big wigs,,trotters in the trough and all that...I hate corruption in high places,don't you? I mean to winkle it out before this “gentleman” does any further damage to our village. Miss Marple rides again.

I still feel rather festive even though with our son back at work our Christmas is over, I think I shall do some baking tomorrow,the smell of spices is always pleasant and I have lots of lovely Christmassy ingredients to use up.

Perhaps tonight I shall sleep though I think perhaps[s it will take a whack from a 4lb lump hammer to do the trick!

ALL QUIET ON THE CHRISTMAS FRONT

We had a lovely Christmas day and I am only sorry that my son has had to go to work tonight,oh well it makes a short week and we hope to take up where we left off on new Years Eve.


I hope you all having a spleNdid time with lots of everything you like the most.



Last night I was so tired that I was fast asleep by eight and I suspect that tonight will be much the same. Pa, happy with a pile of new railway books will soon be tucked up in bed and as soon as I know my son has arrived at work the cat and I will snuggle up in bed with a movie ,.it may sound boring but to me it's bliss. Night night

CHRISTMAS EVE AT AVIES

I believe I have already mentioned the fact that we always eat our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve,this is a tradition of long standing and it means that I am free to enjoy myself on Christmas Day instead of being confined to the kitchen for the greater part of the day.


It began when my son was born,not I wanted to spend all of Christmas Day with him, it worked so well that we have continued ever since.
We all wanted different things for breakfast,Pa had toast and honey, my son,cheese on toast and for myself two lovely poached eggs,also with toast and while we ate we planned the day.

First the turkey, a free range bronze bird which I ordered way back in October from our butcher in Grimsby, I believe that white turkeys do not need to be ordered so far in advance, the really handy thing is that as a regular customer I shall not be invoiced for our Christmas meats until the New Year. Incidentally the price was the same as last year which is a bonus too.

Having barded the bird with dry cured streaky bacon and stuffed the neck cavity with cranberry,dried apple and chestnut stuffing I put it in to the oven and prepared the vegetables which this year were whole young carrots,sugar snap peas Brussels sprouts and roasties. Aside dish of sage and onion stuffing,apple sauce and gravy completed the meal,which we all enjoyed greatly.

The cats of course partook of the turkey also and purred away like anything while they tucked in.

We finished our meal with iced cream as we felt that Christmas pudding would be too much,perhaps we shall have some tomorrow. We all seem to be very tired of late .I expect it is caused by an enforced stay I doors due to the bad weather, not one of us as any interest in getting soaked while attempting to get a little exercise so we shall,I expect remain yawny for a while yet.

As we were finishing our meal with a glass of whisky a friend of my son arrived bearing the most amazing plate of mince meat muffins beautifully decorated with tiny red ribbon and a holly leaf on each,he is a wonderful cook and Pa and I have always been fond of him.

And now I think I shall take a hot shower,fill my glamorous hottie and have and early night.

No cooking for me tomorrow....hip-hip-hoohrah!!!!

I hope all your Christmas plans turn out wonderfully. Merry Christmas to everyone, everywhere in the world. Hugs for all from Avie...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CATS ,CAKES AND CHRISTMAS CARDS

This has been a very hectic yet very happy day,filled with Christmassy things,carols,and cake making,visitors and Christmas card deliveries. I slept late which made for an interesting morning but there was still time to make potato cakes for breakfast,using up last nights left over mash.


Bread was needed and I baked the special Christmas loaves we always have big and soft and covered in poppy seeds.
Next a trip to the pet shop for some cat treats and a pair of squeaky mice for presents,and more important still time to cool down before the nerve racking annual task of making the huge chocolate Yule log. This is a family tradition and a lovely one, yet I confess that I am always extremely nervous during the entire process and an always very glad when the job is done.

Happily all went well,I always feel that I have fluked it but who cares? A beautiful chocolate log now awaits its final dusting of icing sugar. Pheeeeeew!

My tow cats are still wary of each other but a truce has been declared and Twiggy is more relaxed about our new kitten who is adorable in every way. Today both cats behaved well and I had great fun playing with Twiggy during a lull in the baking.

Shortly after dark my son went out to put the ramp away and found, on the doorstep a parcel for me left by a kind friend. It was a gorgeous soft fleece thow in the most beautiful plum colour,how kind people can be,I am so lucky.

Right now she is sitting on my bed awaiting my arrival with the hot water bottle and I shall not keep her waiting long I think. Tonight we feasted on thick steaks cut from the gammon joint and fried until golden brown,these accompanied by some chips and fried eggs mad a quick and tasty meal.

We yawned our way through pudding and washed up quickly afterwards. My son, who has spent the day writing is now asleep and Pa too has gone early to bed. Now it's my turn, goodnight all,sleep tight.x'

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS

Waking this morning to another day of torrential rain I snuggled back down under the covers,well after all,I only had the breakfast to make, the gammon to cook and a grocery delivery due in the early afternoon.


Cooking whole a gammon is really quite easy, especially if you use a meat thermometer to cut out the guess work. I was mulling over the days tasks when heard the purr of he stair lift coming up the stairs! This is a very uncommon event these days,we had the downstairs lavatory installed Pa only comes upstairs once a day in the evening for a shower......why was he on his way up.....what did he want...it boded no good I felt sure!

I was right of course, On the Saturday morning before Christmas he came to announce that there was a problem with the kitchen electrics. Shocked wide awake And with a sinking heart I questioned him as to the problem.

It seemed that late last night the fuses had blown in the kitchen,he made it sound as if we had no power down there,he waffled on about trip switches and refused to answer my questions. Gibbering by now I informed my son of the potential disaster and he went to investigate and I dressed quickly while Pa did his Private Frazer routine “We're all doomed,doomed I tell ye!”

My son returned with the welcome news that only the washing machine was not working,to be truthful this news would normally cause me much concern but at this time of the year it is the cooker which takes precedence.

Pa had made it sound as if the entire kitchen electrical system had blown when in fact it was just one fuse and all that was needed was to reset the trip switches,I was very relieved.......and very annoyed. It is so like Pa to exaggerate a simple problem in to a ,major catastrophe,my mother has a similar tendency and it can be bloody annoying at times.

We telephoned the repair man and I made pancakes for breakfast before preparing the vegetables and onion sauce. then parcelled up the gammon ready to cook.,things in the kitchen were tricky as the washing machine was leaking soapy water ,I put down an absorbent cloth and carried on regardless.

The repairman came and in spite of all the water pronounced that the machine was functioning normally,he told us we needed to get a new one then left. So what had caused the machine to fuse? We did not know,was it likely to happen again,we could not tell. Nervously I returned to my cooking.

The piece of gammon was huge and took over six hours to cook twenty minutes per pound plus twenty minutes,half an hour before the end of cooking I took the gammon from the oven,skinned it, leaving the fat in place ,sprinkled brown crystal sugar over the fat then scored on a diamond pattern before returning it to the oven for thirty minutes.

We sat down to eat with good appetites and enjoyed our feast,the gammon barely looked touched though we had eaten or fill, there was plenty left for other meals. .The left over mashed potato will make potato cakes for breakfast tomorrow and the vegetables will be added to a soup or a frittata, a favourite super dish.

As we ate our pudding of icedcream we were very glad that the end of the world had been delayed, we would have hated to miss out on our good dinner!
Both cats insisted upon a share of the meal and each had a small plate of trimmings which went down well.

I am sorry to say that I have had a fall last night which has left me with a painful shoulder,wrenched as I attempted to save myself. Hauling great chunks of meat about has done nothing to alleviate the symptoms but I hope that by tomorrow it will be better.


We played dominoes this afternoon which is always good fun, I usually win the most games but today my son beat me ,which of course made him very pleased with himself and I shall probably never hear the last of it...hey ho!

GOODIES FROM GRIMSBY

A lull in the rain meant that we were able to pop out to do some last minute errands before the bad weather closes in again (this evening am told),I scuttled of to post a few cards through letter boxes and then hurried back to my nice warm kitchen.


Just after twelve the Christmas meats arrived from our Grimsby butcher and we unpacked the box together, its really far more exciting than flogging around the supermarket as I believe I have mentioned before. Everything was up to the usual standard and the boys stowed the turkey in the fridge while I put the gammon to steep overnight in cold water to reduce the saltiness.

Finding a large enough receptacle for this task is always difficult,my largest Maslin pan is a little too small but as only the end remains above the water it makes do. Tomorrow this will be served hot with creamy mashed potato,diced winter vegetables and onion sauce. Cooking such a huge piece of meat ensures a moist and juicy gammon which is delicious hot or cold and as the meat is cooked it can be frozen afterwards in steaks,slices or chunks. This size of joint will provide about twelve separate meals for three people between now and the end of February so I am sure that you will agree it was well worth the cost of £35.00.

While we are tucking in to our dinner tomorrow we shall be looking forward to all the lovely soups(made from the boiling stock), the steaks at least 9,the pasta dishes and the pies made with chunks of meat carved off the bone and of course the sandwiches,cold or toasted. It is nice to be able to treat the family while still keeping costs down and there is nothing more spectacular than serving up a whole gammon on the bone steaming hot and golden brown with caramelised sugar,marmalade or maple syrup as a glaze.

My son has spent the day writing ,Pa has filled all the bird food containers,a job which takes quite a time, as for me ,I gave myself a day off cooking and our meal this evening was a selection of cheeses,pates and salad served of course with crusty bread,granary toast and crackers. The mince pies I made yesterday finished the meal,there were only just enough left as a steady stream of visitors munches their way through shortbread,mince pies and stained glass cookies.

Later we had fun with some tiny remote controlled helicopters, a gift to my son several years ago, they are very resilient and great fun especially in the dark as the light up with multi coloured LEDS.

The feline pheromone diffuser seems to have done the tick, Twiggy is a lot less umpty these days and has stopped worrying about Moth, the new cat so that is a great relief all round.

Standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee this evening I suddenly felt incredibly fortunate,the warmth,the lights and the pretty decorations together with having my family at home made me realise just how lucky I am, and my new little calico cat ,with a home of her own at last seemed to agree purring like a small engine as she sat beside me on the settle. Home is all that matters after all.

RAIN,RAIN AND MORE RAIN.

Living close to the river as we do we take a keen interest in the amount of rain that falls up-country and of course any flood warnings there happen to be. If there is a significant risk of flooding in our area we are notified by telephone ,which would,in theory give us time to grab the cats and move upstairs.


Like many riversiders we have a plan which would be put in to action if a flood should occur, and we make sure that all the elements of it are well rehearsed and all necessary equipment in place.

We have fresh bottled water at the ready should our supply become contaminated and the means to make hot drinks and simple cooking if the power fails. First aid kits both upstairs and down and a good supply of water purifying tablets are kept well stocked and tea coffee milk and sugar are always to be found upstairs as well as down.

Tins of beans,soups,bacon etc. are kept handy for grabbing at a moments notice and a couple of wind up radios together with torches,candles, hurricane lamps and so forth are kept in an upstairs cupboard.

Finally should the worst happen and we have to evacuate the house our loft contains a pair of large inflatable dingies,oars and a foot pump. Nothing is left to chance.

Of course the best laid plans can go astray and you can bet your boots that I have forgotten some vital piece of apparatus,time will tell.

To my mind it is the aftermath of a flood which is the worst,the months of drying out , the cleaning and the redecorating,but to have such a thing happen at this time of the year is heartbreaking.

The valley below my childhood home flooded frequently,usually the villagers took it their stride  until one year melt water from the hills caused a small dam at a local fish farm to burst and the village was inundated in minutes. There was no warning, no chance to save anything from the water. It was three days before Christmas and over half the village was under water. The old part of the village as well as the new were equally affected,it was the first time they had any common ground between them.

It was heartbreaking to see the destruction ,Christmas trees, gifts and decorations floating in filthy water,ruined. The villagers set to and cleared our the local pub, any one with a solid fuel cooker was helped back to normal in order that they could cook for those who had no means of doing so.

Word spread and local farmers donated chickens and turkeys and outlying villages took up a collection in our nearest market town and bought presents for every child in the village.
It took months for the village to recover from its worst ever flood and there were hard time for many before all the houses were habitable again,yet that Christmas was remembered by all as a good time. Years later those who were children at the time remembered it fondly and afterwards the bonds of friendship were closer than ever for the dreadful events forge friendships between the old and the new village,which remain strong to this day.

I hope with my whole heart for a warm dry Christmas for everyone, and safety and friendship for any who are unfortunate this year. Night night.

THE LAST MINUTE RUSH

With one week to go you are either laid back and ready for the party or running around like a headless turkey wondering where to begin. It the first is true, congratulations, if the second its rather late to be starting your preparations so make a firm resolve to start much earlier next year and crack on quick smart. After all you don't want to be one of those poor devils stuck at the end of a massive queue outside Argos on Christmas Eve, now do you?

If time is pressing order your groceries on line to avoid having to fight your way around the supermarket at the last minute.
If your tree is not yet up ,pull yourself together and do it today! Christmas cards are always the bug bear at my house,I always hope that someone else will take on this easy task,of course no one ever does so it is always left to me and it usually done at the last moment in a tearing hurry. Don't put it off any longer!

If you have not yet purchased the presents Heaven help you...... do so at once..on line or in person. When my son was young and money was not plentiful.....when is it ever....I used to give ,my son a toy catalogue and tell him how much he had to spend. The process began in September and by Christmas he had chosen his gifts form an ever decreasing short list which gave him hours of fun.

Of course we always kept a little money back for a surprise treat, and although this method scandalised both sets of Grandparents at least the boy got what he wanted for Christmas.

OK, so I have been issuing orders like a regimental sergeant major,mostly I am cross with you for missing all the fun of the big build up, but it's not too late to begin.

When the above list is finished you should still have a little time for family fun . Today I marzipaned the cake and began the process of icing it, after which we had a game of “Rat Race”, it's a rather ancient board game but great fun I assure you. We cracked a box of the Christmas chocs and treated ourselves to a glass of Irish Whisky,even the cat enjoyed the fun.

Dinner consisted of a very simple pasta cheese bake enlivened with a few sun dried tomatoes and a topping of Cheshire and Gruyère. Of course our Christmas has to begin early as my son returns to work on Boxing night,even so we have always tried to spread the fun of Christmas ,it may only come once a year but there is no reason why it should only last a couple of days.

Good luck with your preparations, and if things do not come out according to planned it's not the end of the world,nothing that a group hug won't put right.

NOW IS THE SEASON

When the whole family go down with heavy colds,flu,or worse! Last year both Pa and my son groaned through the festivities nursing headaches,congestion,hacking coughs and noses like Rudolph,while I held the fort. Throughout the holiday I remained immune to the prevailing plague,it was not to last.


New Years Eve found me snuffling.....hey ho! On Saturday Pa arrived at the breakfast table looking rather seedy and with the tell tale red hooter. “Oh dear.” I said,and “Botheration.” Well something like that.

Sunday morning dawned and my son,as we drank our morning coffee confessed to being”A bit snuffly.” By Sunday night a full blown cold had hatched and I resigned myself to another pox ridden holiday watching the rest of the family shaking with pestilence while I polished of the chocs, as I watched them pill popping!

This afternoon a family friend called in to see us and having refused a cup of tea(most unusual) he confessed that he was feeling rather queasy and would not be surprised if he was not going down with the dreaded Noro virus!

Now I am normally a hospitable soul but this information made me rather cross and I informed our guest, who was now a very unusual shade of green that I would take it kindly if he would remove himself from my abode at once.......in other words “Bugger off!”

Why do people insist upon spreading their germs among their friends, as if it is a sort of club. I believe that people who turn in to work while paralytic with some disease or another should be taken out and shot...at once! I constantly tell my son this but he pays no attention. As for paying a Christmas visit to friends while sickening from the Winter Vomiting Bug...a firing squad is too good for them, they should be hung, drawn and quartered!

Why do employers insist upon their workforce dragging themselves half dead in to work,rather than pay them to spend a couple of days getting over what ever it is? After all three would surely be fewer lost man hours if they took this sensible course.

The Pharmacy has run out of Sudafed,a bad sign, and the Christmas shopping list now sports an order for six boxes of tissues, the signs and omens are not auspicious!

This evening with all the chores done and only the Christmas cake to ice, the dreaded chocolate log to make and Christmas dinner to cook I find myself with a sore throat.........BUGGER IT!.......where's the Damson Gin?

OUR HOLIDAY BEGINS

With the return of my son from work this morning our Christmas Holiday began. We breakfasted on a mountain of hot bacon rolls and cups of tea and while we ate we planed our day.


All of us are rather tired at the moment and we decided to spend the next couple of days getting the chores done after which the games will begin.

I tackled the kitchen which has seen much work of late and needed to be spruced up for the holiday,Pa sorted out the recycling and my son headed off to town to post all the last minute cards and parcels. After our efforts I rewarded us with a cup of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, which we all enjoyed.

Odd jobs kept us busy throughout the afternoon and the antics of the cats livened things up considerably. Darkness falls early at this time of the year and soon our house was lit again by Christmas lights and the candles we love to use in winter time.

Feeling festive but very very tired we ate an very simple early evening meal of baked Camembert with crusty bread and apricot sauce,with fried haloomi and some more bacon.

Tomorrow the last of the cleaning will,I hope be finished and we can begin to enjoy ourselves,for now its an early night for all. Night night.

SUNDAY AT HOME

I've had a lovely day. It began with breakfast in bed brought to me by my son,who makes the best toast in the world,then down stairs to the kitchen for a day of baking.


After filling the oven with granary loaves I gave Pa his breakfast and had a cup of good strong tea by which time the bread was done and the kitchen smelled wonderfully of hot bread.

Pa trotted off on some errands and my first batch of baking was sausage rolls for tonight's party, all the while the cat Twiggy patrolled the kitchen and the yard on the watch for our new cat Moth.

Several batches of sausage rolls later and Twiggy was now actually looking quite put out by the fact that Moth had not appeared to be chased away!

Cream cheese and tomato puffs were the next item on my baking list and as I mixed the filling a visitor arrived with cards and a gift for me. This turned out to be a boxed set of recipe books along with some pretty gift tags and flags to decorate plates of food,I was thrilled to receive such a lovely gift as you can imagine.

Twiggy dislikes visitors and retired to my bedroom for a sulk, no sooner had she vanished upstairs than Moth appeared demanding food in her usual cute fashion, both she and twiggy are much admired in these parts. Having eaten, Moth,who adores visitors had a great

time being petted and stroked by a succession of callers.

Packing everything proved to be quite a task but by the time Pa returned I was half finished.

Just as darkness was falling we heard that the river was flooding so I set off with my camera to see if I could get a few shots. I have never seen the river so high,here and their cars with stalled engines could be seen, their owners getting very wet as the water flooded in through the doors .

It was too dark to take good pictures and had begun to rain heavily so I made my way home,a very large dog took exception to my buggy and chased me for most of the way while his frightened owner puffed along behind us. Just as I considered myself done for a car threw a great sheet of water over us and the dog gave up the chase.

Back home I changed and finished the packing before decorating the Pizza base I had made in the morning with lots of ham,cheese and tomato.

I love days like today, I feel so alive when I am baking.

Tonight I intend to tuck myself up in bed and sample the Florentines was given yesterday, then spray my room with geranium and roses before snuggling down with my new hot water bottle.........................bliss.

A VERY BIG THANK YOU

Hi Gang.


A huge and very grateful thank you for the marvellous collection of gifts,your are all very naughty,but I really do appreciate your kindness to me.

The hot water bottle is so glamorous almost feel I could wear it,I have been keeping company with my ancient hottie quite a lot in recent weeks ,I shall feel like a Queen snuggled up with my lovely new one.

The room spray smells wonderful, and it certainly does what it says on the box,I sprayed a little around my room this morning while Richard and I were having coffee at eight thirty,the next thing I knew it was ten fifteen. I was late downstairs and Pa was very smug because had told him last night that we both needed to be up early today, even the cat was spark out and did not stir for hours.

I have a weakness for Florentine s, and it's ages since I had any so you scored yet another bullseye with those.

I hope with all my heart that tomorrows little party will give you some idea of how thankful I am that my son has such wonderful friends and colleagues,next year is going to seem very odd,I shall have no excuse to bake loads of cakes and cookies without you Guys.

I hope that if ever any of you are in our neck of the woods that you will pop in for a cuppa and if I can ever be of help to any one please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Now all that remains is for me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the best New Year ever.

Love and a big hug for each of you from

Avie.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

BREAKFASTS AND BRUNCHES


No one wants to spend ages in the kitchen on Christmas morning cooking a large breakfast and with a little forward planning you won't have to.

POTATO CAKES

Make these over the next few days and freeze them in batches,use any left over mashed potato if you gave it otherwise cook a few extra next time you do spuds.

1 lb mashed potato

2 oz plain flour

pinch of salt

a little milk

butter for frying

Put the mashed potato in to a ;large bowl and sift in the flour and salt. Add a little milk and mix in to a workable dough.

Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan or a griddle and grease with a little of the butter. Roll out the potato dough on a floured surface to a quarter of an inch thick and cut in to rounds using a pastry cutter. This amount of mixture will make around a dozen large cakes or two dozen small ones.

Place the cakes into the hot pan and cook until golden brown on one side the turn over and brown the other side. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.

To prepare them for freezing unroll wrap in cling film,with a slip of grease proof paper between each one.

To re heat toast under a hot grill for a few minutes on each side, serve with butter.

These tasty little cakes can also be used as part of a larger meal, try then with a rasher or two of bacon and and egg,lovely.


CRANBERRY PIKLETS

These too can be made well in advance as they freeze well.

Half a pound of self raising flour

2 oz caster sugar

Pinch of salt

Enough milk to make a thick pouring batter(the amount can vary depending on the type of flour)

2-3 oz of dried cranberries

Butter or lard for greasing

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

2 tablespoons of boiling water

Sieve the flour in to a bowl with the salt, add the caster sugar and mix with the flour. Whisk in the milk until you have a thick pouring batter then stir. Mix the bicarbonate with the boiling water then stir in to the mixture thoroughly.

Grease a heavy bottomed pan or griddle them pour on a enough of the mixture to make a saucer sized pancake. Sprinkle on a few of the cranberries, as the Piklet cook bubbles will appear on the top,reduce the heat and wait until the bubbles begin to pop then flip the piklet over and brown on the other side. Keep warm in the oven until all are cooked then serve with a little butter.

Raisins or sultanas may be used instead of cranberries in which case serve them with maple syrup and butter.

To freeze use the same method as for the potato cakes.


IRISH SODA BREAD

This one you have to make on the day but it is so quick to do and there are so many variations that it is worth knowing about just in case you run our of bread over the holiday.

Pre heat oven to190oC

8 oz plain white flour

8 oz wholemeal flour

extra flour for dusting

1 tspn salt

2 tspn bicarbonate of soda

2tspn cream of tartar

one and a half oz butter or lard

1tspn caster sugar

12-13 fl oz milk or buttermilk

Pre heat oven to 190oC and lightly grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl,add the bicarbonate of soda and the cream of tartar then rub in the butter or lard. Stir in the sugar.

Pour in sufficient milk to mix to a soft dough. Do not over mix of the bread will be heavy and tough Shape in to a round on a lightly floured surface.

Place on a greased baking sheet and mark a cross on the top with a sharp knife cutting deep in to the dough.

Dust lightly with whole meal flour and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread is well risen and sounds hollow when knocked on the base. Serve warm.

For breakfast try with some crispy bacon and roast cherry tomato, For lunch add some chunks of sundried tomato and a pinch of Italian herbs to the dough mix before cooking and serve with a tasty soup or a mozzarella salad. For tea add a few chunks of cheese to the mixture before cooking then split and butter when still warm.

Back To Normal Soon

Avie has been packed off to bed - complaining as ever - but has had a very hard day's work. Normal service to be resumed tomorrow!

Son of Avie

You cannot have too many different types of cookie at this time of the year,after two weeks steady baking today I baked the last of the special Christmas cookies,most of which are destined to be gifts for friends.


BLUEBERRY AND TOASTED HAZELNUT COOKIES

8oz butter

5 oz caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

10 oz plain flour

3 oz dried blueberries

4 oz hazelnuts.

Line your baking sheets with grease proof paper,pre heat the oven to 180oC. Chop the hazelnuts then toast them in a heavy bottomed pan over a high heat until they become golden brown then pour at once in to a bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together then add the egg yolk and vanilla essence and beat again.

Sift in the flour and salt,add the blueberries and hazel nuts and mix together to form a dough.

Form the mixture in to small balls about the size of a walnut and place on the prepared baking sheet,flatten gently with a fork dipped in warm water the bake for between 10 and 12 minutes or until light brown.

Leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Makes 24 cookies.

CRANBERRY AND COCONUT COOKIES f

The method for making these is the same as above, just substitute 2 and a half oz of coconut for the hazel nuts and 3 oz of cranberries instead of the blueberries. Also makes 24.

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

One of the things I love most about Christmas is sharing all the lovely preserves we have been fortunate enough to produce with our friends and neighbours. With the kitchen filling up daily with more good things it is fun when people call in to sample the latest batch of cookies of try a slice of cake. I know of no better way of getting the feel good factor than to watch the faces of our friends,the postmen, delivery drivers and the lovely people who take care of us through out the year when they collect their Christmas goodies .


A warm kitchen smelling wonderfully of good things cooking is an attractive place and it does not have to be smart,sophisticated or even particularly tidy. A cosy kitchen is a magnet for young and old alike and at this time of year ours is very popular indeed.

I love Christmas in spite of the fact that I am not a Christian. I love the busyness and bustle, the sparkle and glitter,the shear downright gaudiness of it all appeals to the child within.

Christmas can all to easily become a chore,and with so much extra work to do,especially for working mums it can all seem too much.

Try to remember r that you are not super human, forget house work for a few days and concentrate on family fun. If every one has their own allotted tasks towards making Christmas the chores can become fun and the excitement of what is to come is real, rather than the product of television adverts. I suppose what I am trying to say is make Christmas your own, in years to come your children won't remember if the house was tidy on Christmas day, they may not even remember the gifts they were given,my own son remembers little of this

What he does remember is the love which surrounded him, the games we played together,and the magic that a loving family can make for each other and for those around them.

A perfect Christmas is the part which lives in the memory and becomes more dear year on year, so if the turkey doesn’t defrost in time or the tree falls over, you forgot to buy any sprouts or your house looks more like Widow Twanky's Laundry than a fairy tale palace soar above it,give the person nearest to you a hug and store it away as a memory to be laughed about in years to come.

I once set the chimney ablaze on Christmas day,my neighbour called the Fire Brigade and then rushed in to our living room with a fire extinguisher. He put out the fire so well that it refused to light again for days,covered my Grandfather in foam,scared the life out of the cat and blew our Christmas tree in to a tangled heap of dripping tinsel and shattered glass.

Sounds like a disaster ,and yet within a couple of hours we were eating our Christmas lunch and laughing until our sides ached. We still laugh about it every year. It was the horrified look on our neighbours face when he realised the havoc he had created which caused all the mirth.

Lord knows what I've been waffling on about, it's been one of those days.

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

THE SCHOOL PLAY !!!!!


It occurs to me that I have been extremely remiss in not mentioning the one Christmas activity sure to put the breeze up even the most confident of parents. Weather your offspring is to be Mary ,Joseph,a donkey of more often than not one of “sundry shepherds” once your budding super star has been chosen to play a part the heat is on.

At least with the Nativity everyone knows the story and we all has plenty of old tea towels to make shepherds head dresses. Even so the pressure is on poor old mum to produce a gown worthy to be
worn by the likes of Paltrow or Knightly,after all we don't want to let the side down,do we.

At this point it is worth mentioning that apart from the donkey most of the costumes can be made without even having to sow, after all the show is only going to run for a couple of days at the most.

In its simplest form an effective costume can be made by taking a length of fabric roughly double the child’s measurement from the shoulder to the floor, folding it in half,cutting a slot in the middle of the fold then slipping it over the child’s head and belting the middle with a piece of cord or plaited string.

If you have ambitions to become a wardrobe mistress,remember the old seventies kaftan,using a wider piece of fabric fold as before but this time cut a T shape so that the garment will have arms, and the same slit for the neck. The sides can be joined with iron on hemming tape or even fabric glue. This type of costume lends itself rather well to the wise men and other dignitaries.

Getting the donkey is definitely the sort straw as far as mum is concerned ,perhaps you should attend the P.T.A. Meeting more often and ingratiate yourself with teacher? How ever you can still triumph without a single stitch.

Dress the child in grey or brown from head to toe and then buy one of those reindeer antler head dresses seen everywhere at this time of year and bought for pennies.

Cut two long donkey ears from card and glue them with copydex on to the antlers. When to glue has dried cut of any protruding bits of antler then paint the ears to match the costume,don't worry too much about the colour as a donkey's ears are often darker than it's body. Make a tail from wool or unravelled string and attach to the seat of the trousers or leggings with a safety pin..Eyore style!

Use a little brown face paint to darken the child’s face but leave the eye area light. Draw a thick black circle around each eye slanting slightly at the corners, this is very appealing to the audience and your child will probably upstage even the Virgin Mary in to ooooooh and ahhhhh stakes.

My Primary School had delusions of grandeur as far as theatricals were concerned,one of our teachers having belonged to E.N.S.A. One year it was decided that the upper school should do a dramatisation of “The Pied Piper of Hamlin” the announcement of this caused the mothers concerned to “Shake with a mighty consternation” .As you see I still remember my lines, you see I was the narrator.

The Pied Piper's costume was bad enough, not to mention the Mayor and the Corporation, the towns people and....a couple of dozen rats!!!!!!! It was the teachers brain wave to ensure that every child got a part in the play, but before the month was out there was not a bit of old fur hearth rug, grey army blanket or tatty old fur coat left within miles of the village.

On the day of the first house(there were two) the show caused a great stir,unfortunately this was because one enterprising mother made fashioned for her little ratling a nose made from a pink marsh mallow,this was promptly bitten of by another little rat in full view of the audience.
“Is there a Doctor in the house?” Loud screams, curtain!

ORKS DRIFT

With my kitchen full of rampant Orks Necrons ,Elder and Grey Knights, there was no room for poor little me,aaaaaaah! Judging by the sounds emanating from the battlefield I imagine that there was plenty of “sanguis in via”, not to mention a great rattling of dice and a lashing of tape measures....all good clean fun!


Pa, a wretched outcast and myself, a fugitive from the Rhinos,tanks and other deadly weapons were holed up for the day in my room with a large bag of jam doughnuts,a box of biscuits and copious amounts of coffee,laced with Irish Whiskey,that deadened the pain slightly, as we waited for peace to break out or the absolute silence of total destruction neither of which came soon!

With my hands unusually idle and my brain disengaged I contemplated writing a new soap opera set in ancient
Rome a sort of “Platea Coronationem”. I had been waiting for a programme to begin and had fallen foul of a trailer for “Holly Oaks” and could not help wondering if it would be as popular in Latin, “Quercus Ilex”. I can just imagine old Caligula yelling to his torture squad to take a break while he went off to watch “Unicum via Essex est” !

Once embarked upon this whimsical train of thought I began to concoct other frivolous Latin television shows, such as “ ad nuntia in decem”, THE NEWS AT TEN, or “domum et procul”, Home and Away.

All I achieved was to convince ,myself that my command of Latin is not what it was,and I resorted at last to composing next weeks shopping list,a sure sign of boredom. So after this Pa decided to go to his room to read and I was then able to dust my room and deal with the ironing....you may image my rejoicing at this turn of events!Tomorrow I return to my Christmas preparations with a will, good night to all.

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

A HUNTING WE WILL GO


If at any time I have given the impression that I am a super efficient Alpha female type I hasten to assure you that it is not so!

I am fallible,very,very fallible, and it is because of this awful truth that today's blog concerns a simple form of preparation which can save hours of cursing,swearing and much burrowing in cupboards and drawers as I was obliged to do today.

It was with the best of intentions that set out to do a marathon cookie bake today. The kitchen was empty,just me and the cat,and tomorrow with the house full of very tall young men I shall be unable to get within yards of the cooker,sensible,yes?

Bowls mixers,spoons and measuring jugs all to hand I admit to a tiny moment of smugness,the huge box of ingredients,purchased over the past few weeks was awaiting my perusal,all I needed was the book of recipes......................................................................after a long...and fruitless search it became apparent that the pixies had struck again!

Frantic by now I searched all the places previously rummaged...no luck, I looked every where it could be three times and everywhere it could not be in equal measure and by this time the house looked as if it had been raided by the drug squad. I made coffee,admitted defeat and got dressed to go out for a while to calm myself down.

As I collected the necessary items,phone,purse, camera, I noticed that the camera battery was almost flat,the charger was in a desk draw....................so was the book for which I had been searching most diligently for the whole morning. I am prepared to swear (and I did) that the book was not there when I searched the drawer on at least three separate occasions during the morning.

Of course at my age it could just be that I am going ga-ga,I can hear the marbles rolling down hill even as I write.

Eventually I managed to bake four dozen lebkuchen and three dozen toffee cookies,about half of my intended work load for the day.

Hear comes the moral, before you mean to begin,but not so far in advance that you forget everything ,locate all you need for your cooking,right down to the last cocktail stick and chocolate sprinkle. Next time I need a recipe book to help me put together an online order I shall take the lap top to the kitchen,not the book to the lap top.

Now I am off for a hot shower, before something worse befalls, night night.

SO FAR SO GOOD

A little cooking and a little housework was allowed today and I managed to get through the work quite well I thought. Getting back on my feet seems to take longer these days,I think that the longer I lie about in bed the weaker become so it is good to be up and about again.


Dinner tonight was perfect for the time of year,a Pork and vegetable casserole made with a rich cider sauce and served with a bloomer from the freezer was exactly what we all needed on such a chilly old day.

APPLE CIDER SPICED PORK CASEROLLE

1lb diced pork steak

1 large carrot

1 small turnip

1parsnip

quarter of a swede

half a pond of small potatoes cut in half

1 large onion

1 sweet apple

1 can of cider

1 tablespoon of tomato purree

1 tablespoon of plain flour

1 tablespoon of apple jelly

half a pint of chicken stock

salt and pepper

a grating of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 tablespoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

1 tablespoon of oil

Put the oil in to a pan and add the meat fry until golden brown then add the onions and cook until they soften. Add the flour and the tomato purree then stir until all the meat is coated. Place the meat into a deep casserole dish. De-glaze the pan with the cider and pour over the meat. Peel and roughly chop the vegetables and add to the pot with the small potato halves. Season with salt and pepper then add the stock. Sprinkle on the paprika ,nutmeg and the ground coriander and stir in with the apple jelly. Cover the pot and cook in the oven at 180oC for an hour and a half.

Put the pan on to a hot ring and reduce the liquid for a few minutes, add the balsamic vinegar just before serving with crusty bread or hot cheese scones.

Late last night after had fallen asleep the two cats had a stand off in the kitchen,poor old Pa had no chance and certainly came off worse. Twiggy woke me by jumping on my bed and imitating an air raid siren and poor little moth took to her heels.

I read the riot act to Twiggy and today ,much chastened she is roosting on my radiator while Moth is asleep on a chair under the kitchen table. So much for the much vaunted cease fire. Perhaps I should avail myself of Hillary Clinton’s expertise while she is in this neck of the woods.

The afternoon sun belies the dreadful cold that insinuates itself under doors and through cracks in the windows and we have all taken to wearing sweaters indoors rather than turn up the heating...after all it could get colder still. Snuggling up in bed with a hottie and piling on the fur rugs is something that we all look forward to at the moment and the fact that we are all more tired than usual is adding to the attraction of a warm bed and a hot drink.

Tomorrow hope to pick up both the baking and Avies Home Made Christmas where left off, I love all the bustle that the season creates ,all the lovely sights sounds and smells of
Christmas and the kitchen is at the heart of our family celebrations always ,so for me there is no better place to be.

FEELING BETTER

Well folks,I did it again, struck down in the run up to Christmas with a recurrence of kidney problems...and damned painful it was too. Thankfully I seem to be on the mend although the boys are not letting me do much at the moment so I am having a lovely rest. Not having slept for several nights it is wonderful just to be lying still in bed and out of pain at last.

By tomorrow I hope to be back on the job,my son has been wonderful,cooking,shopping washing up and caring for me as well as any mother could do....I have been well and truly spoiled.

Thank heavens made a good start of the Christmas baking with masses of mince pies and shortbread already stowed away. I have a very special party to cater next week and am determined on it's being a blockbuster. All the delectable ingredients await my attention and I cannot wait to get started.

For now though I shall obey instructions and keep company with my cats and a hot water bottle as I am rather shaky after the last few days.

The house has been busy with people calling to collect Christmas cakes,chutney and other seasonal treats,the boys have been playing host thus time...I'm just glad that the cookie jars were full!

Moth,our little Calico kitten and our beloved Twiggy seem to have agreed a truce and moth now spends most of her time indoors. Twiggy draped across a radiator shelf in my bedroom and Moth ensconced on a brand new cushion on the old kitchen settle, a great relief all round to be sure.

It is good to see the newcomer gaining confidence each day and feeling sure of her welcome and of course a good meal,we are very lucky to have two such adorable cats.

I seem to feel sleepy all the time ,too much codeine I expect,I think I might have a little nap now,in an hour or so I shall be given my tea and I want to be wide awake for that. I wonder what it will be today!

Being Sensible...

Avie has once again been forced – reluctantly – to retreat to her bed. Hopefully all will be well soon – provided that she is a sensible Avie and gets some rest!!!

Son of Avie

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

STUFFED DATES AND MARZIPAN FRUITS


I love those gorgeous little marzipan fruits on sale at this time of the year,what I can never understand is why they are so very expensive, after all they are just snippety bits of marzipan painted with food colouring . I often use these little delights to decorate cakes at Christmas , it takes very little time or skill and the fruits look so pretty,they make a good gift too.

1 small block of marzipan

food colourings, red,yellow, and green

a few cloves

Decide what fruit you want to make and break or cut the marzipan in to pieces, I always think that oranges,lemons and limes look good at this time of year and perhaps apples and pears.

Take a small piece of marzipan and roll it into a ball,then shape into an orange each fruit should be at least an inch high. Mix a little red food colouring with some yellow and mix until you get a smooth orange colour then paint the fruit.

Using the rest of the marzipan make into various fruit shapes, round for oranges .and apples,oval for lemons and of course pears speak for them selves.

Place the fruits on a sheet of baking paper to dry for several hours or until the next day.

Take the whole cloves and remove the star shaped piece from one end,then separate the small ball from the star. For the oranges and lemons push the star shape into one end of each fruit to form the calyx. For the apples and pears push the stalk of the clove into the top of each fruit and a star shaped piece into the bottom.

Use the fruits to decorate a cake or place in little paper cases and serve with dessert, they also make a lovely gift prettily boxed.

Now for the left over marzipan, all you will need is the snippets left over from decorating your cake and a box of whole dates.

Remove the stone from each of the dates and form the marzipan into stone shaped pieces. Insert the marzipan stones into the dates as neatly as possible, Store until needed in an airtight tin. If you have enough marzipan left make a few simple leaf shapes which when painted will form a pretty border for the dates when they are served. Dust with a little ground almond as iot makes the dates less sticky when eating.

PA'S BIRTHDAY FEAST

AVIE TAKES A BREAK FROM CHRISTMAS

Only temporarily I hasten to add as today was spent preparing Pa's Birthday feast. For this meal I procured a special piece of nose end of brisket on the bone. I delicious cut of meat and wonderfully inexpensive when compared to Fore rib roasting joints.

It tastes nothing like the rolled boneless brisket commonly on sale. Many butchers are loath to sell Brisket with the bone in as it actually does taste at least as good,we think better than the expensive cuts of roasting meat,it does take careful cooking but once you know the secret it becomes a breeze.

5-7 lb (more if you like) joint of brisket on the bone,ask for the nose end as it is the best part.

Take a large roasting dish and pour in about 1 pint of cold water. Place a trivet or a wire rack in to the pan then place the joint on the rack bone side up.

Cover with foil and seal well,then place in an oven heated to 180oC . A joint of the above size will take at least four hours to cook. Test to see that the meat is almost done then turn the meat over and cook for a further 30 minutes at 200oC by which time the meat should be brown and crisp on the outside.

Rest for at least 20 minutes before serving and up to 1 hour, during which time you can roast the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings and cook your vegetables.

Pour all the liquid out of the pan. You will see that there is a lot of fat (dripping) pour off most of the dripping and set aside. Use the pan juices to make your gravy adding a little salt and pepper and cornflour to thicken. A splash of port wine added just before serving does no harm at all.

The dripping can be used for roasting potatoes,or spread on hot toast and sprinkled with a little salt or even a little brown sugar. I know that fat is unfashionable these days but do try this rare delicacy if you can. If there is plenty I sometimes make a Lardy cake...very naughty indeed.

Pa loves hazelnut Pavlova and so ,of course made a large opulently decorated specimen for today’s pudding,after which we were all much too stuffed to face the cheeseboard.....oh well another time.

AVIES HOME MADE CHRISTMAS

NUTTY DECORATION FOR A FRUIT CAKE

Sorry about the glitch yesterday,I sometimes find that the day goes on for longer than I can manage,today I finished buying in the necessaries for my Christmas baking,the next couple of weeks it will be action stations as my own count down to Christmas gets under way.

The steady stream of pre -Christmas visitors has already begun and most of the afternoon was given over to entertaining old friends with tea and shortbread. One job I did manage to complete was the decorating of a very rich fruit cake, an annual gift to a good friend, and the recipe for which was published last month.

As I opened the tin the aroma of fruit, brandy and spices filled the kitchen,its one of the things I love about this time of the year. Assembled on the table were Brazil nuts,blanched almonds,walnut halves,glacé

cherries, ,marzipan and the syrup from a jar of preserved ginger.

Unwrap the cake and turn upside down on to a flat plate or cake board. Remove the marzipan from its packaging and knead until it begins to soften. Dust the table with icing sugar and roll out the icing to roughly the size of the top of the cake,paint the top of the cake with some of the ginger syrup then lay the rolled marzipan on the top of the cake and press down gently.

Trim away any excess marzipan to make a neat edge( save any marzipan trimmings, find out why tomorrow) then beginning at the outside start to decorate the top with the nuts and fruit. There are lots of different ways of doing this so indulge your creative side. Paint the underside of each nut of cherry with a little of the syrup then press each piece into the marzipan.

When your pattern is complete carefully brush over the fruit and nuts with the remaining syrup and leave open for about an hour to dry a little.

If you wish the sides of the cake can then be covered with a piece of bright ribbon. Store the cake in and air tight container until needed.

Before you put your cake into its tin first line the tin with a long piece of grease proof paper making sure that it overhangs the sides by about six inches then place the cake on the top of the paper, this will make it much easier to retrieve from the tin.

Christmas postponed!

It's been a very long and trying day; Avie has had again to retreat to bed. More on the Home-Made Christmas to come tomorrow!

Son of Avie

AVIES HOME MADE CHISTMAS

LOVE AND LOGISTICS

If during the mad rush towards the great day you had the time to stop and consider the amount of raw materials required,and all needing to be acquired to produce the traditional Christmas day you could well be reduced to a gibbering wreck.

There are ways to alleviate the problem,prevent the last minute death march round the supermarket and give you more time for the important things,like having a game with the children or a quiet drink with your partner.

Order your Christmas meat,be it turkey,beef,gammon or goose as soon as possible and arrange to have it delivered on the 22nd or 23rd of December. This means that you will not have to heave a huge hunk of meat around with you when you shop. It also give you a fails safe so that if for some reason your meat does not arrive you still have time to replace it . Do not worry about the missing bird,if the provider fails to deliver it to you on the specified date then he must refund you at once.

You do not have to order fresh meat from a butcher, most super markets deliver and you can book a slot in advance. Even if you do not normally have your goods delivered it is well worth doing so on the last two shops before Christmas,things like tea ,coffee washing up liquid, all the run of the mill stuff that can easily be forgotten if the frantic hunt for last minute gifts or dashing round the neighbourhood with cards.

I leave only the fresh fruit and vegetables until the last day or so,I find that cuts the job down to size.

I know I bang on about supermarket meat but there are some things even they do well and if you are worried about G.M , Iceland guarantees that all its own brand products are G.M free, that’s rare these days.

Don't be tempted to over shop,all that will result if a full dustbin,these days the shops only close for a couple of days at least. Last year a friend of ours rang in a panic on Christmas morning because his turkey was still rock solid and he he had ten guests for dinner. All was not lost,many halal butchers open on Christmas day and a short drive to the nearest town produced a perfect bird and saved the day.

Try a market stall ,farm shop of green grocer the quality will be better and the cost may even be less.

One more thing, a request. I know that times are tough but please,please spare a thought for the homeless. It is, as Dickens said at this time of year that want is most keenly felt and abundance rejoices. A small donation, anything at all is better than ignoring this problem. If cash is short then old clothes are always welcome at places like “Crisis at Christmas”.

I know it can be difficult to relate to a smelly old tramp ,but think of this,they were all children too,they had family and friends. They loved and were loved in turn,as we love our own children.

It is all in too easyto fall into such desperate poverty,any one of us,any of our beloved children could so easily become homeless. I Hope with all my heart that if such a thing should happen to my son that someone would care enough to help,if I was no longer there to do so.

Even the small change in your pocket can make a difference, and a hot meal can be a turning point for someone on the edge, and wouldn't you fell so much happier as you ate your Christmas dinner that someone else was feeling the warmth of hot food and the knowledge that someone cared a little. Thank you....Love Avie.