Did Santa Come To You?

A long while back I was wondering how to get a print out of my blog so I could have a hard copy for the kids. I consider this blog less a public display and more a journal these days, so wanted a copy to refer to. After a fair bit of research, it all seemed too hard. I must have mentioned this to Mr BB, as on Christmas Day I was presented with a bound copy of Button Beauty! I am thrilled and love it. He spent considerable time compiling it, and for that I am so grateful. So much more meaningful than something quickly whipped off a shelf. Thanks honey!

The Christmas season finally saw me clear the dining table too, so we could eat Christmas breakfast and dinner! To do so, I finished off the tiered skirts.

One for my niece PP:


One for Miss M who turns 3 in January:


The next few will form new stock for a little 2009 sanity project - stay tuned!

The pudding was amazing, the ritual complete, and Mr BB whipped up a vanilla bean custard and a vanilla bean ice cream to go with it! Along with a saved bottle of Moet, we had a fabulous day!


Master 6 was not well on the day unfortunately, however he still managed to complete a series of Lego creations we thought would last a week!

Today we will spend in the garden, hoping for a peaceful and happy time.

Many thanks for all the support and encouragement from you readers over the year. As my blogaversary approaches, I am amazed that I have stuck this out, and that I have made so many new and dear connections in the crafty blog world.

Happy New Year - keep safe.

J

Mince Pies

MMMmince pies. Fabulous part of the pre-Christmas dance. I only got to mine yesterday after having the ingredients on the bench for 2 weeks!

Tradition has it that if you eat 12 mince pies over Advent, you will have twelve months of good luck and good health. I am certainly trying to get a year of good health!

These are an annual tradition for me. My dearest old buddy and I have been making them for years. The story goes that JR and her Mum were having afternoon tea at the Windsor Hotel in '98 and asked the pastry chef for his recipe for the brilliant pastry. The filling is suited to us - you can modify it to your own taste!

Pastry:
250g softened unsalted butter
250g icing sugar
1 egg
60ml milk (full cream)
500g plain flour

Beat butter and icing sugar until well-combined. Add egg and milk and lastly flour.

Do not overwork. Pop in fridge at least 2 hours wrapped in cling wrap.

Filling:
2 jars of MacRobertson's fruit mince
1 packet chopped, dried apricots
100g currants

I like a pastry star over the mince mixture as a "lid", or you can dust them with icing sugar, or leave them plain.

No need to do any blind baking - just roll, cut into rounds, cook in greased patty pan tins until lightly golden in moderate oven.

CHEAT: If you would rather stick pins in your eyes than make pastry, pampas do a passable shortcrust pastry case (in frozen section of the supermarket) which is easier but not as tasty as the above recipe. There are 12 in a pack, and retail for $5-$6 (making pastry is MUCH cheaper).

YUM!

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa -

Is it true that only good boys and girls get presents? What if there are moments of good in amongst a sea of just trying? Does that count? How about we say that good behaviour is in the eye of the beholder? In relative terms it can be good - it can!

So Santa, can you please help me out? I am on the verge of needing a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down, but can you please, please, please tell me how I can get Agents Lego without paying over $70 in postage and without going near the shops?

Master Six and his list-to-Santa-mark-three has thrown me in a spin...

Lego is the one thing I cannot sew. Or can I??

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

A ring, cuff-links, a flash-drive, a lamp shade, a cuckoo clock, and a sewing machine, all from LEGO! A-ha - maybe I can crochet the lego required?! Felt it?!


Or Not.

J

And atop the tree...

Is it a star, symbolising the star that led the wise men to the stable?

Is it an angel, who appeared to the shepherds to tell them of the birth of the baby Jesus??

No! Master Six chose this instead for our festive tree topper...

Let's hope that the meaning of Christmas becomes a little clearer as advent progresses!

Speaking of advent, look at this perfectly simple advent calender by Kootoyoo: brilliant Kirsty!

J

Inventive Advent

Check out these lovely recipes that form an advent calender here.

I am off to buy some Chocolate Royals to make these!



Clickety click!! Go on, they're magnificent!

J

Christmas crafts and creations

In an effort to clear the dining table, I am still working away at Christmas presents. I am relieved I didn't plan to knit any pressies this year, as I have slowed right down on the needles. Ground to a halt even seems mild!

So the Janome and I have been in sweat-shop mode. Apart from the buttony wall-hanging above, there have been five library bags, one apron, one shower hat, an embroidered gran-roll-a for Mum's handbag (based on Kirsty's fabbo designs), an advent calender (no, it was not ready for December 1st...), a skirt for Miss 2 is cut out and ready to sew, and the mending of course must be done. Phew! No wonder I am tired! Miss 2 continues coughing up a storm, so nights are now open for sewing (no sleep here)!


Sew much to do!!

J

Christmas Pudding

Do you make your own Christmas Pudding?
Plum duff?
Pud?

Are you a steam-it-in-the-cloth or a pudding bowl type?

Brandy cream? Custard? Ice cream? Whipped cream? Plain? Lit with brandy? Hot? Cold slices for days afterwards?

What's your tradition?

My Nan came from quite a background. For years, Nan made the pudding based on a recipe from their cook/house-keeper (is that right Mum?)

It was always boiled in a pudding cloth, and hung with its pals (there were usually three or four), on a broom handle in the spare room. When Mum got our pudding from Nan it was hung on a nail in a rafter of the kitchen roof.

This "hanging" of the pudding has always been part of the mystery and tradition of the pudding for our family. The whiff of pudding, the allure of knowing what lies within the calico folds, all part of the process.

This will be the first year that I have made a pudding by myself, as we will remain in Canberra for Christmas. We have always been with the family, but this year, for many reasons, we are staying put.

Mr BB and I could not conceive of a Christmas without a pudding. He comes from the pudding bowl set, I hail from the cloth. I readied myself for the challenge.

I set myself up by purchasing and setting out all the ingredients, worrying that it was beyond my skill-set, and trying to remember the pudding-making sessions of my childhood.

Packet-suet versus the real thing ordered from the butcher? (they grate it for you to make it easier);
What size pudding cloth? Did Nan halve the recipe or double it?
What was the method again? She did it by feel so often...

After all my careful calculations, measurements, and planning, the Great Pudding cook-up took FOUR DAYS to complete.

Not only did I forget to add ingredients, my bowl was far too small to mix it, and my stock pot too small to cook it!

Once we got it all together, Mum was here for a visit, so the process became even more special. Mum, myself, and Miss 2 used Nan's recipe and created (hopefully) a magnificent pudding.


Mum and I were both quite emotional, remembering Nan, enjoying Miss 2 spooning the mix into the opened and floured cloth (licking the spoon, the bench, her fingers...)


The job was made much easier and more pleasurable by Mum being here. The smell of the cooking pudding was amazing, the whole process fantastic.



Finally it has been hung, and will be cooked again Christmas morning. Even if we are sweltering in the heat, it will boil for several hours. And if it fails to work out? We will slather it with ice-cream, cream and custard, and eat it anyway!



This week's baking task - Mince pies! Stay tuned.

j