And.... We're back!

I know it's been a while since I blogged... and if you're a regular reader, you may be wondering why. Well... it all started when Miss Twinset upset Ruby. She sat there in her corner of the kitchen, waving her wine glass wildly, complaining about the fact that her favourite bottle opener had vanished and blaming Ruby without thought to the fact that the Other One had borrowed it the week before. She then proceeded to burn sage bundles and waft the smoke all around the kitchen in a "cleansing" ceremony... Naturally, this is one of the quickest ways to tick off a kitchen pixie... You may be wondering how this affected my ability to blog... well, to be honest... it didn't :-) It was rather distracting though! The Other One eventually had her housekeeper 'fess up to having "stolen" the bottle opener and a thimble of the good Sauvignon Blanc was left for Ruby to appease her, but in the meantime, I deemed it too dangerous to cook while Ruby was in a snit... who knows what damage could've been done.

My blogging silence is going to come to a halt though and if you think about it, you'll see why. After all, it's at this time of year that kitchen's all around the world start to work overtime, using the total energy production of a small country (or several for that matter) and producing more goodies than should ever be eaten by the average family in a year, let alone over the Festive Season! Naturally, mine is no different! You see, it's at times like these that in most homes Granny's trusty recipe book is dusted off and opened reverentially on the counter top where wives, mothers, daughters and daughters-in-law hunch over the "magical tome" trying to figure out what their husbands, sons and fathers are after when they reminisce about Christmases past. For like it or not, all men have dishes that they remember from their childhoods, without which a celebration like Christmas simply "isn't what it was" when their Mother did it. For us girls, it's the memories we have of endless baking, the house all full of the scent of all-spice and cinnamon or perhaps it's the shortcuts of local supermarket mince pies and tinned ham that we remember.

I know that for Miss Twinset it's the almost unattainable "Stepford Christmas" ideal that she has in her head and she has a special Twinset and matching apron (along with antique pearls) that she has put aside for the occasion. She invites family and friends and tries to colour co-ordinate everything... it may sound good, but I have to tell you, that it's a whole different story when you sit down to a green and white table where most of your meal is also green! Picture plenty of broccoli, brussel sprouts and spinach. The gravy was green! The Other One is of course a different thing all together... She hires an event company to stage manage her home ("money is no object dahlings") and throws a serious party that most of the town is invited to. She had to hire a planner after the year when she purchased the entire stock of the local bottle store, but forgot to order any hor d'oeuvres! It took the phrase "liquid diet" to a whole new level and although most of us still can't remember a damn thing after the first hour or so, we have it on good authority from the local police that it was a party for the record books!

So... what is Christmas in our home? That has changed over the years as I think many traditions must. As a kid, I remember my Gran baking mince pies with fruit mince that she had made herself and bottled months before. Those are still the best mince pies in the world, though it's been many many years since I've had them. There was a flurry of baking as the season began with my Mom making literally (and I do mean LITERALLY) a 100 dozen biscuits of different types. I don't remember them lasting long, but I do remember our kitchen filled with the reassuring smell of warm cookie dough, with counters covered in trays holding biscuits in various stages of production. As a child, that kind of kitchen co-ordination is truly magical and watching simple things like eggs, flour, sugar and butter turning into mouthwatering delights, was the first time I realised that you don't need to buy the things you love to eat! Then, for a day or two before the big Christmas Lunch, my Dad (who always has and always will do all the cooking) prepared and cooked the various meats ... sometimes turkey, or goose or duck or chicken, but always tongue. Which I never eat. In fact, the Other One is noticeably paler at the thought. Miss Twinset doesn't eat it either... as she said, you never know what butt that tongue last licked. I know they wash it, but she has a point :-) He loves it though and I love him, so the rule is that he's welcome to it as long as he cleans the pot and keeps it separate from what I eat :-)

It's important to note that down here in the South of Africa in the grand old Town of Cape, that Christmas takes place in the middle of Summer... in the hottest time of the year. This doesn't exactly lend itself to a full roast with six (6) vegetables as you can imagine. However, this is what we did for years as most of my family is of English descent. It was traditional and something to look forward to and looking back, it amuses me how much food we cooked, as dinner plates are only 'so' big and simply can't hold much food. I'm sure it's the same in many of your homes too. Of course, as I said, traditions change and adapt, re-inventing themselves into fresh versions as needed, until we come to the Christmas meals of today - my adulthood. My Dad still cooks a tongue (gulp), a corned beef and a ham, but we eat them cold on the day with a selection of salads and garlic bread (oh so traditional huh)... sometimes there's a braai (bbq) as well, which is how we know it's a South African Christmas. Totally foreign to most of the Northern World as they roast chestnuts on open fires, but perfectly logical to those of us in the South :-) It's also a great excuse for cold beer :-) HA! From the look on the Tipsy Tart's faces, beer is something they won't touch... so I've finally found booze that's safe! Success!!

Some things remain unchanged though... although the mantle has fallen on my shoulders. It's now me who bakes a range of biscuits (several dozen dozen!) and of course, the Christmas cake, which is served with brandy butter (home made of course). The only thing I've yet to nail is the mince pies, but I suspect that the secret was in the mince that my Gran made... unfortunately, it's something she never wrote down and I've trawled through all her recipe books! Hmmm. Guess I'll have to experiment until I come up with a recipe that rocks and becomes a family tradition from here on out!

I suppose that's the secret of it all... We all have Christmas traditions, but they all started somewhere, so if you want to change something or introduce something new... go for it. Take the leap!

Until next time...