Starting on the Christmas Cake

The Cake

Weighing the ingredients for the Christmas Cake became an even bigger treat yesterday as a juvenile blackcap, probably from Scandinavia, decided to breakfast on the small trees below the kitchen window.

I adapted the recipe from a cookery book dating back to 1928.

Ingredients

9ozs plain flour

6ozs brown sugar

one half teaspoonful baking powder

3 eggs

6ozs butter

one and a half pounds of dried fruit ( include a few nuts if liked )

one quarter of a pint of milk

your favourite blend and quantity of spices

Method

Soak the fruit in sherry or spirits - according to taste

Cream together the butter and sugar

Beat in the eggs one at a time

Lightly stir in the flour, spice, milk and the fruit which has been drained ( keep the alcohol )

Put into a cake tin which has been buttered and lined

Bake for 2 hours in a moderate oven

Test with a cake tester or fine knitting needle - if it comes out clean your cake is baked

When the cake has been allowed to cool but is still in its tin, prick the top all over with a fork

Slowly pour the reserved alcohol onto the cake

Loosely cover - a tea towel is fine - and leave overnight

In the morning carefully remove the cake from the tin and tear away the lining papers

Wrap in "Clingfilm" and keep in a tin until you are ready to cover the cake with almond paste/marzipan

Our cake is now tucked away and maturing in the kitchen.  I am wondering if one will be enough as I have often made two.  I used to make one for Granny too until she told me that she didn't really like Christmas cake!  One year I made lots of cakes to sell.  Even though they were all simply rough-iced (snow) with royal icing, I found the icing was the most tedious part.  I am no great decorator!

Christmas with a Puppy (2013)

This time last year, we were adjusting to our new addition: a Sprocker Spaniel puppy called Orlando.  He's in the process of mellowing now (a bit!) but last year he was a bundle of excited-ness, and took up every second of every day.

We knew that Christmas with his would be difficult, but nothing could prepare us for just what a difference he would make.

All of our beautiful traditions were altered, and we had to prepare for the possibility that there would be physical damage too - especially given that he was still not fully house-trained and started teething in the middle of December.

To make sure that the damage was minimal, we created "decoy presents".  These were empty boxes, which were wrapped in Christmas paper and then placed in the Living Room, where Orlando would come into contact with them regularly.  Every time he went near them, we would stop him with a firm word and, surprisingly, they remained largely intact.  He didn't unwrap or break any of the actual presents either, more's the miracle!

In terms of the Christmas Tree, he was quite alright with our bringing the forest into the house, but some of the decorations were just too much for him.  Some time ago, a friend knitted some lovely tree decorations for us, but Orlando thought they were toys!  Fortunately, no permanent damage was done, but there was a hairy moment for a woolen choirboy!

One of the worst things about having him (absolutely worth it, by the way!) was that we ended up behind on everything.  He needed someone there all the time so, at midnight on Christmas Eve, he was in bed and we were all frantically trying to catch up with the hundred and one things which we'd usually have done by the beginning of December - including wrapping Christmas presents!

On Christmas Day itself, he was a little angel.  He played with his new toys all day, apart from a couple of times when he sat, seeming to puzzle over the spectacle in front of him.  The picture on here is me and him, playing astronauts.  One look at it and any questions I may have about the wisdom of getting a puppy so close to Christmas just disappears!

"The Ever Changing Face of Tradition" OR "Gingerbread Houses"

This blog will include a number of traditions - those that we share with millions of others, and those which are (to the best of my understanding) unique to our family.

The tradition which I'm going to go into a bit of detail about now if one which many people seem to enjoy a variation of.  That of the Gingerbread House. 

There are reasons for the appearance of all new traditions and, it should be remembered, that at some point all traditions were new.  Some of the reasons behind them get lost into time, or else three or four conflicting origins are presented for their existence.  Our family tradition of the gingerbread house, however, is one with a very definite origin.

In Summer 2009, our house in Lincolnshire had been on the market for what seemed like an age.  We knew that we wanted to be back in Scotland (where I was born) but weren't sure if it would happen for us at any time soon.  So we booked a cottage in Argyll.  

Actually, we sold the house in the Autumn and moved up to Caithness in the middle of December.  Our new house was full of boxes and, whilst we were very excited to have moved in, none of us would have fully enjoyed a Christmas in that environment. 

It was a really beautiful holiday.  The six of us who went were surrounded by magnificent, snow-capped mountains and spent Christmas Eve opposite a stable, which reminded us all of the simplicity of that First Christmas in Bethlehem.  There was "Carols at Kings" on the television (the only time I've ever watched it), and, when we went to Oban to pick up our brother from the train, there were snow and ice crystals glittering on the road.

But there were things that were missing.  Mostly Mum's cooking and baking as, although we ate the most lovely foods that the shops could muster, it wasn't the same.  Trying to get something new and different, Mum and Dad bought a gingerbread house.  

On Christmas Eve, we broke into it, sharing out the large pieces and dividing the icing between us as well.  As the house itself was a Hansel and Gretel scene, a headless witch followed shortly, causing much amusement and hilarity.  The bright red bow, which had held together the plastic wrapping, wrapped around the ear of my teddy bear, where it remains to this day.

Every year since then, there has been a gingerbread house.  Another tradition to follow and, last year, my sister sent off for one from John Lewis to make sure the tradition stayed alive.  We eat it each Christmas year and, since my brother can no longer eat gluten, he now gets all the icing!  

Windfall Apples

Staying at Orchard Cottage last week was lovely and we were able to collect windfall apples for the Christmas apple sauce.  This morning I peeled, sliced and cooked them in the oven.  Judith and Clemency had collected sufficient for the Christmas apple sauce and for today's dessert.  The apples were so good that they didn't need sweetening at all - I had added lemon juice when preparing them.  The apple sauce is now in the freezer - waiting for Boxing Day when we will share our Christmas Dinner.  Eating our dinner on Boxing Day, we will be reminded of our happy October holiday in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

Gift Shopping Begins

Two days previously five of us were returning from our October holiday with family and friends in England.  A good time was enjoyed by all.  There was one - and only one - place where we simply HAD to stop.  House of Bruar.  At no other time of year would we aim so high - but thoughts are turning to Christmas and the delights within are irresistible.  It would be a bad idea here to describe just what we found this autumn, as who knows who will be reading this - but sufficient to say I am very excited about our purchases.  This beginning will snowball in the coming weeks until the pressure is on to send abroad the gifts for outwith Britain and the ones for further south so that all our dear family and friends will have something from us to enjoy on Christmas Day.  As to the presents which will be shared amongst those of us who will be spending Christmas in our family home - there is a little more time to ensure completion of these - but I remember one Christmas when the children were small and dolls' clothes had been made on the knitting machine.  They had been completed in good time for Christmas but yours truly had the task of sewing them up - it was finished at four on Christmas Day morning.  The children were bouncing on our bed at six!

The car was laden on Sunday - not just with our shopping but also with bags and boxes of gifts beautifully wrapped by the sensible people we had left behind in England.  If only I could be more organised!

Christmas Cards: The Alternative Version!

One of the things that Happens in the build up to Christmas (at our house, if at no other) is the appearance of the Christmas Cards.

These aren't cards with festive pictures on the front and expressions of Christmas sentiment  within.  They appear too, but that's a separate blog entry still to come!

These are "The Famous Christmas Carols Playing Cards", made by the "Heritage Playing Card Company".  Made in 1999, they appeared in my stocking one Christmas when I was around ten.  Actually, I got two packs of cards in my stocking that year: these, and another full of Scottish Kings and Queens.  My mum explained quickly to me that the Scottish Royals belonged to my big sister, but I have always been grateful that it was not the other way around, despite growing up to make All-Things-Scottish my focus of study.

The illustrations on the cards are really lovely.  Not overly magnificent or astoundingly life-like, but they seem to portray the carols themselves in a way that, as it says on the back of the packet, "faithfully portrays the opening lines of some of our best known and loved carols".  

There is always a great concern about where the cards end up at the end of each Christmas season.  They have a slightly different annual period of use than many Christmas things, starting at the end of September and, realistically, not appearing again after the beginning of December.  There are suddenly many other things to do once Christmas begins to loom large on the horizon.  

Each September, we have a mad dash around the house to find them.  They are rarely with the other cards in the Toy Room (now my brother's bedroom) but, instead, are in a drawer or cupboard - exactly where they were left last December, when we didn't realise it would be the last time we'd play with them that season.

Throughout that two and a half month period, we only play one game with them.  This is accurately and affectionately termed "Christmas Rummy".  

Its origins are quite simple: rummy was a game that we all played from a young age.  Whilst we all played snap when we were younger, rummy is a game that spanned the ages.  I remember playing it with my 19 year old brother when I was six.  And I have a feeling that my three year old sister was playing too!

The rules for Christmas Rummy are as follows:

1. One person shuffles and deals the cards.  Each player has seven cards.  
   
   
2. Once the dealer has shared out the seven cards, they put the rest of the pile face-down in the middle of the table.  They then turn the top card over.
   
   
3. As soon as the top card is turned, everyone sings the carol that appears on it.  For example: if it's the Ace of Spades then be prepared for a gutsy version of O Christmas Tree.
   
   
4. The person to the left of the dealer starts.  If they want the card that is down but can't use it immediately then they can pick it up and keep it.  THIS IS THE LAST TIME THIS ACTION IS ALLOWED.  Otherwise, they pick up the top card from the pile.  They then discard a card that they don't want, putting it next to the original card.  Once the card is put down, everyone sings the new carol.
   
5. The next person does the same.
   
   
6. If, at any point, someone without a set can use the last card to be discarded to make a set immediately, they can pick it up and use it.
   
   
7. A set is a straight flush of a minimum of three cards.  (For example 5,6 and 7 in hearts).  I think you can also have matching numbers in normal rummy (for example three 7s) but we don't allow them in Christmas Rummy because they break up the sets too much!
   
   
8. Once you have a set, you can pick up the pile as far back as you like, but you must make sure that you can immediately use the card that you go back to.
   
   
9. Each player must try to get as many points as possible.  It is a points game, so the winner may not always be the person who finishes first.  
   
   
10. To finish, the player must have enough sets so that they have no cards, but it must finish with them discarding.
    
    
11. Points-wise: Aces are 15, 10s-Kings are 10, and 2-9 are 5.  If you still have cards in your hand then you need to minus them from your sets.  

I'm not sure how comprehensive my rules are, but I hope they give you the idea.  The important thing is that you keep singing as each carol comes up.  The faster you get through the cards, the more thinking you have to do about words and tunes!  Wait until you're singing Little Donkey to the tune of Angels from the Realms of Glory!

If you're thinking about buying the cards then you can!  From here: Christmas Carol Cards

Enjoy!

Christmas Chutney - Around the World in a Jar!

Marrow Chutney made and bottled for Christmas Breakfast.  Locally grown vegetables, fruit from England and from Europe, English mustard powder but all other spices from the Far East and Middle East, sugar from the Caribbean and - very important - little red chilies from the landing window - thank you Son!  And thank you to all the men, women and children from countries all around the world - let's share Christmas!