Wow, I haven't blogged since last Wednesday! Christmas is coming, so my to-do list is getting to me. Let's see...my totally unrealistic list of things to do after the kids go to bed tonight:
- frost chocolate peppermint bars
- plan remaining Christmas shopping, if any
- iron
- mend the lining of Nate's jacket and fix his two broken plastic swords
- bring in holly and other greens to use for decoration
- write annual family holiday letter
- wrap gifts for my program's support staff
- make donation to Heifer International (buy water buffalo! How often do I get to say that?) in my parents' name for their Christmas present
- sync iPod
At any rate, it snowed again this past weekend. BIG SNOW. Almost time to go skiing! Usually the boughs of my favorite tree stand straight up, but they got so weighted down that I went out and knocked the snow off after I took this picture.
Time to make plum pudding. Naturally, since my husband is English, this is a tradition. The first time I did it, I was concerned that it might not be as good as his mom's. "Are you kidding?" he laughed. "She doesn't make plum pudding. She just buys it at Marks and Spencer!" Well, not I, so here are the ingredients.
Nate was my loyal assistant. Here he is (or at least his hands), snipping dates.
We always put in a sixpence; whoever finds it gets good luck for the coming year. The picture is a little blurry, but that's fine. You can't see that this coin is in fact not a sixpence, but some denomination of drachma. We are fresh out of sixpence pieces - Si is a bit annoyed: after Christmas dinner, the sixpences have not been making it back into his coin collection to use another year. I hope this doesn't wreck the mo-jo.
Nate loves the part when we drop the ...drachma...in. Don't worry - it's wrapped in foil.
Here it goes, into the pudding mold....
...and into the pot I use to steam it, suspended perfectly by the old coat hanger I bent to this purpose 15 years ago. "Ah," says Simon. "Coat hanger having its annual outing, I see..."
Three hours steaming happily and it comes out.....[drum roll]....
LOPSIDED! Just like it does every year. Oh, well! Luckily, I'm not entering it in the county fair.
13 comments:
It looks great! What does plum pudding taste like, anyway? I've never tried it.
That picture is absolutely beautiful. I've always loved looking at snow... being it is another thing all together... and yeah... what does plum pudding taste like? The end result was definitely not what I pictured from the name.
Ummm... What DOES it taste like? Like dense, rich cake...fruity and very boozy.
You had me at boozy!! Do you pack the hanger in your Christmas boxes or does it hang around (no pun intended) until it's needed use? Just curious. I was unpacking the x-mas boxes and there was some unusual stuff that would ortherwise seem weird to have around except at christmas (snowmen and Santa's not included, if you know what I mean.)
Ah...I have had plum pudding only once and was not particularly fond of it. This is good since I cannot boil water.
But...ah...bourbon balls. I could down about a dozen in one sitting. My mother used to make them every Christmas and for some reason mine are about twenty times better than hers ever were. Probably because she bought the cheap stuff and I am snobby and buy good bourbon....
cool! but i think syncing your ipod is the easiest thing on that list!
@Trysha - The coat hanger lives in a special cupboard in my kitchen, reserved for such kitchen arcana as the gravy separator, the hand-held pureer and a small collection of holiday baskets that I keep, but lack the talent to use in any attractive way. This is the cupboard above my fridge; I have to climb on a chair, and when I'm up there, I have to notice how dusty the top of the fridge is. Good thing I make the climb only once or twice a year.
@ Maria: Please post the recipe for the bourbon balls. Give it up, girl! I do rum balls (I push the envelope, making them rummier and rummier every year), but would like to try bourbon.
I bet it tates better than Marks and Spencers!
Love the pretty snow picture.
....looks like a lot of dates.
Bet it keeps you pretty "regular".
:))
John
i keep similar stuff on the cupboard above the fridge. :)
Oh wow Kate the plum pudding is so good. I like the coat hanger idea.I must look for a recipe for the plum pudding. Here we make very rich fruit cake for Christmas, almost like Yorkshire pudding.
Oh wow Kate the plum pudding is so good. I like the coat hanger idea.I must look for a recipe for the plum pudding. Here we make very rich fruit cake for Christmas, almost like Yorkshire pudding.
That looks good. Can you share the recipe? I think it sweet your daughter remembered the lights. It sounds like my husband and I the kids always remember those things.
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