Lets Talk Christmas – Sending Christmas Cards. Why? Well I have the Answer!!

27/11/201527/11/2015Leave a comment

Glitter and Sparkle – and sent with love

Now, I know that the mailing out of multiple Christmas cards is fast becoming a tradition of the past – but I just can’t help myself!! I take great joy in touching base with my nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, friends from years gone by and the odd workmate, at least once in a year. I like them to know that firstly, I am thinking of them and wish them every happiness, but secondly that they are extremely important to me and my life is far better for knowing them and having them in it.

I take a huge amount of joy in shopping for my Christmas cards and will often walk the street to check out what is available before making my decision. I love Christmas glitter and sparkle so the cards I choose will often have these elements on the front. I always try to write a message inside the card, not just pen in the obligatory Dear …. love from ….. bit. This years I found a quote that fits my purpose exactly at Images For Christmas Quotes and it goes like this: “May Your Christmas And Every Day Ahead Sparkle With Happiness And New Surprises”.

As you know from my post Lets Talk Christmas – It’s All In The List I have already completed my Family News Letter which I send to my close family. I know, this is actually not an easy task, and some would rather have teeth extracted than write one, but I know that my family enjoy catching up with what we have done throughout the year. Now my family is very “normal”: there isn’t a lot to really boast about. But we do enjoy our hobbies, we welcome new family members – young and old, occasionally we feel quietly proud of ticking something off our bucket list and we are always enormously proud of our children – so why is it that people say they can’t think of anything to write about? I include information like the highlights of my grandchildren’s school year, my sons and daughter-in-laws sporting and personal achievements, my husbands lawn bowls wins and information about my vegie patch and recipe successes. I usually have to “cull” information because the news letter is too long – as I do like to include a family photo as well!

So – in the next week (sometime in that first week of December) I will be running off to the local post office to post my Christmas cards: sending them on their way with all the festive cheer and good wishes that I can muster. Some of my family and friends still send Christmas cards as well and I have a special place in our home where these are hung so that anyone that visits our place over the festive season can look over these beautiful cards. What a joy!

I sometimes receive a Christmas News Letter from some of them too, and that is an absolute thrill for me – a Christmas gift of the very best kind! Why don’t we all aim to give the gift of love and remembrance at Christmas time by sending a quick card to our nearest and dearest?

Sources;

Christmas Glitter and Sparkle: http://acards.hol.es/christmas-greeting-cards/

Miss Paul’s Tomato Sauce

20/11/201529/04/2016Leave a comment

Well, it’s that time of year when you can’t pick ripening tomatoes quickly enough, before pulling out the plants! I have so many tomatoes in my fridge crisper that I simply HAVE to look for ways in which to use them – besides the obvious inclusion in salads.

I have no idea who Miss Paul was or what relationship she had with my grandmother, Ines Maude Bailey, but this recipe is in my grandmothers cookbook, so I have“road tested” it. I quartered the recipe and noted the quantities that I used in red in a trial to ascertain if this is a Tomato Sauce that my family would like. I believe that over the years the human palate must have changed or our expectation of flavours is higher, because sometimes I find that Granma’s recipes lack the intense flavour that we now expect in the foods we consume.

Miss Paul’s Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

20 lbs Tomatoes (9 Kilos) 2.3 Kilo’s

2 quarts Vinegar (1.9 Litres) 475 ml (I used 500 ml)

1/2 lb Salt (230 grams) 60 grams

1 1/2 lb Sugar (680 grams) 170 grams

2 oz Garlic (60 grams) 1 tblsp

2 oz Whole Ginger (60 grams) 1 tblsp

1 1/4 oz Cloves (35 grams) 2 tsp

1 1/2 oz Whole Spice (43 grams) 2 1/2 tsp

1 oz Whole Pepper (30 grams) 2 tblsp

1/2 oz Cayenne Pepper (15 grams) 1 tblsp

Method (I have noted my own additions to the method in red)

Peel Tomatoes and place in saucepan, add vinegar, salt, sugar, whole pepper corns and cayenne pepper. Tie garlic, ginger, whole spice and cloves in a muslin bag and lower into tomato mixture. Boil altogether for 4 hours, strain through metal sieve bruising well with wooden spoon. I decided to put the mixture through a mouli. Bottle whilst hot. This is one of the best recipes known for tomato sauce. It will keep for years and improves with keeping! (Granma must have loved it)! Bottle in sterilised jars whilst hot and allow to cool before storing in cool, dark cupboard.

Conclusions OK, so I found Granma’s recipe way too sweet, and not to my personal liking. Perhaps Granma had a sweet tooth. However, with so many tomatoes this season I searched for a tomato sauce recipe that would suite the family and eventually found a recipe for tomato sauce which I could freeze. I now have 4 litres of frozen sauce I can use through the off season!

Lets Talk Christmas–The Preston Recipes–Christmas Cake

19/11/201519/11/2015Leave a comment

Christmas Cake

I found the original recipe for my Christmas cake in the “Best Recipes from The Weekly” which I purchased shortly after getting married in 1980. The book is put out by the Australian Women’s Weekly. At the time of purchase I had no idea that I would use use the book so much that the middle pages would eventually separate from the binding! My Christmas Cake recipe has developed over the years and below is my version of the original printed version of the Celebration Cake.

Ingredients

1.4 kg good quality Mixed Fruit, 125 grams Glace Cherries (I use red ones), 60 grams Glace Peaches, 60 grams Glace Pineapple, 1 to 1 1/2 cups Brandy, 250 grams Butter, 1 cup Brown Sugar, 5 eggs, 1 1/2 cups plain flour, 1/3 cup Self Raising Flour, 1 Tsp Mixed Spice.

Method

Chop Glace Peaches, Pineapple and Cherries
Combine all fruit (mixed fruit, peaches, pineapple and cherries) in large bowl, pour over brandy, cover and set aside overnight to soak up the alcohol. (I use 1 cup to start with, adding a further 1/2 cup only if necessary. This will depend on just how dry the fruit is.)
Stir fruit and brandy occasionally so that brandy covers all the fruit
Line a deep 20 cm cake tin with 3 layers of baking paper, making sure that the paper stands about 5 cms above pan, then spray with oil
Beat butter until soft and add sugar. Beat ONLY until combined
Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition
Add butter mixture to fruit mixture and mix well
Stir in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
Spread into prepared pan and bake in SLOW oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Lick Bowl !!
When cooked remove from oven and brush top with additional brandy and leave to cool
Cover with tea towel and leave in pan to cool completely
13. Wrap in 2-3 layers of cling film and store in a cool dark place. 14.
Bon Apatite !!

If you decide to try this recipe, and I so hope that you do, be prepared for the taste of brandy. It is not overpowering, but it does add a richness to the cake, and has the most mouth watering aroma imaginable!

Sources: Cake Picture, http://www.kidspot.com.au/slideshow/Traditional-Christmas-Recipes+48.htm

Lets Talk Christmas – It’s All In The List !!

16/11/201516/11/20151 Comment

Writing Lists !

Pen, paper – and GO!

It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and start thinking about what has to be done to be completely under control for Christmas; is there such a thing? I have routinely found that there are four essential lists that need to be made to help prepare both my home and myself for “the big day”. We have already spoken about making our first list – The Menu – but the next three lists can be done simultaneously and they are:

Christmas Card/Christmas Letter List
Shopping List
Household Cleaning List

Christmas Card/Christmas Letter List

All Important Christmas List

I just love Christmas cards; I will continue to send them as long as they are printed regardless of the current –day use of e-cards, emails and text messages! I actually enjoy shopping around for the prettiest, glittery cards I can find, of both a general and religious nature, to cater to the tastes of all my family and friends and I aim to have my Christmas cards posted out or hand delivered in the first week of December.

Family First – Try to find a few quiet minutes to yourself, make a cup of coffee and with a pen in hand start a list of all the relatives that you wish to send a card to. I include my nieces, nephews, aunts & uncles, parents and cousins as it is a yearly point of contact for a lot of us.

The day I start my Christmas card list is the day I start compiling my Christmas letter which will be included with the card, and will let my extended family know what our family has been up to in the previous 12 months. Writing cards and composing a Christmas letter is not a chore; enjoy re-capping “the year that was” and take the opportunity for “bragging rights” when it comes to the achievements of your children and grandchildren.

Friends, Workmates & Others – Separately draw up a list of friends, co-workers and acquaintances that you wish to send cards to. In my situation this list is long, as my husband works in a hospital kitchen with nearly 50 employees, nearly all of whom exchange cards! Is it a necessary expenses: well – no, but in my way of thinking sharing the Christmas spirit is necessary. If someone takes the time to think of you and wish you well at Christmas, then they deserve respect and well wishes for the season in return.

Shopping List

This is the “fun” list. Our family still buys for everyone, so we keep it to immediate family only, with an emphasis on the children. To my way of thinking there is nothing more thrilling or joyous than to watch the face of a child as they open their presents on Christmas morning. I get such joy from being with my family; of thinking what each of them are interested in or enjoy, and trying to purchase a gift that they will love.

Time spent on searching for just the right gift is not a chore; take joy and fulfilment from searching for something that will please someone else. I always wait until my Christmas club money is available before I purposefully set aside 2 days to shop for gifts. Why two days, you ask? Sometimes I might find a gift for someone in the most unlikely store, and the item is definitely not on my list, but I never “impulse buy”. This means I have to think about it and may need to back track to the store later in the day; of course this will take me longer. By setting two days aside for the shopping I am not only unrushed, but I can take the time to enjoy “all things Christmas”, such as the music playing in the arcades, the decorations hanging in every store or a chat with a friend I come across in the street. Nothing I know can inspire the Christmas spirit in me more quickly than hearing Christmas music and seeing the sparkle of tinsel!

Household Cleaning List

The Cleaning List

I make this list out to ensure I have enough time to thoroughly clean my home prior to the “big day”. There are just a few things that I think are essential to include on this list and they are:

The Oven – I make a point of cleaning the oven before I cook my Christmas cake which I make about 4 weeks before Christmas
Cupboards – a quick tidy through of items in cupboards and the pantry is essential and I try to leave this until about a week before Christmas. How many times have you asked someone to help you by getting the salt and pepper from the pantry? There is always someone that will come into the kitchen and proceed to help unload the dishwasher and pack away it’s contents. “Where does the turkey platter go?” they ask. Someone will always want a coffee cup, wine glass or bowl.
Cutlery Draw – Honestly, crumbs in the cutlery draw are not a good look! There will be multiple people wanting to go to your cutlery draw for teaspoons or extra knives and forks for an unexpected guest so wiping this draw out a day or two before your guest arrive works perfectly!
The Fridge – a well organised and clean fridge space is essential. Some families are lucky enough to have an extra fridge to take the enormous amount of food that is prepared for Christmas day; our 2nd fridge is turned on roughly two weeks before Christmas and runs continuously until after New Years Day. We also have a small “drinks” fridge stocked with water, soft drink, beer and wine so you can imaging how many people visit this fridge during Christmas day! No matter how many fridges you may or may not have, the doors to them will be opened by just about every person visiting you that day; it is imperative that it be clean and smell fresh. Wiping your clean fridge out with vanilla essence will ensure that “just cleaned” smell! This job can be tackled a week before Christmas as it isn’t difficult to maintain order in them for a few days at least!
General House – Look up! Is there a cobweb in the cornice of the lounge room? Wipe them down with a feather duster that has a few drops of lemon oil wprinkled on it. Lemon oil will deter spiders from re-visiting. Look down! – dust, or even wash the skirting boards. Pay attention to high traffic areas – is the bathroom mirror spotless, is there enough soap available? The number of people needing to wash their hands or re-apply make-up make this one of the most used rooms during the day! Ensure there are extra handtowels visible and ready for use by your guests. This is the routine I follow during the daytime of Christmas Eve to add the sparkle and freshness that I want my guests to experience in my home.

Cleaning does not have to keep you working until midnight for weeks on end. Plan your attack on dust and cobwebs, crumbs and surfaces so that they are completed by Christmas Eve and your enjoyment of Christmas Day will increase ten fold by having your guests marvel at your cleanliness and organisation!

Presenting your home in it’s cleanest and freshest state is not a chore! I take such pride and joy in opening my home to my family – no time spent with them is a hardship. I would much rather sit and enjoy a drink and a laugh with them, than worry over whether the kitchen or bathroom are tidy!

So – that’s my “take” on the essential Christmas lists. I firmly believe that everything is possible through organisation and planning and I hope that you will send Christmas cards and find just the right gift for your loved ones, as well as provide a clean and healthy place for your family to gather.

Good Luck!

Sources:

Christmas Cleaning: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/389139224027571058/

Lets Talk Christmas – The Preston Recipes – Meats

08/11/201515/11/20151 Comment

Our family have used these recipes over the last few years, and they have now firmly cemented themselves amongst our Christmas traditions. Hope you enjoy them. I really think the little extra effort is well worth it – just for the sake of the tastebuds!

The Meats

The Turkey

4 kg whole Turkey

2 cups chicken Stock (may need extra)

60 gm butter melted

Peach, Pistachio and Orange Stuffing (for the Turkey)

80 gm butter

1 large red onion finely chopped

4 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs (I make my own from Helga’s wholemeal bread)

1/3 cup chopped dried pistachios

1/2 cup finely chopped dried peaches

3 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (straight from my garden!)

1 egg

Method

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook stirring for 10 minutes or until softened. (Sweat it, try not to brown it to much) Transfer to a heat proof bowl. Stand for 5 minutes to cool. Add breadcrumbs, peaches, pistachios, rind, parsley and egg. Season with a little salt and pepper. The recipe says to stir until combined, but I like to do this step with my hands.

Rinse turkey cavity under cold water. Pat dry with paper towel. Loosely fill neck cavity with stuffing and secure neck cavity with toothpicks. Fill large cavity with remaining stuffing and secure skin over cavity with toothpicks. Tie legs together with kitchen string and tuck wings under turkey.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees/160 degrees if fan forced. Place turkey on a greased wire rack in a large roasting pan. Pour stock into pan and brush turkey with melted butter. Season with salt and pepper (I don’t salt the bird – just by choice). Cover pan tightly with lightly greased foil and roast turkey for 1 hour. Remove foil. Roast for a further 1 hour and 40 minutes, basting turkey frequently with pan juices, or until turkey is golden and juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a skewer.

Add more stock to pan if stock dries up

Cover with foil and stand for 15 minutes, transfer to turkey platter

The Lamb

Honey-glazed Lamb with Mint and Macadamia Crumble

1.8 kg leg of lamb

1/3 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon dried mint leave

1/2 cup macadamia nuts roughly chopped

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 middle bacon rashers trimmed, and finely chopped

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (for garnish – straight from my herb garden)

Method

Preheat oven (we cook the lamb on the bbq) to 180 degrees/160 degrees if fan forced. Lightly grease a large roasting pan. Place lamb in pan, then place honey and dried mint in a small bowl. stir well to combine. Brush 1/2 the honey mixture all over the lamb. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast lamb, basting with the remaining honey mixture every 20 minutes for 1 hour 30 minutes for a medium lamb leg, or until cooked to your liking. Transfer lamb to a plate. Cover loosely with foil and stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a frying pan over medium heat and add macadamias. Cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes or until toasted, and transfer to a bowl. Add oil to pan and increase heat to medium-high and cook bacon stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until golden and crisp. Add macadamias to bowl and season with salt and pepper (I don’t add additional salt and pepper at this stage).

Skim fat from roasting pan, leaving 1/4 cup of the juices. Place pan over high heat, add flour and cook stirring for 3 minutes or until bubbling. Slowly add stock, stirring until smooth (I remove the pan from the heat for this step, when combined I return to the heat). Simmer, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Toss fresh mint through the macadamia mixture and sprinkle over lamb. Serve lamb sliced and drizzled with gravy (YUMMMM!)

The Ham (Terry Preston’s own recipe)

Cooked leg of ham

2 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar

12 whole cloves

1 cup apricot jam

4 tablespoons Cointreau

Method

We have never cooked a ham in the oven – why not try firing up the bbq? Remove the skin from the ham – there will be some fat left on the ham. Score the surface into diamonds. Rub the ham with the brown sugar and stud with the cloves to decorate. Place Ham in large baking tray (bought foil trays are easy and disposable!) and place on bbq (or in oven).

Whilst the ham starts to cook add the jam and the Cointreau to a small saucepan over low heat and stir to combine. Take glaze out to bbq (don’t forget a small fly net to put over the top of the saucepan). Glaze ham with apricot mixture and then repeat glazing every 1/2 hour until ham is cooked.

Six White Boomers

Sources:

Roast Turkey with Peach, Pistachio and Orange Stuffing: Super Food Ideas Easiest-Ever Christmas Cookbook, page 25

Honey-glazed Lamb With Mint and Macadamia Crumble: Super Food Ideas Easiest-Ever Christmas Cookbook, page 29

Christmas Lunch: http://www.fpchawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/image/event-thumbnails/ChristmasLunch(1).jpg

Invitation to Christmas Lunch: http://cdn.image1.pingg.com/20111127/2621498.web.template.jpg

Santa and Turkey: http://www.chjs.poole.sch.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/hot-meal-xmas.jpg

Lets Talk Christmas – Deciding on the Theme and Menu

05/11/201505/11/20153 Comments

Christmas – Aussie Style

Well folks, It’s that time of years again – 8 weeks to Christmas! And we all know how fast that time will disappear. This year I am going to try something different. I think it is time to tell you all about the preparation that goes in to a Preston Family Christmas and so I am going to blog my progress over the next 2 months – always under the heading Let’s Talk Christmas. I hope you enjoy the posts – and who knows – you might even like to try some of the things that our family enjoy so much!

First thing on the agenda for us is always to sort out who will be here for Christmas Lunch, what theme we think we will follow, and what we would like to put on the menu. This requires a meeting over coffee with my beautiful daughters-in-law – Alisha and Courtney, and my lovely mother-in-law Lola. Our meeting took place yesterday. I searched out all my Christmas cook books and had them ready on the dining room table, put the kettle on to boil, put out some biscuits (chocolate of course) and after everyone arrived, we got down to business

Christmas Planning over a Cuppa

We jotted down the names of everyone that would be coming to lunch and discovered that there would be 14-16 people this years, which includes various sets of in-laws, parents, children, grandchildren and the odd sister or two! Our tables will be full of happy faces, laughter and good cheer with that number of people enjoying each others company.

Then, it was time for the big decisions – what to eat! Now this is truly the best part of the morning as far as I’m concerned. This year the girls and I think we have come up with a scrumptious feast:

Starters: Prawn Lettuce Cups, Cheese Plate, served with Champagne

Mains: Roast Turkey with Peach Pistachio & Orange Stuffing, Roast Ham with Apricot Glaze, Honey Glazed Lamb with Mint and Macadamia Crumble and Stuffed Chicken (all roasts done on the b-b-q)

Sides: Devilled Eggs (Courtney just loves them!), Potato Salad (my favourite), Tomato Salad with Roasted Garlic and Balsamic Dressing, Green Garden Salad

Desserts: Christmas Pudding with Brandy Custard, Tropical Trifle, Pavlova, Cream, Ice Cream

To Finish: Coffee and homemade White Christmas

Now, how to cook all this and not have 2 mountains of food wasted is an art that our family have honed over the years! In my opinion you shouldn’t be feeling so full that you literally can’t move after the meal – because that’s no fun at all!

That “I’ve Over Eaten Feeling”!

So, preparation of the dishes is “divvied” up between the families. All cooking is done on the understanding that you cook enough to feed everyone, but that a selection of the leftovers is sent home with each family so that boxing day is easy and enjoyable for everyone!

Over the years we have had many themes for Christmas including, Spanish, Italian, Hawaiian and Australian – just to name a few, but this year we are going to have a colour theme – Blue – like the stunning Aussie sky. Alisha and I plan to go over town to purchase new table decorations as the ones I’ve used over the last 5-6 years have been the traditional Red, Green and Gold. We will still set the tables up with my white and silver Christmas table clothes though as they are a tradition in themselves. The great thing about having a colour theme will be getting a really co-ordinated, fun family photo on the day though – I can’t wait.

So there you have it – the first step in preparing the traditions of the Preston Family Christmas! In my next post I will include the recipes that we intend on using – just in case you would like to try them

Let’s Talk About Christmas again soon – Cheers