It is a ridiculously busy time of the year for us - so
many people are generous enough to buy Netherton Foundry wares as Christmas
gifts for friends and family and the elves are kept busy with the brown paper
and string right up until the last minute.
Of course, these may be an ulterior
motive behind this gift giving, with the hope of invitations to dinner.... who
am I to say?
And as the old advert about puppies
said, these are for life, not just for Christmas.
And of course, it's not just at work that life steps up a gear - this afternoon I have been decorating the tree, which we bought from our local farm shop - the smell of fresh pine is wonderful and has lingered in my car too. Who needs air fresheners?
I've draped the mantlepiece with an
evergreen garland - we are lucky enough to have ivy, holly and mistletoe in the
garden. I tried for years to encourage mistletoe into one of our apple
trees, crushing the seeds into the bark, all to no avail. Then, one year,
entirely untouched by me, one of the other apple trees sprouted a tiny sprig of
mistletoe, which has grown and grown.
Of course, I've been in the kitchen too
- the smell of mixed spice mingling with the pine. The first batch of
mince pies has been made and there's Christmas pudding ice cream in the
freezer.
The cakes and pudding were made back in October, so I don't need to worry about those until it comes to icing the cake, an activity usually done on Christmas Eve morning.
Back to today and it's all about edible presents..... or drinkable ones.
In the Autumn I experimented with a
change to the usual sloe gin. We were blessed with a bumper crop of
damsons in the garden and the neighbouring hedgerows, so I decided to use them
for the fruit spirit this season.
I now have several bottles of spiced
damson rum to give away (and one to keep, of course!)
Last week the Beavers made peppermint
creams and mini Florentines for their mums and I am just about to get started
on a batch of Advent puddings.
I am not sure where the original version of this came from - I have it written in a card index which I've had for more years than I care to remember and over the years I have tweaked and modified it to the recipe that is now my favourite..... and ideal for cooking in one of our loaf tins.
We have christened it Advent pudding, as it is almost - but not quite - Christmas pudding, all the boozy fruitiness, but a bit lighter.
Here's how it's done.
8 oz breadcrumbs
1 apple, cored and cut into quarters
(no need to peel it)
1 ripe banana
4 oz walnuts
10 oz raisins
2 oz dried cranberries
6 oz soft brown sugar
3 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs
Grated rind and juice of an orange
Slug of brandy
Put the breadcrumbs, apple, banana and nuts into a food processor and whizz briefly - don't lose all the texture of the nuts.
Turn out into a large mixing bowl and
add the rest of the ingredients.
Stir well to mix. Add a little
milk to bind if necessary.
Line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture.
Fold the paper over the top of the
pudding.
Put 1½ litres of water in the base of a casserole and put an upturned saucer in the bottom.
Rest the loaf tin on the saucer and
place the lid on the casserole.
Bring the water to the boil, turn down
the heat and steam the pudding for 2 hours.
Turn out and serve with custard, brandy sauce, thick cream or creme fraiche.
© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014
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