A pan of Christmas cheer

What with one thing and another, I completely missed 'mix-up Sunday' this year, so on this rainy Sunday afternoon, I am taking full advantage of two sleepy dogs and a husband working all weekend, to bag myself some 'Paula play time' ...

The kitchen radio is bouncing out cheery 70's hits (SO my generation! Abba's 'Waterloo' is playing as I type, reminding me of my Dad's penchant for the lovely blonde singer who wore a blue satin jumpsuit with a heart shape cut out revealing a cheeky tummy button!) ... and the dogs are snoring contentedly at my feet as I mix my pan of Christmas cheer.  It's odd, but I never feel in the least bit festive until I have made a Christmas cake and pudding for my family ...

Well, well, well, I do believe there may be a tiny hint of something festive tiptoe-ing up on me at last!  Better late than never eh?!

:-)

Slipping and sliding t'wards 2009

Where did the year go?! 2008 has whizzed past at breakneck speed and we're being hurtled towards 2009 in the blink of an eyelid it seems! Christmas came and went in a flurry of family visits, rich food and gift exchanges and I must admit, I am relishing a few peaceful moments to myself this afternoon - not that it hasn't been wonderful to see everyone, but the time has definitely come for some well-earned rest and relaxation.

For those of you still curious to know, my Christmas cake was iced just in the nick of time and no, the icing didn't set, instead it slipped casually from the cake to the stand for several infuriating hours. It did eventually adhere but sadly, without the pretty snowy peaks I had planned. Undeterred, I popped into the garden in my slippers late in the evening and snipped our holly bush to utilise the leaves as camouflage. There's no accounting for taste and strangely enough this hotch potch of a cake received many an enthusiastic compliment at our family get together on Christmas Eve!

Marzipan mayhem!

Marzipan mayhem!

Talk about leave it to the last minute, I'm wondering if the marzipan I have just rolled over my Christmas cake, will have time to dry before I ice the cake this evening ... somehow I doubt it. And will the icing have time to set before our guests arrive tomorrow afternoon? That I also doubt! Ah well, such is the joy of Christmas!

Leaving it late ... icing tonight! (Very simply, I might add!)

With all these Christmas preparations dominating my time, I almost left it too late tell you about Ellen's special Christmas parade - now that would have been a crying shame! Ellen kindly invited her bear and doll artist friends to join her Christmas parade by sharing a picture of one of their favourite creations. If you would like to watch the parade, please visit Ellen's blog today by clicking the logo below:

A little Saturday morning indulgence

Ho hum, I'm waiting for the carpet fitters to arrive. The washing machine is whirring diligently, my sheets are waving in the breeze, the kitchen floor is shining. Vacuuming, scrubbing, polishing, it's all been done and they still aren't here. I daren't mow the lawn in case the noise drowns the doorbell, so there's nothing for it I'm afraid, baking it must be! Mmmn, fresh cherry loaf ... oh dear, my waistline sure is going to suffer for those fitters!

Saturday's fresh cherry loaf!

Oh, you'd like some too would you? Well, that's no problem, grab your pinny and wooden spoon while I type out the receipe for you ...

This receipe is courtesy of the Daily Mail 'You' magazine ... it makes a good family sized cake, is lovely and moist and oh so yummy!

FRESH CHERRY LOAF

230g softened butter

200g fresh cherries, stoned

250 self-raising flour

175g caster sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

2-3 drops almond essence

100g ground almonds

6 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan/325F/Gas 3.

Line a 23cm X 13cm X 7cm (2lb) loaf tin and grease it using a little butter (I didn't do this, I greased and floured the tin ... easier!)

Quarter the stoned cherries, wash under cold water and pat dry. Toss them in a little flour and shake well to get rid of excess.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the beaten eggs and almond essence.

Gently fold in the flour and ground almonds.

Fold in the cherries and then the milk and spoon the thick mixture in to your prepared loaf tin.

Bake for 45-60 mins or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. If you think it needs a bit longer, lightly cover with tinfoil to avoid the top burning before putting back in oven.

When baked stand tin on a wire rack until completely cooled. Then go ahead and indulge yourself!

Right, must dash ... I can hear the doorbell ringing at last!

Don't forget your pinny Paula!

I think I mentioned in my last post that I've been working on a few orders recently, well now I can show you 'Sunshine,' a pretty 20" bear who will be flying to America this week. I still have a few more orders to work on, but hopefully it won't be long before I can return to my show bears - the time is ticking on after all!

'Sunshine' 20"

 Oh do get on with it Mum!

While Stuart and I dashed around, my son and his girlfriend prepared for an old school friend's wedding on Saturday (just how to make this mum feel really old eh?!) Still, it was lovely to see them all togged up, especially as my Anthony usually slops around in tired old jeans and a tee-shirt. I took my chance while he was suited and booted (well, surely any mother would?!) and quickly snapped these pics for posterity before they could make good their escape for weekend.

My homemade blueberry muffins ... mmmn!

Banana and walnut loaf, just like Mum used to make!

Well, as you've probably already guessed, that's my contribution to the decorating about done (!) so while Stuart balanced on a chair to fiddle with light fittings and manfully stripped tired old dado from the walls yesterday afternoon, I had a lovely time in the kitchen with only my mixing bowl and wooden spoon for company - who said the 1950's were a thing of the past? Not in my kitchen! We bought a little chest freezer on Saturday with the intention of extending the storage capacity of our fridge freezer (I am so fed-up with having to fight enough food for four adults into four silly little drawers) With food prices shooting through the roof, fast heading spacewards, it seems a sound idea to go back to basics, using our chest freezer to store home made grub; healthier for us too. (Yes sisters dear, I can hear your 'don't forget your pinny 1950's housewife,' jibes from here!) The only problem I foresee, is whether my baking will survive the kids' eagle eyes and eager bellies for long enough to actually take up residence in my new freezer! As for my weekend, it raced by in a flurry of activity. We're planning to redecorate the hall, stairs and landing next weekend, so this weekend involved the inevitable round of visits to various DIY shops. Thank heavens for those cute little sample pots of paint! I really didn't have a clue what colour the walls should be and wanted to warm the area up a bit, so after splatting many shades over the walls, finally settled for 'soft sun' to match a smart new biscuity gold coloured carpet which hopefully, should blend perfectly. Our only problem now is how on earth we bring a 3.6 metre handrail home from the shop - it certainly won't fit in the car!

Gran's pud

It's official! My Christmas preparations are well and truly underway. Yes, I know it's only December 4th, but even so, I am determined to introduce a little festive sparkle to my world! For me, Christmas is all about warmth and family and this year especially, I want our first Christmas in our new home to hug us all tightly together.

My office/dining Christmas tree

This weekend has been the perfect time to hunt out my fairy lights, purchase a tiny tree for my workroom, hide away gifts in preparation for wrapping and for the twenty fourth year in a row, mix my Gran's Christmas pudding recipe! Next weekend I plan to hunt down a real pine tree for the living room and decorate that room too!

The All Bear workroom's teeny tiny Christmas tree! Yes, it really is purple and pink!

On Saturday, I spent a lovely day shopping for Christmas presents with my mother and my daughter. A triple generational Christmas gift hunt! We shopped 'til we dropped, Fay and I squirted perfume samples until we couldn't remember which was which and then took Mum to our favourite shops. We spent ages choosing goodies in 'The Pier', a shop bursting with beautiful bits n' bobs and as my youngest sister has a new baby arriving in the New Year, we also had the perfect excuse to visit baby departments and coo over teeny tiny baby clothes.

When our tiddler arrives, there will be almost a quarter of a century between the oldest and youngest grandchildren in our family, Fay, my daughter, being the oldest. In the New Year there will be ten grandchildren in all! The big question is, will Laura have a boy or a girl? To-date we only have one boy in the family, my son Anthony, so the family is in a guessing game spin!

Later this week as many of us as possible (I have four sisters!) will wend our way to Mum's for a mince pie evening. Mum has been busy setting up her Christmas lights in readinness for her grandchildren and this year, has even added a nodding reindeer to her grotto! With family spread far and wide these days, this is an important time for us all.
Gran's Christmas pud

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I've mixed my Christmas pudding, steamed it for the required eight hours and it is now ready for a further three hours steaming on Christmas morning. The recipe for this pud has been handed down through my family and even now I can clearly remember the wonderful spicey aroma wafting through my parent's house on Christmas morning when I was child. I've always used this receipe for my own family Christmasses, with a slight adaption so that Fay, who is diabetic, can enjoy it with us. If you would you like to share our Christmas pudding, here is our receipe ... enjoy!

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Cooking time: 6-8 hours

Preparation: 45 minutes

Utensils: One 2 pint basin. Saucepan. Steamer. Foil or greaseproof paper.

Ingredients:

4 oz flour (use wholemeal for diabetic option)

2 oz breadcrumbs (use wholemeal for diabetic option)

1 level teaspoon mixed spice

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

1 level teaspoon nutmeg

4 oz shredded suet (use vegetable suet for diabetic option)

40z brown sugar (20z for diabetic option)

4 oz grated apple

1 small grated carrot

4 oz crystallised peel (no peel for diabetic option)

2 eggs

4 oz currants

4 oz sultanas

8 oz raisins

2 oz chopped prunes or dried apricots

4 oz chopped blanched almonds

grated rind 1/2 lemon

1 tsp black treacle (don't use for diabetic option)

1/4 pint guinness (or stout/beer/milk if preferred)

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Leave overnight.

3. Stir again.

4. Put into greased 2 pint basin.

5. Cover with foil or greaseproof paper. Grease inside of paper to keep pudding dry.

6. Steam for 6-8 hours.

7. Remove wet covers as soon as pudding is cooked.

8. Put on dry greased covers and re-steam for 2/3 hours on Christmas morning.

To Serve:

Turn pudding out of bowl, bring to table, slosh a spoonful of brandy over and for dramatic effect, flambe! (Carefully!)

Serve with brandy butter made by creaming 4oz butter, 6oz icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of brandy. (Not recommended for diabetics!)

Or, (my personal favourite!) serve with clotted cream.

Or, serve with double cream, ice-cream, brandy or cointreau flavoured cream ... oh yum ... let your imagination and your tastebuds go wild!

'Angelica'

Finally, I would like to share my latest 'Santa's Sack' bear with you. She is pictured sitting on my dining room table, did you spot her? 'Angelica' is the little peach panda cub I was thinking about in an earlier posting ... I hope you like her!