DECEMBER 2024
Well, what a hectic time it has been so far in December with plenty of varied action. We had a lovely family lunch in the Ashdown Hotel one day and next day attended the retired teachers Christmas dinner in the Woodenbridge Hotel. It was a mighty occasion with one hundred retired colleagues for a great day of chat, photos and memories and lots of good will and cheer.
Then on Friday we had the annual Christmas carols with pupils from 5th class Loreto Primary School performing in AIB, Main Street Gorey. It was an enjoyable session of carol singing by the boys and girls of Loreto while AIB provided the lovely brownies and chocolates.
We had to endure Storm Darragh with those strong gusts which kept us indoors to follow other pursuits like reading, writing and continuing our preparations for Christmas which is always a special time of year in our house.
Two weeks ago, we had done all the shopping for the cake ingredients like sultanas, raisins, currants, almonds, figs, ginger, strawberries, lemons, nutmeg cinnamon, cherries and mixed peel. We had the whiskey and flour in house, so we went ahead and baked the cake.
I was just amazed at the number and variety of ingredients that goes into making a rich fruit cake and the huge amount of preparatory work in mixing the correct amount of each ingredient and leaving the lot to macerate overnight and then to pop it in the oven for 4/5 hours. I forgot to mention all the work that went into lining the greased proofed 12-inch baking tin.
Lest anyone think I am a master baker I was mostly an occasional spectator in this operation apart from a bit of chopping and tasting the mixture before it went into the oven. The lovely baking smell pervaded the whole house which I loved. The recipe used has been handed down in the family going back forty-nine years when it was published in the Sunday Independent on November 2nd, 1975, which is a nice tradition to uphold.
Meanwhile the pudding mixture was readied and placed in two bowls and each one was placed in the slow cooker and that extra rich mixture simmered away for the day. Wow, what a wonderful aroma there was in the house. The place smelled like a mini brewery.
The puddings were also made from a long-used family recipe. It was interesting that a colleague sent us on a pudding recipe used by her granny and that put me thinking about other cooking thoughts for Christmas. People often refer to their mother’s gravy or the lovely tasting stuffing she made or the bread-and-butter pudding. Ah! memories. They are so many nice reminiscences at this time of year when so many families gather from near and far for Christmas. Nostalgia takes over.
Now the cake which had been baked needed some covering so with the enforced confinement by Storm Darragh, I was despatched to the supermarket to purchase the apricot jam and glycerine to make almond paste and white icing as we already had the ground almonds, castor sugar ,icing sugar.eggs,lemon juice and whiskey .I am just loving this almond paste rolled out across our cake while it awaits the white icing and decoration. It will then be stored in a safe place till Christmas Eve. I can’t wait for my first slice of our wonderful home baked Christmas Cake 2024, but I will just have to be patient and keep salivating.
It was a great eventful week as I said at the outset. On Friday night we enjoyed watching the Toy Show which is loved by children everywhere and by huge numbers of adults going down memory lane. The programme has raised over 21 million euros for charities over the past 4 years.
Finally, the week ended with us putting up all the Christmas decorations on Saturday with the help of the younger generation who are very enthusiastic about Christmas, and long may they continue to enjoy all the buzz and family excitement of the festive season. We are now most definitely in Christmas mode.
I hope they will continue to look forward to this special time of year and to uphold the great traditions of family gatherings, friendship, generosity and giving at Christmas. Frederick Ozanam, founder of the St Vincent De Society said, ‘It is in giving that we receive.’ It is a phrase that we can put into practice at this needy, pressure time of year for many people in our communities locally and globally. Give as much as you can to the charity of your choice this Christmas.
Go raibh síocháin agus sonas agaibh uilig um Nollaig agus san Athbhliain agus go raibh fada buan sibh.
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