HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Good Morning to you,

This morning, I was busy cooking, but there was no music playing, so I decided to turn on the radio to listen to BBC Newcastle.  I'm so glad I did, because Alfie and Charlie were speaking to a very special person, Father Christmas. Children were invited to speak to Father Christmas, before he started his long journey tonight. I have to tell you, the conversations with the children were wonderful to listen to.  

So I started thinking about our daughters and the special rituals we enjoyed on Christmas Eve. One I vividly remember, was when the girls were ready for bed, the one thing, which helped them to settle, was the reading of a Christmas story and the one they loved the best, was the poem, 'Twas the Night before Christmas' by Clement Clarke Moore

So I thought it would be lovely to share with you this lovely Christmas poem.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And Mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With  a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled and shouted and called them by name!

"Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! 

on Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall,

Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly.

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whilstle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Happy Christmas to you,

I look forward to catching up with you

 in the New Year.

CHRISTMAS MINCE PIES WITH FRANGIPANE

Good Morning to you,

Do you remember when  I wrote Is age a barrier when it comes to fulfilling your dreams? at the beginning of October.

Well, I have news. It is time for me to tell you what all the excitement was about. I'm just sorry I couldn't tell you before, but the time was not right.

Now firstly, if  you  have been  reading  my blog for a little while,  you  will know why I  started writing Ivy, Phyllis and Me!  but if  you  are a  new reader, I  will explain what motivated me to begin writing my blog. 

You see, I wanted a place to save all our family recipes, so that our girls could dip in and out of them as and when they wanted and so Ivy, Phyllis and Me! was born. In truth, I needed a lot of encouragement from our daughter Natasha, because without her I don't think I would have started Ivy, Phyllis and Me! I prevaricated for quite a long time and even on the day I wrote my first post, I dilly dallied. I was so nervous, but I shouldn't have been, because once I started, I really enjoyed the experience.

I really enjoy sharing my family recipes with you, but over time Ivy, Phyllis and Me! grew to become more than our family recipes. I began sharing recipes with you, which I cooked during the week and Ivy, Phyllis and Me!  evolved even further, as I began sharing snippets from our daily life. 

I pootled along, writing Ivy, Phyllis and Me! knowing that my lovely friends were reading my blog and I love the fact, that you take the time to leave me lovely comments.... but I never imagined, for one moment, that my blog would catch the eye of a production company.... but catch their eye it did.

The amazing day happened when we were visiting Danielle. I received an email from a lovely lady called Sophie. Sophie is a researcher for a well known production company and in her email she asked me to contact her. I read the email and of course, the first thing I thought was,  someone was 'pulling my leg'.   I then received another email from the Assistant Producer, Jonathan, who also wanted to speak to me.  Well, if you could have seen me.... I had a smile on my face, which went from ear to ear, honestly, I was smiling like a Cheshire cat, thinking, oh my word, this must be real. 

Danielle saw my smile and asked why I was smiling. I told her about the emails. She read them, then looked at me and we both screamed, not an hysterical scream, but an excited scream, which brought George into the kitchen to find out what was going on. I told George about the emails, while Danielle and I were dancing around the kitchen, with me saying, 'I can't believe it, I really can't believe it'. 

... but I really needed to compose myself, which I have to say, took quite a long time.  Danielle in the meantime, researched the production company for me and what did she discover....well you'll never believe it, on the board of Senior Management was the one and only Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.... well you could have knocked me down with a feather. 

So what to do first, well of course, I should have contacted the production company, but I was in such a state of excitement, that Danielle said, 'Right, we need to skype Natasha, right now and share the news... this is too important'. While we were talking to Natasha, halfway through the conversation, Danielle had to leave the room, because we were all excitedly talking to each other, and no one could hear what was being said....yes, that is how great the excitement was. Everyone was thrilled for me and no one was surprised, that this had happened.... well apart from me.  My family are so lovely, as they always believed that I would do well with my blog. Both Natasha and Danielle said 'Mum it's true, we told you, you are amazing'... sorry, I am blowing my own trumpet just a little.... and I have to tell you, that is so uncharacteristic of me. 

I calmed myself and I text Sophie who said that Jonathan wanted to speak to me.  We fixed a date and time and when we spoke, Jonathan said he loved my blog. We then talked about the programme he wanted me to be a part of.

Texts then went backwards and forwards, plans were made, dates were made, then changed. Cakes and pies were baked and then changed.... but I really didn't mind, because this was all so exciting.... I mean me, appearing on the television, yes me. What a wonderful, unexpected opportunity and something I could not imagine happening to me in a hundred years. I thought the pinnacle of my success was the fact that I had been interviewed for The Woman's Weekly magazine.... which I was thrilled about.

Everything was moving along splendidly and according to plan, when something very unexpected happened. I received the news that the programmes edit had been brought forward and that scuppered our filming date.

I have to be honest, I had gone from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows.... well not quite, as that is a bit of an exaggeration.... but I have to say, I was disappointed. The experience had been such an emotional roller coaster, but I have to tell you, I would not have changed the experience for the world, because what it made me realise, is, you just don't know who is reading your blog.  The words are typed, the pictures are taken and they are sent out into the big wide world, for people to read and hopefully enjoy, and I for one, never imagined Ivy, Phyllis and Me! would catch the eye of a production company.... but do you know what, it did and I feel so very proud of that fact and I also feel very proud of myself.

I am smiling as I write to you, because I know the opportunity will arise again, if not with this production company, then with another.

So, who knows what will be around the corner for me.... I for one, cannot wait to find out.

With a smile firmly fixed on my face, I think it is time for me to share what we are making today.

Another version of Christmas mince pies, but this time with frangipane.  I love almonds and the mix of mince meat and frangipane makes a lovely mince pie.  What you will discover is that because the mince pies are topped with frangipane, you need much less mincemeat in the pies, so the mince pies are not so sweet.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

The beautiful Christmas carol Stille Nacht sung by The King's Singers  (Silent Night).

There are so many different genres of music which I enjoy.  There is music  which makes me happy. There is music which makes me sad... but there  are hymns and carols, which open the door to my heart, and allows a rush of warmth to flow through... and this is one such carol.... please enjoy.

I have not added another piece of music, because I love this so much and so I am listening to it again. No singing this time, just listening while I gather my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS 

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

CHRISTMAS MINCE PIES

WITH FRANGIPANE

INGREDIENTS TO

MAKE

THE

PASTRY

340g plain flour

85g unsalted butter

85g Trex 

pinch of salt

1-2 tablespoons cold water

To make the pastry we are using the same method as we did for the apple pie. The only thing we will not be adding, is the sugar.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE 

THE

FRANGIPANE

100g unsalted butter

100g sugar

2 eggs

75g self raising flour

75g ground almonds

1 teaspoon of almond extract

1 egg for brushing the pastry

YOU WILL ALSO NEED 

1 450g jar of sweet mincemeat

Pre-heat the oven to 180C or 160C fan

HOW TO MAKE

THE PASTRY CASES

Butter your baking tin.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and cut a third of the pastry.  Put the third back into the fridge to use for the pastry lids.  Roll out the two thirds.

Cut out the pastry cases with a pastry cutter.

The size depends on the size of your baking tins.

Place in the fridge to keep cold.

Next make the pastry tops

I discovered these lovely cutters in a shop called Lakeland... I must admit I love visiting this shop. The cutters remind me of snowflakes, but you can use your normal pastry cutters to cut out the lids.

Remove the third of pastry from the fridge and roll
it out. Cut out the pastry tops. Place them on a baking sheet and pop them into the fridge to keep cold, while you make the frangipane.

HOW TO MAKE THE

 FRANGIPANE

Cube the butter

and 

place into a mixing bowl.

Add the sugar

and 

whisk until light and fluffy.

Sieve the flour

Set aside for the moment.

Whisk the eggs together

and

add

the 

almond extract and mix together.

Add a tablespoon of egg into the bowl with the beaten butter and sugar and whisk together.

Repeat until the egg is incorporated.

If you find the mixture starts to curdle, add a tablespoon of flour to the mixture.

When all the eggs have been added, 

fold in the 

sifted flour

and

the almonds.

ASSEMBLING

THE

CHRISTMAS MINCE PIES

WITH

FRANGIPANE

Place a dessert spoonful of mince meat

into the pastry cases.

If your pastry tins are shallow, you will need to

use less.

Add 

a heaped teaspoon

of frangipane.

Do not be tempted to add more, 

otherwise the frangipane will over flow.

Remove the pastry lids from the

fridge and place on top of the frangipane.

Press down lightly.

Brush with beaten egg.

Bake in the pre-heated oven

for 25 minutes or until golden.  

Use a cake skewer to make sure the frangipane 

has baked thoroughly.

Allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then remove the mince pies from the baking tin
 and place on a cooling tray.

and if the fancy takes you.

Place one mince pie in a dish, 

cut it in half

and 

drizzle with brandy cream

and

enjoy..... as we did.... well I had to make sure they tasted nice, didn't I.

You will find that the mince pie is not as sweet, because there is not as much mincemeat added as in normal mince pies.  Some years I make normal mince pies and other years I ring the changes and make frangipane mince pies, as they make a nice change.

As always, I did have some pastry and mincemeat left over.  Sometimes I freeze the pastry and mincemeat, but sometimes I make a turnover as I did here.

I love the Lakeland pastry cutters which I bought and I love the effect they gave to the mince pies and if I like something, I will always tell you.... and if I don't, well I will never mention it.

What I would say is, if you decide to buy them, I found I needed to use my cake prodder to gently ease the pastry from the snowflake cutters, as they did not release by themselves. I didn't mind doing this as the overall effect was lovely.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday, on Christmas Eve.

This week I will be joining,

Allison for Throwback Thursday

and

Mindie for Simple Saturday Blog Hop

and
Angel for Wake Up Wednesday
and
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Link Party

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ~ IT'S TIME FOR MY MINCE PIE RECIPE

Good Morning to you,

'You might just as well say' 

added the dormouse,

who seemed to be talking in his sleep,

that 'I breathe when I sleep' 

is the same thing as

'I sleep when I breathe'

Alice in Wonderland

Now this is a strange beginning to our weekly chat isn't it.... me, mentioning a mouse

Well, if you had been in our house this week, you would have discovered that a mouse, has been an integral part of our week.

Let me tell you why.... but I would ask you to be patient, as this is a bit of a convoluted story.

As you know, last Saturday was the day we unpacked our Christmas decorations. Now last year, I had asked Natasha and Danielle if they would like to choose Christmas decorations from our tree, to add to their collection. They instantly smiled, and within seconds they were both standing at the tree.... no, not deciding which decorations to choose, but looking for a certain decoration, which they both loved. I knew which one they were looking for, because I had bought them in Germany and the girls always loved them.  It took a few minutes to locate the decoration, but they both chose the same one, along with a few others which they also loved.

So on Saturday, whilst I was unpacking our Christmas decorations, I remembered that we had only one, of a certain decoration left to hang on the tree.  I mentioned this to George. He looked at the decoration and told me, if I wanted him to, he could make a few more for me, as they were easy enough to put together.

I was thrilled, because it would be a role reversal. After many years of hanging decorations, which the girls had made, in future years, they would be hanging decorations, on their Christmas trees, which their dad had made. 

..... so, George set to. He was busy in the garage, on and off, for a couple of days, recreating these little decorations.  All that was needed, was for me to make the hat and scarf, which I felt was easy enough to do, even with my limited crochet skills.

On the third morning, George said the decorations were ready, so he went into the garage to collect the little lovelies.  He came back into the kitchen and said 'You'll never guess what, the heads are missing'. Of course the first thing I said, was 'Did you glue the heads on,'  He said, 'Of course I did, I definitely glued them on'. To which I said, 'Have they fallen off the workbench and rolled onto the ground'. His reply was 'Actually, that was the first thing I thought of, so I checked the floor, but no, not a head in sight.... they have completely disappeared' 

So a closer inspection was needed and that is when George discovered, we'd had a little visitor in the garage during the night.... a mouse... and what do mice love.... well, one of the things they love, is nuts.... and what were the heads made of.... yes you've guessed it, nuts.

You see, the original decorations had round wooden heads, but I did not have any round wooden balls to make the heads, so we decided to improvise and use a whole nutmeg for the head, which we thought looked pretty good..... but what we hadn't bargained on, was the little visitor in the garage. The nutmeg turned out to be a fabulously, scrumptious meal for the mouse.... Christmas had certainly come early for our little visitor.

So what did we do?

Well, we never use those horrid traps, which kill mice, we use humane mouse traps, as they catch the mice, without hurting them.  We then release the mice into a field.... but it has to be quite a distance from our home, because, mice are very territorial and they can make their way back home very easily.

So, the humane trap was set.... George had put a sprout leaf into the trap and do you know what, I have to tell you, we are dealing with a very clever mouse, because when George went into the garage, the next morning, the sprout leaf had disappeared, but the trap had not closed. Somehow our resident mouse had managed to take the food without getting trapped itself.  

So what did we do.... we  tried using cheese.... nope... the mouse did not even try and eat the cheese.... but I thought mice liked cheese, have their tastes changed over the years.  So what to do, the only thing we could, we turned to the Internet of course.... and what did we discover.

Well, believe it or not, it seems mice love peanut butter.... yes peanut butter.... who would have thought it.  I know it makes sense because the butter is made out of peanuts, so of course it would be a tempting feast for a mouse, but we would never have thought of this ourselves.

So, the upshot is, 

..... the peanut butter has been placed inside the humane trap

..... the decorations have been removed from the garage and have taken up residence in my sewing room.... waiting to be completed

..... I am trying my best to crochet the little hats and scarves.

..... oh yes, and I am going to do, what I should have done, in the first place ..... isn't hindsight a wonderful thing, I am going into town tomorrow to buy some wooden heads.

All being well, in the next few days,

.... the mouse will be deposited in its new home, where it will be able to hibernate before the weather turns. 

.... the decorations will be completed

.... so the said decorations will enjoy their new place on our Christmas tree.

.... phew what a pallarva over a few Christmas decorations.

So I think I had better change the subject, don't you, and get on with the Christmas baking.

The final thing I am going to share with you from our family Christmas two years ago is,

one of George's favourites, Christmas Mince Pies.... although to be honest, it is difficult to pin down George's favourite, because he loves Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies.

The brilliant thing about mince pies, is that they can be frozen, either when baked or before baking. So when time is of the essence, I tend to make the mince pies as early in December as I can, but I don't bake them straight away, I tend to freeze them. 

I love it when I can place a red tick against my Family Christmas 'Things to Do' list.... it feels very satisfying.

.... and so to the Christmas music I am playing at the moment.

I thought it apt that I was playing this music, as Natasha and I went to see Kate Rusby sing live, at The Sage in Gateshead, a couple of Christmases ago and we loved every minute of her performance.  Kate has the most beautiful voice.

So enjoy Kate Rusby singing Diadem with a little bit of Yorkshire brass music thrown in for good measure.

Now this song isn't from the same album, but I love it all the same as Kate can do no wrong in my book.

Kate Rusby singing Here We Come A Wassailing

Oh and before I go, would you like to see what all the fuss and bother was about,

Now you see it

and

now you don't.

Take care and I will see you next week.

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ~ IT'S TIME FOR MY CHRISTMAS PUDDING RECIPE

Good Morning to you,

'Now bring us some figgy pudding

Now bring us some figgy pudding

Now bring us some figgy pudding

and a cup of good cheer

Glad tidings we bring

for you and your kin'

I just know, you will be singing the rest of the words to 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'.

.... and how do I know, because I am singing them as well.

It's almost here, just two more days before the great unwrapping of our Christmas decorations.... well it is supposed to be.

.... but I have to tell you, when George went for his swim, I could not help myself, I  decided to peek inside one of the boxes.... and there, wrapped very carefully, was my Christmas globe, which I have to tell you, I love.

I swear, each time I unwrap a Christmas decoration, I go backwards in time, my mind fills itself with the memories of Christmases past.... listen to me, I am beginning to sound like the 'Ghost from Christmas Past'.

.... so as my mind is drifting backwards, I thought I would stay with this theme and share with you a few of my childhood Christmas memories.

....so I must return to the Christmas globe as this is a special Christmas memory for me.

When I was a child, Phyllis had a Christmas globe which I loved. It was just large enough to fit inside my small hand. I vividly remember shaking the little globe up and down, and probably far too much, but the little globe fascinated me. I would watch the snow inside the globe, for what seemed like hours, but which of course was only seconds.  Do you know, as a child, I really thought, the snow was trapped inside the globe. After shaking the globe, I loved to sit and watch the snow gently drifting downwards, settling onto the roof of the little house and then the rest of the snow, falling gently onto the ground.

I also loved Christmas cards which were covered in silver glitter.  I loved it when Phyllis opened the Christmas cards, to find there was not a plain card, by which I mean, a card without glitter, but what I thought was a super dupa Christmas card, one which was sprinkled with glitter.... and didn't that glitter get everywhere.  

.... and our Christmas decorations, they were so very different to the ones we hang today.  We had concertina, paper decorations which were hung around the room, which funnily enough, I  discovered have become so very popular again. My contribution to the Christmas decorations came by way of my Junior school. It was always fun during the last week of the Christmas term, as we would make Christmas calendars, Christmas cards and paper chains to take home.  We were given brightly coloured paper which was pre-cut into the correct lengths. The first thing we did, was make the initial link.  This was done by licking the glued paper.... sorry about that, but that was how it was done.  The sticky paper was then held for a minute or two and so the first link was formed.  We then went on to make the second link, by popping a second piece of paper through the first link, then we repeated the licking of the paper and went on to add more and more links, until all the paper was used. We always hoped to make the chains long enough to hang from one corner of the ceiling to the ceiling light... and if we were lucky, we had two chains which went from corner to corner.

.... but we did not decorate as we do nowadays as our decorations did not go up until Christmas Eve and somehow this made Christmas even more exciting, because you knew, as a child, that once the tree and decorations were up, we did not have long to wait until it was time for Father Christmas to come down the chimney.... hopefully, that he would be able to climb down the chimney with his sack of presents. It was always a worry, because we had an open fire, and I worried that Father Christmas would get burnt, but Phyllis would reassure me, that the fire would be dampened down before she went to bed, so it would be safe for Father Christmas to climb down the chimney.

I remember, keeping this tradition alive for a long, long time myself.  We would buy our Christmas tree a few days before Christmas Eve, and then Natasha, Danielle and I would decorate the tree.  George would hand us the decorations to be placed on the tree and each of us would have free reign to place the decorations, where ever we wanted. There was no formality or design, as our Christmas decorations were a mix of ornaments, some which the girls had made, some which I had made and then some which we had bought on our travels. There was no theme to the Christmas tree, but this made it fun, because the tree never looked the same each year. It was much later that I fell in love with the way my German friends decorated their trees and so I adopted that style.

The dressing of the tree was always fun. George would have a glass of red wine, the girls would have a glass of milk  and I would have a sherry.... yes really, a glass of sherry.... I love Crofts Original sherry and do you know the only time I drink it, is during Christmas time. It really is part of my Christmas tradition.

It is interesting how Christmas has changed over the years because when I was a child, Christmas was enjoyed, but not with the same intensity as it is today.... but I can still remember that feeling of going to bed on Christmas Eve, so excited, thinking that if only I could stay awake, I would be able to meet Father Christmas, which of course I never managed to do, because I would always fall asleep, only to wake the next morning, disappointed that I had not met Father Christmas, but also filled with excited anticipation..... had I been good enough throughout the year, did Father Christmas think I deserved a Christmas present..... and when I went down stairs.... there they were.... my Christmas presents and the wonderful feeling I felt, because Father Christmas had thought I had been a good girl.

....isn't it funny the things we remember.

....and here's another maker of wonderful memories,

my Christmas pudding recipe. Which is a part of our family Christmas tradition.

When Natasha and Danielle were little girls, they always helped me make the Christmas pudding. They enjoyed the weighing of the ingredients and they certainly enjoyed stirring the Christmas pudding and making a Christmas wish.

Now, Phyllis and I made our Christmas puddings the same way, placed inside a bowl and steamed, but Ivy did not use a bowl, she used a square piece of muslin. She would place the finished mixture into the centre of a piece of muslin, pull the 4 corners together and tie them tightly with string. This way she would form the pudding into what looked like a cannon ball... probably the wrong description, because the resulting Christmas pudding, when steamed, was nothing like a cannon ball.  It was rich in flavour and delicious. The muslin would be tied again to create a loop for the wooden spoon to be placed through and then the whole pudding would be suspended over a pan of simmering water, making sure the pudding never touched the water.... thus allowing the pudding to steam.

Some people know this as a Plum pudding, others as a Christmas pudding, whichever one it is, when I was a child, they had one thing in common.

Buried, deep inside the homemade Christmas pudding, would be a silver sixpence.... and to the finder, it was considered a lucky silver sixpence. So of course as children, we always hoped that we would be the lucky recipient... and do you know, we usually were.... isn't that strange. 

.... these are just a few of my Christmas memories, I wonder, what are your favourite childhood memories. What was your favourite Christmas tradition? 

I'd love to know.

Oh yes, before I leave you, I wanted to say I am sorry I have not replied to last weeks comments, I have had one of those weeks I'm afraid.  I will certainly be catching up with you over the next few days.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday

and

Mindie for Simple Saturday Blog Hop

and

Joanita for Snickerdoodle Sunday