Thanks Amazon. I’ll look it up.
I bought our leg of ham and ordered duck to make pulled duck. All go go go and the cooler weather is ideal.
This topic contains 7,125 replies, has 64 voices, and was last updated by Barata 9 months, 3 weeks ago.
Your trifle sounds amazing Amazon, much more interesting than my usual one which is made for every special occasion…one dessert everyone loves. What do you do with the sponge now?
An English friend just told me she needs to make her sausage rolls for Xmas this week – she said it is an ‘english thing’ she does every Xmas and now her friends expect it. I guess its to do with your climate!
Cool here too Purple, I hope it doesn’t get too hot next week when the oven is working overtime. How did those pioneer women do it in the Summer with wood stoves?
RT sorry no experience here with tea leaves and coffee grounds – I am lazy and usually tip them into the compost. I agree with Purple though, I would dig them in a bit and not let them be too concentrated around your plants. Ash from the open fire often goes onto the garden, but always dug well in too.
I have been a bit too relaxed with mince pies the last few days, I think a Saturday fast is in order tomorrow….. have a great weekend all.
Good afternoon everyone . I think at last that is 90% of the paperwork done for dads insurance etc. I have a bad habit of spreading papers on the floor when dealing with things and my back is giving me we twinges so I am having a lazy day today . I don’t want to be flat on my back again like I was a couple of years ago .
I haven’t got my decorations up yet .We will do it Tomorrow or Monday I have a very special wedding to go to next year so I have to stay trim :).
This year there will Just be Jim ,Ross and myself . Nothing too fancy . They want tatties and stew ,turnip sprouts and sweet potato then ice cream and pineapple . Easy peasy for me . Then if it is a nice day we will go for a drive . It would have been Mamas birthday on Christmas day and I like to think she is celebrating with dad and my sister .
This will be my 3rd Christmas maintaining and I am quite proud of myself .
I am going to catch up with e-mails and have a lazy day . Have a great day all
Wee xxx
Hi Wee,
Considering all the stress of the past few weeks you are doing really well and it goes to show that we CAN change our eating habits with a bit of determination. You are right to be proud of yourself.
Nama,
the sponge is very rich, buttery and moist and it contains ground almonds mincemeat and orange zest and juice for good measure so lots of Christmassy flavours.
I’ve put it in my trifle bowl, given it a drink of Marsala and put the chilled curd on top which I tasted and I’m very glad I reduced the sugar as it would have been too sweet.
I’m waiting for the custard to cool now before I put it over the top. I’ll whip the cream and decorate it tomorrow with physalis (cape gooseberries) which I’ve never had before but are delicious, and a sprinkle of edible silver stars 😎
I’ve got jerk ham and chicken wings marinading and made some sesame and onion seed oatcakes so everything is done now until I start cooking tomorrow evening.
Sausage rolls are a party thing here and people seem to have them at Christmas. Homemade ones are fab but there are a lot of quite frankly rather nasty ones in the shops so I rarely eat them. I have actually made a few this year using some really good sausages that don’t have any breadcrumbs or flour added and some home made flaky pastry. They are frozen uncooked.
I wanted something I could offer people who don’t want cake or mince pies and they fit the bill nicely as they go rather well with a beer or something stronger 😉
All I’ve posted about today is food but as I’ve spent most of my time in the kitchen it’s no surprise 🤣🤣🤣
I love reading about the variety of celebration foods everyone is planning.
SO important to taste test Amazon. It would be embarrassing if it didn’t taste good!
I’m definitely making that trifle.
My daughter made us kilted sausages last Christmas in Scotland….tiny sausages wrapped in bacon and roasted. SO cute. (In England …pigs in blankets) I’m planning some of those too, with tartan decoration.
Off to select a tree…🌲🌲🌲
My FD went west as soon as I realised I needed to taste but I’ve not eaten too much. A very healthy diet of cake, roasted salted nuts and wine………. 🤣🤣🤣
Pigs in blankets are often served as part of Christmas dinner, not a tradition in my family as we always had roast pork alongside our turkey and didn’t need any more meat. I was always very happy with that as roast pork is my favourite 🙂
Purple,
If you do make the trifle, when the mincemeat sponge came out of the oven there was excess melted butter round the edge of the tin which I poured away so I would be tempted to use less butter next time I make it.
I made my own custard as I thought if I was going to make that much effort I should do so. I also used 225 rather than 300g sugar in the curd.
I’ll report back on how it tastes on Sunday 😉
I am sure it will be scrumptious Amazon , I plan to make it too! Do you slice the cake into the bottom of the bowl? If so, taste testing would be impossible to avoid, imagine all those precious little pieces that did not fit anywhere and could not be wasted!
I love any sort of pork and this year I am doing a couple of slow roasted pork bellies for a change from the leg. Also some Vietnamese style chicken wings with a caramelised type of sauce. A bow to my Vietnamese lunch guests. My DILs twin sister is a bit fussy and does not like much western food, so she might be happy enough to let me have a drive of her new Merc! Thats the plan… all the Aussies will still get their turkey, ham and roast beef!
This talk is hungry making, but I must fast today, those mince pies must be paid for! One of them was not traditional, it was filled with lemon curd, yummm… I have a jar of curd in the cupboard I dare not open, or I would eat it all up off a spoon. It is not home made but by a small co called the Yackandandah Jam Co. and as good as home made.
Hi Nama,
Christmas food is an integral part of what it is all about for me and I love being in the kitchen cooking for friends and family.
Yes the cake goes into the bottom of the bowl.
I’ll try to remember to take a photo of the finished item and put it on our fb page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mincemeat_trifle_99318
Pork has always been my favourite meat since I was a little girl. Christmas was the only time we got to choose what we wanted to eat for tea/supper and I always opted for a pork sarnie as it was my idea of heaven 🙂
Mmm, that trifle sounds fantastic. Sadly my OH hates mincemeat, so ours willl be traditional sherry. Mind you, with our own raspberries and egg custard I won’t complain!
I’ve been out for an Xmas do today. I ordered fish as I only want one Christmas dinner per year. Everyone’s meals turned up the same – roast spud, mashed spud, boiled carrot, sprouts – only difference a slice of turkey or a piece of fish. Not quite what I’d expected!
On a different note, I’m a bit sad that we’ve lost the witch! Better entertainment value than the usual snake oil salesmen!
Have I missed something, I don’t recall a witch…..
Why would anyone want roast and mash on the same plate, it doesn’t make sense to me as much as I like spuds.
Any Christmas dinner that hasn’t been cooked by me doesn’t count as I know that mine is the best and therefore the only authentic Christmas dinner 😉
Don’t worry Nama!
The witch was clearly in need of some psychiatric support, but I thought won points for originality 😁 Instantly shocking, upon second reading just mad.
I didn’t take offence though, why would I?
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment”
Not sure if I agree with Marcus Aurelius Happy. Our witch certainly did not distress me or offend me, more an irritation. However, lots,of things could distress me that I would not take responsibility for! My husband always says that to me – ie. things cant upset you unless you allow them to, but I disagree! Maybe in something as minor as an idiot in the traffic, but not for big things. Surely all the really big injustices in our world are worth being distressed over?
it is tricky on a thread like this isn’t it? Words can be misinterpreted so easily! By “distressed” I can mean simply sad or roaring mad!
Glad to hear you change your mind too Happy…. Cake now in the oven (the Sri Lankan one that has been macerating in the fridge a couple of months) Now that would be distressing if I mucked that up at the last minute because I was chatting on line!
All this delicious talk of Christmas cooking by you domestic goddesses puts me to shame. Apart from the ham, which will be a gift from my employers, I am doing absolutely nothing this year. For the last three we have taken my aunt to lunch on Christmas Day, and this year we will honour the booking, and raise a glass to her. 🙂 Then it’s off to Aus, so no need to want left-overs around.
Jo, the annual window-clean is still to be completed, just a few left. Last year the motivator was a visitor from England – when will you be here again?
Morning/evening all,
No trees in my street so no problems with leaves etc in gutters.
It is a cold and misty morning here and very quiet everywhere. Lots of schools have broken up for the holidays and many people are off work until 3rd January which means tht quite a few have left London. I love it at this time of year as there is much less traffic and a certain calm about the place that isn’t present the rest of the year.
When I ws working I was so jealous of people who got two weeks off every year especially in light of the fact that many took it for granted that everyone else did the same, forgetting the facts that anyone who works in a service industry be it retail, health, safety, law enforcement will be expected to do a shift or two. I always think about my ex-colleagues and those I don’t know, who will not be spending Christmas Day with their families but working hard.
Can’t say I miss it.
I’m glad I missed the witch.
Have a good one everybody 😜
Hi Amazon,
I dont miss the annual “who is going to cover Christmas Day” dramas! So nice to please oneself these days! I was thinking of you this afternoon. While ironing a teatowel bought in London about 40 years ago, the classic print of the London Underground, I was checking it out in detail and imagining where you live!! Across the Thames from Kew I was picturing you!! Clearing out the dresser drawers at Jamieson last week, I found a few 40 year old teatowels – at least they are all linen, so they will be used!
Our windows will be done by husband this week, thats the only housework I ask of him all year. And he wont miss the gutters at Jamieson, despite the expensive stuff rivetted over them to stop them blocking, he still has to get up on the roof with the blower to clear the leaves and acorns from the Faraway Tree above.(massive oak)off the actual roof. One reason he has been agitating to sell for a few years!
My fast day crashed today, could not resist tasting the cake!! So then, because it was cool, I decided to cook a roast for dinner. Ah well, I know when not to even try – the mindset has to be right! Monday is the day. No socialising all week, so I could actually fast every day if I chose …… mmmm, dont think so!
I gave up yesterday but I done 3FDs since Monday so no drama.
I am having a gloriously lazy day, it’s 12.30 and I’m still in my PJs reading the paper, drinking coffee and surfing the net 😉
I keep thinking I ought to be doing something but it’s all done apart from tidying and decorating myself 👗💋
I love this time of year, especially when a Christmas card from old friends arrives and contains a photo of their children who I usually think of as babies/toddlers and the photo reminds me of how swiftly the years seem to have passed as the children are year 6 at least 🙂
Hi Everyone,
The ground looks gorgeous as all is covered with fresh snow and still coming down and apparently will turn into rain later. That’s the worst part.
I am chocked to read all those post about delicious food. Many of you of are quite talented but Amazon I give the crown here. She lives alone and is always cooking something that I never heard before. BTW I saved BBC food on Facebook… I guess I have lots to learn.
I love pork but rarely make it at home. My OH doesn’t like at all. In my opinion the best pork dishes I ever eaten were in Switzerland, Germany and Austria… also their sausages.
This week I attended a Christmas party, went out for dinner and I have another cookies and champagne party this afternoon. My scale is being very honest with me … she has nothing to lose and she doesn’t care but make me upset and down. It’s not her fault! I take as is.
The gutters this year were cleaned by myself. We have a special type one in the front of the house but the rest really get glogged. We substituted the leafy tree ones for ever green but we still have many of them around the house.
Talking about cleaning I want this floor device Jojo has. Seriously! I have wood and tile was the era of carpets is long gone. Only two bedrooms in this house to deal with. I have lots of windows but they stay just the way they are.
I am not cooking for Christmas. We have lots of invites 😀
It’s rather urgent to me to go back Fasting! I am afraid that I pass my markers from the beginning of the year. I also believe hormonal changes are making me fuzzy, lazy and hungrier then ever. Determination is what is missing here.
Congratulations to all of you maintainers and strong mind resisting all this holiday food.
❤️🎂🎅🌺🌲💨
Hi Jo,
I have many things that aren’t usually given house room the rest of the year. I would love to lose weight over Christmas but that is an unrealistic notion for me. My aim is to weigh 1 stone less than this time last year and I’m nearly there. I’ve been very disciplined this week and have planned 3 FDs next week so I might do it by Christmas.
There is a large selection of food on offer this evening but in small amounts so the unhealthier leftovers will be few and far between and there is always the possibility of a doggie bag as my friend across the road is travelling on Tuesday so her cupboards will be bare.
The jerk ham is in the oven and it smells fabulous which isn’t really very helpful as I’ve not eaten today and am more than ready to do so.
Amazon,
And not forgetting that you’ve also been a successful maintainer this year!
Jo,
The fish was nice, in a white wine and prawn sauce. What I hadn’t appreciated was that it was interchangeable with turkey, so came with Christmas dinner vegetables! Slightly odd, not really right!
Re: windows. Monthly, dream on! Twice a year is more likely here….
Jo,
I know you don’t really like cooking, but struggle with unoccupied evenings..
Having spent a good couple of hours on my feet in the kitchen this evening, happily preparing us from scratch an Indian meal (curry, dhal, naan bread), listening to music/ watching a film, it occurs to me that perhaps you could look at doing a cookery course? You might develop more of an appreciation of food, and then prefer to cook rather than sit and watch TV (with snacking temptation!)?
Hi everyone,
Dinner was fab when we eventually got it as my oven went bang in the middle of cooking and we had to transfer everything to my friends oven which is fortunately just across the road 😮
So I now have the problem of getting a new oven installed before Christmas. My friend has left me her keys so the worst case scenario is cooking my Christmas dinner in her oven while she is away for Christmas.
Purple,
jerk paste/seasoning is Caribbean in origin and is made up of a mixture of herbs and spices including fiery Scotch Bonnet chillies. I made a paste and marinaded the meat before roasting it.
The trifle was very good apart from the cake which was too heavy and rich for my taste. I am wondering if there is an error in the recipe as the proportions seemed odd to me.
I’ve been ruthless and chucked out all the leftovers 😇
Morning/evening all,
The oven seems to be working this morning and I’m wondering if a piece of tin foil got stuck in the vent by the element and caught fire because it all seems OK so far. I’ll try cooking something later.
Purple, I marinaded the ham overnight and the recipe called for long slow cooking so the meat was tender enough to be shredded with a fork but no reason why it couldn’t be cooked and sliced as normal. It was cooked covered with foil and basted every so often. The edges of the meat are spicy and the inside tender and juicy as normal so if someone doesn’t like spicy they can have meat from closer to the bone.
Here’s the link
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/jerky-ham-hocks/
Apart from the oven problem yesterday evening was fab and the food was good. I ate far too much including seconds of trifle and as a result had a restless night.
I still feel full this morning and don’t regret chucking the leftovers. I’m also pleased with myself for clearing up including scrubbing all the pans that went into the oven so everywhere and everything is clean and tidy.
Have a good one everybody 😜
Amazon,
Thanks for the recipe link. I’d been toying with getting a ham to cook, but think I’ll give the jerk a go instead (that’s the ham, not the husband…!).
Jo,
Your evening sounds like fun. I do like dancing, but don’t get to do it often. I did try and persuade OH to join a salsa class a few years ago now… No chance!
I think my theory of something getting on the fan or the element and catching fire is correct as all the different oven functions appear to be working this morning. There is a sacrificial chicken breast defrosting which will tell me if it really is OK. I’ve got my friend’s keys and she gave me a run through of how her oven works so I’ll get my turkey Wellington one way or another.
I checked on line and I can get a new oven fitted by Tuesday evening so it would be no more than an unexpected parting with money and if it does prove necessary I might put it off for a few weeks. I have a gas hob, a grill and a microwave and if I really wanted to I could use my baby Weber BBQ to cook a joint of meat or a chicken although the neighbours might think I’ve gone mad 🤣🤣🤣
Jo, your evening sounds great.
When I threw out the remaining trifle last night I thought I might regret it this morning but when I opened the fridge this morning I was mightily relieved not to see it sitting there tempting me. Bit of a waste but it won’t be sitting around my waist 😆
I’m pleased to have inspired some of you to think about jerk ham. When Jamie Oliver presented it on his show he talked about how many of the spices etc used in Caribbean cooking are similar to what we use at Christmas. Allspice is fabulous in savoury rubs and marinades and good in mulled wine or cider and cakes.
It is good to stick with tradition and eat certain foods at Christmas, but a twist of flavour stops it becoming boring and predictable.
One more thing, I’m not sure if the recipe mentions that you need to take the skin off the ham before you do anything. I trimmed some of the fat off too but it wasn’t really necessary as most of it melts away during cooking.
My friend bought some homemade saffron and potato bread fresh from the oven and most of it is sitting on the board in the kitchen. I’m going to treat myself to a bacon sarnie later and freeze the rest.
Happy cooking everyone 😉
Long range forecast is for 37 deg for Christmas Day in South Australia it really is looking ideal for our proposed beachside Christmas Day lunch and shenanigans now backyard cricket replaced with beach cricket with much more space Monday fast day I have my fast on… Yfee has taken to having breakfast a smoothie berries and yoghurt then skip lunch and fish and salad on her fast day with water and green tea I am really pleased to watch her fully embrace the 5-2 way of life and continue to experiment with things to suit her so that she will eventually become her own evidence.
Peace RT
Excellent news re yfee’s new approach RT. She needs to do it her way. Good on her.
Thanks for the Xmad forecast. So swimming will be on the agenda! 😊😊
2pm Monday fast. Two cups of black coffee, a lot of water and Christmas shopping almost done. Gosh there are a lot of people filling their faces at Westfield 😊😊P
Windows are nearly done, Jo. Don’t look in the kitchen cupboards, though 🙂 Summer weather is ordered – glorious today and tomorrow if you hurry. I would love to dance too, but OH – well, you’ve met him. Another plateau, but at least he’s sticking with it.
Don’t they just, P! I am astonished by the number of people who can’t go shopping without putting the feedbag on.
Well done Jo!! Fantastic that you have broken through a barrier, you must be extremely happy. Slimmers World obviously provides the support and dare I say, competitive environment that you flourish in! Your house must be sparking too! My floors always need a vacccuum after my sons’s dog visits – not from his fur (poodle, doesnt moult), but from the garden debris he always manages to transport inside on his big furry feet!
Husband cleaned all the windows today, wow it makes a big difference. Last week he cleaned the pergola with a high pressure hose and lots of dirty water ended up on the windows, looked like it had been raining sooty water. He is off to Ballarat for work tomorrow, a real working gold mine has an instrument that requires attention. Remember you went to Ballarat when you went to Sovereign Hill with your friends daughter?
RT I am pleased for you that you relish the thought of a hot xmas day – I hate it! The oven will be on unfortunately. Sometimes if the forecast is for heat, I cook the roast meats the day before, but I dont think they are ever as nice after they have been in the fridge overnight….any suggestions anyone? (We dont have a Weber or BBQ with an oven). Maybe if the forecast does not change as Sunday draws closer, I might just forget the whole roast theme and simply have cold meats and salads!!
A close friend is going to theatre in the morning for an angiogram and a cardiac stent, very sudden onset this week. I am pretty worried about her, even though common sense tells me how fortunate she is to be having preventative treatment before a full blown heart attack. I will be glad this time tomorrow when I know she is ok. She has never smoked, drinks minimally, BP and cholesterol fine, but she picked the wrong parents, (family hx) and has a very high stress job. Hopefully this is the wake up call she needs. Just like when a surgeon told me I needed knee replacements!
Morning/evening all,
Nama,
you could prep the meat for the oven on Christmas Eve and set your alarm for silly o’clock. Get up stick it in the oven and go back to bed. It won’t matter if you put it in a cold oven but it might need an extra 10 minutes. When you get up, put the meat to one side on the counter covered with foil and a towel and it will keep hot for hours.
My Mum and Dad always used to cook the (huge) turkey overnight. It went in the oven at midnight and they would get up early and put it in the corner under a nest of tea clothes where it stayed hot until we ate which was rarely before 2pm.
I have put meat and potatoes in a cold oven and cooked them many times and they’ve always tasted fine and been perfectly cooked.
Sorry to hear about your friend. I’m sure she’ll be fine but like me you know too much which is the downside of the medical professions and turns us all into worry guts at the first sign of a sniff from our nearest and dearest.
Jo, well done on your new low, Keep it up you know you can do it.
Batch freezing and adding something fresh such as leafy veg, salad or maybe a spoonful or two of cooling yoghurt/salsa or chutney is what I do. I aim for 300-350 calorie portions which leaves sufficient calories for the additions and some milk for my morning tea and first coffee.
I am fasting M,TU,W this week. I would like it to be food free but am finding that really challenging at the moment…
All that is left from Saturday evening is some bread and smoked salmon paté. The bread has gone into the freezer and the paté will keep for ages.
RT, good to hear that your wife is establishing her own 5:2 routine, as P says she needs to do it her way. Your plan for Christmas Day sounds wonderful 🙂
It never ceases to amaze me that these days people cannot go anywhere for the shortest amount of time without having something to eat. Even before 5:2 I wouldn’t dream of eating out when I went shopping. I often stop for a coffee these days but that is because I have time to do so and it has helped me to get out of the habit of rushing around and becoming stressed. The result is that I now enjoy shopping something I used to loathe.
Have a good FD everyone 😜
Hi Amazon,
Thanks for those suggestions. I imagine I will be up with the sparrows anyway with such a big crowd coming for lunch, so I think I will just put the meat on really early. I don’t mind if it is even just room temp on a hot day, I just don’t like it as much after it has been in the fridge. I am planning a huge baking dish of mixed roast veg, so will 3/4 cook them the day before and just reheat and crisp them for 15mins. My MIL had a tiny oven and had to cook things in shifts on a big occasion, she always did the meat much earlier. I think as long as it is thoroughly cooked initially food poisoning isnt a concern.
Gee that must have been a huge turkey to cook overnight!
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