Preparing Ahead...

I took this picture on Tuesday night. It was the lunar eclipse the night before, so the moon was incredibly bright. It's really grainy I'm afraid as my camera has more options than I have yet fathomed, but I just loved the light and the shadows cast on the ground! I have noticed that a lot of my pictures seem to be of trees at the moment, and I just wanted to point out that it's not intentional...but then I guess I have always been a bit of a tree-hugger at heart!

Just getting ready for the big day tomorrow. The bread sauce is done and is in the fridge, the chestnut stuffing is almost ready, the cranberry sauce was made at the beginning of the week (that's definitely one ofs my favourite jobs, I love it when they all burst in the pan!) and and is currently defrosting. The cake has been iced, the turkey is enjoying a long leisurely spiced bath ready for it's "sun-bed" tomorrow (my husband wanted to barbeque it, but I think the prospect of standing outside for hours in sub-zero temperatures has put him off somewhat)! The vegetables just need to be prepared and then we can just relax and enjoy these .... My grandmother's mince-pie recipe follows: (makes around 20) 200g plain flour, 50g butter, 50g lard or vegetable shortening, 1 egg yolk, a jar of decent mincemeat. Pre-heat oven to 200°C, sift flour into a bowl, slowly rub in both butter and fat until the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk plus a few drops of water to bind. Roll out pastry, cut out rounds and place in a yorkshire pudding tin (or muffin tin if you don't have a yorkshire pudding tin!). Fill with a spoonful of mincemeat, place a round on top of each one for a lid, making a tiny whole in the top of each one. Bake for around 20 minutes. Dust with icing sugar and see if you can't eat the lot before they have cooled down...

The children are hyper-excited even though they both seem under the weather. Luckily there isn't much more for us to do in the Father Christmas department. I did my most hated job (wrapping presents) weeks ago. I am not sure when I will get a chance to write next, so I do hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Now, back to the kitchen......