Dec 1
I can’t believe it’s December already. The year seems to have just flown by. I squeezed a lot into the year but at the same time, there are more things I wanted to achieve. There’s still some time left, I suppose – more I can get done before the fireworks go off and the new year begins. But it looks like some dreams will be carried over to next year. That’s not a bad thing – chasing down dreams keeps life interesting! Read more
Whiskey is the panacea. There is little it can’t cure, especially in winter. If I have a cold (as I do at the moment) I would far sooner have a hot whiskey than expensive cold and flu medications. The vapours clear my nose, the honey soothes my cough, the spices warm my bones and the nip of alcohol makes me sleep like a baby. Read more
“Don’t slam the door!” my mother would yell as I walked into the kitchen. The Christmas cake was in the oven and in the early eighties, when oven seals weren’t quite what they should be, slamming the door could create enough draft to cause the cake to sink in the middle. Or so the theory went. Read more
To all of you who have read, liked, commented, shared, pinned, etc. over the past year – thank you so much for your time and your company.
Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and wonderful things for 2016. Read more
One of the things I most looked forward to about moving to Lithuania was a white Christmas. The Lithuanian countryside is stunning when it is covered in snow – vast open fields surrounded by forests and dotted with deer. It doesn’t get more picture-perfect. This year, though, the weather has decided not to play ball. It was a balmy 9 ˚ C (48 ˚ F) here today – about 15 degrees above what would be expected in mid December. Read more
“We’ll never all fit”, I said in a slightly panicked tone as I looked out into our conservatory. It’s not a small room, but with the oversize Christmas tree and several chunky pieces of furniture there wasn’t much space left for dancing. There were 11 of us here for Christmas dinner and I was struggling to figure out where we would all sit, never mind where we would put the dance floor. Read more
Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree,
You know not how you’ve aged me.
As a child I always loved putting up the Christmas Tree. We had one of those fake, glittery ones popular in the 70s and a beautiful collection of colourful, sparkly ornaments built up over a number of years. Mam would put up the lights, ensuring they were perfectly symmetrical with one light at the top to reflect off the star. My sister and I would then add the decorations. When it was finally complete we would enjoy our first slice of Christmas cake and perhaps our first movie of the season. Read more
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yet most of us are in a flap. There are presents to be bought, cakes to be baked and a sense of impending dread at the thought of having to cook a fabulous Christmas dinner. TV chefs are wooing us with mini tartlets and smoked salmon blini that can be prepared “in minutes” and add “a touch of sophistication” to your festive cooking. Every supermarket has their own glossy magazine full of cooking and decorating ideas and can provide mini tartlets and blini pre-prepared (but with a hefty price tag) that you only need to “pop in the oven”. The options are endless and dizzying. Somewhere along the way, the concept of a tasty home cooked meal shared with the people you love gets lost and is replaced by panic and over-complication. If this all sounds familiar, then maybe my 10 Tips for a Stress-free Christmas Dinner can help get you back on track. Read more
Christmas is a time for tradition. What’s fascinating to me is how much those traditions vary from country to country and even from family to family. Some children post their letter to Santa up the chimney, some through the regular mail. Some leave out milk and cookies for Santa, but in our house it was a bottle of Guinness and a few mince pies. (Clever ole Dad!) Some traditions don’t believe in Santa at all. Read more
Thank you all for your support and company this year – it is very much appreciated. Wishing you a peaceful and happy Christmas and wonderful things for 2014.
June. Read more
What are you doing for Christmas? It’s a question that most people in the western world can answer from about mid September, perhaps even earlier if you have family living overseas. By this stage, December 21st, you will have ordered the turkey, made the cake or pudding, put up the decorations, done most of your gift shopping, sent cards, scoured cookbooks for alternatives to the dreaded mushy sprouts and are wondering how you ever allowed yourself to buy such a small fridge – will the smoked salmon survive in the cold of the pantry? Read more
There’ll be no turkey for me this Christmas. In fact, there’ll be no meat at all. I’m spending Christmas with my in-laws in Lithuania, where the main celebration is on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. Read more
My Food Odyssey 