Winter Marmalade

One grapefruit, one lemon and two cups of sugar. Magic!

   Currently got a pan of lemon and grapefruit marmalade boiling away, the only real chore I have done today. However, I did get quite a few loose ends tied up and feel slightly more organized than when I got up this morning and was confronted with last night's dirty dishes!

    After an easy start sorting out paperwork, I headed out, well bundled up as the temperature was in minus territory and the wind chill was -13C. Picked up a bottle of wine for Donalda's gift but couldn't find the Marsala I want to pour on the Christmas cake. I will have to try another LCBO branch and see if they carry it. Made the last deposit of cheques and cash for the Christmas Dance and cashed a cheque to pay the band and door prizes. I think and hope that all else is taken care of. Should be a fun evening. Just before lunch I took a walk around the block; it was lovely in the sun but the wind was very chilly.

   I am running out of reading material but James and I will head to the library first thing tomorrow and hopefully there will be a book waiting for me. Then we will spend an hour at the Early Years Centre which is in the same mall.
 
    Going out for dinner tonight for the "Festive Special" at Swiss Chalet, an annual treat. Usually in December the whole family gets together there one evening so we had better organize that soon as the days seem to fly by on the way up to Christmas.

Christmas Cake

     Normally my main effort at Christmas baking is the plum pudding. It's already stored and maturing but, this year, I decided to try a Christmas cake. Most of the family are not big on fruit cake so I am hoping to convert them with a nice moist one. The recipe I am trying is courtesy of Aly on the Cottage Smallholder forum  (www.cottagesmallholder.com).

   First step was to soak the fruit (2 1/2 lbs. of it) in rum. Unfortunately I only had Tequila but it still smelled pretty fruity in my kitchen!. After a few days I beat, stirred and folded in all the ingredients, spooned it into my one and only cake pan, and baked it in a warmish oven for 4 hours. It came out much as expected except I think, next year, I will omit the prunes and dates (they made the cake a bit too dark and sticky) and add more glace cherries as they are my favourite part of a fruit cake. Now all that remains is to let it mature for a few weeks with the addition of more alcohol (probably Marsala), then add marzipan and icing and decorate with some more dried fruit. Can't wait for the end result!

First Snow of the Season

    It has been getting progressively colder all week with a strong wind out of the north - the forecaster yesterday described it as "Arctic" and I believe her!

   Today I woke up to -10C with a smattering of snow on the ground. If the temperature remains in the negative values, it will probably stay around but there isn't enough to cause driving or walking problems. It is still early in the winter to be having to deal with drifts and paths needing cleared. Might be a good idea to fill my gas container in case I have to fire up the snow blower any time soon. Last year I didn't use it at all and that would be my preference again this year.

    Nothing exciting planned for this week although we are gearing up for the Scarborough Christmas Dinner and Dance on December 2, just a week away. We have sold an amazing 114 tickets so it should be a jolly night. Tomorrow we will practice the dances with Donalda until we are "step perfect"! 

Gingercake

   I started my seasonal baking yesterday with a perennial favourite - gingercake. The plum pudding is already stored and maturing in a dark cupboard but I have little in the freezer for impromptu nibbling. The gingercake is quite plain but tasty; I prefer it buttered, and it is so easy to make. I mix the whole thing in a pan on the stove. Here's the recipe:

4 oz. preserved ginger                                         1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. butter                                                          4 tbspn. milk
3 oz. syrup                                                           8 oz. flour
1 oz. treacle or molasses                                    1 tsp. ground ginger
4 oz. brown sugar                                                1 egg; pinch of salt

Melt butter, syrup, sugar and treacle in a saucepan. Add chopped ginger and, when cool, 3 tbspn. of milk and the egg. Mix flour, salt and ginger and slowly add to saucepan, beating well until a smooth batter. Dissolve baking soda in 1 tbspn. milk and add. Bake in a small, greased loaf pan at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan.