Jan Pienkowski: Two Christmas Books

Two gorgeous books for Christmas from an artist who has been working on children's books since the 1960s. Probably most famous for his work with Helen Nicolls on the Meg & Mog books, for these two lovely gift books he uses a silhouette style which he first used to great acclaim in illustrations of Joan Aiken's stories. According to his biography on the Puffin Books site, this technique draws upon his memories of traditional European papercuts, which he recalled from his childhood in Poland before moving to the UK when he was 10.

The first of these is The First Christmas a new (2006) edition of a book first published in 1984, an illustrated version of the Christmas Story. It's a lovely, durable hardback copy that's special but also sturdy enough for a small-ish child to look at on their own. The text is taken from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, according to the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible. There's no attempt here to retell the story, rather the words which are among the deepest engraved on the English language are presented as they are with all their familiar grace. This allows Pienkowski to develop the text through the illustrations, rather than by re-framing the story in new language.

There are undoubtedly some who are wary of the religious side of Christmas, as a weary battle is played out each year it seems, waged by Christians determined to reclaim the 'real' Christmas as theirs. Against this, I'd suggest that the King James Bible is more than just a text for Christians: the language and stories are so deeply embedded in the English language that it is a piece of our culture that belongs to all of us, whatever we believe. But then having got one foot on a soapbox here, I'll not clamber on top, as most people are sensible enough to share all kinds of stories with their children without worrying themselves about religious culture wars.

So, back to the book. One of the ways in which the text and illustrations complement each other is in the dark undercurrents which run through both. This seems to have prompted one of the reviewers on a well-known internet bookshop to advise against its suitability for children. This is a shame and rather ignores the long tradition of acknowledging the uncomfortable parts of the story, whether that is a picture showing the killing of the Bethlehem children, the Coventry Carol's lament or the settings of Vox in Rama, Rachel's lament for her children – the Old Testament archetype of the New Testament story.

King Herod is the source of this darkness from the first page, in which an infernal glow sets off the silhouette of a prisoner being dragged into the castle to join others suffering in Herod's dungeons. The innocence of the Holy Family, and the simplicity of the shepherds is the contrast to the king's plots, which reach their awful end in an effective page showing the soldiers at their work against a thorny bramble, while storms and bats fill the sky as Herod sends out his men.

The main silhouettes, of which the arrival in Bethlehem is a particularly good example (above right), are impressive enough. What are equally striking are the floral details which connect the text with the illustrated page. Mary at the Annunciation gets a suitable rose, the brambles accompany the slaughter of the Innocents, and holly decorates the page showing the Nativity. I'm sure there are sloes when the angel announces the birth to the shepherds.

It's a lovely book and a great addition to any Christmas library.

It's at Blackwells for £10.99 and at Amazon for £7.19.

The second Pienkowski book we've got hold of for this Christmas is a re-telling of Nut Cracker, this one a newer book, published last year. It's a story set on Christmas Day and most familiar from Tchaikovsky's ballet (1891-2). The original story on which both are based is The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written by ETA Hoffman in 1816. The story here has been translated from the German by David Walser, clearly, and is accompanied by a handful of lovely illustrations. If you don't know it, the plot is utterly insane – I don't think I'd realised quite how endearingly mad the story was before reading this book. The basic narrative is simple enough, it's the trappings that are so memorable, from the grotesque Mouse King to Nut Cracker himself. The whole thing occupies a pleasingly shadowy borderland between dream and reality.

This is a sumptuous gift edition using white silhouettes, gorgeous colourful backgrounds, and culminating in a delicate papercut scene for its final page. It's definitely something to be shared with your children, rather than abandoned to them, unless you have the most careful children in the world. It's also longer than The First Christmas, with a story that will either be a long read in one sitting, or can be divided up into shorter sections, for an older child, probably from about 5-7 years old.

It's at Blackwells for £17.99 and at Amazon for £12.25.



**Copyright note**

The images are taken from the two books reviewed here. They have been included as 'fair use' for the purpose of education and discussion. If, as the copyright owner, you object to them being used here, please get in touch and I'll remove them.

Christmas Baking and a Traditional Christmas Cake Recipe

I love to bake. This year I have finally mastered sourdough with the help of Bread Matters by Andrew Whitely and I am looking forward to testing his recipe for Stollen - I like his idea of having marzipan rolled throughout the dough instead of in a big lump. In fact, the more marzipan the better we say! We like to have Stollen for breakfast on Christmas day and Boxing day (if there's any left).

I'm also planning to make more German Christmas biscuits this year - our sons are huge ginger biscuit fanatics and love speculaas (pictured), so I want to try some different recipes. If you're a fan of baking, especially German specialities, then you need to pay a visit to the brilliant Christmas Baking with Susie J. There are hundreds of recipes here, and I learn more (and want to try more!) every time I visit. This year I want to make Pfefferkuchen (a type of lebkuchen). You have to get started early on these because the dough has to mature for 2-3 weeks before you bake it. This is the sort of experimentation I like! Susie J is clearly an enthusiast, and you get the feeling that most of her recipes have been pretty well tested.

Another great place for a browse (but not when you are feeling hungry - there are lots of pictures of yummy-looking treats) is the Christmas Baking section at The Joy of Baking. There are all sorts of cake, bread, biscuit and dessert recipes here. This cranberry upside-down cake looks like a brilliant way to eat up all the cranberries that I am seduced into buying because they look so pretty.

As promised this is a proven recipe for a traditional dark Christmas Cake. It's my mum's recipe, she used to make loads every year for devoted fans. After she died, my dad continued this tradition using her recipe until well into his late 80s.

Traditional Christmas Cake

Ingredients

200g sultanas

200g currants

200g raisins

80g mixed peel

80g glace cherries

2tbsp brandy or orange juice if you prefer

200g plain flour

1 level tsp baking powder

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of salt

180g butter

180g soft brown sugar

40g ground almonds

4 eggs (beaten)

Method

Soak all the fruit (including the cherries and the peel) in the brandy for at least 2 hours (overnight is much better).

Grease and line an 8 inch round tin or a 7 inch square tin with a double layer of baking parchment. The parchment must extend 5cm higher than the top of the tin.

Cut out a another 8 inch double piece of baking parchment and cut a hole the size of a 50p piece in the centre of it. This will act as a lid.

Preheat the oven to 140C/Gas 1

Sift all the flour, spices and baking powder into a bowl.

In another very large bowl beat the butter and sugar together using a electric whisk or a wooden spoon.

Beat in the eggs bit by bit.

Add all the almonds and the fruit, and then the sifted dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.

Transfer the mix to your prepared baking tin, and flatten very thoroughly with a spatula or a wet spoon. You don't want this cake to rise too much!!

Put the baking parchment 'lid' resting on top of the baking parchment liner then place the tin in the oven.

The cake will take at least 3 hours to cook. Check after 3 hours by inserting a skewer in the centre of the cake - if it comes out with no goo attached then the cake is done. If it's not quite cooked then keep testing every 10 minutes.

Leave to cool overnight in the tin. The next day take the cake out of the tin and 'feed' it with a couple of tablespoonfuls of your chosen alcohol (sherry or brandy are good).

Wrap the cake in a double layer of greaseproof paper then in a layer of foil and store in an airtight box or tin.

Feed the cake with more alcohol every 5 days or so until you are ready to eat it.

Enjoy!!

Please let us know how you get on if you try this recipe. We'd also love to hear about your favourite Christmas baking traditions.

Cantatas for Advent

I can't quite face writing a post about Christmas music this early in the year. As luck would have it, I can put off the moment a little longer by writing about a recent double CD of JS Bach's music for the season of Advent.

It is Volume 13 of John Eliot Gardiner's series of live recordings from his cantata 'pilgrimage'. As this collection builds with each release, what they make for is a fascinating document of Bach's cantatas in live performance. This disc is no different and is in fact a particularly strong addition to the series. It's currently on special offer at MDT for £13.60.

On the first of the two discs, we have the three cantatas Bach wrote for the first Sunday in Advent, two based on the Lutheran chorale 'Nun, komm der Heiden Heiland' (Come now, o saviour of the gentiles) BWV 61 & 62, and the two-part cantata 'Schwingt freudig euch empor' (Soar joyfully aloft) BWV 36. In fact they are all three dependent on Luther's Advent chorale, itself a development of the ancient Advent hymn Veni redemptor gentium, which brings the three of them together as a whole.

On the second disc are cantatas with a more tenuous connection to Advent (in their surviving forms at least): 'Wachet! betet! betet! Wachet!' (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!) BWV 70 and the well-known 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben' (Heart and mouth and deed and life) BWV 147, both adapted from earlier Weimar cantatas for the 4th Sunday in Advent; and the Weimar cantata 'Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn' (Prepare the ways, prepare the path) BWV 132.

Gardiner recorded the cantatas on the first disc once before, for Deutsche Grammophon in 1992, a good studio recording which he has now rather overshadowed with this concert from St Maria in Kapitol, Cologne (right). BWV 61 is from 1714, during Bach's time at the Weimar court, and it opens with a rousing French style overture, pomp and grandeur borrowed from the court of Louis XIV to celebrate the coming of the King of Heaven. This is followed by an ever more intimate succession of arias, culminating in the soprano aria 'Öffne dich, mein ganzes Herze' (Open, my entire heart), a beautiful soaring piece for the voice, accompanied only by the continuo instruments. It's a particularly effective illustration of individual belief and the joyful acceptance looking forward to Christmas. And it is performed with grace and a honeyed tone by Joanne Lunn.

BWV 62 also 'Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland' is a later piece from Leipzig, first performed in 1724 and then revived in 1736. Fashions have changed: the French overture of the early work now replaced by an intricate, bravura Italianate opening, which uses the chorale melody as an urgent call, propelling the movement forwards, whether that's in the high voices or the woodwinds. It sets the scene for something less intimate, more ornate and something of a celebration of the majesty of the coming season. Something to be marvelled at, in the graceful tenor aria, a hero to fight for us in the forceful bass aria. A gem of a recitative for soprano and alto, has us drawing near the crib before the faith in the Trinity is affirmed in the final chorus. In this recording it's the opening chorus and the tenor aria, the rapt 'Bewundert, o Menschen, dies große Geheimnis' (Wonder, oh people, this great mystery) which stand out.

BWV 36 'Schwingt freudig euch empor' is later still, first performed in 1731. It has a light, joyful opening, even more intricate than that of BWV 62 with great demands placed upon the rhythmic sense and virtuosity of singers and players. The tenor aria 'Die Liebe zieht mit sanften Schritten' (Love draws on with gentle steps), sung with clarity and lyricism by Jan Kobow, has a fine oboe d'amore obligato part, duetting with the tenor in a portrayal of Christ the bridegroom and his bride. The soprano aria 'Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen' (Also with muted, weak voices) is a stunning piece, again voice and instrument (in this case a muted violin) interweave in a touching dialogue. This is a fine cantata, and Gardiner and his musicians have produced an exceptional version of it.

The second disc, from Lüneburg's Michaeliskirche, turns to three cantatas with a connection to Bach's early career at Weimar. BWV 70 'Wachet! betet!' was originally a cantata for the fourth Sunday in Advent in six parts. Bach expanded it, with considerable skill, into an eleven part cantata for the end of the Trinity season. It's a bit of a shock, with its stern declamations concerning Christ's Last Judgement, after the gentle, joyful music of the Advent cantatas on the first disc. Once your ears have adjusted to the florid, busy, slightly hectoring tone, the way in which this message is delivered becomes more evident and impressive. The way in which the choir attacks Wachet! and betet! in the opening is reminiscent of the force of the crowds in Bach's Passions. Tenor Jan Kobow and bass Dietrich Henschel, especially, make the most of the drama and expressiveness of the music, the tenor aria 'Hebt euer Haupt empor' (Lift up your heads) opening Part II with style and swagger. The switch from fury to serenity and back again in the last recitative-aria section for bass is not easy to manage convincingly. Henschel manages it and his final contribution to this cantata is another highlight. The slight negative about BWV 70 here is that soprano Brigitte Geller and countertenor Michael Chance occasionally sound a little forced. But this is a minor quibble.

The mood changes with BWV 132 'Bereitet die Wege...', a cantata in which the intimacy so evident in Bach's Weimar composition BWV 61 returns. It opens with a lovely aria in which the soprano and oboist compete in light, dancing rhythms. But its best moment is probably the alto's aria 'Christi Glieder, ach bedenket' (Members of Christ, ah consider). Here Michael Chance's voice has an appropriate fragility to it and he's singing with a sensitively played, and recorded, violin accompaniment. There's a stillness and sense of space here, fitting for the Advent season.

The final piece in a collection packed with delights is BWV 147, especially famous for its twice-used chorale 'Jesus bleibet meine Freude' (known as Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; more accurately Jesus remains my joy). Here, two arias stand out in the long piece, the soprano aria 'Bereite dir Jesu noch itzo die Bahn' (Prepare now, Jesus, the way) and the aria for bass 'Ich will von Jesu Wundern singen' (I should sing of Jesus' miracles). Through Gardiner's series, the obligato parts within the solo arias have been performed with notable distinction and clarity, a welcome spotlight shown on music that is something more than an accompaniment. The violin which accompanies soprano Brigitte Geller is a joy; the trumpet and bass Dietrich Henschel vie with each other in the rousing final aria of the cantata. The fleet rhythms of the choral sections are also impressive.

In fact I seem somehow to have reached this late part of a long review without singling out Gardiner's choir for praise. It would be a mistake not to because I've thought with all of these CDs that it's probably the Monteverdi Choir which is the most consistently impressive part of Gardiner's vision.

Well, there's a lot of listening here - and subsequently a lot of review in this post! Gardiner's vision for these pieces is, I find, excellent, but by no means so authoritative that it precludes all others. Far from it. There are many wonderful performances on disc of Bach's Advent cantatas. But there's no room for them here: I shall attempt to put this review in a bit of context in a later post.



**Copyright note**

The images are taken from the CD packaging, and the picture of St Maria in Kapitol from 'The Romanesque', Xavier Barral i Altet (Taschen, 2001). They have been included as 'fair use' for the purpose of education and discussion. If, as the copyright owner, you object to them being used here, please get in touch and I'll remove them.

Battle of the Christmas Cook Books!

Cook books are a bit of a weakness for the workers here at Christmas Matters. And obviously, Christmas cook books even more so... For years the staple has been Delia Smith's Christmas - when we were beginners at preparing Christmas lunch it was so reassuring to have Delia by my side every minute of the way. Whilst I am waiting with bated breath for our copy of Delia's new 'Happy Christmas' I thought it would be fun to review some of the other contenders for the title of Queen of Christmas Cooking (do men not do Christmas cooking?).

Nigella Christmas

I was very excited by the potential of Nigella Christmas when it came out last year, but I felt a little bit short-changed by the number of recipes which also appear in Feast (a book I recommend without reservation). I also find the styling and the amount of product endorsements & brand recommendations rather overwhelming. It seems to me that Nigella's solution to the stress of Christmas is.........buy something!

Some good things:

Delicious-sounding mocktails.

Brilliant cook/freeze ahead tips for lots of the recipes.

The potato, parsnip and porcini gratin - we have this as a main course a lot in the winter.

Gorgeous plentiful photos that are very Christmassy and inspiring (but maybe one too many pics of Nigella).

Some really duff things:

Icky-sounding cocktail recipes.

Pomegranates are everywhere.

The assumption that every meal you have over the Xmas period has to feed a huge crowd.

As an ex-veggie I think the stuffed pumpkin looks disgusting and I would have been so disappointed if I had been served that on Christmas day.

Sarah Raven's Complete Christmas

What I really like about Complete Christmas is its practicality. I'd only really encountered Sarah Raven before on BBC2's Gardener's World and didn't realise that she had a huge devoted following because of her Garden Cookbook. What's good about the recipes in here is that they are mostly very practical and simple, and you can imagine cooking them for 3-4 people as easily as you would for 6 or 8. There are party food recipes, and the standard Christmas fare is covered, but a lot of the recipes would be useful and delicious at any time over the autumn or winter period. It's a recipe book for a homely celebration rather than the glammed up Nigella version.

This book has the added bonus of lots of ideas for gorgeous flower arrangements and other floral decorations. I haven't tried any of the ideas, but they all look absolutely gorgeous and I am sure if this was your thing then it would be very inspiring. Speaking for myself I would be absolutely delighted if someone presented me with some forced paper white narcissi for Christmas.

Good things:

Pisco sour recipe, and lots of other yummy Xmas drinks.

Black pudding stacks recipe.

Lovely photos.

Imaginative left-overs recipes.

Very useful planning ahead calendar.

Bad things:

I would have liked even more recipes.

It's not for a beginner who needs their hand holding on Xmas day.

It's impossible to choose between the 5 different stuffing recipes.

Annie Bell's Gorgeous Christmas

We are huge fans of Annie Bell. Her book Evergreen, is one of the ones we turn to most for delicious & imaginative meat-free recipes. And imaginative is how I would describe Gorgeous Christmas. There are so many brilliant ideas! Her left-overs recipes, for example, turkey mulligatawny, ham and root veg hash, inside out scotch egg, all sound yummy. I like her style too - there's a laid-back feel, with the emphasis on delicious ingredients and simple, traditional recipes with a twist.

Good things:

Brilliant leftovers section.

Gives a new twist to the traditional without being gimmicky.

White Christmas Cheesecake.

Lovely meat and fish pie recipes.

Not so good things:

No hand-holding or planning guides for beginners.

The photography is clear but fairly bog-standard, it doesn't give you that Christmas thrill.

To sum up I'd still probably go with the Delia classic, but it's lovely to have Sarah Raven and Annie Bell's ideas to turn to. Will be looking forward to seeing what the new Delia book is like, but in the meantime, we'll be back tomorrow with more Christmassy recommendations!

The Cake

**The recipe is now updated - as we posted the wrong one yesterday. Oh dear. We definitely need to take more water with it.**

Scroll down for the recipe for the delicious cake to the left!

If you haven't sorted it out already, it's time to start thinking about Christmas Cake. This should be a luxurious treat, which is what the traditional fruitcake, swaddled in marzipan and royal icing, represents for many of us. If this isn't your thing, then there's no reason why you should tie yourself to it just out of tradition. I'd say give it another chance, as there is a world of difference between a nasty, dry fruitcake and a rich, dark well made one. But if this still fails to convince you, then make some other outrageous treat. Coax it along with some booze, and eat it with a small glass of something.

This kind of cake, that we now associate with Christmas (and with weddings), was originally eaten at Twelfth Night gatherings on the fifth or sixth of January. The custom of putting foreign objects into the cake, the finders of which would be designated 'King', 'Queen' and 'Knave' of the party, was also part of this final blow-out of the Christmas season. This Twelfth Night cake eating was still going strong in the early nineteenth century. There are stories of people who, when queuing outside pastry shops for their cake, had their clothes pinned to the wall by mischievous youths. As the century progressed, it shifted to Christmas proper, as the Victorians reinvented the season.

Only the richest could afford the kind of oven required to have their own cake made for them: it was advances in oven technology that allowed this treat to pass to us, down the social scale. We should try to recapture this sense of a new treat for everyone, rather than see it, as some do, as a traditional once-yearly chore.

Here's a recipe for a non-traditional 'White Christmas' cake, which you could make now or, if you can't face it yet, it can be left until just a couple of weeks before. We'll put up a more traditional recipe in the next couple of days. I defy even the staunchest fruitcake sceptics to dislike this one.

White Christmas Cake

Ingredients

350g dried apricots
1 x 200g tin of pineapple (tinned with juice not syrup)
100g dried cranberries
100g glace cherries (Crazy Jacks brand are highly recommended)
75g whole candied lemon peel (or pre-chopped but whole is so much nicer)
75g whole candied orange peel (or pre-chopped but see above!)
100g glace ginger (crystalized ginger or stem ginger in syrup can be substituted)
200g sultanas
3 tbsp vodka (optional)
250g unsalted butter
5 medium eggs, beaten
300g SR flour
50g desiccated coconut
zest of 1 lemon
100g whole almonds (blanched or unblanched according to preference/availability)

Method:

• Drain the pineapple (reserving the juice), roughly chop & put into a large non-metallic mixing bowl.
• Roughly chop the apricots, cherries, cranberries, ginger & peel into sultana-sized pieces. You might find it easiest to do this with a few quick pulses in a food processor (taking care not to over-chop) or with a pair of scissors. Add to the bowl along with the sultanas.
• Stir in the vodka & 3 tbsp of the reserved pineapple juice, or 6 tbsp of reserved juice if you prefer not to use the vodka.
• Cover the bowl & leave the fruit to soak overnight.
• When you are ready to bake the cake, preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.
• Put the almonds on a baking tray & toast in the oven for about 7 minutes - keep a close eye on them because it is easy to burn them.
• Whilst the almonds are toasting, grease & base line a spring release 23cm round cake tin (line the sides too if you don't have a spring release tin).
• Now take the almonds out of the oven and turn the oven down to 170C, Gas 4 and arrange the shelves so that you can fit your cake on a shelf in the centre of the oven.
• Roughly chop the toasted almonds & set aside.
• Put the butter in a large mixing bowl or food mixer & beat until it is soft & creamy. Add the sugar & beat hard until the mixture becomes pale & fluffy.
• Gradually add the beaten eggs, bit by bit, beating hard after each addition.
• Carefully fold in the flour with a gentle figure of 8 motion.
• Add the coconut, lemon zest, chopped almonds & soaked fruits to the cake mixture & stir gently but thoroughly to combine it all well.
• Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared tin & smooth it out, making a shallow hollow in the centre of the cake so it rises more evenly.
• Put the cake in the centre of the oven & bake for about 30 minutes.
• After 30 mins turn the oven down to 150C/Gas 2 & carefully cover the top of the cake loosely with a piece of foil.
• Bake for another 1 to 1 1/4 hours until the cake is risen, firm to the touch & lightly browned.
• Cool in the tin for an hour then turn onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Once totally cooled wrap in a layer of greaseproof paper & a layer of foil & store in a cool dry place.

Christmas 2009

First thoughts on Christmas this year over at the seasonal blog.
I'm planning posts for this blog at the moment. There will be a sprinkling through October, a handful more during November and then a great wodge of them in December and January.

Can't quite face posting properly here yet, but this post is just to get things all active again..

And nearly finished now!

Goodness, I haven't got to drink yet. We never seemed to get round to cocktails this year, sadly. A couple of yuletinis, a dabble with a new recipe - the thistle, but otherwise it was time to hit the Campari. I think the Negroni is just about the perfect Christmas drink. In a cocktail shaker, over ice, stir equal parts Campari, Italian vermouth (has to be Punt e Mes, for me) and gin. Strain into an old fashioned glass and garnish with an orange slice. Perfect.

Otherwise, it was beer, beer, beer. I knew I should never have done all that liveblogging about the 'Christmas' beer (starting with this post here) and its progress. I should have realised it would jinx the entire enterprise. The poor old thing went flat as a pancake - it tasted really nice (by about New Year), but I was very worried it wouldn't want to come out of the keg except in a sad dribble. So I've attempted to rescue the poor creature. Following the same technique as my original Operation Beer Rescue, I've now dosed the thing with some more yeast in a starter solution. I took the yeast from the Leek Brewery's Christmas beer (which was otherwise rather disappointing and bland) and added it to a cooled and aerated solution made from adding 4 tablespoons of malt extract to half a pint of boiling water and bunged the lot in the airing cupboard for a couple of days. The yeast seemed to be propagating really well, so I chucked it in, checked the keg was all airtight, sealed it up again and hoped for the best. After 2 days I vented the keg and it gave a right big hiss, so hopefully that might sort it.

The main reason for trying this technique was that it was the saving of the Beer That Stopped, which was lively, tasty and the mainstay of Christmas drinking. For that reason it's pic can go at the top of this post in pride of place. Dark-ish, slightly vinous, bittersweet and very beguiling (it didn't taste it's 5.8% plus strength) I was really pleased. It stayed lively right up to the end too - I dispensed it from the King Keg top tap keg, which in the past has run out of oomph towards the bottom, but I only poured away a couple of pints of grots when it was done.

Our drinks order from drinkfinder.co.uk was just the thing. The sherry in particular was super, not least Williams & Humbert's (rather misleadingly titled) Dry Sack, a wonderfully rich sweet old oloroso. The prosecco was light, subtle and perfect with smoked salmon before Christmas dinner.

Oh, I nearly forgot! For me one of the best drinks we enjoyed this Christmas was a recipe we followed for Swedish Glögg (mulled wine with flaked almonds and raisins added to the glass). I'll look out the recipe we followed and link to it, once I've got all this posted.

OK. That's it. I'm officially Christmassed out. Time to start thinking about some posts around seasonal food, some music, drink and gardening activities for Seasonal Matters. And not too much to do in the way of planning for Christmas 2009 yet. ;-) Although you could do what we're doing which is sticking away all our loose change (under £1) into a tin to be counted up and spent next Xmas. Maybe on another goose? Or more sherry? We'll see...