Easton Eden

A Boxing Day hoar frost, a lovely long walk in the gathering dusk, returning, cold, to the pub.

setting the stage

Friends for an impromptu Christmas Eve soiree meant a bit of tearing round, tidying and making the house feel cosy, festive and welcoming. Our True Grace log fire scented candle in the hallway, a feast of breads, cheeses and home made preserves on the table, just add wine and friends.

I decorated with two large church candles in hurricane lamps, a wooden serving platter from Baileys, recycled glass drops from Refound Objects on twigs in an old Calvados bottle from The Hambledon and vintage crates from Over The Garden Wall.

edible presents

Good things to cook and give away...

Pfeffernusse

Spiced marzipan biscuits, glazed in icing. Mix two eggs and 230g of soft brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of marzipan. In a separate bowl sift 250g of plain flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 2 teaspoons of mixed spice, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, kneading it into a dough and rest in the fridge for an hour. Divide into 30 or 40 walnut sized balls, place on parchment lined baking trays and cook for 12 mins at 180 degrees. Cool on a rack, then dip completely in icing mixture (400g icing sugar, 3 egg whites and a slosh of kirsch), dry on rack then return to the cooling oven for 5 mins to set.

Crystallized orange & lemon peel

Score the skins of 4 unwaxed oranges and lemons, peel away and remove the pith, then blanch in boiling water for 4 mins, repeated 3 times. Create a syrup of 500 ml or water and 500g of caster sugar, bring to the boil and then add the peel and simmer for 2 hours. Put the peel on a rack to cool, then dip in caster sugar and leave to crystallize.

Strawberry Jam

Same as usual (see June), but it's proved to be very popular with boys of the family, so I made some more.

white winter hymnal

A few weeks ago I posted about planting up paperwhites and hyacinths, and wanted to show the fruits of my labours. The paperwhites are blooming and fill the house with a gorgeous scent. The hyacinths are just starting out, but the roots are good and strong, so they should do well. One failed to sprout, so I'll replace it and stagger the blossoms throughout the winters, which is no bad thing. A second lot of paperwhites need to get planted now as the current ones should see us through Christmas and the new year, but not the dim days of January...

Handmade Christmas

Because we live in a very old house, it feels wrong to put up shiny plastic decorations. A medieval cottage feels like it needs warm, natural, slightly rubbish handmade bits of christmassy business. Plus, it makes you feel a bit more festive, which is essential as I am far from full with the spirit of the season.

Strings of popcorn are an American tradition that I haven't tried out before. The corn was popped and threaded, with a needle into long strings which hang from the tree in lieu of tinsel. Do not do as I did and sew them in the dark, or your thumbs will not thank you.

I made an orange pomander with cloves pushed into the skin last year, but this year thought that three tied together would look pretty. I used a ribbon from Refound Objects that comes spooled on a lovely metal bobbin.

And finally, I have a brilliant willow wreath that I bought about a decade ago, which has stood me in very good stead. A simple bunch of mistletoe tucked into the the branches looks nice and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like most wreaths.