Domestic ramblings

[susie_flo]

I know it's not Xmas yet, but it is Stir-up Sunday this weekend, which is enough of an excuse to get festive Malcolm out of hibernation. 

So - are any of you planning on making christmas puddings and the like?

I am in two minds.  I like the idea of being a domestic goddess once a year and making the kitchen smell of lovely spicy plum pudding, but we do actually have a pudding and some mincemeat kindly donated by G's sister... and it's a bit too early to make mince pies.

The ony way I can really justify it is if I have enough people to feed...   hmmm.  (PM me if you would be interested in being fed a pre-xmas festive dinner with mulled things, sometime in Dec).

Comments

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

I had a bit of a practice for Christmas baking last night, since the oven was on for spuds and it seemed a shame to waste it. Made shortbread and cut it out in star shapes, over 50% of them were eaten before they'd cooled.
I'm banking on nessie mate making a cake as a present, and Mam bringing pudding, so no stir-ups for me.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Ooh, shortbread. Are you going to hang the leftovers up as decorations, or eat them?
Maybe i will do some xmas biccies this year...

(not sure what has come over me to make me feel so festive all of a sudden)

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

They're too crumbly (and indeed tasty) for decorative use, so we will just have to eat them. I will be trying to make Hester's "stained glass biscuits" as a decorative food, perhaps a bit nearer to Christmas, as they sound rather fun.

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I learnt to make baubles out of felt at the WI last night and I've just bought some fizz that was on offer at 'Trose, I can't tell you how lovely it is having a newly opened 'Trose down the road.

My bank manager would disagree with this sentiment though.

I wish I lived nearer - we could swap gingerbread :-)

How are the kitties getting on with their plain food?

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Mmm, gingerbread. Maybe that can be made this weekend instead of christmas pudding.

I do love 'Trose. It's by far the best supermarket, so sod your bank manager, say I.

Both kitties seem remarkably happy with the bland, repetitive vet food, and Truffle (my cuddly little bear) is at last solid. So she will be going in for her jabs tomorrow morning. We're going to have to buy a truck load of the vet food cos I don't think you can get it in the supermarche...

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Yay for solid kitties :-)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/16/make-your-own-christmas-baubles

Mine is red felt and is a 3d round one like the one on the top row in the middle.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Those are cute! (I've never thought of pom poms as baubles, but I reckon a string of them in the kitchen window would look fabuloso!)

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I'm v pleased with it as a first attempt and think I'll make one or two for my Mum as she loves anything and everything xmassy.

I might make one in black and grey for our 'tree' - we don't have a xmas tree as such so we decorate our huge houseplants (Mr Pops has green thumbs)with bats, xmas tree shaped Spongebob candycanes and this year we have the addition of skull, bat and ghost shaped fairy lights and bat and skull emblazoned tinsel :-)

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Oh I wish it could be Halloween every daaaaaayyy
When the bats start flying and the skulls come out to plaaaaayy

[ms-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Even the non bat loving and not that fond of skulls really Mr Pops has been forced to concede it looks very festive.

I got a new salt and pepper set last night - in the shape of skulls :-)

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

With which, you've reminded me of a craft kit I had as a child. It was actually a rather clever and fast way of making pom-poms. I believe I even made my Dad a pom-pom John Deere for his birthday.

and of course there's one on e-bay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Pom-Pom-Pets-Spears-Games-England-Craft-Set-/250729216349?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a60a0395d

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

I want to make stained glass cookies. They're hopelessly impractical (if you hang them in a cold damp room, you get condensation on the "glass" bits, which leads to little sticky puddles on the floor), but so pretty, if you can manage to get them off the baking sheet without bollocksing them up completely.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

They sound difficult but fabulous... do they use boiled sweets for the glass?
*goes off to google them*

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Oh my word... they really are pretty!
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/stained_glass_cookies/

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

Yep, and actually not tricky to make; any roll-out cookie recipe will work, and you can stick to simple shapes if you prefer; round cookies with a round hole look perfectly nice. Although I do have a set of snowflake cutters that I haven't properly used...

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

Can I recommend this stuff?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reusable-Teflon-Cooking-liner-guarantee/dp/B001TKYTMA

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

I may have to invest in some; I generally use silicon/baking paper, but I always feel wasteful throwing it away!

[cookwitch.livejournal.com]

It's brilliant stuff. Kleeneze also sell it and I wouldn't be without it now. I've got some cut up to line a cake tin, and, oh, just loads of it in the drawer for emergency, um, stuff.

[perfectlyvague.livejournal.com]

Awwww - one of the things I hate most about my dried fruit hatred is the lack of a stir up Sunday tradition. My family has never had fruit cake, Christmas Cake, pudding, mince pies, Stollen or the like.