Yes, I know Christmas was a week or so ago, but we finally had a chance to taste this pudding on the 30th and now I am getting around posting it ;)  Busy life you’d think but it is more like laziness.  Thanks to my mother-in-law who has been providing the Christmas pudding generously for the last couple of years and my husband who has been lighting them on fire, we had a great dessert!

If you are inclined to make your own, here is the altered recipe:

• 10 oz sultanas
• 10 oz currants
• 1/2 lb raisins
• 2 oz sweet almonds (skinned & chopped)
• 1 level tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 lb plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 lb soft brown sugar
• 1/2 lb mixed chopped candied peel
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 lb breadcrumbs
• 8 oz butter
• 6 eggs
• 4 Tbs stout
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1 wineglass brandy
• 1/2 pint milk

Grease 3 pint cup. Prepare the dried fruit, stone and chop raisins. Chop nuts. Sift flour, salt, spice, ginger, nutmeg into mixing bowl. Add everything else. Mix the dry and wet ingredients. Cover and boil steadily for 6 – 7 hrs.  Take the pudding out of the water and cover them with clean dry cloth and when cold, store in a cool place until required.  When required, boil the pudding for 1.5  hr before serving.

pour 1/4 cup brandy, light on fire!

When the weather is cold, no others but these two seem to flower so happily. They are both giving color to our house in this very dull, gray season.

The pink flowered “new year’s plant” was started off from a 5cm (2 inches) cut I got from a friend, 6 years ago. Since they it grew a lot, as you can see. Waiting to bloom this season, sometimes it gives a second bloom of the year, off season.

I cannot get myself to toss away these great flower producing poinsettias even when they lose all they red flowers. Knowing that it is still alive, I kept one of them several years ago and it is still living. But only twice since then (might have been 4 – 5 years ago) it bloomed. Reading about them, I learned how to take care of them and will try it out this season. What they say is you have to keep them in an environment where the temperature is about 60F (15C), in a closet where it is also dark, giving enough water to keep the soil from drying out all the way. Basically you put it to sleep. Once the weather is warm out, you can take it out, give it a good, rich soil in a one size bigger pot and your plant will come back to life. Some say to make it flower you have to spend more afford; making sure it only sees 12 hours of day light a given day. Putting it in a closet is a good option. Keep your poinsettias alive!

This was a bag full of Christmas cookies given to us by our neighbor L. I am not at all a crafty person, but an idea to all of those handy ones out there.

I will try to blog in between, but if I cannot:

I wish you all a happy new year!