Be Jolly By Golly

Today is Melissa and Jen's festive blogfest.

So, here are the things Melissa and Jen are asking for...

Pictures of decorations

Here is our Christmas tree, expertly decorated by Ali.

Because we don't do a huge amount of decorating, other than the tree, here's a couple of shots from the lighted truck parade that wound through Victoria at the start of December. Sorry they are a bit out of focus, the trucks were moving at quite a pace and difficult to catch properly in the dark. These are the best I was able to pick out from a series of shots taken during the twenty minutes or so that the trucks streamed past, horns tooting.


Favourite holiday treats

Along with the traditional turkey dinner, we always make an effort to liven things up with some out-of-the-ordinary veggies. I recently posted a couple of recipes here.

Afterwards, a special treat with leftover turkey is a creamy turkey curry. Recipe here.

But the real seasonal treat, very British (I think) but not something that seems to have taken hold this side of the pond, is Christmas pudding. This is a very rich, dark, steamed pudding.

I'll transcribe and post the full recipe another time, but, in brief, it consists of a large quantity of dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, etc.) plus breadcrumbs, suet, sugar, and flour, all mixed together, poured into pudding basins, and steamed for hours. We add moisture by soaking the fruit in brandy beforehand. Puddings are best made months before they are needed, because they mature over time. The one we'll have this Christmas is the last of a batch made over a year ago. In January, once the seasonal hullabaloo is over, we'll get on with another batch ready for next Christmas.

The pudding is steamed again to heat it up ready for eating, and is served with cream and brandy butter.

Favourite holiday drink

Because we put so much effort into food, I don't have a drink recipe to offer. We are quite happy with beer and wine. For special occasions, however, our sparkly tipple of choice is an Australian Seaview Brut. There are a couple of bottles in the fridge ready and waiting...

Now, visit everyone else in the blogfest

See the list of entries on Melissa or Jen's blogs.