Friday 19 November 2010

The Path To Eternal Bliss is Paved with... Mincemeat


So, the Wee One and I decided that it was time to make some mincemeat, as Christmas is fast approaching. Every year we make mountains of the stuff, and eat mince pies for weeks before, and weeks after. I use a Darina Allen recipe, although, me being me, I have to change it somewhat (it’s a great place to start). The way I see it, anything that has butter, suger, fruit and pastry, in whatever proportions, has to be truly divine. 
 This is the recipe- as I said, I have doctored it a little…
 Mincemeat Recipe
4 cooking apples, cored and baked in a moderate oven (180’C) for about 45 minutes, then left to cool.
 The rind and juice of 2 lemons.
 450g of butter, grated (I put mine in the freezer the night before, and then it is eay to grate without it melting as you grate)
 pinch of salt
 500g of currant & 500g of sultanas (or you could part-substitute mixed peel)
 900g of dark brown sugar

Remove the skin and mash the flesh of the apple, with the lemon.
(I had to remove little fists full of butter many times, she would have gobbled up the 450g of butter without any hesitation)
 Add the butter, fruit, salt  and sugar one by one,
mixing everything thoroughly.
Put into jars and cover with jam covers, or into a Kilner Jar, as I have done here. Leave for at least 2 weeks to mature before scoffing greedily at every opportunity. 
(I have to admit, that after looking at the jars of mincemeat for 2 days I had to make a tester batch tonight. Let me assure you, that even after 2 days the mince pies were oh-my-gosh scrumptious. We have now come to yet another executive family decision that these jars will not last until Christmas and that we need to make another batch (or several more batches) a.s.a.p to keep our mincepie-cravings satiated)
Posted by Emily 

Beautiful Tea-light Holder Tutorial


This is the time of year that candles and tea lights come into their own… our natural light is fading by 4pm these days, and the lovely glow from these tealights make everywhere look so cosy!
I love to group lights together, and jars make a great candle-holders (and so much safer) 
I made some beautiful tea-light holders today, using jam jars I had here in the kitchen.
I wanted them to have a “vintage-y” look, so I colour-photocopied pages from old missals and  photographs (you have to really colour-photocopy to get the lovely old tone of the paper- I tried black and white copies and staining them after, but they weren’t nearly as good) 
I am amassing a great collection of vintage photocopies… 
laces, stamps and buttons…
 and had tea-stained tissue-paper, ribbons, lace, and paper a few days ago, waiting for a project like this :-)
I carefully cut out the old postcards and missal sheets (with relevant “Christmastide” pages!), and, with a 50/50 PVA glue and water mix, I brushed this solution on the back, then positioned it on the jar (careful to wipe any excess glue off so that it doesn’t get “smear-y”)
(you could photocopy old photos of family members, letters, receipts to make them more personal to the recipient if you are giving them as a gift)
I continued to layer, adding christmas stamps and a cut-out of a flower. The idea is to have a beautiful composition that doesn’t look too “formal”, but is still coherent. 
I finished off the jar with some lovely lace and tied an old vintage button on, positioning it so that it balanced the whole composition!
Then I promptly made 2 more!!
Finished just in time to photograph them glowing in the dusky light.
Aren’t they pretty? 
And what a simple, easy gift to make- for a loved one – or yourself! 
Posted by Emily