It’s that time of year again when the smell of Christmas fills the air. With freshly roasted festive lattes, eggnog and spiced hot chocolate filling every bakery and coffee shop whilst an abundance of Christmas cakes, festive treats and delicious biscuits occupy every counter. OH gosh..what to choose? Where to start?
The warming memories of childhood years, chestnut picking and then roasting the chestnuts by an open fire, snuggled on the couch with a warm knitted blanket cupping that hot mug of cocoa, and singing along to those all to familiar Christmas carols, evading every thought.
Whispered excitement over the anticipated window displays of every high street store buzzing in the air while Christmas lights were being put up all over the town spreading Christmas cheer. I remember as a child growing up, the most spectacular Christmas lights display was put up along Regents Street, and curiosity would be wreaking havoc on our little souls as we waited with much anticipation at the release of the theme for the current years display, and when it finally came…WOW, was it breathtaking. As we walked along the street under the lights, it was as if the sky was raining stars, touching and uplifting every spirit.
At the heart of most Holiday recipes, a combination of the most beautiful fragrant spices are lurking. Among those are cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. A few of the best traditional Christmas culinary delights, which i have had the privilege of trying, come from all over the world. A traditional German baked Christmas treat, Lebkuchen, is a soft biscuit like treat, somewhat resembling gingerbread. A specialty of the Netherlands and Belgium are Speculaas, which coincidentally are also cousins of the gingerbread, only lighter and more delicately spiced, where intricately carved wooden molds are used to form the cookies into bas-relief images of characters and symbols from stories about Saint Nicholas, or Sinter-klaas, whose name day, December 6, kicks off the Christmas season in that part of the world. The famous Bûche de Noël or Yuletide Log, is the main star on the Christmas dining table in France, and in Great Britain the Christmas pudding/cake flambéed with Brandy is the perfect dessert after a satisfying Christmas Eve dinner along with Mince Pies. Panettone which is attributed to the Italian city of Milan in the Middle Ages, is a sweet bread which it’s basic origins go back to the Roman Empire, when ancient Romans sweetened a type of leavened cake with honey, and in Greece, Melomakarona can be found in every household come December (if not before).
The battle for the BEST Christmas tree has begun..Who is going to find the biggest, the fullest, the best shaped, and most unique tree among all others?! The boxes from the attic containing all the ornaments from past years, and those handed down from generation to generation, have been dusted and taken down awaiting the moment to be opened and merrily placed upon the very special chosen tree.
The word ‘Christmas’ means a lot of different things to each one of us. I would LOVE to hear about YOUR favourite Holiday treat, tradition and memory! We all have our little quirky things that we love, so let’s share and spread some of that Christmas Cheer!
QuIrKaLiCiOuS 