The number one signal for me (some might say warning) of the coming holiday season is fruitcake. Not that dry, cakey stuff you get at the grocery store. The fruitcake I bake contains a kilogram of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries, etc.), chopped nuts, a good amount of rum, and enough butter, eggs and flour to keep the whole thing together. I bake my cake at least a month early and feed the cake with more rum on a regular basis … to preserve the fruit, you understand.
If when you think of mincemeat, you’re picturing that horribly sweet glop from the grocery store, stop. Instead, conjure if you will a mixture of ground beef (yes, real meat, this stuff was invented to preserve sources of protein), apples, raisins, aromatic spices, and citrus peel all simmered to a velvety loveliness. My mum made this every year as did her mum and her mum.
Shortbread cookies. Buttery, vanilla-y, flaky. I pretend I can remember Grammy in the farmhouse kitchen, rolling out the dough on the old, scarred table, using star and bell-shaped cutters, then sliding the cookie sheets into the monster wood-fired oven. All us grandkids gathered around the table waited impatiently for the cookies to cool enough to eat. I have no memory of her baking shortbreads, but I have many memories of my mum doing so.
Hm … these all seem food related … wonder what that says about me …
A non-edible sign that the holidays are upon us is my annual hunt for greeting cards to send to friends and relations. I used to see what was on offer at the usual stores, but with the advent of online shopping, the sky’s the limit. I came across an artist a few years ago who creates the most wonderful images – right up my alley. AND she uses some of those images for greeting cards.
2 comments:
Fun post, Luanna. My mom's fruit cake recipe was a white cake with candied fruits and nuts. It was moist and delicious. People Loved getting one of her fruit cakes. She also made her own mincemeat and hard sauce. My Dad loved shortbread. He grudgingly shared a piece with my brothers and me. I've never been sure of how much of all that was a game to him. What I do know is that I came to appreciate at a whole other level those shortbread cookies. Lots of good memories this time of year.
I never liked fruitcake or mincemeat, but yours sounds amazing, Luanna!!!
I didn't know mincemeat was made to preserve proteins. I've always loved shortbread though, and what my Grandmas called sugar cookies. So many delicious tastes and smells during the holidays bring back lovely memories.
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