The joy of Christmas puddings....and other updates....

Tonight I have time to blog..... I've been a bit short on time lately. Since our house went on the market there have been 2 Open Houses at our place so we have been cleaning like maniacals for those, as well as buying fresh flowers for the table (thanks for the reminder Rayael!) and doing a tidy up every morning before leaving for work. Now for some friends, like Vicki, this might be a normal occurence. But we, like many families, make every effort to 'clean as we go' but the likely event of slept-in mornings often leads to neglect in the household tidiness department. BUT NOT THIS MONTH! Everything has been spotless. Yet, as of the mo', no bites on the house. Not a worry, we are having so much fun (insert - I am ecstatic) at the re-designing of our new kitchen in the new place, that we're not thinking too much about that yet.

Yesterday was a zoo - I had 5 places to be in, and some almost at the same time that as a result I didn't make it to all of them, and the ones I did get to in time I had to leave early. But right now I have time to blog. Because I - as we 'speak' - am cooking my Christmas pudding. Please indulge me for a minute while I divulge the joy of Christmas pudding.

This is one of those Christmas traditions that I have decided to keep going. My grandma always made 2 puddings; both back in September. That was also my plan but time got the best of me and here we are beginning of November. Oh well.... you see the fruit and the brandy in the pudding definitely improve with age, which is why Harrods claims their puddings have been made 6 months previous to you purchasing them. They are dark, they are rich, and a medium one will feed your whole family plus visitors. But what makes them divine in my opinion is the presentation. I remember my grandparents bringing the pudding to the table, pouring brandy on top of it and then setting it aflame. This brought applause and delight to me, and is something as of late I have wanted to re-create. My grandma always served it with her homemade nutmeg sauce or brandy butter. I have never googled the recipe for brandy butter but I can make sauce so the nutmeg won out.

Here is the illogical part however - it appears that out of my family of four - you guessed it - I am the only one who likes it! So I am essentially, cooking a Christmas pudding entirely for myself. And the aroma of ginger and nutmeg is filling my kitchen as I type. Everyone else is asleep in bed but I am revelling in the spices and fruit-aroma that are making their way to my computer desk. They are however, starting to get mixed up with the lingering smells from the French Onion Soup I made earlier this afternoon. Hmmmm... may be time for some Febreeze.....