December....

Christmas is almost upon us and I confess to being very disorganised this year.  Perhaps brought on with the arrival of Catherine from varsity toward the end of November and the late school holidays for Richard.  Then there is our unbearable weather that doesn't encourage me into the kitchen just to create more heat.  My husband has a permanently worried look on his face wondering if the mince pies will be made, a very late Christmas cake is awaiting the icing courtesy of Catherine.  She has been coming up with lots of different ideas so that is organised.

With temperatures in the mid to late 30 degrees celsius and the humidity high, I am just not inclined to bake especially pastry.  Plan A is to get up at the crack of dawn to make pastry and then bake mince pies in the evenings.  Plan B is to make pastry in the evening, leave in the fridge overnight and get up at the crack of dawn to bake pies.  So far neither has happened as I feel too tired at night from the heat to bake and the early morning is still hot as our night time temperatures are just not dropping enough to feel refreshed!  Weather Africa says we can expect cooler temperatures later this week so it will be a marathon mince pie baking time for Catherine and I and, as my husband likes to eat mince pies for the 12 days of Christmas, he will be happy!

Friday will be time to cook the Christmas pudding - the traditional way - in a large cloth for a few hours and then hung to dry.  It's always the highlight of my family's day to douse it with brandy, light it and watch the flames until they disappear!