Merry Christmas!

I know, I know, I'm usually the one complaining about Christmas coming too early - it's too early to hear carols in September, it's too early to buy mince-pies in October, etc, etc.  But this year it's all a bit different.

Being a Muslim country most people here just don't celebrate Christmas.  There is a sizeable Chinese population here so some Chinese-run stores (such as Hua Ho supermarket) embrace the season, as do some of the local hotels with an international clientele, but generally Christmas just isn't happening here.  In many ways it's quite refreshing not to be assaulted by Christmas paraphernalia for months, and in this climate it would feel odd for those of us used to Christmas in England or Canada to be getting festive...  but it's also a little strange.

Generally Rob and I tend to eat Asian food here in Brunei.  I've always found it fairly unsatisfactory to try to recreate favourite dishes from home (not to mention horribly expensive) so it's rice and noodles most days for us!  Delicious, and healthy too (we've both lost half a stone since arriving here in August).  However, we decided that we just had to do a proper Christmas Dinner.

We're off to Thailand for Christmas, so we actually had our own Christmas at the weekend - on the 12th December.  The 'tree' (Brunei-style) has been decorated for a while...

We bought a chicken because the only turkeys we could find here were huge - far too big for two.  We did spend lots of money in the non-Halal room in Supasave though, and bought streaky bacon and cocktail sausages as I couldn't imagine doing Christmas Dinner without bacon-wrapped chipolatas!

Rob has always had Chestnut stuffing for Christmas, and it's a tradition I'm most happy for us to continue.  We have rejected the tedious and labour-intensive routine of boiling and peeling chestnuts for this and now use a packet of chestnuts - surprisingly easily available here - and equally as delicious as the hand-peeled ones.

In an effort to keep the expats happy Supasave is stocking sprouts imported from Australia.  They were extortionately expensive (over $13 per kg) but I bought some because, well, it just isn't Christmas Dinner without them is it?  They weren't great though - too big and rather chewy - so I don't think I'd bother again, Christmas or not.

We also had carrots, roast potatoes, roast parsnip and cheesy cauliflower - another of Rob's (and my) favourite roast dinner accompaniments.  I rejected the tins of cranberry sauce and instead we had my homemade apple-chilli jelly, which I had brought over from the UK (a small nod to Asian cuisine in a very British meal!).  And Coleman's English Mustard.  Of course.

We had also imported a Tescos Finest Christmas Pudding!  It had been lurking in our cupboard in the UK for ages - years probably, since I have made my own for at least the last 3 years.  I seem to recall Rob buying it because it was half price...  if you know Rob you'll know that that's pretty typical!

It wasn't the greatest pudding ever, not a patch on a home-made one, and not helped by the fact that we microwaved it and the microwave timer got stuck so it had a rather longer cooking time than it should have done!  However, we flamed it with rum, and doused it liberally with Rum Sauce and it did the job.

It was a delicious meal and it made us think that, despite the tropical climate and lack of air-conditioning in the kitchen, we might cook a roast dinner occasionally - this was our first one since we arrived at the start of August.  We could tell we're just not used to it any more though - we were both positively groaning, we felt so full afterwards!  Still, that's the way a Christmas Dinner should be!

I hope your Christmas Dinners are equally delicious.

Stir Up Sunday

This morning we went to Eucharist in St Alban's Cathedral.  We've started doing this a lot recently actually.  It's a very 'high church' service - lots of 'bells and smells' as Rob puts it - and I find this somehow comforting and reassuring.  I like the inclusivity of the Church of England, and I like that there is a more modern Family Service on Sunday mornings there too, but I also relish the occasion of this Eucharist: sitting in the choir stalls, singing rousing traditional hymns, saying the prayers with all their 'Thees' and 'Thous', listening to the top-class Cathedral Choir, and breathing in the scent of incense.  It lifts my spirit.

However, this morning I was jolted from my reverie by the words of the Collect:  Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people...   Yes, it's Stir Up Sunday, and I haven't even thought about making my Christmas Pudding!  I managed to make it on the 'correct' day last year, but this year I haven't even thought about it.  I'm going to make some effort for it though - I'm sure I have enough sultanas in the cupboard to put them in a bowl to soak in rum for a day or so.  At least then I'll feel like I have made a start with the process, with the added bonus that the kitchen will soon be filled with the comforting scent of rum-soaked fruit!

If you are ever in the vicinity of St Albans I can recommend a visit to the Cathedral.  As well as going to services, we have popped in on several occasions to see the place as tourists.  This is the shrine of St Alban himself, the first English Christian Martyr, killed for his faith in 250 AD.

Earlier this year we did a 'Tower Tour' where we were able to explore the less-visited areas of the Cathedral - the triforia, the roof space above the fan-vaulting, the ringing chamber, the bell-chamber, and eventually the roof of the tower itself.

It's mind-boggling to think of this immense structure being built between 1077 and 1115.  The tower was largely built from Roman bricks, pillaged from the Roman town of Verulamium that predates the city of today. 

It always feels such a privilege to worship in such a historic and beautiful place.   But whatever faith you have - or none - I think that a building such as this can inspire all kinds of spirituality, awe and wonder.  And taking time out to do this can only be a positive thing. 

 

This morning we were all prompted to deep thought by the words of today's Gradual Psalm, Psalm 93:

The floods are risen, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice.  The floods lift up their waves.

How unintentionally apt that these words should be sung as much of the north-west of England suffers the worst floods in decades, taking the life of a local policeman as a road bridge collapsed into a swollen river.  I can barely imagine how terrible it must be to have your home flooded (let alone lose a loved one in this way).  I'm resolved not to moan about the weather here in the south-east ever again.

Stirring it Up

Yesterday dawned crisp and snowy, but our excitement was dimmed within minutes as it fast became wet and sleety. Bummer. Still, this was no time to grumble because there were things to be done in the kitchen... yesterday was 'Stir-Up Sunday'. The Sunday before Advent is one of those days when the religious and culinary worlds meet in perfect harmony: 'Stir up, we beseech thee O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded.' So reads the collect of the day; and the injunction to 'stir up' has been adopted in the kitchen too, as this is the traditional day for preparing the Christmas pudding. A plenteous reward indeed!


Of course one needs to begin the process a day in advance as the dried fruits need to be plumped up with a good overnight soaking in rum. I just love the smell that pervades the kitchen during this process, and the way that the fruit swells stickily in its alcoholic bath. But is it wrong to relish the smell of hard liquor first thing in the morning??




I love the way that the fruit makes up such a large proportion of the pudding mixture. Why, there must be at least 2 of your daily portions of fruit in each slice of pudding! Somehow it never feels like a health-food when you're eating it though...




I have to confess that I didn't really know what suet was until I made my first Christmas Pudding. Since I found out I use vegetable suet instead of beef suet because, well, bleugghhh! Beef fat belongs on the edge of a steak, not in a dessert!


My trans-Atlantic readers may be interested to note the English robins pictured on the teatowel. Very different to the larger, orange-breasted bird that shares its name.




Traditionally all the family have to have a stir of the mixture, so Rob and I both had a go with the wooden spoon. Apparently you're meant to make a wish when you're doing it but I didn't know that bit. Rob was on the phone with his brother when I presented him with the bowl and spoon so I don't think he did the wish either. Mind you, at the time he was discussing the huge cost of making a Christmas Pudding (having just gagged in horror when I told him the price of the dried cherries) so he was probably wishing that he had bought that half-price Tesco Finest pudding we saw on offer on Saturday...




I usually pile the mixture into one large bowl and make a huge pudding, but this year I divided it into two, one to be taken to Devon for Christmas Day, and one to be scoffed by the two of us during our pre-Christmas Christmas Dinner.


This is the third year that I have made Christmas Pudding. I have never really been a big fan of it in the past. Added to the fact that it is traditionally eaten at the end of the biggest meal of the year, I have never actually liked the taste much - too dark, too dense, too heavy. However, these homemade puddings have been an absolute revelation to me. They are lighter in colour and in texture (if not in weight!) and the taste is worlds away from your average shop-bought pud. Making your own also gives you the freedom to add more of the ingredients you like the most, so my recipe is freely adapted from Nigella's in How to Be a Domestic Goddess. I prefer the squidge of sultanas and raisins to the traditional but mean-sized currants so that's what I use. I adore the sourness of dried cherries, so add them instead of the dried blueberries Nigella specifies, and whole blanched almonds go in in place of the marrons glaces. I love the crunch they provide. I detest candied peel, so that's definitely forbidden. I don't bother with coins either - a dental emergency is possibly the last thing I would welcome on Christmas Day.


As much for my own reference as yours, this is the recipe I use. I know I'll forget by next year unless I write it down!

Christmas Pudding

200g mixed raisins and sultanas
100g glace cherries, chopped
100g dried cherries
100g dried prunes, chopped

Soak fruit (above) overnight in 170ml rum

Mix soaked fruit together with the following ingredients:

90g self-raising flour
150g shredded suet
150g brown sugar (dark or light, depending on preference)
1 medium cooking apple, roughly grated (to provide 120g)
1/2 tsp mixed spice (I use a pot of 'Pumpkin Pie Spice' bought in Canada)
generous grating of nutmeg
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
zest of an orange (although this year I used 1 tsp Boyajian Orange Oil instead)
60g whole blanched almonds

Butter 1 large, or 2 smaller, pudding basins, spoon in the mixture and press down with the back of a spoon. Cover with a pleated piece of greaseproof paper, and then with a lid (or tie on a foil lid, as I do), and steam for 3 and a half hours.

Rewrap the pudding and store somewhere cool until Christmas. Reheat on the day by steaming for another 3 hours.

Flambe if desired (Nigella recommends using vodka for the best flame).

Serve with brandy or rum butter, or - our favourite - Rum Sauce. Ho ho ho!