A Litopian Christmas

[Emily]

After a year that has fatigued us all, I thought perhaps, on the (almost) eve of Advent, that we could approach the season in the form of Christmas snapshots… some Christmas memories, or photos (I think we’d all appreciate a few vintage ones… I love the 1970s era jumpers ), recipes, or poems?

Needless to say, you can have a belief or none, but let’s create a **Covid-free** corner of the internet that is mulled-wine scented, tastes of mince pies, has tons of sparkle, and all the joy and hope Christmas represents

 

[Emily]

(I will go first with what is most prominent in my mind as we come to the 1st of December):

Super-simple Mince Pies!​

Mince-pies are all about the mincemeat... which you can buy in a jar, but nothing compares to the homemade stuff. Since it is a matter of chopping everything up and simmering for 20 minutes, anyone can do it. Even cats, I’ll bet.

This mincemeat is sugar and fat/butter/lard free, so it means you can *eat them all* and still feel virtuous. The pastry, however, you will have to turn a blind eye to. And if you don’t make pastry, just buy some of the roll out stuff; **they will still taste better than anything you will buy**.

Ingredients:

(I tripled the quantities as I plan on making a lot of mince-pies over the holidays, oooh yeah…)

75g dates, chopped

150g sultanas

150g raisins

2 apples, peeled and grated

Juice and zest of half a lemon

Juice and zest of one orange

½ tsp of allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon.

90ml apple juice

10mls whiskey or brandy (optional)

Pastry

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a large pot over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Lower the temperature and allow it to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until all the fruit is plump and juicy (about 15-20 minutes).

Remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars, allowing it to cool. You can store it in the fridge for up to two weeks but after that, you will need to freeze it as it doesn’t have sugar or fat to preserve it (It won’t last that long, I promise).​

When you need your fix:

Lightly butter a 12-hole pie or patty tin. Cut out 12 circles with a pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin.

Press gently into each hole, then half-fill with the mincemeat.

Cut out another 12 slightly smaller discs or stars and use to cover the mincemeat.

Press the edges together to seal. Make a small slit in the top of each.

Bake the pies for 20 minutes in a preheated oven (200C/180C Fan/Gas 6) until golden brown.

Eat fourhundredandninetyseven of them hot from the oven while watching your favourite Christmas movie. Because it’s Christmas!!!!!!!

 

[RK Wallis]

I'll add my fav carol:

 

[gbhunt]

Ooh, what a jolly idea! Our family used to love watching Dr Dolittle (the original, the recent remake was just dire!), and Burl Ives Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Here's a pic of Kate and me when she and her husband joined me in California for Christmas 11 years ago. We take no responsibility for the wall decorations!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Our Christmas sparkle comes from the glint of sunlight off the waves at the beach. I've fully embraced a midsummer Christmas, though I found it really weird the first few years we were here. Our Christmas season now starts with the making of strawberry jam, and is all about the berry fruits (strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cherries, and raspberries) that are in season at this time of year. Our main Christmas tradition is a family backpacking trip, and if we're lucky, we reach a high enough altitude to enjoy snow on the summer solstice. Here's a pic from last year's trip.

 

[Catherine Le Bars]

What can I say? The in-laws visited and the dog copped it. Just love her expression

 

[Hannah F]

I could put the piano guys Oh come Oh come Emmanuel on repeat and listen to it forever.

 

[Emily]

I could put the piano guys Oh come Oh come Emmanuel on repeat and listen to it forever.

We listen to them all through December!!

 

[Julie]

I could put the piano guys Oh come Oh come Emmanuel on repeat and listen to it forever.

Beautiful!

 

[Julie]

I love Jethro Tull's Solstice Bells - could have put his enthusiastic flute playing up, but rather love the montage of images.

 

[Jonny]

One of my favourite Christmas songs. @Galadriel

 

[Jonny]

.

Bit of a cliché, but I never tire of reading this over Christmas. Pitch-perfect story and it awakens so many childhood memories.

 

[KateESal]

Right in the feels. Every time, every year.

 

[AgentPete]

I'd just like some proper snow, like we had back in 2012...

 

[gbhunt]

I'd just like some proper snow, like we had back in 2012...
View attachment 7559

I love a White Christmas. Don’t get many down under, unless ocean foam counts!

 

[Hannah F]

You want snow? Here is snow over Roslin Glen, from my border collie, Jedi's POV.

 

[gbhunt]

I could put the piano guys Oh come Oh come Emmanuel on repeat and listen to it forever.

just beautiful. I'm playing it now. You can feel the centuries flowing through the music.

 

[Emily]

What can I say? The in-laws visited and the dog copped it. Just love her expression
View attachment 7555

Catherine, would you mind if I printed out this photo for my daughter. She thinks it is *the funniest * thing she's ever seen (not unlike Sir Didymus, in expression, from Labyrinth!)

 

[Hannah F]

A frozen spider's web (thankfully minus spider)

 

[Barbara]

Christmas biccies. The Swiss are mad about Christmas biccies. We bake them by the batch load and give a selection of them as little presents to our most treasured people. If a Swiss person gives you biccies consider yourself honoured. We have many flavours, lemon moons, cinnamon stars, chocolate balls, something called Chraebeli (to pronounce the 'ch', pretend you're a cat throwing up a fur ball) and many more. We bake them, we place them in decorated bags and present them to our friends. In turn we get biccies from them, also in decorated bags. Kinda a pointless exercise, I hear you say, and maybe it is, but never mind. Anything as long as it's edible.

This here is a recipe for Zitronemӧndli (translation: Little Lemon Moons).

You will need:

• A cookie cutter (I usually use star shaped cutter)
• A rolling pin (I normally use a bottle of Pinot Grigio to roll out the dough)
• Non-stick baking paper
• A baking tray
• A lemon zester

For the Biscuit dough:

• 350g Ground Almonds
• 200g Granulated Sugar
• 2-3 un-waxed, organic Lemons (zest for the though and the juice for the glaze)
• 2 Egg Whites from small-ish to medium eggs. (If the dough is too dry when you knead it simply add a tad of lemon juice.
• some extra sugar to dip the cookie cutters, or to sprinkle onto the work surface if it gets too sticky from the dough

For the Glaze:

• 200g Icing Sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp Lemon Juice from the above lemons
• 1 Tbsp Water

And off you go, now get baking:

1. Using a lemon zester, zest the lemon
2. Squeeze out the lemons and put the juice aside for later. (I usually squeeze the lemons first thing in the morning, then freeze the peel until the afternoon to make the zesting easier)
3. Make the biscuit dough by combining the almonds, granulated sugar and grated lemon zest in a large bowl.
4. Add the egg white and knead for a few minutes. Now you have a Zitronemӧndli dough.
5. Between 2 sheets of parchment paper roll out the dough with your roller to a ½ cm thickness.
6. Cut out cookies with your cookie cutter, placing them onto a non-stick or parchment paper lined baking tray. You might need to dunk the cutter in some sugar to prevent sticking.
7. Gather all the scraps, press them back into a dough ball, roll out again to the same thickness and cut more biccies. Repeat until all the dough has gone. Continue rolling and cutting until all the dough is used up and you have a baking tray full of pretty little cookies.
8. Place the tray of cookies in a cool dry place and leave to rest for a couple hours.
9. Bake them in the middle of a pre-heated oven at 160 C for 8-10 minutes.
10. While the cookies are in the oven, make the glaze by combining the glaze ingredients, creating a smooth paste.
11. Cookies done, take them out of the oven, leave them to cool a little, thhen glaze them while they are still warm.

 

[Barbara]

Oh, and I'm just going to have to show you the snowman I made a few years ago. (I was planning on using the pic as a Flash Club prompt at some point, but hey, here it is...) He got a lot scarier as he melted.

 

[Emily]

Christmas biccies. The Swiss are mad about Christmas biccies. We bake them by the batch load and give a selection of them as little presents to our most treasured people. If a Swiss person gives you biccies consider yourself honoured. We have many flavours, lemon moons, cinnamon stars, chocolate balls, something called Chraebeli (to pronounce the 'ch', pretend you're a cat throwing up a fur ball) and many more. We bake them, we place them in decorated bags and present them to our friends. In turn we get biccies from them, also in decorated bags. Kinda a pointless exercise, I hear you say, and maybe it is, but never mind. Anything as long as it's edible.

This here is a recipe for Zitronemӧndli (translation: Little Lemon Moons).

You will need:

• A cookie cutter (I usually use star shaped cutter)
• A rolling pin (I normally use a bottle of Pinot Grigio to roll out the dough)
• Non-stick baking paper
• A baking tray
• A lemon zester

For the Biscuit dough:

• 350g Ground Almonds
• 200g Granulated Sugar
• 2-3 un-waxed, organic Lemons (zest for the though and the juice for the glaze)
• 2 Egg Whites from small-ish to medium eggs. (If the dough is too dry when you knead it simply add a tad of lemon juice.
• some extra sugar to dip the cookie cutters, or to sprinkle onto the work surface if it gets too sticky from the dough

For the Glaze:

• 200g Icing Sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp Lemon Juice from the above lemons
• 1 Tbsp Water

And off you go, now get baking:

1. Using a lemon zester, zest the lemon
2. Squeeze out the lemons and put the juice aside for later. (I usually squeeze the lemons first thing in the morning, then freeze the peel until the afternoon to make the zesting easier)
3. Make the biscuit dough by combining the almonds, granulated sugar and grated lemon zest in a large bowl.
4. Add the egg white and knead for a few minutes. Now you have a Zitronemӧndli dough.
5. Between 2 sheets of parchment paper roll out the dough with your roller to a ½ cm thickness.
6. Cut out cookies with your cookie cutter, placing them onto a non-stick or parchment paper lined baking tray. You might need to dunk the cutter in some sugar to prevent sticking.
7. Gather all the scraps, press them back into a dough ball, roll out again to the same thickness and cut more biccies. Repeat until all the dough has gone. Continue rolling and cutting until all the dough is used up and you have a baking tray full of pretty little cookies.
8. Place the tray of cookies in a cool dry place and leave to rest for a couple hours.
9. Bake them in the middle of a pre-heated oven at 160 C for 8-10 minutes.
10. While the cookies are in the oven, make the glaze by combining the glaze ingredients, creating a smooth paste.
11. Cookies done, take them out of the oven, leave them to cool a little, thhen glaze them while they are still warm.

Would it considered to be a bit Grinch-like if you make, and then eat, ALL the cookies by your lonesome?

(asking for a friend)

 

[Barbara]

Would it considered to be a bit Grinch-like if you make, and then eat, ALL the cookies by your lonesome?

(asking for a friend)

Oh, yes it would. Lack of biccies is ... well, it would need a heavyweight excuse as to why you're not giving away biccies; something like you've been snowed into a cabin, or you have been self-isolating. But you(r friend) could always make a second batch to give away. Or, as some do, buy inferior ones from a bakery and pawn them off as home made, while you secretly eat the ones fresh from your own oven.

 

[Catherine Le Bars]

Catherine, would you mind if I printed out this photo for my daughter. She thinks it is *the funniest * thing she's ever seen (not unlike Sir Didymus, in expression, from Labyrinth!)

Help yourself, Emily

 

[Hannah F]

Oh, and I'm just going to have to show you the snowman I made a few years ago. (I was planning on using the pic as a Flash Club prompt at some point, but hey, here it is...) He got a lot scarier as he melted.

Donny Darko frozen!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

.View attachment 7557

Bit of a cliché, but I never tire of reading this over Christmas. Pitch-perfect story and it awakens so many childhood memories.

Yes! Growing up, my dad read it aloud every Christmas. My husband and I carried on the tradition until fairly recently. I'm afraid it's fallen by the wayside since the kids grew old enough for 5-day pre-Christmas tramps.

 

[Emily]

A few years a go, I gave a friend of mine a painting... She returned with a Nativity set that she had felted, complete with ducks (my daughter had pet muscovy ducks), hens, and all the usual suspects! This is THE most played-with thing over Christmas in our house (last night they all took a trip in the Millennium Falcon and I've regularly had to rescue them from exotic trips to my succulent garden. Sigh)

 

[Robinne Weiss]

When we lived in the northern hemisphere, I used to make about 200 chocolate truffles every Christmas to give as gifts. They're easy to make, but hard to make look as nice as the professionally produced ones. I quite enjoyed the process (and, of course, kept plenty to eat myself).

I used a recipe from a 1981 edition of The Complete Wilton Book of Candy, which is so laughably dated, it's a delight just opening the book. LOL!

Here's the recipe.

1 cup (240 ml) whipping cream
1 lb, 6 oz (625 g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tbs (45 ml) rum
2 lbs (908 g) tempered dark chocolate for dipping (properly tempered chocolate is the key to beautiful truffles--tempering the chocolate is the only tricky bit of the recipe. The good news is you can forgo the dipping altogether and simply roll them in cocoa powder if you want, and they're just as delicious)

Over low heat, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the rum. Refrigerate the mixture for about an hour, until it is stiff.

Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and stir briefly. Drop by teaspoon into mounds on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate to harden (about 30 min). Then form each mound into a ball by rolling between your hands.

Dip in tempered chocolate and allow to harden on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Dip a second time once hardened.

 

[gbhunt]

Yikes!

Oh, and I'm just going to have to show you the snowman I made a few years ago. (I was planning on using the pic as a Flash Club prompt at some point, but hey, here it is...) He got a lot scarier as he melt

 

[RK Wallis]

When we lived in the northern hemisphere, I used to make about 200 chocolate truffles every Christmas to give as gifts. They're easy to make, but hard to make look as nice as the professionally produced ones. I quite enjoyed the process (and, of course, kept plenty to eat myself).

I used a recipe from a 1981 edition of The Complete Wilton Book of Candy, which is so laughably dated, it's a delight just opening the book. LOL!

Here's the recipe.

1 cup (240 ml) whipping cream
1 lb, 6 oz (625 g) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tbs (45 ml) rum
2 lbs (908 g) tempered dark chocolate for dipping (properly tempered chocolate is the key to beautiful truffles--tempering the chocolate is the only tricky bit of the recipe. The good news is you can forgo the dipping altogether and simply roll them in cocoa powder if you want, and they're just as delicious)

Over low heat, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the rum. Refrigerate the mixture for about an hour, until it is stiff.

Remove the mixture from the refrigerator and stir briefly. Drop by teaspoon into mounds on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate to harden (about 30 min). Then form each mound into a ball by rolling between your hands.

Dip in tempered chocolate and allow to harden on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Dip a second time once hardened.

yum, yum!