Where'd It Go?

Is that it? Is Christmas over for another year? It seems to have flown by in a flash! We had a lovely Christmas at my parent's house with my family. Santa really did come to us... well, mostly P who had her usual huge pile of goodies which she opened as soon as possible!


Christmas is always special with kids around and we did the whole "has Santa been?" routine. I'm sure Mom still does it for us too, even though we're all grown up now. We woke up at our house, opened some presents here, gave the cat his present and got dressed and went to Mom and Dad for the rest of the gifts. It was lovely.


Santa brought me lots of lovely things, a bag, some Ugg boots which I've hardly taken off they are SO comfortable (thanks Kris!) and perfume, a jacket and a lovely necklace from P. I also had Betz White's Warm Fuzzies book from my sister along with a brilliant knitting book called Stitch 'n Bitch which is fab and a must for anyone who knits.

P had a new bike, rollerskates, and the whole padding to go with it all which sort of takes up most of the excitement time, so when she's finally padded up she's too exhausted to get mobile! She actually sat and had her Christmas lunch with her cycling helmet on and looked gorgeous!


Mom did a fantastic turkey and all the trimmings (although the carrots were burnt to a crisp... but we won't mention that! Sorry mom! :)), my sister did one of her speciality cheesecakes and I did... well I made my super dooper tiffin. (scroll down link for recipie) That was a good contribution! You can't go wrong with chocolate!

Mrs P and her famous cheesecake!:


I've avoided the sales, it's horrendous to park apparently, and spent the time inside! It's freezing here! I had a lovely scarf from Santa which is soft and gorgeous so I'm wearing that at the moment.

Seen my lovely cousin's wife Emma today and met her sister at my Grandad's with Emma and Neil's son Fin. He is gorgeous and we spent a lovely hour with them before they fly back to Cyprus to where Neil is stationed in the RAF. He's in Afghanistan at the moment working and we can't wait to have him back, which will be in January. I'm so proud of him and it must have been terribly hard without him at Christmas this year for Emma and the children.

So, all in all, Christmas has come, gone and we're onto New Year! We're off to my sister's house tonight for some food and a family get together which will be fun.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas too!

N x

Tiffin Or Not Tiffin, That Is The Question...

We've had a very lazy weekend which has been really fun. My little sister has been staying with us because mom and dad are away on their cruise and we've watched films, drunk coffee and generally slobbed about. Last night we got fireworks and Mr & Mrs P came over for our party. It was torrential rain so we sent Mat out to light the very tame selection we got (whizzes but no bangs, on P's request), and we all stood in the carport undercover and watched them from inside! We all had a sparkler each, nearly collapsed from the smoke they created but had fun, and P loved the rockets we got even though they did bang! I cooked chicken and bacon pasta bake and made THE best tiffin which got half demolished before we all felt sick and had to give in!



Here's the recipe. I'll definitely be making it again! It's ugly but yummy and SO moreish!

Tiffin (Chocolate Fridge Cake) Serves 10

28cm cake tin or non-stick 30cm x 20cm baking tin
55g shelled almonds
45g blanched hazelnuts
70g candied peel, chopped
80g glacé cherries, chopped
80g sultanas
2 large oranges, finely zested
225g plain Hobnobs
Walnut or sunflower oil, for greasing the tray
150g good dark chocolate
4 tbsp golden syrup
170g unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Place the almonds in the bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave for a few minutes. Drain the almonds and pop them out of their skins, then pat dry and place on a small baking tray with the hazelnuts. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly coloured. Shake halfway through cooking. Halve the hazelnuts and cut the almonds into similar-sized chunks.

Place the nuts in a mixing bowl with the candied peel, cherries, sultanas and orange zest. Then, using a rolling pin, roughly crush the biscuits into little chunks and mix into the fruit and nuts.

Lightly oil the cake tin or tray. Break the chocolate into chunks and place in a saucepan with the golden syrup and butter. Set over a low heat and stir occasionally until the ingredients have melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the biscuits, dried fruit and nuts. Mix thoroughly and transfer into the oiled tin. Pat down and chill for two hours until firm, then cut into slices. If the cake is in a rectangular tray, remove carefully using a palatte knife.

Scoff!


The knitted cat is complete! I spent this morning knitting and stuffing and I'm SO chuffed with the result, it's so easy to make and P loves it! I see more on the horizon.


Rob's been a guest presenter on QVC this week and is doing a night slot tonight. It's really exciting to see him on TV as I usually watch him on the internet since I downgraded my cable package. He's selling Xmas toys, and seems very enthusiastic about remote controlled helicopters...

I finally finished my scarflette/neckwarmer. It's a Christmas present for Jo so if you're reading this, you've spoiled your surprise! I'm really pleased with it as it's not knitted to a pattern and I had the perfect grey button to finish it off! The pic is rubbish, but you get the idea. Perfect under a winter coat to keep her neck warm!


N x