Cooking
At last it's done and in the oven. My Christmas cake, which I usually make in October and then feed with Brandy on a two-weekly basis, has officially been removed from my 'to do' list. It has never been this late but with one thing and the other I havn't got round to it. The only other year it was this late was when , for some stupid reason, I wrapped it in cling film. Disaster. When I unwrapped it to 'feed' it I was greeted with this spectacular, multi-coloured version of a fruit cake. The colours were amazing, livid pinks, turquoise and yellow there must have been tens of previously undiscovered different moulds growing happily on it, I could probably have rid the world of a multitude of infections if I had allowed them to continue reproducing, that or killed thousands with my hitherto unknown biological weapon, The Lethal Fruitcake.
Hubby is spending today playing hunter/gatherer, in other words he's outside chopping wood for the fire. This evening there is a surprise in store for him, we are meeting the girls and their partners for his Birthday meal. Son is unavailable due to a previous engagement, watching Arsenal v Chelsea at the pub. Needless to say this has met with all round disapproval, aka 'The Look'. The girls have inherited this form of wordless communication of displeasure from me, although they have extended and honed it to a whole new art form. The basic 'look' involves pulling the shoulders down and back and lowering the chin slightly. The head is then tilted to one side by about 10 degrees, at the same time the cheeks are drawn in by a miniscule sucking motion, the mouth gives the suggestion of a sardonic smile and the eyes are raised. I accompany this with a raising of the left eyebrow. The girls version includes tilting into one hip, putting hands on their hips and sighing. When used sparingly we find this quite effective, especially with people who don't know us well, however close relatives and friends seem to develop an immunity to it's intended freezing effect, this is certainly the case with Son.
Off to check on the Christmas cake and put my face on (make-up) prior to going out. Whoops, better get Hubby in and tell him to spruce up, he might be a bit miffed if he missed his celebration.
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(12.12.04 18:05) Christmas cake, brandy...mmmm, yum! Don´t forget to post me a slice! =) Hope you have a good time at Hubbby´s party and shame on the son! *sends a "look"* haha. |
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(12.12.04 18:26) Did not even make mine this year due to a mixture of winter blues and christmas denial. I use a recipe which goes the other way around, instead of feeding the cake you soak the dried fruit in southern comfort for a couple of months. 1/2 the boozy fruit is mushed and added to the mix (makes it ultra moist) the rest kept whole. One year I topped up the booze in the jar after a month. The cake would have put anybody over the limit for driving. I also have a look inherited from my dad which gets immediate obedience. Probably won't work any more in a few years though. Enjoy the b'day party! |
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(12.12.04 18:55) MJ- Consider a slice sent- hope it makes it through customs! Stroppy - Sounds wonderful. Do you think you could use Brandy instead of Southern Comfort? Christmas and the depressing weather just seem to make energy levels etc fall to a low, hope you bounce back soon. |
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(14.12.04 15:53) What - no birthday golf match? He missed out on that perfect excuse! |
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(14.12.04 16:15) IanB - There would have been a murder if he had as he had spent Friday night currying and boozing, Saturday playing golf and that evening currying and boozing, again. |
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(14.12.04 19:47) Sure, use whatever you fancy booe wise. I used SC 'case it was what I had in the cupboard at the time that would not get drunk. |