'Tis the Season

It's amazing how time always goes so much more quickly from mid November through to the end of December. I swear every year gets quicker, soon it will be 2012 and before you know it Christmas again.

I apologise to my readers that I have not spent time blogging to you, but as this is peak time for me at work, majority of my spare time is trying to catch up on missed sleep. But I'm back here ready to talk about the festivities and the perfect season to cook our lives away.

This year was the first year with out my Nan. She always involved her self in the Christmas spirit by filling us up on jam tarts, mince pies, scottish shortbread, rum balls and pudding. So when it came time for her to stay with us I'm pretty sure the car boot was filled to the rim with tins and containers from all her baking and just 1 tiny suitcase for her clothes. It would last for days, but it was never Christmas without it.

So this year on her behalf I rummaged through her many pudding recipes to find one that could have possibly been the original recipe that Kylie and I could remember. I am lucky that after several years of reading birthday and christmas cards we were able to understand her hand writting.

As I started to ready over the recipe smiles came upon me when reading Brandy and Stout in Capitals, better make sure those ingredients aren't missed then.

Soaking the dried fruits with the traditional Christmas spices of Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg my house was filled with delight and made me feel enriched with Christmas spirit whilst carols played in the back ground. It was perfect, and I knew just from soaking the dried fruits that this pudding was going to be amazing.

After a day of soaking and a 5 hour boiling period to follow, this pudding was sure worth every minute and reminded us of our Nan. There was sure to be nothing to compare it too, no store bought pudding could take you away from a childhood memory such as this. There is only joy and love in this recipe and I am honoured to continue it on and pass it down in the generations to come.

It's amazing what family traditions create, it's a bond that no one can specifically relate to. Each family would have there own but to describe a families feeling of it is something different even to the individual in the family. My memory of my Nan's pudding would be different to Kylie's and to my Dad's or anyone. For me it was finding 1 and 2 cent pieces and licking off the custard and fruit from the coins, as well as the smell of spices that fill the room when it's first cut.

This tradition will continue on into further generations of my family, and we will still embrace the memory of the one who started it for us.

May you have all had an amazing Christmas and heres to your New adventures in 2012.