If we’re not meant to have midnight snacks. why is there a light in the fridge?
– unknown author
Once again that magical time of the year is upon us. For many folks Christmas and New Years is all about friends and family and…FOOD, glorious food; my favourite 4-letter word that starts with F.
Come to think of it, it appears to be the common denominator in all of life’s celebrations. Let’s name a few: Thanksgiving – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, and the grande finale pumpkin pie; then Christmas – more turkey, ham, brussel sprouts. But here my memories go wild…mincemeat tarts, gingerbread cookies, gingerbread houses, butter tarts, haystacks, freezer cookies, and fruit cake that had been hidden from Dad’s grasp for the previous month, wrapped in brandy-laden cheesecloth.
My food addiction grew exponentially after leaving home and being in the company of a true Scotsman. Enter January’s birthday boy, the Bard Robbie Burns and the traditional feast of haggis, neeps, tatties (that’s turnips & potatoes), culminating with delectable trifle and shortbread.
Doing some world travel enhanced my taste buds even more.
All the different countries with their special celebration meals drew me in like a moth to light, especially the sweet sweet light. If you’ve ever participated in Diwali you know what I’m talking about…
I love Indian foods but when it came to the Mithai (sweets) I could not get enough… the milk fudge and the burfi. As soon as we returned to Canada I sussed out the closest East Indian deli & became a dedicated customer.
Recently I had another birthday (ya it happens every year) and I was reminiscing about my Mom, June, and how special she always made my (and my two sisters’) birthdays – we’re all Scorpios, born a year & a week apart.
She was a consummate baker, so I come by my sweet tooth honestly. We always had dessert, that is if you cleaned your plate first (no problem with that one!). It could be butter tarts, Chelsea buns, pies, or any manner of cake.
But I digress – the magic event: birthdays. For our parties she would bake bread of all colours – blue, green, pink, purple and make wee sandwiches with them. But it was that birthday cake that I remember the most. It was a Money Cake. She would wrap pennies, nickels, a few dimes and one quarter in waxed paper & stuff the baked cake, then cover the whole thing with icing.
Humm, it does seem that for me all the year’s celebrations culminate in gastronomical delights. That’s the up-side. And the down-side? 4 words, almost like a mantra to me: Bread basket, Sugar thighs. Luckily Thanksgiving, Diwali, my birthday and Christmas all lead closely into New Years and the dreaded resolution conundrum.
So the question is, can I just wait for New Years to swear off breads & sugars? That gives me less than a month to savour the seasonal sweets while gathering my courage and resolve for 2023.
Yes, it’s doable. Which means that I can do up a batch of my newest treat, an old recipe with a twist, a special mincemeat tart so easy & yummy that I’m going to share it with other like minds right now; that is right after I get my taste buds ready for the Cedar Women’s Institute Christmas party. Gotta love those seasonal parties!
The table is set for Cedar Women’s Institute Christmas party.
Bessie’s Christmas Freezer Tarts
ingredients:
300 ml Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup mincemeat
1/4 cup rum
20 tart shells
Combine Eagle brand with lemon juice, fold in mincemeat, sour cream & rum. Spoon into baked shells and freeze. Remove 20 minutes before eating.
Well, I just eat them direct from the freezer!
Wishing you’all a happy, healthy and delicious holiday season, as I juggle baking and farming on that 20-acre slice of Paradise in Cedar, along with this post script message:
Dear New Year’s Resolution,
Well it was fun while it lasted.
Sincerely,
January 2nd
Jackie Moad.
World Traveler.
Environmentalist.
Organic Farmer.
See all articles by Jackie Moad