Litha Feasting: Lemon preserving and Lamb Recipes

If you are like us any Sabbat requires celebrating the good fortune of food around us. For this Sabbat we are lucky to have some lamb from the nearby salt marshes and I thought as we are celebrating the longest day of sunshine we would go for a Moroccan dish as this has some lovely ingredients such as apricots and lemons, reminiscent of the sun in shape and colour. In searching for recipes I found that the one I wanted to use needed preserved lemons. Now I know you can buy these, but half the fun of this path is learning together with Littleun so we decided to make ours (plus it’s a lot cheaper!).

For the lemons we have the following recipe and all I’d say is if you have any cuts do put on some food gloves first!

Ingredients
8-10 Meyer lemons*, scrubbed very clean
1/2 cup salt, more if needed
Extra fresh squeezed lemon juice, if needed
Sterilized quart canning jar

* You don't need to use Meyer lemons, regular lemons will do, it's just that the milder Meyer lemons work very well for preserving in this way.

1 Place 2 Tbsp of salt in the bottom of a sterilized jar.
2 One by one, prepare the lemons in the following way. Cut off any protruding stems from the lemons, and cut 1/4 inch off the tip of each lemon. Cut the lemons as if you were going to cut them in half lengthwise, starting from the tip, but do not cut all the way. Keep the lemon attached at the base. Make another cut in a similar manner, so now the lemon is quartered, but again, attached at the base.
3 Pry the lemons open and generously sprinkle salt all over the insides and outsides of the lemons.
4 Pack the lemons in the jar, squishing them down so that juice is extracted and the lemon juice rises to the top of the jar. Fill up the jar with lemons; make sure the top is covered with lemon juice. Add more fresh squeezed lemon juice if necessary. Top with a couple tablespoons of salt.
5 Seal the jar and let sit at room temperature for a couple days. Turn the jar upside down occasionally. Put in refrigerator and let sit, again turning upside down occasionally, for at least 3 weeks, until lemon rinds soften.
6 To use, remove a lemon from the jar and rinse thoroughly in water to remove salt. Discard seeds before using. Discard the pulp before using, if desired.
7 Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Now that we have done this we can use them on Litha to add to our Tagine recipe:

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Ingredients
1.5kg shoulder of lamb
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp cumin seeds
olive oil
2 or 3 preserved lemons, chopped
2 onions
1 good handful dried apricots, chopped
1 good handful sultanas
Black olives
Fresh mint, roughly chopped to serve

Instructions

In a non-stick fry pan gently toast the coriander and cumin seeds until they become fragrant but don't allow to burn.
Tip the seeds into a pestle and mortar and crush with a pinch of salt.
Add the ground seeds to the lamb with a good drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, and the preserved lemons. Work all the flavours into the meat and leave to marinate.
Roughly chop the onions and put in the base of your tagine.
Then add the apricots and the sultanas followed by the lamb.
Next add some black olives, mix well to distribute the flavours and put the lid on.
Cook for about 3-4 hours at 160°C.
When cooked, sprinkle with the chopped mint and serve.

Oh I can’t wait!

Sundried Tomato Bread

Last year some friends of ours gave me some jars of tomatoes they had dried. Yummy and tasty they were too. And gone in a flash. or so I thought until Sunday when in a bit of a need to cheer up mood I went hunting through the cupboard to try and track down a lost bar of chocolate. There in the back corner was one remaining jar. Problem was I had nothing except cheese to eat it with. So after hearing a certain Someone say how well their loaf had turned out I thought well that's what I'll do, use some in a loaf and scoff the rest with the cheese.

Rather nice with the chutney and cider it was too:

Sundried Tomato Bread Recipe

you will need;

425gms of strong white bread flour

1tsp salt

40gms Parmesan Cheese (though I used the strong cheddar and that worked fine)

50gms Sundried Tomatoes chopped and drained

3tbsp Sundried Tomato Paste

2tbsp Oregano or Rosemary finely chopped

7gms Yeast

225ml Warm Water

Method:

Put the flour, salt cheese, tomatoes and paste into a large bowl. Add the chopped herbs and yeast then pour in the warm water.

Mix together with your hands until mixture combines to make a rough dough ball.

Tip dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch and knead the dough four about 10 mins till smooth ad elastic.

Shape into greased tin press indentations and scatter the extra herbs, drizzle with some of the oil from the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt.

Cover loosely with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30-40 mins).

Preheat oven to 220c/gas 7. Remove clingfilm from dough and reduce temp to 200c/gas 6. Bake for 35mins till golden.

Scoff.

Rocky Road in a Stocking

Littleun has made quite a few new friends and he has found it difficult to choose who he would like to give gifts to this Yule. So we came up with an idea that meant he could give out a few without breaking the bank. Rocky Road in a bag. We were lucky as last year in the sales I managed to nab a brilliant deal on stockings (no not my leg coverings but the sort you hang up for Father Christmas). Lovely deep red velvets with fun appliquéd characters and just the right size. Well the idea is get all the ingredients (minus the butter) for the recipe, put them into the stocking with the printout on how to and tie the top with a ribbon. Hey presto, you have a gift which Littleun has helped put together and which his friends can make and do with their own families. If you fancy doing similar this is the recipe for Rocky Road (and yes couldn’t resist had to make some for ourselves, boy am I putting the weight on this year!).

Rocky Road Cake

400g bar milk chocolate
1 tin of condensed milk
100g butter
Bag of marshmallows
Tub of glace cherries
Packet of digestive biscuits
Raisins or sultanas

Put the digestive biscuits in a thick plastic bag and roughly crush so that you end up with nice chunky biscuit pieces, then set aside.
Melt the chocolate and the butter together on a low heat (or in the microwave), then once melted, add the condensed milk, mixing thoroughly.
Take the chocolate mixture off the heat and add in the digestive biscuit and all the other ingredients. Mix well. You can add as little or as much as you like of the other ingredients and vary it to suit your tastes.
Tip the mixture into a tin lined with cling film (this well help you later!), flatten out into the tin, and place in the fridge to set. When set, cut into pieces and turn out.

my camera has stopped working so photo credit is Tristan Tristan

A Turkish offering

We all like a sweet or too, sticky indulgence that we know we really shouldn’t eat but oh just so have too. One of my dad’s favourites is Turkish delight. (Known as rahat lokum meaning giving rest to the throat). It’s pretty with its subtle soft colours and aromatic flavouring plus is a lovely thing to make at home and give out when our friends come and visit at Yule.

To make you will need:
3 tbs gelatine powder
400g sugar
1 tsp rosewater or to taste
2-3 drops of red food colouring
2 teaspoons cornflour
200g icing sugar
An 18 cm square cake tin wetted with water

Put 300ml water into a heavy based saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat then sprinkle in the gelatine and stir with metal spoon until melted. Add the sugar and stir continuously until dissolved

Return to the boil and continue boiling for 10 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the rosewater and colouring.

Strain through sieve lined with muslin into the prepared cake tin and let cool. Leave to stand overnight to set.

Next day, sift the cornflour and icing sugar into a bowl, then sprinkle a thick layer onto a work surface. Transfer remaining powder mixture into a plastic bag.

Remove the Turkish Delight from the cake tin, loosening the edges if necessary with a wet knife and dipping the base of the tin into hot water for a few seconds. Turn out onto coated work surface and cut into 3cm squares.

Put the squares into the bag, together with any sugar mix left on the work surface, seal the bag and shake well until they are thick and evenly covered.

Pack into an airtight container and sprinkle over any remaining sugar mix.

Variations:
Orange Delight: Instead of the rosewater and red colouring add 1 tbs strained orange juice, 1 tsp orange flower water and 1 tbs ground crystallized orange rind at the same time as the sugar, prceed as above.

Lemon Nut Delight: Instead of the rosewater and red colouring stir through 1 tbs strained lemon juice. When mixture is beginning to set carefully stir through 40g blanched, chopped almonds or pistachios and proceed as main recipe.

Stained Glass Ginger Biscuits

Ok it’s still rubbish weather wise here so have warmed the house with the smell of ginger. We often make goodies as gifts for friends at Yule and this year is no different. We have hampers ready with yummy things like our chutney from the summer and the apple schnapps soon ready to be poured into individual bottles. But one of the other things we like making are decorations and if that can be combined with food all the better.

We have put together some bits and bobs that the Littleuns can make (with a bit of help from the adults) and our first foody one are these delicious biscuits. Make them, hang them or just eat them.

To make you will need:

Cookie/biscuit cutters, we used stars, bells and house. Two of each is helpful, one smaller than the other.
Baking sheet.
Greaseproof paper

For the biscuits:
350g/12oz plain flour, extra for dusting
1tsp Bicarbonate of soda
½tsp salt
2tsp ground ginger
100g/3½oz butter
175g/6oz soft brown sugar
1 free-range egg, beaten
4tbsp golden syrup
Packet of fruit flavoured boiled sweets, different colours.
To decorate:
Tube of readymade white icing
Narrow ribbon
Ice sugar/dust

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas 4
For the biscuits mix the flour bicarbonate of soda salt and ginger together in a bowl.
Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, and then stir in the sugar.
In another bowl, beat together the egg and golden syrup, pour this mixture into the flour mixture and mix to make a smooth dough, kneading lightly with your hands.
Crush the sweets in a bag using a rolling pin.
Roll out the dough on a floured work top to about 5mm/¼inch thick, and then cut into the shapes chosen. Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet lined with the paper.
Cut out the centre of each biscuit making sure you leave a good edge all around the biscuits, completely fill the hole in each biscuit with broken sweets.
Make a hole at the top of each biscuit so that you can later thread the ribbon through. Bake for 10-12 mins or until golden brown.
Remove biscuits from oven and whilst they are still warm check that the holes are still there if not gently re-make. Leave on tray until cooled. Once cooled pipe icing in patterns wanted around the biscuits, you can dip in the ice dust if you want a snow-ish feel to it. Thread ribbon and hang.

Mabon making but Yule drinking...

Apple Schnapps

YAY I hear you cry, not another cake or jam recipe phew. No its one for the adults. Recommended to me by a Scandinavian friend this recipe is for a knock your boots off apple schnapps. Make it now at Mabon with your apples harvested and store for the few months to drink in winter or give as gifts.

Use fresh, fully ripe and aromatic apples. Wild or cultivated. Organic if available. You can use almost any variety. So start with your favourite one, then try some other varieties.

Direction:

Wash and slice 1-2 apples. Leave the skin on.
Put them - and also the cores - in a clean glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
Cover with clear, unflavoured vodka - 40% alcohol content (80 proof).

Let steep for two months or more in a dark place at room temperature, 18-20°C (64-68°F).

Shake lightly and taste it from time to time.

Strain and filter your infusion into a clean glass bottle or jar with tight-fitting lid.

You can serve your apple schnapps after it has settled for a couple of days in a dark place at room temperature. But some storage (aging) will improve the flavours. Taste it from time to time to find out.

Mea'n Fo'mhair/Mabon: Crab Apple Jelly

Ok, well you just knew with all the crops from our allotment/Dads garden this year was going to turn into recipe after recipe. And I hope you don't mind. We are also going to be trying out different crafts too so hopefully some variation for you!

For a recipe based on the crab apples we collected you will need:


Preserving sugar (see method)
1kg/2¼lb crab apples
3 cloves
water (see method)

Method

Preheat the oven to 120c/250f/gas½. Put the preserving sugar into the oven for 15 mins. Wash the apples and cut them in half but do not peel or core. Place the apples and cloves in a large saucepan.

Pour the water to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until soft. Strain the mixture into a bowl. Measure the juice and ass 450g/1lb/2 cups of sugar for each 600ml/1pint/2½ cups of juice. Pour into a pan and heat gently. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then boil rapidly until the setting point is reached. Pour into warm sterilized jars and seal.

Chocolate Cake (with a twist)

Do you have kids who love the naughty foods but aren't so great with the good veg foods etc? Well a friend of mine did so when they came round we got her littleun and mine to do some baking. This recipe mixed the fun of chocolate with the goodness of the secret ingredient... Courgette/zucchini.

to make you will need

450g courgettes/zucchini, peeled

250g butter, softened

250g light brown soft sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

125ml milk

1tsp baking powder

350g self-raising flour

4tbsp cocoa powder

cake tin 30x20cm greased

Method:

Turn oven to 180c/350f/gas4.

Cut greaseproof paper to tin size to add extra protection.

Grate courgettes/zucchini finely.

Put softened butter, sugar and extract into bowl and beat with wooden spoon.

Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk with fork.

Gradually add eggs to the mixture, add the milk and whisk together.

Carefully sieve in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Taking a metal spoon fold the mixture.

Spoon mix into the tin then bake for between 35 and 45 mins.

Test centre of cake with skewer and if right leave to cool.

Sit back and stuff yourself silly...

Lammas/Lughnasadh: Courgette (Zucchini) Chutney Recipe

Sorry it’s yet another recipe day...

I like to make things (just in case you hadn’t already noticed that!) and definitely enjoy cooking as it’s both a great thing to do for your health and for the family unit to be together. Apart from our crafty things food is a big part of our life, from the planting and growing to the wondering what on earth we will be doing with all the crops we have managed to get.

This year, as in previous, we have a mass of courgettes and tomatoes. So I have again decided to make a chutney, lasts a long time and is something most people like so makes great gifts. It will also go well for our Lammas feast as an alternative to the rhubarb relish for the cheeses.

To make the chutney you will need:
4 lb courgettes
2lb 8oz onions
2lb 8oz brown sugar
Large piece of fresh ginger
1/2 tspn pepper
2 pints malt vinegar
2 heads of garlic
2lb 8oz tomatoes
1 tspn cayenne pepper
2 tspn salt
6 1lb sterilised jars and vinegar proof lids or parfait/kilner

Chop all the vegetables, add vinegar, sugar and spices and bring slowly to the boil, stirring now and again. If the courgettes have a tough skin, you can peel them and compost the skins.
Simmer for about two hours (don't forget to stir as it will stick) until thick.
Pour into heated jars and seal.

Needs at least 3 months to mature, which is why I, Blue Peter style, am using one I made earlier!

4 days to go yippee...

Recipe from allotment.org.uk

Strawberry Jam

Oh where has this week gone? I turn around intending to keep up a regular post and oops suddenly the joys of being outside has meant a whole week has passed!

One of the things we have done a fair bit of this last couple of weeks is make jams. Littleun is a strawberry addict, he enjoys everything to do with them from picking to munching as long as there can be a bit of cooking in between with them then happy days. As such, with the strawberry season in full flow, we headed off to the local PYO which is nicely hidden away so always has lots of juicy red gems.

Having picked our fruits we headed back home to dig out the jam boiler. You will need 1kg of sugar to every kilo of strawberries, Lemons and butter.

First you need to wash the strawberries and hull them, cutting out any overripe or bad/bruised parts. Then I like to cut them in half or quarters, put them in the pan with about half the sugar and leave them overnight. this gives them chance to break down a bit and seems to work better for me when starting the boiling process the next day.

Now this is something that obviously gets hot so if like me you have a littleun keen to help but also on the clumsy side you can get them drawing the labels whilst the boiling happens. You also need to sort out your jars and sterilize them. This can be done by washing them in hot soapy water and then rinsing thoroughly before putting them into the oven on a low temp for about ½ hour. Wash lids and boil.

Slowly bring to the boil so the sugar dissolves, then add the rest. You will also need to add pectin if you aren't using the pectin-added sugars but are using ordinary granulated. Pectin is something you can buy in jars (normally made in that case from apples) or you can use lemon juice. Once the sugar is completely dissolved bring to a roiling boil and stir to stop the bottom burning out. You can add a knob of butter to help reduce the frothing. Boil rapidly for 10-15 mins and then test for setting.

To test for setting you need to have put a plate in the chiller. Take the cold plate out and drop a bit of the jam onto it, if after a min or so you run your finger through it and it is wrinkly like a jelly then it is set, if it doesn't do that then you need to return to the boil for a bit longer, testing every few mins until reached.

When set, leave to cool for a few mins, stir a bit to mix any fruits evenly. Pour into warm sterilized jars and the add the wax disks leaving to cool. When cool use cellophane disks to seal tops and the lids.

Of course once you get going if you are like us you'll end up with tons of jams from all fruits. Looking forward to making some with the blackberries we currently have growing on the allotment.

Alban Heruin/Litha: Sun cake recipe

I’m always one looking for an excuse to eat cake and Lemon cake is a favourite too so thought why not make some with Littleun but instead of my usual loaf tin shape go for a round, that way when the icing is drizzled on it will look like a sunshine burst of colour. It will be a nice addition to our Litha/Midsummer picnic feast. Of course just to make sure it works we have to have a trial run so if you need to “test the waters” with me here is a scrummy recipe for you to try:

• 115g unsalted butter, softened

• 115g caster sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 180g ground almonds

• 30g poppy seeds

• zest and juice of 2 lemons

• 125g self-raising flour, sifted for the lemon syrup

• 100g caster sugar

• 90g lemon juicefor the lemon icing

• 225g icing sugar

• zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Using an electric whisk, beat the butter with the caster sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs one by one, beating each in well. Fold in your ground almonds, poppy seeds, the lemon zest and juice and the sifted flour. Spoon the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until lightly golden.You can check to see if the cake is cooked by poking a cocktail stick right into the sponge.

Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked; if slightly sticky it needs a little longer, so put it back in the oven. Allow the cake to cool on a rack.

Make your lemon syrup by heating the sugar and lemon juice in a pan until the sugar has dissolved. While your cake is still warm, make lots of little holes in the top with a cocktail stick and pour your syrup over.

To make your icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest and juice, stirring until smooth. When your cake is almost cool, put it on a serving plate and pour the icing carefully over the top. If you pour it on to the middle of the cake, then let gravity disperse the icing down the sides, you get the ‘drizzle’ effect.

Imbolc Food; Sheep’s cheese and Milk Bread

Imbolc is a time of year where the milk supplies were very important. The word Imbolc comes in part from the phrase "ewe's milk," so dairy products became a big part of February celebrations. This time of year was hard for our ancestors, crop stores were very low with no fresh ones to replenish them. They had livestock pregnant and the lambing season would begin soon. As the ewes came into milk they knew they would have food again.
Making as much of our food is very important for me, not just for the Sabbats but all year round if possible so to combine the two and to have some recipes that the Littleun can easily join in we have made some sheep’s cheese and milk bread. You can use other milks such as goats.


Sheep’s Cheese; Makes 2 x 500g cheeses

Ingredients

1.7l fresh sheep's milk
10 drops vegetarian rennet (or follow the packet instructions)

1. Put the milk in a saucepan and heat gently until it reaches 37°C (blood temperature). If you don't have a cook's thermometer, dip your finger into the milk. When you can't feel the liquid - i.e., it is neither hotter nor colder than your hand - you'll know it's at blood temperature.
2. Take the pan off the heat and add the vegetarian rennet. Give it a quick stir then leave the curds and whey to separate (about 15 minutes). Use a sharp knife to cut the curd into small chunks (about 2.5cm) in the pan.
3. Line two sieves (or one very large one) with two layers of fine, untreated muslin. Place each sieve over a bowl. Spoon the cut curds and whey into the muslin. Gather up the corners of the muslin and tie them with string, then suspend the bundles over bowls overnight to allow the whey to drain away, leaving you with lovely, creamy soft cheese.

Milk Bread Makes 1 large loaf, Takes 50 minutes, plus proving

Ingredients

750g strong plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp salt
75g butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
300ml milk

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and add the salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it's like breadcrumbs. Tip in the yeast and sugar.
2. Pour the milk into a large measuring jug and stir in 150ml water. Microwave on high for 2 minutes until warm. (Or warm in a pan over a medium heat.) Add to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Use your hands to mix the dough until it forms a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
3. Sprinkle a work surface with flour, then tip the dough onto it. Stretch and work the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into an oblong shape.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7. Grease a 900g loaf tin and add the dough. Cover with greased cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 25 minutes, until the dough is almost at the top. Discard the cling film, dust with some extra flour and bake for 30 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes.

A great way of warming up and doing things together, not so good on the waistline though...

Rothenburg Schneeballen (Snowballs)

So Domestic Witch has again come up with a fun thing for us to join in with, Balls! The rules are simple, has to be a ball, has to be edible. So here is my contribution, The Rothenburg Schneeballen. A lovely pastry dish made famous in this town. You can get it plain, covered in chocolate or pretty much any topping you like. I visited Rothenburg years ago and have been trying to get back there ever since. It’s a beautiful town and well worth a visit with lots to see and do but the best bit is sitting on the wall watching the world go by as your breath is freezing in front of you and you get to warm up with a mug of Glühwein and a Schneeballen.

Recipe:
1 c all-purpose flour, minus 1 tbsp

2 tbsp sugar

2-3 tbsp butter

2 egg yolks

Dash of dark rum

Sauterne or white wine

Combine all ingredients. Mix with hands. Add rum and wine to make dough. Knead about 15 to 10 minutes, adding flour from board as necessary, until dough feels like velvet; cover and let rest in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Roll out thin on floured board and cut into squares. String on the handle end of a wooden spoon, and carefully place in preheated deep-fryer. Fry until golden. Drain on brown paper bag. Roll in cinnamon sugar mixture of confectioners sugar.

They have a special strainer type tool to help keep the shape but I found it impossible to get one so I use a round tea infuser/strainer instead, seems to work ok.

I did want to cheat and do a typical cocktail drink that my friend loves but I couldn’t do anything about it staying “round” as per the rules. However my sister said “but you could serve it in a round glass” so after consideration I’ve added that recipe too. Think I might be getting a little tipsy this winter...

Snowball cocktail

2 oz Advocaat

Top up Lemonade

1/2 oz Fresh Lime juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great Christmas drink from an easy to make recipe!

Schneeballen Recipe from BJGourmet

Photos top: flickr member; danielperscke, bottom flickr member; jcitcy

Festive fun: Homemade Mince-meat

Well hello to you all who have travelled over from Domestic Witch. This is the first time I’ve joined in with anything like this so please accept the slightly rough edges I may have! Just in case you’re interested I thought I’d introduce myself a little.

My name is Jen and I’m a single(ish) mum of a 4year old Littleun. Together we have fun trying to live a Pagan life doing the most we can for our little bit towards looking after the Earth and without interfering much in others lives. We can often be found wandering the hills, woods and beaches surrounding our little town. I’m a firm believer in eating good organic food and we have made a start towards this by growing our own and trying to cook most things from scratch, if this means I get to try a little homemade wine or treats on the way all the better! Which brings me to my homemade gift, Mincemeat.

To make our version of this you’ll need the following:

Makes approx 4-5lbs
½lb / 225g cooking apples
½lb / 225g currants
½lb / 225g stoned raisins
½lb / 225g sultanas
4oz / 115g glace cherries
4oz / 115g chopped mixed peel
4oz / 115g shelled walnuts
8oz / 225g shredded suet or vegetarian version
1lb / 450g Demerara sugar
2 level tsp mixed spice
3-4 fl oz brandy or rum or your favourite tipple, though avoid cream liquors

Peel core and chop the apples. Clean and mince the dried fruits. Mix in a large bowl with the nuts and the apples. Blend in the suet, sugar and spice. Add enough brandy or rum to give a moist mixture. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave for 48 hours to allow the fruit to swell. Stir well and put the mincemeat into sterilized jars, seal and cover as for jam. Leave for 3-4 weeks to mature.

Random mincemeat facts:

Mincemeat pie is thought to originally be based upon an ancient Pagan tradition of serving coffin-shapped cakes representing Osiris, the ritual taking place at the winter solstice and later co-opted by the Christians. The pies in mediaeval times were larger and baked open but after time a crust was added with an effigy of the infant Jesus as a representation of him in his cradle, known as a crib cake.

Mincemeat was once made with meats such as partridge, pigeon, hare, rabbits or beef as well as the fruit, sugars, spices and alcohol.

A recipe from a cookbook form the mid 16thc called “ A proper newe booke of cokerye” shows a pie very similar to our modern pie.

Oliver Cromwell, the self-proclaimed Lord Protector of England from 1649 until 1658, detested Christmas as a pagan holiday. Oliver Cromwell's Puritan Council abolished Christmas on December 22, 1657. In London, soldiers were ordered to go round the streets and take, by force if necessary, food being cooked for a Christmas celebration. The smell of a goose being cooked could bring trouble. Cromwell considered pies as a guilty, forbidden pleasure. The traditional mincemeat pie was banned. King Charles II restored Christmas when he ascended the throne in 1660.

More than 3,000 metric tonnes of Robertson’s mincemeat is sold in the run-up to the 25th.

The government of Pitt the Younger formed on 18th December 1783 was satirically dubbed the mince-pie administration as it was widely believed that it wouldn’t last till Christmas.

Now don’t forget to stuff yourself silly! Hope you liked my ramblings and do feel free to travel back to visit and comment whenever you fancy. Good Yule and Seasons Greetings to you all.