Monday 13 December 2021

Monday: Advent day thirteen

Good morning!  I have no idea what it's like outside yet; I got the freezer stuff in yesterday evening.  Yesterday was a mix of a day with some sun and some drizzle and fairly mild.
Thank you all for your absolutely lovely comments about the wreath.  I like it very much but I guess when you make something you are always looking for ways to improve next year.  I've put myself at the top of the list for next year and have invited Beth to come along too - she will absolutely love it, I know.

The Christmas door mats are out and the usual ones are spanking clean and tucked away for a few weeks.  The Christmas doormats don't do such a good job but they look festive!

I set to and had a go at mince pies, making my own pastry from the recipe Chris gave me which is actually a very old Mary Berry recipe.   I needed to adapt it slightly as the fats were a mix of butter, hard margarine and lard.  Beth can't have lard so I added the lard amount to the butter and found some 'baking fat' (delightful name) in M&S which is veggie-friendly (as is marg but M&S didn't have hard marg).  Mum always used to say that lard made the best, shortest pastry but when Beth became vegetarian she stopped using it for anything that Beth might be able to eat.
I was a bit unsure but went for it.  
And you know what - when I did the absolutely necessary quality testing, they were delicious.  I may have found a pastry recipe that works for me, amazingly.  What recipe do you use for shortcrust pastry?

They *look* OK too.  :-)

Through the day I did some washing as I noticed the clothes basket was overflowing somewhat and later on I was able to do some ironing too although there's still plenty to finish off this morning.  

I filled in an online form thingy relating to my booster vaccine tomorrow and must remember to check the route today.

Most of today is usual Monday stuff.  Circuit training is back at Lindsey's again and tuition is the last before Christmas so I MUST remember the pressies.
The Christmas thing is getting the blue room sorted.  I have Santa bunting to put up and a bed to make with a festive cover.  
I have to pay my car tax today but that's a most simple matter, involving a few clicks, checking my mileage and entering payment details.  Gone are the days when one had to trudge down to the post office and come home with a little paper circle to slot in the tax holder.
And finally, I think I will make a few more mince pies.  It's on the calendar for tomorrow but I might not really feel like it tomorrow.

Today's Advent music is John Rutter's lovely 'Star Carol'
'Sing this night for a boy is born in Bethlehem'
Lovely!


When living in Sydenham, I used to go to a ladies choir, the Sydenham Singers, which started off as an adult education thingy, and this was one of the pieces we sang one Christmas.  It's really set for s.a.t.b. but we did an arrangement for ladies voices.

24 comments:

  1. Those mince pies look yummy. I think I can smell them**** Val

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was really surprised. I love cooking, etc, but my mince pies have never really been up to much. They did smell good as they were baking . . .
      xx

      Delete
  2. I love reading all your Christmas preparations. I’m afraid I have given up the effort.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (((hugs)))
      We all celebrate in different ways. As I've said before, I think I am trying to sort of compensate. I think it is helping.
      xx

      Delete
  3. Yes, the wreath looks gorgeous and fits your front door beautifully!

    I was interested to read that you are checking the mileage in conjunction of renewing the car tax. I renewed mine yesterday and there was no mention of mileage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh - I'm sure they ask for mileage. I could be wrong, of course. Hang on, I will check . . .
      You are absolutely right, I don't need to and I've just paid. I wonder where I got that from then? Weird.
      xx

      Delete
  4. Shortcrust pastry, the way my mother did it. Always half fat to flour (being in France, the fat is always butter but I did used to use half butter, half Trex). As much water as it needs to just hold together. Salt and a teaspoon of sugar (makes it crisper). For mince pies I make a richer pastry and often use orange juice instead of water.

    Nowadays I do frangipane mince pies, I prefer a lower ratio of pastry to filling. See: http://www.larecettedujour.org/2012/12/mince-pies-with-frangipane-topping.php Yours look lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link and I like the idea of adding a bit of sugar to make it sweeter.
      I bet they tasted lovely - they look so good.
      xx

      Delete
    2. If you've got hot hands, use a Delia trick: take two table knives, one in each hand, and use in a criss-cross motion to cut the fat in. You'll probably need to finish off with your fingers to get rid of the last bigger bits, but much less risk of overworking. Also, after adding the water and mixing roughly, tip it out of the bowl before it holds together and do "frasage" -- use the heel of one hand to push the mixture, kind of smearing it together without actually kneading it. A professional chef taught me this. Once you've got the knack the whole procedure takes 5 minutes.

      Delete
    3. Now that's clever - thank you very much! xx

      Delete
  5. Those mince pies look really professional. I just follow a simple recipe for pastry half fat to flour and a pinch of salt, I think I've done that since my school days. I use Naturli vegan Block for baking and the spread version for my toast, it really is the best dairy-free butter alternative. Stork also do a block butter suitable for veggies and vegans, and it's only £1.

    Car tax is so easy to do nowadays isn't it, as you say no digging out of documents and queueing with everyone at the Post Office with people huffing and puffing because you weren't just buying stamps. And I just click a few things and off I go, no fee at all for my Fiat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mine is £20 - a big change from the £160 I paid for my last car. Beth's is like yours, no fee.
      Thanks for the info on vegan alternatives. It's always worth knowing. I just couldn't do the basic pastry - it always came out like rock! This latest recipe is a bit more complicated in terms of ingredients but it has worked out well so no complaints from me.
      xx

      Delete
  6. I just buy ready made pastry and in fact bought two blocks the other day. Somuch for my low carb diet :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. < chuckle > You have to have a bit of pastry over Christmas!
      xx

      Delete
  7. I do what my mum taught me - half fat to flour, pinch of salt and water to mix. My sister's attempts came out like a rock because she always overworked it but she has got better! Your latest attempt looks good enough to eat 😊 xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I tend to overwork it in and I do have quite warm hands usually.
      xx

      Delete
  8. What a gorgeous wreath! You are so talented. The mince pies look delicious, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. It does look nice on my front door.
      When Christmas is all over, I will take off the embellishments - those that won't go off anyway, and keep them for my artificial base next year, I think.
      xx

      Delete
  9. Can you share the pastry recipe? My newest daughter in law is a vegetarian.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can, yes. This is what I did.

      It made twelve-ish.
      225g SR (yes) flour
      75g cold, diced butter
      50g hard margarine - check it is vegetarian friendly
      one beaten egg and some milk

      Rub the fats into the flour until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the egg and a little milk and mix until it forms a soft dough. Bring it all together with your hands, wrap it and chill it for half an hour or so.

      Roll out, make the mince pies (I used a non stick shallow but tin and oiled it) and bake at 180C for fifteen minutes or so>

      A useful tip is to let them cool in the tin, make sure they are loose, and pop the whole lot, covered, in the freezer, removing them from the tin and into a box once they are hard.

      For my second lot, I also added the zest of an orange and that was nice. You could also ass a bit of caster sugar if sweetness and, Sue said, to make the pastry crisper.

      I will dredge them with icing sugar before serving them.

      If you are lucky enough to have a Thermomix, here's the method
      Add the flour and the fats and pulse, 3 x 1 second.
      Add the egg and a splash of m ilk and mix speed 4, with the measuring cup off so you can see what's happening - it only takes a few seconds to come together. Add a little more milk, if necessary.

      Tip it out, bring it together into a dough with hands and then continue as above.

      Hope this helps. xx

      Delete
  10. Your mince pies look wonderful. Lovely touch putting a Christmas star on top.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The ones I made yesterday (Monday) have a Christmas tree on top - that looks cute too.
      xx

      Delete
  11. Those mince pies look delicious. I still haven't got round to making mine yet. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's plenty of time still - mine are all now in the freezer.
      xx

      Delete