Blue Elderflower Sparkle

This is a real quickie – great for a sundowner. I got something similar as a gift once, but have followed my own pleasure and I have to say, the results are luscious!

Serve while they’re still dancing up and down, enveloped in bubbles.

Peri-Peri Fish

                                                                                                                                    14 January 2015

Serves 4                                                                                                                                    

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe, but when I posted our weekly menu to Facebook and Instagram my cousin asked to share the recipe. After making it my mom and hubby both felt it was delicious enough to share, so here you go.

Cold Christmas Eggnog

Serves 6-8

This is not winning any health awards (uncooked egg which freaks some people out, not to mention cream), but I make it every year and every year no one complains and everyone finds it delightfully intoxicating. Some have even referred to it as liquid milk tart. So there.

What’s even better is you can whip it up with what you have in the pantry a few minutes before you start opening your gifts on Christmas Eve.

Ginger-Nut No Cake Trifle

(Originally Nataniël’s Red Grape Trifle)

Serves 10

Allow enough time for two sets of jelly to set

Another one of my Christmas recipes that I borrowed and changed to suit my pantry. Find Nataniël’s original, jelly-free Red Grape Trifle on expressoshow.com. This banting safe summer desert is a fresh cool-down after a heavy meal.

Christmas Gammon Relish

Serves 10

For much of my pre-Christmas Christmas lunch with our friends I decided to use some Woolies recipes.  I made this one for myself really, as I thought the flavours would be too strong for most people, but Woolies proved once again to know what they’re doing. This was a hit with both the gammon and turducken!

Pumpkin Casserole

Serves 10 - 12

It pains me deeply to admit that this incredible and incredibly simple recipe was not passed on from my family (in fact, I passed it on to my family). I went a-browsing one day for a pumpkin “pie” that you serve with the main course and took all the work out of it for you! The original was submitted to allrecipes.com by Lori DeLosh.

It’s madly popular with everyone who tastes it and has been had for seconds, thirds, desert, afternoon seconds and breakfast.  So seeing as though there’s always some milk and pumpkin left, I normally make mine one and half times.

Deliciously creamy golden goodness just into the oven.

Hot Buttered Rum

Serves 3

I first became intrigued with “Hot Buttered Rum” during an episode of Frasier where Martie makes a batch for the lot at a ski lodge. There’s no hard science to this recipe though. I’ve made a couple of variants and it all depends on how creamy or unhealthy you want it. Also, I’m a massive believer in units of measure such as “glug”, “scoop”, “pinch” and “shake”. Have fun with it till it suits your palate.

Twelve Plus One Tiger Christmas Tales: Part 2

Advent

Date: 31 November 2014 – 24 December 2014

Gift: Advent Calendar

Price: R70 – R170, depending on whether or not Lindt made the chocolate in your advent calendar

Food: HotButtered Rum and the chocolate from your advent calendar

Saint: Andrew the Apostle

Scripture: John 1 (you can get a free copy of the English Standard Version Bible on Kindle)

Activity: Preparation

A large part of the excitement of Christmas is the preparation time leading up to it.  Putting up and decorating of the tree, baking cookies and fruit cakes, singing carols and shopping for gifts in the festively decorated stores.  Retailers are particularly fond of promoting certain gifts as appropriate for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  All of this leads up to the wonderful day filled with strewn wrapping paper and stuffed stomachs… and then it’s all over.