of our youth times, remember on old man the pleasures of
his youth, and transport the traveler back into his
own fireside and quiet home!
- Charles Dickens
Isn’t it so real..? in my own situation, no matter if it is xmas or Onam, the festival season simply takes myself back again to those good ole times while the clouds of nostalgia envelope myself and finally I get drowned inside waves of memories of childhood and teenage, those years We spent aware of my family…..and as much as I enjoy vacation spirit right here with CJJ, I skip those family members get-togethers and knowingly or unwittingly If only for any occasion period in which our home is crowded with our families and buddies and our nieces and nephews playing around, with a lot of love and laughter…..yeah, We skip house!!!
Though developing up in a Hindu family, our moms and dads never ever deprived united states of experiencing the festive spirits floating around, especially through the Christmas period…….for myself and my buddy, it had been that magical period of the year when our parent would hang those colourful, radiant stars…..sometimes enhancing a little tree within yard with strands of multi-colored lights and holding crepe paper streamers and balloons and I also still remember the 12 months in which we painted a large dried branch of a tree white and put cotton balls, to recreate the snowfall flakes on pine trees from our story publications…..those times White-Christmas was a just a romantic photo from some as yet not known fairy land!!! Another cherished memory is crossing those jam-packed roadways, tightly keeping my father’s hand and hitting the general store for purchasing the Christmas time cards in which my dad would literally drop their persistence over our indecisiveness, after that finding its way back house and writing those cards, showing our most readily useful penmanship…..oh, i simply want I could freeze those moments !!! The last two weeks ahead of Christmas time, we once had some guests, our house pals and my father’s colleagues, going to us with trademark regarding the season, a shop bought plum-cake in a soft card board field and a bottle of homemade wine!!! I recall just how me and my brother used to wait impatiently for them to leave and the moment they start the car and leave the leading gate, our ever popular 50 meter sprinting would commence to start that package and grab those pretty pink plants added to the white royal icing on plum cake….as we expanded old, we recognized those sugar plants weren't delicious nonetheless it had been the rich fresh fruit cake underneath that icing that tasted better :) in so far as i loved these fresh fruit desserts, i really could not consider celebrating xmas without making a call to my grandma’s household in which the woman neighbor P aunty and S chechi used to provide us with the Chirstmas paltter filled up with fresh fruit cakes, snacks, doughnuts and diamond slices and exactly what not…….we never ever missed those platters and stunning cribs, showing scenes of nativity V chettan always make, showing his best creativity……it had been sheer enjoyable for me watching him along with his pals organizing the cribs and decorating your house with lights and shining stars……..
I will be glad and pleased that atleast i've these thoughts to relive in! Even though i'm kilometers abroad today, i will be performing the most effective I can in order to make some memories right here……celebrating Christmas with CJJ in a beautiful nation, full of festive spirits in the air, visiting the church on a snowy evening and going to the midnight mass, waiting anxiously whilst not to appear to be a stupid whenever those sitting close to me personally, would switch and say “Peace be with you” as I might not have any idea when and where it comes down precisely!! For me personally, the charm of the Christmas eve let me reveal simply dream-like, sitting there enjoying those relaxing xmas carols and having lost in “Silent evening……Holy Night” and getting out of bed to take pleasure from a White-Christmas the next day!! Am sure, 10 or 15 years from today, i'll be sitting in a few location and rewinding all of these memories we make here, today!
Really, xmas isn't complete without a glass of nice wine and little bit of good fresh fruit dessert and speaking of good fresh fruit dessert, here is a dish which has been my devoted friend ever since I started baking. A cake which often baked at our place irrespective of the occasion….. our family favourite recipe…. something I owe to my wonderful friend SM just who shared this recipe beside me few years back and today it's my consider share the meal to you all and distribute the joys of cooking and Christmas time aswell :)
Components: (Yields one 8-inch and something 6-inch dessert)
For Batter:
- 1 ½ glasses All-purpose flour/Maida (measure & sift)
- ¾ glass butter at room-temperature ( 1 ½ sticks)
- 1 ½ glasses granulated sugar
- 3 huge egg yolks at room-temperature
- 3 huge egg whites at room temperature
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2tbsp wine
- 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 glass tutti-frutti (candied lemon and orange skins)
- 1/3 glass raisins
- 1/3 glass nuts ( mix of almonds and cashew nuts)
- 1/3 glass times, chopped
- 1/3 cup glace cherries, chopped
- 1 ½ -2 cups rum, or adequate to immerse all fresh fruits
- ½ glass granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp liquid + ½ glass liquid
- 1 tsp Caraway seeds/cake jeera/Sahjeerakam/Shahjeera ( measure and powder)
- ¼ tsp powdered nutmeg
- ¼ tsp powdered cinnamon
- ¼ tsp powdered cloves
- ¼ tsp powdered cardamom
- Chop all the fruits into small pieces and drench them in rum or a mixture of rum and nice wine, atleast one-day in advance. (Note: Soaking can be carried out days or days or months as well as up to an year in advance, it'll make the fresh fruits more plump and hydrated. The fruits is soaked thoroughly in alcohol, as with the picture shown below. In addition shake the container occasionally.)