It’s November already and those of you who have followed Thinly Spread for a while will know that the beginning of November heralds the return of Festive Friday! It starts quietly with a whipser, the smell of spice and a suggestion of sparkle, gradually gaining momentum as we head into December; this will be my fourth year running Festive Friday!
I make no apologies for my Christmas addiction, for me it is all about traditions, a gradual build up, a feast for all our senses and it starts now. This year is poignant because it is, in all probability, the last time our eldest boy will spend all of advent at home with us. All being well he will be striding out into the world of University this time next year and will be spending November and early December doing all things student (arghhhh) so I want to make this one special.
So far, it’s been all about the smells. I’ve made one Christmas cake and the fruit is soaking for a second. This second one will be cut into small squares and iced to give away in Christmas hampers along with Christmas chutney, crackers (both to eat and to pull), some cheese, pickles, truffles and flavoured oils. I made the chutney last week because it needs to mature for a month or two, my daughter is keen to start making truffles immediately but I’m holding her back for as long as possible or my hips won’t fit through the door by Boxing Day!
- 350g no soak, pitted prunes
- 225g pitted dates
- 225g dried apricots
- 110g dried figs
- 450g onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 570ml cider vinegar
- 6 cloves
- one cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1tsp coriander seeds
- 1tsp ground ginger
- 1tsp ground allspice
- 2tbsps sea salt
- 450g dark brown sugar
- Chop the dried fruit and onions in a food processor until very small
- Put the vinegar in a preserving pan or large heavy bottomed saucepan with the salt, ginger and allspice
- Put the remaining spices in a small piece of muslin, tie securely and add to the pan
- Bring to the boil and stir in the fruit and onion pieces
- Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves
- Reduce the heat and simmer without a lid for about an hour/hour and a half, stirring occasionally until the chutney has thickened
- You will know it is ready when there are no pools of vinegar left behind when you draw the back a spoon over the surface
- Spoon the chutney into warmed, sterilised jars, seal and label
- Allow the chutney to mature for at least a month before eating
- (I sterilise my jars by placing them in the oven at 150C for 20 minutes, you can also sterilise them by putting them through a hot cycle in a dishwasher.)
I’m also thinking about charity giving at Christmas. The leaflets for Operation Christmas Child came home with the children at the end of half term and it reminded me that we need to decide what we are doing this year. The shoe box appeal doesn’t sit happily with me, I’m not comfortable with its evangelical background, but I do think it is important to encourage children to think of others at Christmas and to be aware of problems and issues in the wider world. This year I am joining in with Liz over at the Mum Blog and a group of other bloggers and choosing something from the Save the Children Wish List – my long association with Save is well documented and I am now working for them as a Community Liaison Officer so this seems like the perfect option for us!
We are going to have a rummage through and decide which of Save the Children’s areas of operations we want to donate to this year. £5 could send a child an art set, £31 could give a child healthcare for a year…we could send a football for a fiver, some toys and books for a tenner or we could send tree saplings or a gardening pack, mosquito nets or a birth pack. It’s a fabulous way to get children thinking about the things other people need and which we take for granted, we’ve done this many times now and it always prompts discussion and debate.
Britmums are hosting a linky for any bloggers posting about the Save the Children Wish List, do add yours if you decide this way of giving to charity at Christmas is for you!
How Does Festive Friday Work?
Festive Friday is an ongoing Linky for all things Christmas and runs from now until Boxing Day. There is no long list of requirements, it would be lovely if you mentioned me in your post and gave me a little link – if you do I’ll give you a kiss under the mistletoe and share a glass of sherry or two, if you don’t I won’t poke you with the holly or snatch back the mince pies! Please link up any lovely Christmas posts, past or present and help me to build a resource for Christmas lovers everywhere!
I am also running a collaborative Festive Friday Pinterest Board and will be pinning all those who join in on a Friday (with a full credit and link of course!). If you would like an invite to join the board and add your own pins just ask!
I am so making this next week….
Hurrah!
Perfect timing, I have my cake stored and being fed every fortnight – my first ever and I made my own Christmas pudding this year so I’ll get a post up next week on both and come and link up too
Brilliant! Thanks Mari x
I knew I could rely on you for a chutney recipe, was just thinking about making some this week. Christmas on a budget again this year so food presents are always a good bet and much better than some token gift. Any good ideas for tomato based chutney’s?
Tomato chutney appearing over on Life is Delicious along with pear and walnut ASAP (when I get my finger out and get on with it – poke me!)
Right I am going to be coming back every Friday and start following that pinterest board. We are having to do a tight budget this year and loving Christmas ideas and recipes this year as I am sure that our family are getting fed up with scrapbooks!! May have to join in with some of my scrapbooks though! xx
Hoorah! Lovely to have you along! 🙂 x
Love festive friday! Get so many ideas from it each year – need to pull my finger out and start doing my own!
That’s so nice to hear, I did wonder about bringing it back again but it wouldn’t be Christmas without it so I climbed up into my blog attic, blew the dust of it, checked all the bulbs and we’re ready to Jingle! 🙂
I too have started thinking about how we are going to “give” this Christmas as it is something I always get my children to think about – we aren’t religious and so it is more the moral message that we pass to them.
Exactly Oddy, thank you! x
This sounds awesome! Will give it a tray. I start feeling all Christmassy as soon as Strictly Come Dancing starts LOL. Please could I have an invite to your pinterest board? I am jbmumofone x
I have whizzed one your way *jingles bells* 😉
Whoop whoop!
Christmas is coming and the *veggie equivalent* is getting fat… tra la la la…
It is! It is! 🙂 x
I’ll be dipping in each week for festive inspiration. I don’t even think about Christmas until December so I suspect I’ll be a last minute joiner-inner. Now how about some crackers, cheese and Chutney wit ha nice Guinness and Port?
Excellent – I will come back in Dec and document all the Spanish traditions. The only one I’ve heard about so far is cava on the beach on Christmas morning… Might be the only one I need in fact.
Yay for festive Friday!
So I am thinking about making up little Christmassy hampers of goodness for my foodie friends for their gifts. I like the look of this chutney a lot! Mind if I add my cranberry sauce recipe to your linky?
Please do! 🙂
I am so trying this….. god help me
Chutney is something I’ve never braved (mainly because I have friends who make gorgeous stuff for us!) and I’m behind on the Christmas cake, but I will be back…
I have GOT to try this. Since moving to Canada we’ve dearly missed giant jars of Branston pickle. Pickle isn’t something widely known here and we’ve had to content ourselves with small, wildly over-priced jars sourced from the British section of the International Foods aisle in the supermarket.
It’s quite funny making Canadian’s cheese and pickle sandwiches so they can taste what we rave about!
No pickle?! I’m horrified frankly, you must get chutneying immediately! 🙂