BREAKING NEWS

Music Man stumbled across what is, officially, the BEST BLOG EVER.

Go check it out. I "guarantee" it will make you smile.

Now with Guests

{I won't write about the hour I spent in the Doctor's waiting room at nap time this morning, or the three minute appointment that followed. Or how I asked the receptionist if I could put a La Leche League poster up on the bulletin board to which she replied, "No, we only allow medically related notices." To which I replied "I would've thought that breastfeeding would be considered medically related." To which she replied with silence. Or about how I put the poster up anyway (because I'm sneaky like that), right next to a poster about a craft sale.

No, I will just introduce you to today's GUEST BLOGGER - MONKEY.}


Boon.
Boon.
Boon.
Boon.
Ba.
Ba.
Boon.
Boon.


Oosh.
Oosh.
Boon.
Ba-oon.

Da.
Da.
Boon.
Ba.
Ba.

Ba.
Ba.
Ba.

~Monkey

(And now, a translation. Boon/Ba-oon=Balloon. Ba=usually ball, sometimes box or bottle, or anything he doesn't know the word for. Oosh=shoe. Da=Dad. Just a small sampling of his burgeoning linguistic genius.)

I have a confession to make

I listened to some Christmas music on the weekend.

In my defense, I was making my Christmas Pudding at the time. Okay, and I also listened to some while working on the first of the home-made gifts we will be giving this year. But now the Christmas music is back on the shelf, where it belongs, waiting until the appropriate time to be brought out again. The appropriate time, in case you were wondering, is December 1st. It is the first day of the month of Christmas and usually quite close to the First Sunday of Advent (if not the actual day.) It also happens to be my birthday.

When I was younger I used to badger my parents to please let us put up the Christmas tree on my birthday. As an adult I can see that this was actually not a good idea, and they weren't just being mean. We usually put our tree up around the middle of the month, still earlier than my folks do it. I have always thought the idea of trimming the tree on Christmas Eve was rather romantic, but then you miss those two weeks or so of Tree-enjoyment.

So I will repress my urge to start the Christmas-ing now, so that I can truly enjoy it later. Even though my evenings will be spent at the sewing machine. And even though the cold and snow could be arriving any day. I will wait.

Bring us Some Figgy Pudding

This is the time of year to start thinking about your Christmas Pudding. (What? You don't all make Christmas pudd? Shame on you.) I probably would've made mine this weekend, but we were away. We spent the weekend with the Music Man's family following the passing of his Uncle, whose funeral was yesterday.

The thing about Christmas pudd is that the longer it has to cure, the better it tastes. Some people make it already in September. I figure about two months is good enough. The other thing about it is that it is an all day job. So, I didn't make one last year with a newborn around, but I will do my best this year. We'll see...

Here is the recipe I use for my Christmas Pudding. I got it from a magazine when we lived in Scotland. My favourite thing about it was that in the magazine it called it a four step recipe. Ha ha. You'll see what I mean.

4 oz self raising flour
1 level tsp mixed spice
3 oz fresh white bread crumbs
1 oz flaked almonds
12 oz mixed dried fruit
1 tart dessert apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
2 large eggs
grated rind and juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp black treacle
6 oz light muscovado sugar
4 oz butter
2 Tbsp brandy or rum plus extra for flaming
salt

1.2 litre/2 pint pudding basin

1. Sift flour and spice with a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs, almonds, mixed fruit and apple. In a small bowl combine eggs, lemon rind and juice and treacle. Warm sugar and butter in a sauce pan until melted.

2. Add egg mixture and butter mixture to dry ingredients. Cover with a cloth and allow to stand 1 hour. Mix again. Butter pudding basin. Spoon in mixture and spread level. Cover with buttered baking parchment, pleated. Cover with pleated foil and secure with a string. make a string handle to help remove basin from pot.

3. Place pudding on a trivet or upturned saucer in a deep sauce pan. Add boiling water to come a third of the way up the basin. Cover with lid and bring to boil. Simmer gently for 6 hours topping up with water as needed.

4. Let the pudding cool completely. Remove coverings. Spoon over brandy or rum. Recover with fresh, unbuttered baking parchment. Seal well and store somewhere cool and dry. Before serving, let the pudding come to room temperature recover with buttered baking parchment and foil. Secure as before and steam for a further 2 hours. Remove covering and invert the pudding on serving dish. Warm brandy or rum in a metal ladle over a candle. When it is warm carefully tip the ladle to let the flame lick over the side. Pour flaming brandy/rum over the pudding.

See, it's easy. And only four steps! Here are some extra tips from my own experience.

*if you don't have self-raising flour - for one cup use 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda
*I don't know if you can get "mixed spice" as such in North America. I brought some with me from Scotland and it will be used up this year. I don't know the proportions, but it is a mix of cinnamon, coriander, caraway, nutmeg, cloves.
*Same with "mixed dried fruit". I use sultanas, currants, prunes, dates and a bit of candied peel.
*treacle = molasses
*I just use regular brown sugar.
*I make a double recipe. It is so soft that you can squish it back into the basin and serve it again at the next gathering looking like new.
*Oh yeah, a pudding basin is a deep bowl with a rim that you can tie a string around.
*The fridge is a good place to store it, if you can spare the space.
*Make sure you turn down the lights when you bring in the blue, flaming pudding!

This is a tradition that we started when we lived in Scotland. I look forward to the time when our kids can all help on pudding day.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The most important step is to make a wish as you stir the pudding!

Let's get the ball rolling

even further.

Again, because I can, I choose to tag two more people for my brand new Music Meme. Okay Pieces and Chaotic Joy, let's see what you have to say on the matter...

Because I Can

And thus marking the point of no return in my foray into Blogdom. I am starting a meme. (I don't know if there has been one like this going around. If there has, I have not seen it.)

Here we go.....

The MUSIC MEME!

What song is in your head?
Well, not at this exact moment, but for the last couple of weeks it has been "Between My Legs" by Rufus Wainwright, from Release The Stars.
"But when the rocket ships all fall
and the bridges they all buckle
and everybody's packing up their station wagons
There's a number you can call
like a breast that you can suckle
and we quietly will exit as it all is happening."

What is the newest album in your collection?
Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens. It arrived from Amazon yesterday.

What is the top album on your wish list?
Three Musical Fables by John Rutter. Including The Reluctant Dragon, Brother Heinrich's Christmas and The Wind in the Willows. This follows a discussion with another blogger about Michaelmas celebrations and things pertaining to the story of St. George and the Dragon.

What is the most recent live music event you have attended?
My High School's concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Choir Program.

What is the top live music event on your wish list?
I would love to see Over The Rhine on their Trumpet Child tour. Unfortunately the closest they will be to us, as far as I can tell, is Minneapolis. And while before Monkey there would have been a small chance of us driving 6 1/2 hours for a concert, there is no chance of that now.

What are the top three albums currently in rotation at your house?
1. Release the Stars - Rufus Wainwright
2. The Trumpet Child - Over the Rhine (I have been meaning to post a review of this album. But now it is almost two months old.)
3. The Corner Grocery Store - Raffi (on cassette from the thrift store. Score.)


Okay! That was fun.
I will tag the following...

Karen from Needs New Batteries. I am new to her blog and will be interested in her answers.
Juris Mommy. I don't actually know that much about her, so here we go.
Bren J. from Stranger in a Stranger Land and
Brenda from The Ones With the Baby. They are virtual twins, so lets see if any of their answers are the same.

(you guys can feel free to tag as few or as many people as you like. Have fun!)

I got my Baking badge!

I have to show off a bit now that I have recovered from Monkey's birthday parties. (Yes, two parties. Friday with his "friends" [my friends and their kids] and Saturday with our families. He had all his grandparents, great-grandparents and one uncle at his party. It was great.)

My "best bit" from his party was bringing in the cake. I was so proud of it. I got the pattern from this great book.



My mom made cakes out of this book when we were kids. In particular I remember the Angel and the Baseball Glove. So, because Monkey loves dogs I chose to make "Woofy Dog." I think he turned out pretty good, don't you?

I made a standard chocolate cake recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The dark spots are chocolate covered coconut. The lines are black licorice. The whole cake is covered in butter icing and coconut, so he looks furry. Thanks to Music Man for helping to decorate it. It was the best cake ever.


Now we are recovering from parties, realizing we now have a one-year-old and eagerly anticipating Monkey's first steps (which seem to be only days away.)