Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Merry Christmas!  A lady from my Dad's church asked me if I had written a poem about the Christmas star.  I said I hadn't, but I would be happy to try.  Since it has now been shared with its intended recipients, I thought you all might like to read it too. A thousand stars were shining in the black and brilliant sky When the Eastern kings were searching for a meaning from on high. A thousand stars were shining, but the wise men followed One. A thousand lamps were beckoning in the dwellings on their way As the magi journeyed onwards through the long and weary day. A thousand lamps were beckoning, but the wise men searched for One. A thousand sparkles shimmered in the stable bare and cold, From the flasks of richest perfume and the gleam of purest gold. A thousand sparkles shimmered as the wise men honoured One. A thousand lights of Christmas now shine out in radiant joy, All in cheerful celebration of the birth of Mary’s boy. A thousa...

I finally got around to icing the Christmas cakes, but I think the mince pies will have to be a new year's event instead.  Well, and why not?  Following the tradition of recent years, I baked a large square cake from Nigella's recipe in How to Be a Domestic Goddess , cut it in half and iced each part separately.  This has the dual advantages of providing more icing and making the cake keep better.  Not that it ever seems to keep that long. Long thin cakes lend themselves to long thin decorations, do they not? Or else to digging out that old standby, the Christmas cookie cutters.  Every year I think I might do something really fancy, and then I run out of time and think, well, the important thing is that it tastes good! Merry Christmas!

No, it's not been an easy Christmas.  I wanted to feel it, you know, all the joy and goodwill, but it's been hard work from start to end.  It always seems harder, doesn't it, when everyone else is out enjoying themselves and you're stuck in a dreary grind of endless details.  Like you're in a little gray world of your own. You wouldn't believe how much paperwork there's been.  I'd put that application in from my parents' address months ago.  Never thought it would come to anything, but all of a sudden I got a call to say there's a council flat available down there.  I couldn't say no, could I?  Not in the circumstances.  Even though it only meant moving to the other end of the sodding country.  So we packed up quick as we could and stuffed the Astra as tight as a Christmas turkey, and then - then what happens?  "Oh I'm sorry sir, there's been an administrative mistake.  You can't move in until the end of January."  Fa...

My writing muse has been working elsewhere this week, but I felt like it was about time for a new blog post.  So, a few quick Christmassy scribbles to keep you entertained. 1. I have not had a mince pie yet.  There is a mincemeat samosa recipe that I'd like to try, but we have been drowning in cake recently because we hosted a Christmas social and everyone brought ridiculously calorific and amazingly huge cakes from Costco and refused to take them home .  This is some kind of conspiracy. 2. We have, however, had Christmas cupcakes, decorated by Toby.  He had a great time doing them.  Meanwhile his little brother demolished an entire cupcake and tipped washing powder all over the floor. 3. On a related note, putting up the tree feels like the sort of thing that should be a family activity, but trying to deal with two excited boys tying the lights in knots and throwing baubles at my head tends to make me stressed very quickly.  Once we had the t...

It's been one of those months where we've felt a bit battered.  As well as the violence in Paris, we've had news of several friends suffering from severe injury or illness, which has torn at our hearts.  Moreover, the weather has blown us around, soaked us, hit us with hail, and even tried to snow on us slightly.  Despite all that, some chinks of sunlight have found their way through, both metaphorically and literally.  When you live with two small boys, there are always going to be some giggles. Toby  - was very excited about going to see fireworks for Bonfire Night.  He was the one jumping up and down and cheering. Fun with sparklers... ...and light sabres. - is doing really well with learning cursive handwriting. - announced that he "loves green beans" when I went to have a school lunch with him.  Something I had not previously suspected. Quotes: When my Dad was getting all intellectual in his sermon and talking about the re...

Well, what is a blog?  And why am I asking the question now, after seven years of writing one?  You'd think I might have worked out the answer already.  But there's nothing like meeting hundreds of other bloggers to start you wondering again... Of course, the first shock is that there actually are hundreds of other bloggers.  And that they make so much NOISE!  As I descended the escalator to the venue for Mumsnet Blogfest 2015, the clamour of dozens of voices rose up to meet me.  There was no one in the crowded hall that I knew; but although many others had also come alone, you couldn't have told it from the level of conversation. Panel session with live link to Margaret Atwood It quietened down once we had drunk our coffee and entered the auditorium.  The speakers covered a wide range of the writing world; from authors to agents, columnists to comedians, and brand experts to bloggers.  Every discussion was very entertaining, with plenty...

This is one of those scrappy puddings that I conjured up out of a bit of leftover pastry and whatever I could find to throw into it.  Traditional treacle tart is composed of golden syrup and breadcrumbs, which is precisely as sickly sweet as it sounds.  When I spotted a recipe which included grated apple, it sounded as if it might cut the sweetness quite nicely.  So I gave it a try. Apple Treacle Tart pastry made with 2 oz butter and 4 oz flour 1 large slice of bread, made into breadcrumbs 1 eating apple, peeled, cored and grated juice of 1 lemon 3 tablespoons of golden syrup Roll out the pastry and use to line a flan dish or other shallow dish (I used a lid from one of my Pyrex casserole dishes).  Mix together the breadcrumbs, apple, lemon juice and golden syrup.  I had a whole lemon that needed using, but that did make it quite lemony; try half a lemon if you prefer.  Taste and see if you like the sweetness, and add a bit more syrup or lemon ...