Baking at Christmas condures up spices and dried fruit packed into Cakes, puddings and mince pies. Back in the day when I was in domestic-science class we got to make a Christmas cake. The cake mixture was made during class time but we all took the raw mixture home in the tins to be baked. The best bit was, if we decorated them at home to our own designs we could bring them back into the school for display. These days I'll happily make plum puddings and homemade mincemeat for pies but instead of a fully fledged rich fruit cake we have what I call a “Solstice Cake.” The Solstice cake is essentially a home-bake Pannetone. The “Irish” version here has a buttery Broiche texture with a strong hint of fresh nutmeg and just some candid peel and golden sultanas for the fruit.
The Celtic New Year, Halloween, is the time to mark the transision from Autumn to Winter. We need all the supports of Home in this northern hemisphere to combat the chills and discomfort of the Season. Lots of cushions and wollen wraps will help. Shop Chez Maison Home Accessories online.
We took our upcycled chair out into the woods at the Glen of the Downs in Co.Wicklow yesteday and brought some of our Chez Maison cushions with us. The deep green of the moss and the holly (on the left) look so fresh but the carpet of leaves has started to build... It's time to cosy up for the Winter for us 'in this neck of the woods.'
Jim, Chez Maison's media Guy (aka 'The Guy with the Hand') has very kindly made up a batch of jelly in his kitchen. He added port to the syrph to make it a bit special to ease the way through the Winter months.
The info on how he made the 'no-sew' jelly is available on the Chez Maison youtube channel on the KITCHEN playlist.
The double cloth weave used here is a vintage design that has been in production at the Pembrokeshire mill since the late 1960's. It's called Knot Garden and the colourway of Bluestone is all the colours of the sea and sky to me. The Melin Tregwynt fabric is a traditional Welsh Doublecloth made of 100% lambswool. We have cut this fabulous cloth to drape as a wrap and be of a good size for a bed throw. It works beautifully as a knee blanket when folded in half.
Blackberries are free. They just grow in the hedgerows. All you have to do is stop for a few minutes and notice them: Their rich colour sparkling in the Autumn sunshine. Begging to be picked, as our Media man realised when he went out a couple of weeks back. He's stepped in front of the camera to share his (very delicous) version of blackberry and apple tart. Although he may have picked the berries off the brambles himself, his grandfather was a confectioner so he didn't pick that trait up 'off the ground.' Enjoy!
