Birmingham German Christmas market

I always get really silly and excited on the run up to Christmas. I am very much a winter person anyway as in the height of sweaty, humid summer I go an unattractive beetroot colour, turn into a grumpy, petulant child and am mainly found on the floor assuming some sort of starfish position in my underwear. Plus I will never look good in a bikini, the more layers the better in my book. 

Winter, to me, conjures up images of cosy nights in front of the fire with hot spicy mulled wine while it's cold and crisp outside, lovely walks on paths covered in golden leaves and then I get too cold and pinch my other half's gloves and hat. Then Christmas comes and I always desperately wish for snow and at home in Northern Ireland we sometimes get it.

My favourite part though, as I'm sure most other people's is, is Christmas dinner. I love all the trimmings that go with the turkey and even though I love them, I never seem to have them at any other time than on Christmas day, so it's a real novelty. Then there is the dozing in front of a cheesy film in a vain attempt to try and digest the mountain of food you've consumed.



Entertainment for the kiddies, and shameless adults!

When the German Christmas markets come to town I make a date to go and sample the warming, delicious gluhwein, the moist and tasty Bavarian ham and the filled pretzels. I love the atmosphere, the buzz of people having fun and getting excited about Christmas, the wonderful smells and of course the tacky Christmas cheer in the form of giant Santas and the large singing Reindeer head that was stationed above one of the bars.





When we got there we rushed past the miscellaneous junk and straight to the food (it was nearly lunch time so it was warranted). We decided that we should share one of everything just to make sure we weren't missing anything. First port of call was the grilled Bavarian ham that we had last time we were there. It was served in a bun with some German coleslaw and some slightly sweet mustardy dressing and it was absolutely delicious. Next stop was some Gluhwein which went down very nicely before going in search of some German sausage. The sausages were suspended on a huge grill over a fire and then stuffed into a bun. There was also optional mustard and ketchup hanging in huge bottles above you with an udder-like projection that you had to squeeze to dispense the condiment of your choice.  After the sausage, I fancied a stuffed pretzel. There were a few choices of filling, from salami to ham and cheese, but I fancied the camembert and cranberry. The soft salty pretzel really complimented the creamy cheese and sweet cranberry and it really tempted me to have a go at making my own. 





After all that savoury I really fancied something sweet, so when I spied the crepes stall with the option of Nutella, chocolate filling I knew it was for me. We shared the hot chocolatey pancake and afterwards sat down beside the fountain, feeling slightly over-stuffed but very satisfied and contemplated coming to the markets again before Christmas. Well I need to do some Christmas shopping so it's as good an excuse as any!

 

A Happier tale

Even though I didn't manage to gather any sloes due to poor weather, I am still reaping the benefits of the pathetic summer with my green tomato chutney. Our favourite way to eat the chutney is thickly spread on some crusty warm ciabatta and topped with juicy oven cooked pork sausages. A warming and comforting Saturday lunch to keep out the winter cold (that is if it actually gets cold this year). 

Humble Harvest

I went out into the fields this weekend with the intention of gathering armfuls of sloes from the hedgerows but the above picture is the sum total of our sloe harvest after two days foraging. Last year the bushes were heaving with them and I managed to turn over a kilo of sloes into two and a half litres of sloe gin, but this year the bushes were barren and the only ones we could see were either waist deep in nettles or just too high to reach. I am now regretting demolishing last years gin over a period of a couple of months as I have no sweet liqueur to see me through the winter. 



I did however spot lots of rose hips so I am going to attempt to make some rose hip syrup to drizzle on pancakes or stir into thick greek yoghurt. It means I have to go out into the hedgerows again at the weekend but if the weather is as nice as it was last weekend it won't be much of a hardship.

Steamed pudding, hmmmm!

I love winter, it's my favourite time of year. I really enjoy snuggling up when it's really cold outside and the wonderful colours in the garden, but it's also an excuse to get cracking with some warming winter puddings. I spotted this steamed orange and stem ginger pudding whilst rummaging through and cataloging my vast collection of food magazines.

Serves 6

100g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

100g caster sugar

3 medium eggs, room temperature

60g stem ginger, finely chopped

1 heaped tblsp plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 tblsp freshly squeezed orange juice

125g fine cut marmalade

150g fresh breadcrumbs

1 heaped tsp freshly ground cinnamon (I just used powdered)

For the dark ginger sauce

210g caster sugar

4cm piece of fresh root ginger, finely grated

juice of 1/2 lemon

Grease the pudding basin, which should be about 1 to 1.3 ltr capacity. Mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy and then add them one at a time beating after each addition. Mix the stem ginger with the flour and in a separate bowl mix together the baking powder and the orange juice. Add these both to the butter sugar and egg mixture with a pinch of salt and the remaining ingredients. After mixing well, spoon into the pudding basin and level the surface. Grease a piece of foil and fold a pleat into the middle. Place greased side down over the top of the basin and tie tightly with a piece of string. Put the basin into a deep pan of boiling water that comes two thirds up the side of the bowl. Cover and simmer for 1 and 1/4 hours until the pudding is firm to the touch.

To make the sauce put the sugar and 135ml of water in a wide saucepan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and simmer without stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Add 135ml of water slowly and stir to get rid of any lumps, simmer for five minutes, then add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Once the pudding is turned out onto a plate pour the sauce over to soak in before serving with some thick cream, with a dash of alcohol if you like.