WARNING!!! ...Fluff Topic!!

What, New Zealand?

Not Kiwi.....ONION!!!

I'm thinking of going to Africa in a couple of weeks for a holiday!

Africa sounds nice. It was when I was there. Gambia. There was not terribly much tourism and I got to see a real, walking, munnching wild giraffe! And we all know giraffes rock!

I'm thinking of nothing but Christmas food, both Saturday and Christmas Eve. So much roast pork, so little time...

LT, I lived in Malawi, southeastern Africa for 2 years.  Advice freely given.

So.  OK.  I've started my Christmas baking.  Fruit cakes yesterday.  Plain/pound cakes today. Cassava pie tomorrow.

May even put some music on, this a.m.......more Silent Night....less Falalalala







Here Christmas Spirit.....Here Christmas Spirit.....Come on over......Good Christmas Spirit.

Fruitcake?  They must be fun to bake.  Where did I read it?  The average fruitcake changes hands 7 times before it gets eaten.

MY fruitcakes are eaten almost immediately.  In fact, they are more fruit than cake  (with no nuts involved!)

But, I like the nuts.  Nuts make it so yummy.  Can't buy it here, darn. 

I don't know about fruitcakes but I have gotten into the holiday spirit by baking pfeffernüsse and brown Christmas cookies. Tomorrow, homemade treats to be eaten while decorating the tree.

I have made pfeffernusse.  They were my dad's favorite, from my Danish grandmother.  bloody lot of work grinding those raisins. 

I'm trying to make my grandmother's fudge for the first time one of these days.  It was always my cousin's job to make it, but she won't spend a billion dollars to ship it to me.

Can you get all the ingredients OK???  Or is there a "Secret Additive" that you still need?

I have made pfeffernusse.  They were my dad's favorite, from my Danish grandmother.  bloody lot of work grinding those raisins. 

I'm trying to make my grandmother's fudge for the first time one of these days.  It was always my cousin's job to make it, but she won't spend a billion dollars to ship it to me.

Raisins??? What raisins??? Why do you put raisins in your pebernødder???

Because Nana told me to?  I think the recipe is ground raisins quickly mixed in flour to keep them from sticking, the usual flour/sugar/salt sort of thing and some spices.  Rollinto logs, slice into nuggets, and try to keep my brother out of them.  Don't have the recipe here.

How do you make yours?

Can you get all the ingredients OK???  Or is there a "Secret Additive" that you still need?

I found everything finally.  At least I hope so.  Sugar, chocolate from Beijing doctor's trip, vanilla from new import store, marshmallows (hopefully not flavored) and evaporated milk from Germany (import store.)  That's the one I'm most worried about.  They didn't have any american or other brands that didn't have sugar.  Lots of sweetened condensed milk (which makes not my favorite fudge), no guarantee that this German stuff is correct.

BTW Missi, every one of the 6 bakeries I approached refused to hand over even a drop of food coloring for christmas cookies.  One finally said the baking supply store is an hour away and they have it.  Not worth the trouble.

'Shroomy, send me a PM of your address and I'll see what I can do to get you some food colouring.  Won't arrive for this Christmas (of course) but the stuff keeps for ages.