Oh my Darling Clementine!

Who doesn't like a Christmas Stocking? Finding small, individual treats to pop inside is the essence of giving. Waking up and groping for the lumpy bumpy stocking at the end of the bed is the joy of receiving. I'm in my fifties and my husband and I still do stockings for one another. My grown up children say it's still the most exciting part of Christmas Day. The anticipation and the pure selfish decadence is a wonderful start to the day.

One item guaranteed to be there is an orange (tangerine, clementine or satsuma). St. Nicholas allegedly threw gold into the homes of poor girls who had no dowry and some of it landed in the stockings hanging to dry. We now put oranges in Christmas stockings to represent that gold. Another story is that during the depression when toys and sweets were unavailable, an orange would provide a sweet, healthy treat.

Either way, we all love a form of orange in our Christmas stockings. It can be a nutritious start to the day, be saved or returned to the fruit bowl, or, made into a festive drink such as a Ginger St. Clement's along with squeezed juice from fresh root ginger, red grapefruit and lemon juice.

Christmas Pudlets!

I read this recipe in a magazine and hope I've remembered it correctly. It's an easy-peasy Christmas canapé dessert; ideal as party food  and can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated.

Buy a 500g Christmas pudding (one suitable for vegetarians)

Crumble into a bowl either using fingers or an electric mixer

Melt 100g dark chocolate and stir or whisk into above mixture to evenly distribute

Using hands roll mixture into even sized balls (I weigh each one because I'm quite OCD)

Put in the fridge to cool whilst you melt 100g white chocolate

Dribble the white chocolate over the top of the cooled mini puds

Decorate with icing holly leaves or red and green sprinkles

They are best served direct from the fridge. A little taste of Christmas in one mouthful

Sterling Stuff!

So this week's big news for vegetarians and vegans has been the shocking announcement that traces of tallow (rendered animal fat) are to be found in the new £5 notes. This has caused outrage with at least one vegetarian cafe refusing to accept the notes. Whilst my personal reason for being vegetarian relates to basically not liking meat, I don't want animals to suffer for the sake of feeding the world. However, the fact that a by-product of the animal is being used in the making of money (quite literally) does not offend me. Having said that it seems odd that, in our world of substituting artificial ingredients to replicate natural ones, we can't find a suitable alternative.

In the soap making world, tallow and lard were often used but now widely substituted with natural palm oil. I wonder if this would work in our Lady Godivas?

Although the production of palm oil is a contentious issue with indigenous people and animals being uprooted as land and forests are cleared for oil palm plantations. This in turn causes many environmental problems.

I don't know what the solution is; perhaps going back to the old notes which have served us so well for many years? Perhaps carrying a bit more shrapnel in our purses?

To my knowledge neither the Queen, nor Winston Churchill were vegetarian so I'm sure they won't mind.

Hamming it up!

What is it about ham that makes Joe Public think it's acceptable to feed vegetarians? Of all the meat/fish I've been inadvertently given, ham has been the most common.

I've been asked to:

"pick ham off pizza"

"scoop ham out of soup"

"quit eating ham quiche" (after I'd ordered the veggie one)

"not be touchy if ham touches my food"

The latest incident was whilst eating out at a fabulous tapas restaurant called Riccis. Two of us chose vegetarian plates which included a cheeseboard and began tucking in. On closer inspection I noticed a slice of Parma ham hiding under the red grapes. Shocked, we complained and the waiter, also rather shocked, offered to replace it. As he whisked it away one of our meat eating friends confessed to placing her piece on the cheeseboard as she didn't want it. She was mortified when she realised what she'd done!

In my local town there is a cafe-bar called "Friends of Ham" serving craft beers and cured meats and cheeses. It has a great vibe and I enjoy bobbing in for a drink but feel like going undercover as I don't want people to think I'm a friend of ham!

I would like to be a friend of pigs though!

I'm thinking there should be a veggie cafe-bar across the road. Chums of Cheese? Amigos of Manchego? Lovers of Lentils?  

That Old Chestnut!

Last year I wrote about chestnuts and here I am again. It must be the time of year.

A friend had booked a restaurant for last night and had kindly checked the menu on the website to make sure there were vegetarian options. YESSS! Chestnut risotto! That'll do nicely! I was practically salivating all the way to the restaurant in anticipation only to find, NOOO! They'd run out! Gutted!

The same friend had spent time in Italy last month and sent me photos from a walk through the forest. They were walking on a spongey path of fallen chestnuts, literally hundreds of them. They then roasted them on an open fire. SOOO jealous!

My quest for this week is to make myself a chestnut risotto. A quick glance at recipes has shown the inclusion of pancetta! I guess it can just be left out. That and the chicken stock! 

I'm not a Celebrity (and won't eat worms)

Sooo excited! "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" starts a new season tonight. Lovable duo Ant and Dec will be hosting as another set of celebrity wannabes-for-the-second-time-around put themselves through their paces. The challenges will include physical, mental and, of course, edible.

During the eating trials contestants are required to eat or drink foods made up of insects such as crickets, mealworms, witchetty grubs, cockroaches and spiders. Then there are the real meat dishes of animal genitalia, brains, tongues, eyes and tails. 

Obviously any Celebrity Vegetarians would not be able to compete. Those who remember vegan Gillian McKeith will recall her refusal to do almost all the challenges for fear of, well, everything. Heaven knows why she agreed to appear on the show. Probably the lure of being in the spotlight once again and earning a not-inconsiderable amount of money.

I love the programme and would relish some of the challenges, not least to overcome some of my own phobias (of heights and edges particularly). However, there is no way I could possibly eat or drink the meat and fish, neither in a challenge nor as a reward. The daily rice and beans would suit me just fine.

Somebody should come up with a vegetarian version. Eating slimy exotic mushrooms and drinking truffle oil would be my own idea of hell.

Instead, I shall sit back and enjoy the show, perhaps with a glass of Baileys ... after all, if IAACGMOOH is on ... it must be nearly Christmas!

Pie Eater? Pumpkin Pie Cheater!

This week has incorporated Halloween, Mischievous and Bonfire Nights with pumpkins, baked potatoes and toffee apples being the fare of choice.

I love pumpkin soup, roasted pumpkin (served with a salty cheese, herbs and nuts) and last year made a pumpkin pie. 

I cheated a little with the pumpkin pie by using a shop bought sweet pastry case but did make the filling by steaming and blending the pumpkin flesh before adding evaporated milk, sugar, nutmeg and eggs. This was poured in to the case, baked, cooled and sprinkled with icing sugar. It was a little like an egg custard and quite delicious. 

My children are now grown up and for the first time in many years I did not carve a pumpkin and trim the porch with skulls, bats, cauldrons and cats. Needless to say, we had no trick or treaters! I did miss sporting my pumpkin deely boppers and handing out sweets to little monsters and I have missed the pumpkin flesh. However, I do have a plan ...

A bought sweet pastry case

A bought pumpkin pie filling

Mix in the evaporated milk, sugar, spices and eggs

Bake

Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar

Eat!