An Overdue Posting

Well here we have a much overdue posting. Due to work being so hectic I've not had the chance to sit and put a proper posting so going to cover everything in this one post.

SECRET PAL

I've had two packages arrive in quick succession. The first parcel to arrive contained a number of goodies:



First up were these two (I got 2 balls of the yarn on the left). The one on the left is Sock It To Me Esprit in a pink/green variagation. The one on the right is a red/pink yarn from Ice Yarns. It is similar to Sirdar's Firefly in texture/make-up.



I also received these nicely coloured stitch holders. I'll definitely be able to put them to proper use next year when I start plowing through my collection of baby yarns! The yarn on the right is a ribbon-type yarn in red/gold and reminds me very much of sari material. Its by YarnArt and called Luxor. I'm going to have to hold off using this until I find exactly the right pattern to do it justice.

I also got a nice ceramic mobile which I now have hanging up in my lounge.

Second to arrive just before Xmas in a large tube were these:



They're hand-made needles. On the reverse of one is a scarf and the other a ball of yarn.



On the front of one it says "knitty" and the other "fred". I couldn't get the needles to sit properly for their picture being taken - naughty needles!



My Secret Pal revealed herself to me just before Christmas and her name is Mona.

Have enjoyed being spoilt from someone in so an exotic a place. If you are ever over this way please shout as it would be nice to meet up one day.

CHRISTMAS

Well I got all of my Christmas cakes iced. Unfortunately it was just a plain coat of icing in the end and no proper decorating - Mary Ford will just have to wait until 2006 I guess.

The tree cake I did ice. I tried using paintbox to give an example of what the cake looked like but I made it look far worse than it was. The base I did in a pillar box red to resemble a bucket and then the main part of the tree I did in green. I used Supercook food colouring and was rather disappointed with the colour I achieved as I had been expecting a much deeper green. Everyone at work found it tasty and I had a slice or two (or three!). I've still yet to touch mine here though and have decided that it will in fact be a New Year's Day cake in spite of missing the pea/bean.

Christmas present-wise I was rather empty of yarn-related presents (sort of!). MM gave me a miniature stuffed Yoda which I'd mentioned the other week - isn't it nice when people pay attention to hints you drop for presents! The other was an electronic Sudoko hand-held game. MM is aware of my travelling round the country next year to the various knitting events and so thought it would give me something to do if I didn't want to knit.

My neighbour gave me an electrically rotating tie-rack as I have a large collection of character ties much to her despair. She also gave me two laundry bag type stands from Ikea which she thought I could use to put more of my stash in. MM rolled eyes at this point!!

I finally managed to get hold of a singing goat for MM. I am not sure if it is Julie Andrews but the female-voiced goat sings "the lonely goatherd" number from Sound of Music if you squeeze it's hoof.

Turkey was lovely and we finally ate about 5pm. I used Fanny Craddock's recipe here again for the turkey. Pinch the skin of the bird to separate it from the main body of the flesh. Then lay on the flesh of the bird a few slices of ham and on top of this lay flat mushrooms and then skewer the flesh in place. We had a turkey crown but the principle was the same. I love both mushrooms and ham so posed no problem to my devouring it.

I have enjoyed my break from work but I must say that I will be glad to get back on Tuesday as cabin fever has been sinking in slightly. I also haven't done anywhere near as much as I had wanted to initially but I thought I would just use the time for R&R rather than running around trying to cram everything in.

Xmas Cakes

Well I've got the base coat on the Xmas tree cake now and that just leaves mine to actually get the base coat on and the others to decorate. I'll be decorating the Xmas tree one Thursday night as will be taking it into work on Friday for team xmas bash. I'm not happy with the shade the icing came out as it is a leaf green rather than the evergreen I was looking for so it did look tree like.

Will post pictures tomorrow so I can do a before/after decorating.

Secret Pal 6 Reveal

I know that she has not received her final parcel so bending rules here but I have been spoiling Margie. I think from reading her blog she has enjoyed everything I have sent her although I am feeling guilty that I should have sent her some nibbly things. I can tell though from reading her blog that she had no idea it was me.

When you get round to reading this Margie - hope you are not too shocked by the surprise and hope the housemoving went ok.

On the flipside I've not heard from the person spoiling me for a couple of weeks. SP (unlikely though it may be as SP6 is officially over) if you are reading this please drop me an e-mail. Thanks :)

Xmas Cakes, Marzipan & Trifle

Makes a change from "sex, lies and videotape" I must say.

Marzipan
Well I've made up the marzipan finally. Took a touch longer than I thought it was going to but as it was my first attempt what was I to know. The consistency isn't quite the same as almond and I wonder if I should have ground the nuts in smaller quantities first and then put them all together and added in the icing sugar.

Trifle
We are having a works xmas buffet on Friday and I am now thinking about making a couple of trifles for it. The recipe is one of Fanny Craddocks and has layers of alcohol laced swiss roll, custard, chocolate, piped cream and topped with fruit. I much prefer it over the standard trifle that seems to prevalent these days and makes my mouth water everytime I think about it - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm trifle.

Xmas Cakes
Got these iced after digging out good old Mrs Beeton.

Here is a breakdown of one of the special ones though:




Well here is the cake that I am starting off with. You can't see it but there are ridges on the tree to indicate the various branches.




Here is a batch of the pistachio marzipan I made. I found though that I did have to use more corn syrup than the basic requirement on the recipe though so something to bear in mind if you are reading this and going to attempt it yourself.

Also while I remember - the only place I could track down corn syrup was "Partridges" which is based in Chelsea, London.





And here is the finished article. I'll be icing it tomorrow night with green icing to make it look like a proper tree and then adding on decorations etc so it looks like a real Xmas tree. I bought some silver balls and sprinkles etc though was going to use that for a trifle I made for a friend the other week.

Yvonne - drop me an e-mail for the recipe and if you're the same Yvonne and I get the opportunity I'll make one for the next show!

Pistachio Marzipan

I've been asked for the recipe so here goes:

Makes 142g/5 Oz (enough for a 23cm / 9” disc”)

38g/1.25 Oz Shelled Unsalted Pistachio Nuts
86g/3 Oz Icing Sugar
27 g / 1 Oz Corn Syrup (1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon)
3 g /0.5 Teaspoon Glycerine

Optional: 2 Drops Green Food Colour

Bake the nuts in a 350oF/180oC/Gas Mark 4 oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until the skins separate from the nuts when scratched lightly with a fingernail. Remove as much skin as possible.

Process the nuts in a food processor until a smooth paste is obtained. Add the sugar and process until well mixed. Add the corn syrup and glycerine and process until well blended, about 20 seconds. The mixture will appear dry, but a small amount pressed between your fingers should hold together. If it seems too dry, add more corn syrup, 0.25 teaspoon at a time. If you wish to deepen the colour, add the optional colour. For ivy leaves, a dark green is desirable, so paste food colour (which is more intense) should be used. Process until the marzipan has a smooth, dough-like consistency. Kneed briefly by hand until uniform in colour.

Marzipan may be used at once but is easier to work with if allowed to rest for an hour. Wrap tightly with cling film and place in an airtight container.

Update for Cakes

Well I've managed to marzipan 5 of the cakes tonight. I still have my own and a Xmas tree shaped one to do but I'll be doing both with pistachio marzipan which I need to make especially and I just wanted to make sure that I got the others marzipaned as they're all on orders!

Alpaca Is Magic

Well it must be. I bought this bear at Harrogate at the weekend has managed to find its way out of a bag, off my spare bed, out of the room and then got tired and fell asleep on the landing. Well, its either that or Lara!