Life is becoming more and more 'normal'...well whatever that means. My need to write is diminishing, so time to start finding that rabbit hole to walk out of. There's only one relatively big piece of medical news (I'm BA Baracas (BRCA) positive) in December of which I will write about in a separate post so as to not quash any festive cheer!
Photo no.787 - my Monica Galetti look!
Hair growth seems to be a slow burn. Whilst I'm thankful for it growing back, it has shaken up how I feel about my identity. I'm confused as to what I look like...really I want 'my hair' back, as in how it was before the chemicals stripped me of it. It's the legacy of treatment that will take its time.
Photo no.788 - the wreath makers...
Last year Kim and I went on a wreath making course, so when we found out it was happening again this year we had to do it! This year the price had nearly doubled and there was less direction but nonetheless it filled us with festive cheer! Plus we left with fabulous wreaths for our doors!
Photo no.789 - happy wreath maker!
It seems that trees have been popping up in people's homes since the first of December. Something to beat away the November blues. As we were at a garden centre for the wreath making it seemed wise to pick up a tree to get our home into the festive spirit!
Photo no.790 - the tree man!
We mix Swedish and English traditions in our home. The Swedes decorate their homes from 1st December but the tree goes up relatively late. So we decorate from the first but get the tree earlier to enjoy the extend the festivities! From memory the Swedes keep the tree up until 13th January, so we tend to do this as well!
Photo no.791 - Christmas dinner...the trial run: Venison with a red wine sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and tenderstem broccoli
You'll have seen from my Sunday night suppers that I'm not a roast fan, so a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey etc is not for us. This year I'd decided that we would have venison. I had cooked this for Christmas dinner a couple of years ago, accompanied by a blueberry sauce. However, I wanted to see how a red wine sauce would pair with the venison. The verdict...it was good but there's something about the fruitiness from the blueberries that goes so well with the venison. So blueberry sauce it is!
Photo no.792 - D&VW tree 2014
For all the elf fans out there, this is simply the best Christmas card...thanks Lisa P!It will forever remind me of Pedro Alves. : )
Photo no.793 - I do! : )
Nothing beats the festive season in London...here are a few highlights.
Photo no.794 - A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
Photo no.795 - Cartier all wrapped up!
Photo no.796 - Bond Street's new peacock lights
Photo no.797 - Burlington Arcade...quintessentially British
For those of you less familiar with London, the Burlington Arcade is an absolute must. Walking down it takes you back in time. It's one of the most romantic spots, especially for us as this is where DW and I went engagement ring shopping. : )
Photo no.798 - no question!
Photo no.799 - 'drink me'
Writing this festive post, it has made me realise how many traditions that DW and I embrace each year. The first is attending the Lucia concert at the Swedish church. DW always calls this Swedish Diwali as it is a celebration of light being brought on the darkest day of the year.
Here's more info if you're interested:
Photo no.800 - the Swedish church in London
Photo no.801 - the programme!
Photo no.802 - Lucia!
After the choir have processed in to the traditional Lucia song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0FyZqNp5Q) they sing other festive and Lucia songs. It's absolutely beautiful and definitely kicks off the festive season for us!
Photo no.803 - candlelit celebration!
Photo no.804 - a candle headress
I always admire the Lucia who walks in with a crown of burring candles on her head...sure there is a hat made from flameproof material on her head...still it's a crown of burning candles!!!
Photo no.805 - Lucia leaves the building!
A truly beautiful service, though this year's there was a bit of distraction from the boys in front of us...so much so that I turned into the old woman that taps people on the shoulder...having said that it took most of the concert for me to muster up the courage to do it, not knowing the reaction!!! Thankfully it was one of shock and stillness so I should have done it earlier! Grumpy old woman, me? No!!! ; )
After the service glögg (Swedish mulled wine), lussebullar (saffron buns) and coffee (rocket fuel - Ben Smith!!!) are served. Last year DW made his own lussebullar but sadly this year the Swedish chef has not been in action so this was our one and only lussebullar!
To wrap off this Scandi evening, we went for dinner at Lisa's in Portobello and found ourselves in the midst of a Swedish christmas party complete with plenty of schnapps! A great atmosphere complete with an impromptu jazz session.
Photo no.806 - : )
Photo no.807 - a medley of traditional Swedish starters - gravadlax, herrings and toast skagen.
Photo no.808 - Pytt i panna - aka Swedish bubble & squeak!
This dish is not for me but it did make one Swede very happy!
Photo no.809 - one man and his hash!
Photo no.810 - candlelit dining...
Photo no.811 - walking in a winter wonderland
For whatever reason our Sunday walks seem to have diminished over the past few weeks. Rather than river walking we decided to walk in the woods above Hambleden village. When the sun is shining it's absolutely spectacular here....
Photo no.812 - simply stunning
Photo no.813 - the valley
The next festive tradition is to see the Nutcracker. There is always something so magical as the strings come in for the overture. Last year we saw it at the Royal Opera House, which was an incredible experience as I've always wanted to go there. Alas this year we were back at the trusty Coliseum for ENB's interpretation...still a brilliant production and the Coliseum is one of the great London theatres. One day we'll be in one of the boxes (me following the musical score - I saw this in an opera house in Vienna and is on my hot list) but for this evening's performance we were way up high in the balcony!
Photo no.815 - the infamous dome
A truly magical Christmas evening...though DW was upset with the production being different as this version missed out some of his favourite bits...the icicles jumping out of the giant sized fridge and the grandfather's comical dance. Still you can't have everything!
Photo no.816 - more London lights...Regent Street
The Regent Street lights seem to one of the more controversial, if Christmas lights can ever be classified as controversial (!). Despite each year being sponsored by a Disney movie the overall effect is classic and enchanting. Not my favourite but one of the best!
Photo no.817 - the wreath in situ on a sunny winter's day
Photo no.818 - tree by day!
Yep, that's a Christmas monkey at the top of the tree. DW and I bought this on our first trip to New York, in fact the monkey's from Philadelphia as we took a daytrip there. He's a jolly fellow so deserves his place at the top of the tree!
The next festive tradition is singalong carols at the Albert Hall with Felicity and Neil. This year the boys declared that we had to go to the adult/ more refined performance in the evening...for DW this was to hear Zadok the Priest and for Neil he was hoping for an enchanting version of O Come Emmanuel (Enya style!)....Dinner is always a bit rushed before evening performances so we decided to take an afternoon tea...one that I've wanted to try for ages...The Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea..apt for this blogger!
Photo no.819 - Four house blends to choose from...Strawberries & Cream, Rhubarb & Custard, Mint choc chip and Apple Pie
Photo no.820 - 'off with its head'!
When it comes to afternoon tea, there is generally only one tea for me and that's a traditional black leaf tea...assam, ceylon or English Breakfast...so with an eyebrow raised I opted to go for the boring option!
Photo no.821 - sandwich selection
In truth there are two or three things that are the reasons for enjoying an afternoon tea...scones, cakes and the tea itself...however I found myself liking the sandwich course the best...curiouser and curiouser!
Photo no.822 - the cake stand
It's fair to say that this afternoon tea is more style than substance. The cake course was a bit disappointing as most of them were some form of mousse or cream. The scones were good and it was nice to have a savoury scone option and this little bottle was quite interesting....
Photo no.823 - 'drink me'
This tiny bottle was split into three flavours...the first sip an explosively vibrant passionfruit shot, followed by a creamy coconut layered and finished off with banana puree..bizarre but strangely good.
Photo no.824 - tick tock victoria sponge...this was the best cake!
Photo no.825 - no Mad Hatter's tea is complete without a riddle...
Photo no.826 - of course for those who like eggs!
The verdict...company aside (which was excellent!), this tea was really disappointing and the service was diabolical. We waited 40 minutes to get our tea and then had to practically nail them down to get the bill and pay...the result with it being the weekend before Christmas and the traffic volume being high, we arrived a couple of minutes late to the Albert Hall. We had to wait in the wings before we were allowed in, which meant that DW missed the full force of Zadok....grrr!!! Still it's a festive time so no time to be cross!
Photo no.827 - Christmas carollers!
It's absolutely incredible to be in the Albert Hall when it's full of Christmas cheer and love. We always get the cheap seats at the top as it really doesn't matter where you sit, so a must for you all next Christmas!
The unthinkable happened on December 14th...we had a Sunday dinner out...the reason was a birthday celebration for the ever wonderful Luca Achilli! However, with the festive finale week approaching this Sunday a light fish supper was required...it's a repeat but one of my favourites...
Having been up and down the M4 quite a few times this festive season, this always makes me smile!
Photo no.829 - can you spot santa?!
December 23rd...time for another light supper before the Christmas dinners begin!
Photo no.830 - A mash up! Jamie's Asian style salmon with the noodles from the Chicken Satay 30 minute meal!
And so it came around...December 24th! This Christmas chef has been preparing food shopping lists, ordering meat, planning accompanying drinks for the past couple of weeks so finally it was showtime! First job...pick up the meat from the butcher! For the Swedish Christmas dinner I planned to make Nigella's Cola ham. I had ordered 2kg, which was far more than I needed for 4 people. Walking out of the butcher I felt that the bag I was carrying was a lot heavier than 2kg...mmn this could be interesting. Interesting indeed...I didn't have a pan big enough to fit the meat into...PANIC!!! : )) The plan was to pick DW up from work so in theory there was time to find a pan in London, get back and cook this beast in order to eat at a reasonable time...Thankfully knowing that the meat just squeezed into a 6.5l stock pot gave a benchmark in terms of the pan size required...we settled on a jam pan and our wok lid provided the shelter needed to cover the pan...the only downside was that it needed 5 hours of bubbling away in cola...
Photo no.831 - frothing away!
Despite not being allowed in the kitchen for most of the year, it turns out that nurse Lars is the resident glögg maker in the Welinder household...this year he made it from scratch and it was not half bad!
Photo no.832 - nurse Lars' intoxicating glögg!
With the ham bubbling merrily away in cola, a perfect nap opportunity was presented with Toy Story 3 on in the background...big baby is still so freakily scary!!!
The clock struck 8 and it was time to kick off some eating at least! The traditional Swedish Christmas dinner is a smörgåsbord (Julbord) kicking off with a fish course consisting of different varieties of marinated herrings, gravadlax and a few others depending on the size of your bord! This is then followed by various meats, meatballs (of course!), ham, salami, ribs etc. Accompanying all of this is potatoes, cheese and different breads. I much prefer it to the British dinner but to enjoy it fully it's best to go to a restaurant. So here's our paired back version. Kicking off with the herrings!
Photo no.833 - two herring varieties, västerbottensost (cheese), hard boiled eggs (for the egg lovers out there) and some knäckerbrod (crisp bread)
Photo no.834 - traditional drinks...beer and schnapps!
Photo no.835 - en riktig god jul!
The contents of the bottle above are not for the faint hearted...it's 40% proof and the idea is to drink many glasses of this liquid throughout the dinner. Originally it was to kill any bacteria that might be in the food but now it's more for enjoyment. There are many different varieties of Aquavit but I've yet to find one that is even remotely tolerable to drink...DW on the other hand loves the stuff! If you're after a strongly medicinal flavoured vodka then this is the drink for you!!!
Nurse Lars' other festive culinary quest is homemade mustard. This is a really lovely tradition that happens every Christmas eve. As you know I'm not a mustard fan but this ceremony of mustard making is a Chrstmas eve must! It's made by grinding mustard seeds, cream, sugar and water together in a large bowl with a cannonball being swirled around to mix all the elements.
Photo no.836 - intense concentration!
Photo no.837 - the inside of the mustard making bowl!
Photo no.838 - DW in flexing his mustard muscles...hula! ; )
Back to the gammon saga....so after 5 hours of bubbling away it was time to glaze the top and give it a quick final blast in the oven...
Photo no.839 - studded with cloves prior to the glaze of treacle, mustard and sugar being applied
Photo no.840 - the pig de résistance!!!
Was it worth the wait? Well by 10pm I think we would have thought anything would have tasted wonderful but it was pretty darn great! Served with some slaw and potatoes it was good.
The traditional Swedish Christmas pudding is rice pudding. None of us are fans, so I decided to bake some apples...
Photo no.841 - apples stuffed with apple brandy soaked sultanas, cinnamon, honey and butter
Photo no.842 - the result...
Hugh advised using any eating apple and baking them for an hour...next time I'll be using a cooking apple as after an hour these were still pretty hard...still the flavour was hard to beat!
God jul!!!
As dinner was fairly late, it was late to bed for us. Still no need to rush up in the morning...At 9am DW's phone rang and it was Luca calling from Italy asking if we could drive to Putney to turn off their burglar alarm as it had been ringing since 4am and the neighbours were less than happy. All of the local key holders were away so we were the closest...a trip to Putney...merry Christmas DW! He was pretty happy...no really he was!!! Thankfully we arrived and everything was fine. We think it was a pesky helium balloon that was slowly deflating and hence moving that had triggered the alarm. Who knows! A bit of an adventure.
The sun was shining so we took the opportunity for a short walk along the river at Barnes. So beautiful!
Photo no.843 - Merry Christmas from D&VW!
Photo no.844 - something to keep me warm!
Photo no.845 - DW's favourite gift...an I love Maidenhead coaster from the Regans!
Ding, ding! Christmas dinner round 2...
Photo no.846 - the table is set!
Photo no.847 - Christmas hair!
So the hair goal was to have hair as long as DW's by Christmas...this was pretty much achieved, largely thanks to him having a pre Christmas hair cut! Still someway to go to get my lovely locks back but they're coming....
Photo no.848 - to kick off...toast skagen
Or as my brother affectionately calls it...Daniel's Swedish prawns, as this is DW's signature dish. It's a classic Swedish starter and everyone loves it...the caviar is optional but it adds a salty layer to the flavour which works well against the zestiness from the lemon! Nice!
Photo no.849 - chestnuts roasting on an open fire....well no chestnuts but there is an open fire!
There's something so captivating about an open fire, especially when it's dark and cold. Time to light the BBQ for the main course...
Photo no.850 - FIRE!!!
This is our third year of hosting Christmas day dinner and every time we've barbecued. It makes life so much easier for the chef! Plus it keeps the boys occupied!
Photo no.851 - the Christmas candle...
This is an absolute Swedish must during advent to light a candle each week leading up to Christmas. In the UK this is only done in church but there's something romantic about lighting a candle each week in the run up to the main event.
Photo no.852 - bubbling blueberry sauce!
A couple of years ago Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall had a series about focussing on 3 key ingredients...Three Good Things. This recipe for venison with blueberry sauce featured in the series but much to my disappointment not in the book...still that's where the internet comes in handy!
Photo no.853 - BBQ Venison fillet with blueberry sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and some sugarsnap peas for some crunch!
One word. Yum!!! : )
Photo no.854 - two happy revellers!
Photo no.855 - Merry Christmas from me to you! xxx
Photo no.856 - And a merry Christmas to the one I love the most! xxx
Photo no.857 - flaming well time for pudding!
A truly great Christmas...though next year you'll find me in a hotel! ; ))
Photo no.858 - a minion merry christmas!
The thing I really love about Christmas is the fun festive times that are had in the run up. The carol services (I even brushed the dust off from my flute and played in one), the infectious festive cheer and Kim spreading Christmas joy at every given opportunity (I suspect there is some elf blood somewhere!!!). The main event in this instance is never really the best bit, still it's a tradition that is there to be enjoyed! In our case twice! : )
Time to work off some of the dinners in a post Christmas walk along the Thames...
Photo no.859 - the moon shining brightly...
One thing I've really learnt to appreciate this year is the small things...
Photo no.860 - DW noticing the moon reflection in the river following us (it's the small white dot in case you're wondering!)
So the final Sunday night supper of 2014...time to pull out a VW classic Sunday night dinner...
Photo no.861 - Fish on roasted fennel & tomatoes
A perfect dinner to cleanse the system after the richness of Christmas.
Back to real time and it's now New Year's Eve 2014, which got off to a pretty chilly start...I dropped DW off at the train station and decided to head down to the river to see the frosty winterland. It didn't disappoint!
Photo no.862 - a frosty, foggy winter's morning...serene and stunning
Photo no.863 - at -3.5 deg C, the river had frozen...you can see the ice formation, granted it's not the best pic!
Photo no.864 - an early morning river walker...complete with my Christmas hat! ; )
Photo no.865 - wonder web!
So here endeth the Wonderland warblings for 2014. Thanks for coming on the 2014 journey with me, it's certainly been a roller coaster ride with many highs and the odd low thrown in for good measure. I've learnt so much this year but my two key learnings are that you are all so much stronger than you can imagine and you are all loved more than you know...cherish these as you move into 2015. I know I will. Going back to to my lady Eleanor Roosevelt...this tea bag has certainly been dunked into many hot water scenarios this year but with a bit of internal strength, a dash of laughter and a bucket load of love we've made it. Here's to a very happy and healthful 2015!
Peace, love and joy to you all!
Much love. Over and out for 2014!
xxx
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