My kitchen is filled with the aromas of dried fruits steeped in brandy, now plump and juicy and just the right side of boozy. There is a pungency in the air from cinnamon and ginger, and the sweet perfume of freshly zested oranges .
There is a warm fug of cranberries as red as rubies and apples crisp and tart, as mismatched jars are filled to the brim with unctuous chutneys. In a few weeks these will accompany a creamy stilton cheese. A rich fruit cake burnished and golden, resplendent in its baking parchment wrapping is ceremoniously removed from the oven and left to cool in its battered tin. The same tin that is used just once a year at around this same time.
It is Stir Up Sunday, and Christmas has begun.
As I measure and chop and stir I listen to the calming tones of Nigel Slater as he reads from his Book ‘Christmas Chronicles’. This soothing accompaniment to my first Christmas preparations are just what I need. It feels too early to play Christmas carols, but listening to descriptions of Nigel’s childhood memories of food and Christmas is just right for now.
For good measure I make a carrot and coriander soup, using up the carrots which have been languishing unloved and forgotten in last weeks veg box. They are a little soft and clearly past their best, but when cooked with tasty stock and seasoning, they make a warming soup, which will make lunch a little more interesting this week.
I am so absorbed in all these gentle activities, I forget to look at my phone, tea goes cold and undrunk and I am barely aware of my husband coming in and out of the kitchen in search of tea or the Sunday Papers.
These hours in the kitchen are calm and quiet. There is a joy which comes in cooking; the bringing together of separate ingredients, and the repetitive actions required to create something delicious to eat. There is an even greater joy in creating something to eat which will be shared and enjoyed by others.
Have a lovely week xx
I bet your kitchen smelled amazing. What a wonderful Sunday xx