The Mint Shop

The Mint Shop

Thursday 29 December 2011

A Danish scent of cinnamon



First of all: a belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you had a good time eating, drinking, and dozing off. We cooked non-stop for almost a week and everything is now gone! 


The cooking marathon though was only one of the reasons why I disappeared just before Christmas. We also went Copenhagen and soaked up its festive atmosphere and met up with my friend Mette of Italian Notes who cooked a wonderful Danish Christmas meal just for us! But more about this at my next post. 

Thursday 15 December 2011

A Scottish Christmas carol


Dear readers,

I am still alive. I  had not been kidnapped by aliens or lost the use of my hands. Simply far too busy and with so many things to prioritize. Tut, tut, tut....blog writing = top priority. I know, I know but the reality is that these wonderful little posts don't pay the rent or buy Christmas presents - unless you, devoted readers, wish to make a donation....;-D

But I am now back ready to face Christmas and the Italian invasion, as well as presents, turkey, crackers, puddings....and so on and so forth...

If English food is neglected, Scottish food is practically unheard, with the exception of salmon, haggis, and whiskey, which is a real shame as Scots culinary traditions are lost in the midst of antiquity. I admit it, it is all rather heavy but would you not go for a juicy and fatty piece of meat rather than a Mediterranean tomato grilled with herbs that might well refresh you and help your tan but won't warm up your freezing bones?
 

This cake, "Clootie Dumpling",  is a variation on the most known English Christmas pudding - or who knows, perhaps it went from North to South rather than the other way round...after all weren't English invading its northern cousins?