Christmas + the countryside = one very happy girl!
It really is pretty simple. A house surrounded by bushland (no neighbours please!), Bing Crosby, twinkling Christmas lights and a big bowl of fresh prawns. That's all it takes to make me forget about the working year that's been, allowing my shoulders to drop and the biggest smile to appear permanently on my face.
This is my perfect Christmas, all wrapped up with a big red bow.
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3 simple words that when said apart, make me smile, but when said together, make me swoon .... Fruit. Mince. Tart.
In my old life, these 3 simple little single syllable words would conjure up so many good memories, making me feel comforted, happy and oh so "Christmassy".
Now, having run away from gluten and sugar, these words when said together do (if I'm being honest) bring up a little feeling of deprivation, but more so bring up feelings of sugar highs and slumps, sleepiness and foggy brain. Not to mention a swollen thyroid! I’m not one to say “never”, but with the knowledge I now have of how sugar affects my body, I just can’t imaging EVER consuming these little tarts that I once held in such high esteem, again.
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Plump, boozy dried fruit, glace cherries and nuts. All the things I loved in the Christmas cakes of my past. The denser and the darker the better. Cake that would (and could) last for months (if I didn't eat it sooner). And cake that stayed moist without the need for refrigeration.
My body and taste buds may no longer be able to tolerate these sweet fruit cakes of my youth, but I still have a need (and a desperate want) for a boozy, spicy and dense sliver of cake to sit proudly and lovingly alongside my cup of tea on Christmas day.
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I try not to push my sugar beliefs onto those around me. However, sometimes I find it hard to keep my big mouth shut, but I do like to believe that I rant and rave out of love.
I usually just get an eye roll in return.
So being the wonderful friend that I am, I did bring along a sweet treat loaded with the white stuff to my Annual Christmas Feast last week (see here). Just four simple ingredients went into this bite sized Christmas treat, which was quickly snapped up by the kids and adults alike.
Packaged up, this would also make a wonderful Christmas gift for those sugar loving friends of yours out there!
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We all have our own little Christmas traditions.
For me, there are just three simple things that mark the beginning...
1. When my tree gets its annual fluff and adornment in November (no comments please).
2. The smell of the first mango and cherries of the season.
3. My annual Christmas feast.
Little did I know that 16 years ago within the walls of my Prahran apartment, six friends, copious amounts of bubbles and Madonna impersonations into the wee hours of the morning would mark the beginning of something special.
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I read this line somewhere recently..."For children, Christmas means days of anticipation and then delight." Cross out the first two words and this line could be about me.
I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR! SERIOUSLY!
Apart from decorating the tree, creating gifts by hand is one of my all time favourite things which is why I jumped at the chance to be apart of Claire K Creation's Foodie Secret Santa!
The assignment - Be given three fellow bloggers from somewhere in Australia. Create edible Christmas gifts. Package them up and send them on their merry way.
Here's my gift.....
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These little angels were my "goody bag".
Handed out at my Annual Christmas Picnic on the weekend.
They're light and fragile with a slight hint of spice.
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Name any cafe or restaurant The Larder and I'm sucked in!
There's something special about that word that appeals to some hidden part of me - It could be a crappy little shop, but I still have to take a look inside just to feel satisfied. Unfortunately, I'm often disappointed.
So I can honestly say I was a happy girl when I walked into The Larder - a little cafe on the main street of Daylesford and found myself surrounded by cookbooks, enamel milk jugs for sale and various sized platters of cakes and biscuits.
Not to mention some cute Christmas decorations, which I'm an even bigger sucker for.
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