The double blessing of a late Christmas.

in #life5 years ago

Just as a fountain without water is simply a large stone dish, so Christmas without children is just as dry.

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This year my grandchildren were given a trip of a lifetime and that was in a snowy country far away where they learned to ski. We skyped on Christmas day of course and we laughed at their cherry red noses in the sub zero temperatures. We agreed that as soon as they set foot back on South African soil they would journey down to have a second Christmas with Nana and Pappy.... baubles on the tree with flickering lights and crispy roast potatoes with my extra special gravy.  My signature dish ...... a browned moist roast turkey with sausages.

Well we did it.........two weeks after the actual day but who cares, it was wonderful especially as my roast dinner was apparently better than the chef managed in Switzerland! My grandchildren know their way into my heart and of course I believe them.

The one small benefit catering for a Christmas with adults was being able to indulge myself with making something different for lunch on the actual day.(For another change we had the traditional roast on the eve of Christmas.)

For lunch I baked a Christmas tree bread.

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I was so excited by the outcome of it that I forgot to photograph it before it was crumbs on the platter. So I have borrowed one from the Internet. 

Jamie Oliver inspired me to make the bread but instead of making the dough I bought a kilogram of the spongy stuff from our local supermarket who cater for 'the lazy'!

Two hours before I wanted to serve it I lightly kneaded the spongy dough and made the required 36 little balls of dough. I arranged them in the classic Christmas tree shape on a large roasting pan covered in baking paper.

The BIG DIFFERENCE was that instead of the dip shown in the photograph I borrowed, I put two camembert cheeses (rind off ) in a round ramekin with a splash of good white wine, several slivers of fresh garlic and put it in the centre of my Christmas tree. 

Very important is that I picked several tips of fresh rosemary from my herb garden and put them in between the bread balls. it gave it a beautiful festive look of a pine tree. 

I left it to rise in a secluded spot. I heated the oven to 180* Celsius.

I popped the bread balls, brushed with a beaten egg, and the Camembert cheese in the oven for 45 minutes. 

As my guests arrived the aroma of fresh bread baking and the smell of Rosemary urged them inside, tastebuds already tingling.

I served it piping hot but cool enough for fingers to tear open the small bread rolls. The steam was still coming off the delicious melted Camembert cheese...garlic and wine. Everyone was dizzy with anticipation and it did not disappoint. The ramekin was wiped clean enough to put back on the shelf and only crumbs were left on the serving tray.

So in spite of the initial disappointment caused by missing my grandchildren on the actual day, I discovered that by embracing the change and inviting other friends and family I, in actual fact, gained a double blessing.

Such is of course the Spirit of the real reason for the Christmas season. 



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Your Christmas tree bread sounds so delicious @justjoy and you're so right, blessing others is the reason behind the season! Happy new year to you and yours :)

Although it is day 9 of the new year it is feeling all Christmasy because of the children having just arrived. It is a wonderful way to prolong all the festivities which I love.
Thank you for your good wishes and the same to you Lizelle.

That's wonderful @justjoy, enjoy it :) Our sons did not come down this Christmas either, think they realise that the bnb keeps us way too busy then :( But they'll visit later in the year and we'll celebrate then :)

Hello @justjoy, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!

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