There's nothing quite like Christmas ... Cake

As with all Christmas's for me, the festive season arrives so very quickly.  I spend a lot of time organising and working through to do lists and building new ones, without actually realising that the festive jobs do actually get done and that while it arrives hurriedly I don't have to beat myself up for leaving everything to the last minute.

But a Christmas cake was definitely not on my to do list, and I'm jolly glad it was not.  For I spent a wonderful evening at Chez Tante Mabel Thursday 19th December decorating my own Christmas Cake.

Proprietor and top cake baker, Bev Barker Brown has recently been hosting Christmas cake decorating workshops, which have proved extremely popular.   Accompanied by some fellow LIFT ladies we arrived at the warm and cosy kitchen of Chez Tante Mabel, the smell of Christmas... cakes, mulled wine and mince pies.  Bev talked us through the cakes and the ingredients that we were going to use to decorate our cakes.

What a great way to get in touch with that inner child before Christmas, particularly those with busy lives with children, having a couple of hours out of the hecticness of it all is delightful.  So there we are rolling out sugar icing, cutting out shapes, talking about our Christmases and feeling quite nostalgic.

Halfway through it was time to take a break with a couple of Bev's mince pies and mulled wine ....mmmm  Let me tell you, Bev does not skimp on ingredients, the mulled wine was gorgeous as were her mince pies.

The final adornments were added to our cakes and lovingly wrapped  by Bev so that they could travel well  to our homes.  All in all it was a couple of hours very well spent.

If you have not visited Chez Tante Mabel, then please do save their website details.  Following on from these successful workshops, Bev will be hosting similar workshops for Easter 2014.  These activities along with the treasure trove of delights in her shop next door, will make a great place to escape to,  with or without the children!

Rising Movement Across France: LIFT

Every year thousands of people move to France whether as a permanent expat or holiday home owner.  For those who move permanently  it is a daunting time with many challenges to face and sometimes a little local help is just not quite enough.

There's a little pocket of France, that grows steady in numbers monthly which many particularly ladies congregate to and it's called LIFT.  Not a physical location but a private Facebook group and represents Ladies In France Together  

Women from all walks of life who have moved not only across the Channel but from around the world to settle or experience life in France migrate to this online group for a support for a number of reasons.

If there is a question that needs asking, ask LIFT. If someone is feeling down, let LIFT know.  With a lot of members active and online at any one time there is not one post that would go unanswered, the knowledge and experience collectively between the 1700 strong is amazing. If google were to consider us as a search engine it would be giggle. 

The LIFT oracle is consulted for a number of things ranging from recipes, renovation from carte vitale issues to cars from animals to angry birds, from loneliness to laughter.  Quite frequently lunches are arranged across the country for ladies to meet face to face where many 'cyber' friendships are cemented even further by putting the face to the name.   For many women living in France can be a lonely experience for a number of reasons beyond their control and it is wonderful to see such commaraderie in this way.

The speed at which things get done is incredible in June this year a number of Race for Life walks were arranged within 24 hours; dates were organised, venues sussed out and calendar dates set up on the private group for other ladies to share and attend.   The power of the network is such that you could be living in the south of France in need of a lift to get to the North and you can bet your last euro that the LIFT ladies will get it sorted.

If you are a lady living in France, join the group.  If you have a question that needs answering get a LIFT lady to answer it! 

Mince Pies and Merriment

These are not just any old mince pies, they are not even M&S mince pies, they are my mince pies.  Having lived in France for 18 months now, making your own and baking your own is very much order of the day. Hubby and I have learned to become fiendish foragers and for many months of the year there is much to harvest.... for free.  

Our current rental homes is home to a real fruity collection and this year we had a glut of gorgeous cherries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries, not to mention the small vineyard canopy that crowns our heads as we walk down a small gravel pathway from our back door.  We did nothing with the grapes this year, but if there is a fruitful harvest in 2014, we will certainly be doing something with them. 

So back to the mince pies.  I made a small batch in 2012 which were well received by family members and a small circle of friends. Following on from the success of 2012 I set about making a bigger batch of homemade mixture this year.  Using the usual ingredients of mixed currants, raisins and mixed peel and suet I decided to add a dash of my favourite ingredient.... Pineau.  

Pineau for those who are not accustomed to this moreish drink is a delicious mix of brandy and wine, red or white, warm or chilled. It is the apero glue for many a French man or woman and a great favourite of the expat community [it is where I live!].  

So Pineau now has pride of place in my mincemeat mixture along with foraged walnuts that were scavenged on short journeys to and from various destinations.   Walnuts are not cheap in the UK and are not cheap in France either, so a carrier bag of walnuts is a prized possession for me. Particularly this year.  The Spring and Summer of 2013 produced a bounty of fruit but alas, not a good year for the nuts.  The foraged walnuts also have pride of place in my mincemeat mixture.  Most people would set about de-shelling their walnuts with a nutcracker, but I prefer a more cave woman approach.  I have a specific smooth stone for cracking my walnuts and have been using this favourite stone for a couple of years now and the whole process is rather therapeutic.  

With all ingredients ready, it's now time for mincemeat ingredients to meet Pineau.  When I say a dash of Pineau, what I really meant to say was three quarters of a bottle!  All packed into a large plastic container to ferment and fuse for 30 days or more. 

Friday 13th December 2013 I made my first batch of mince pies.  Thirty to start off with and enough mixture left for another 30 or more!  They have been well received and make a great excuse to go and see friends, deliver Christmas cards along with the much awaited mince Pineau pies.  I have talked them up for some time now and I am inwardly pleased that they have lived up to the culinary hoo hah that I have given them.  

It seems that I have set myself a tradition and look forward to bashing the hell out of those walnuts in 2014!