Christmas goodies….

My family... Guess which one is the Genie King?

Another tradition in my family is making Christmas goodies. My mum used to make cookies, and cakes and murukku and ghee balls (my favourite) and we’d help in what little ways that we could. My brother and I used to press the murukku out of the mould while my sister helped with the tarts. The other goodies mum would to do on her own. I wonder how she found the time and strength because for years now after her passing I still can’t bring myself up to her standards. I can still remember the smells that wafted through the house throughout the Christmas period. Mmmm such great memories.

Nowadays we usually buy our goodies and this year is no exception. We bought some nice little cookies which I have yet to try so I hope they taste as good as they look on the box. I also got a Christmas pudding, stollen, and fruitcake which I don’t usually get. Those are some of my favourites so I hope they taste good too.

Out of the frying pan

One of the things I wanted to make was murukku (like rice crispies but with spices). So on Saturday we found the old recipe book my mum had and we tried our hand at it. Boy was it tough! We just didn't want to open the ready mixed packet but instead wanted to incorporate some of the spices Mum used to put in. We toiled and toiled because you need to squeeze the dough out of a small hole. We managed to do it and with sore palms we proclaimed success. The murukkuu tasted better than the store bought stuff and it was worth the effort to get a taste of my past.

The final product

On Sunday bouyed by our success we decided to make another pack but it didn't turn out as good although it tasted the same. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. Wifey also made peanut cookies at the same time. So we were juggling our time and duties as the little one slept.

When we finished we were dead tired but had a great sense of satisfaction.

Now I'm wondering about either cooking or catering for our Christmas party. If I cater then it's be less work but if I cook there will be a sense of satisfaction. Although I might require a new fridge to store all the stuff that is needed. I saw a great place called Wize that had a bunch of Refrigerator Reviews. The best thing about is that they have ranks for the reviews that make it easy for you to select a top model not based on what the salesmen say but on what other customers say. To me that is important when making an online purchase espcially for a large item like a refrigerator.

My old fridge now is pretty decent and has a large capacity but you won't be able to keep two turkeys together with the other meats and vegetables that are needed for the party. For that you need a really huge refrigerator that has great cooling power and can get the job done!