The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024 Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Welcome all new and old friends.

The journey continues.

Loving the trees.

I'm pleased with giving the kitchen a better clean than usual. Even the definitely NN fridge.

Have got rid of all the half empty, definitely put of date jars. Still have a shelf full of random stuff but they can get put on a cool window sill when we need to space for extra food.

10 December

Choosing the tree

Today, the tip of a fir tree waving past the shutters, is carried past the house on broad shoulders. It's branches are tied firmly to its trunk with netting and there is the sound of an excited child or two in tow. I feel they are a little premature, but in truth I can't wait to join in. Forget making mincemeat and baking the cake - it's only when the tree is up, shimmering with lights, that it is officially Christmas.

Morning all.

I'm hoping to nip to M&S after the school run this morning as I want to get whatever I can food wise at this point. Thanks for the timely reminder to clear out the condiment shelf in the fridge (the shelf of doom!) My neighbours son is then coming to do my outside lights as we had to postpone at the weekend.

@LillianGish ive just spied the Eiffel tower atop your tree. Love it.

@Confusedmeanderings sounds like you've got it all covered 😊 Hope you continue to get better weather for the rest of the week.

Hope everyone has a lovely day.

P.S. I've made a note in my diary as it looks like we shall need a 3rd thread in a couple of days. Don't want to lose everyone again!

It’s only when the tree is up, shimmering with lights, that it is officially Christmas - that’s exactly how I feel! Well done for spotting the Eiffel Tower @RainbowZebraWarrior, I also have the Arc de Triomphe (or Tree-omphe!) on there!

Lovely tree @LillianGish

I like todays chapter. Though I might add that for me Christmas starts today as it's my birthday and traditionally the day Christmas goes into full swing for us.That said it will be a quiet one today as I'm still full of whatever rubbish virus I've had, as is DH and now DD, and half our electric circuits, including the ones for our poor lodger in the annexe, are not working for some reason. So it will mostly be spent on the sofa with a Lemsip, phoning emergency electricians! So this is 45 .
If I'm lucky we will get out hopefully to Hatfield House-my Tudor obsession is slightly fulfilled there as it's where Elizabeth the 1st spent her childhood-plus they have a nice park you can walk around and a good courtyard cafe. But we will see...

A Lovely Tuesday to all...

Happy birthday @piscofrisco ! Hope you rally and get out for a bit x

Many happy returns @piscofrisco I Hooe you manage to get out and also get the electrics sorted x

Happy birthday @piscofrisco 🥳

Happy birthday @piscofrisco

Hatfield sounds like a wonderful place to visit this time of year.

Just having a quick catch up..
Love reading the posts from everyone and seeing the Christmassy photos 🎄

@piscofrisco many happy returns! 🎉

@RainbowZebraWarrior much luck for a speedy recovery x

Happy birthday 🎉 @piscofrisco and thank you @HannahDefoesChristmasHamper for inspiring me to clean my kitchen and clear out my fridge. I’ve even found space for a mini Christmas tree (which is admittedly probably more Nigella than Nigel!)

Christmas Tarts.
They are absolutely gorgeous, but if you are going to try them, don't bother trying to cut out the tart shells from a log of pastry, just roll them out.

Happy birthday @piscofrisco !

Look what I've found! I thought the Scandinavian Christmas book would make a great new tradition for the run up to Christmas. I've had an eye out for the Thor Heyerdahl book for a while. I was first introduced to it at Junior school by a teacher with an eclectic taste in books suitable for 10 year olds. I have loved it ever since. I took my last copy into school a few years ago and it disappeared so I've been trying to replace it ever since. I might have a pile of other books too, and I've only been here 10 minutes! I'm now ensconced in the cafe with a coffee ready for a good read!

@LillianGish do you ding your bell when dinner is ready, or is it just for decorative purposes?

@drspouse they look fabulous. That tin also looks like it's had a useful life.

@Confusedmeanderings sounds like you're having fun. That book looks lovely. You've also just reminded me that I am long overdue an Audible book. That's just the excuse I need to take a break from wrapping presents.

St Eval Winter Thyme - just arrived.

Smells amazing - thank you to the PPs who recommended it.

We do ding the bell for dinner @RainbowZebraWarrior, though it’s a bit surplus to requirement here. It dates from the years when we lived in big houses in Berlin and Ealing. My granny used to have a gong.

I've got a gong! I don't use it now we have alexas everywhere (even with that, half the time I just bawl for them) but when we lived in a big house in Shanghai it did the trick perfectly. It now hangs on the side of a bookcase and doesn't really resonate, I haven't really found its perfect place in this house. I liked it though.
(I wonder how Nigel summonses people to eat - though to be fair if he was cooking for me I'd be in the kitchen already, having a perfectly chilled drink and a few exquisite olives, so probably he doesn't have to screech up the stairs)

We only have ds2 at home so I bang on the ceiling under his room with a broom. It’s the only way to cut through his noise cancelling headphones.

Magnificent gong @bigbadbarry. I think you are also correct about Nigel not needing to summon people as they would almost certainly be all together in one of his kitchens having one of his delicious welcome drinks and eating olives served in exactly the right Edmund de Wahl bowl. He does not know the chaos of several generations scattered among various rooms all doing their own thing. I dream of such order - it's one of many reasons Nigel's lifestyle is ultimately unattainable for me and for so many of us.

Loving the bell and gong. My Mum has a bell for my Dad, but it's largely useless as he's often disappeared into the fields with the dog! (And he's rather deaf due to too many gigs. Does he wear his hearing aids? Of course not) I've taken to texting DD when she has the noise cancelling headphones on.

It's dark here already. We are in those final dark days of December. Full on Hibernation and hygge time.

Also, I was listening to the card and tree chapters today on CC and wondered if anyone had ever partaken in the great MN Janet and Roy round Robin?

@Willow12345 the illustrations on the St Eval candles are so lovely. I've not tried winter thyme, but I'm eyeing up a figgy pudding one for when Inspiritus runs out.

@piscofrisco Happy Birthday! May all of your birthdays (and Christmas ') be blue and white!

Lovely photos @LillianGish and I hope you are healing well @RainbowZebraWarrior

I am bloody freezing. It's so cold here right now. Like an absolute stone cold. We have wool layers over merino wool underlays, socks, blankets and the jotul on all day. We are hovering between minus 18 and 20 in the day and then plunging to nearly minus 28 at night. Still beautiful, but you have to be very careful when you go out as you could get into trouble quickly. Men vi er veldig veldig koselig inne 😊

Tomorrow we will be baking some lussekatter for St Lucia day on Friday. I was able to get some saffron ready. If anyone is interested in a recipe, I have a really nice one that I'm happy to share.

We had a chat over the weekend about Christmas dinner and what to do this year. We've collected a few different traditions over the years from different places we've lived. Usually it goes
22nd - Moules et frites (Guernsey)
23rd - Svensk julebord (Sweden)
24th - Ribbe (Norway)
25th - English Christmas turkey roast dinner

But it's only us and DS and DD, 12 and 5 years old. They don't really like roast dinners, so we've decided to a Christmas Day Swedish Julebord instead and then add in our favourites. So far we have Elg kjøttboller (moose meatballs), prinskorv (mini sausages), home made stuffing, roast Christmas ham, a type of roast rib, dauphinoise potato, different types of herring, gravlaks, crusty bread, forest berry sauce and some vegetables. Dessert might be homemade profiteroles with a ganache that me and my son bake together. All small dishes that go on the table together kind of like tapas.

What are other people planning for dinner?

Thankyou all for the birthday wishes. We made it out for lunch and a bimble around the farm shop, then a very muddy walk with the able bodied dogs. Now home about to eat some
Left over lasagne and drink some champagne. As birthdays go, not bad at all, though a long way from the birthdays of yore that featured booze and nightclubs.

I've also got my Winter Thyme burning. Excellent throw on it. The whole house smells very festive.

Gosh I'd like a dinner gong!

@RainbowZebraWarrior I have figgy pudding burning right now. It’s lovely!

@IngenTing your Swedish julebord sounds amazing!