Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Dec 25, 2012
Merry Christmas
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Hope your holidays are filled with love, fun, family and joy on this festive season.
Dec 26, 2011
Dec 22, 2011
Great Christmas Cookbook
I just bought the best cookbook.
It's the 4 Ingredients Christmas cookbook. It has so many yummy looking and easy to make dishes, that can actually be cooked all year round and every recipe has just 4 ingredients!
It's the 4 Ingredients Christmas cookbook. It has so many yummy looking and easy to make dishes, that can actually be cooked all year round and every recipe has just 4 ingredients!
The book is available at bookstores and also stores like Myer, Target, Big W. You can also buy it direct from 4 Ingredients and the more you buy the cheaper it is Here's the link. http://www.4ingredients.com.au/store/category/large-print-books/
Unlike the other 4 ingredients books, this one has pictures and it's a larger size. There are so many yummy things in it.
Some of the recipes are...
Bacon & Avocado Bruschetta
Breakfast Trifle
Eggs with Smoked Salmon Fingers
Grilled Fruit and Ricotta Stack
Skewer Duo
Crispy Salmon Salad
Mango, Avocado and Prawn Salad
Apple Cambert & Potato Terrine (looks divine)
Maple & Pepper Glazed Turkey
Salmon Terrine
Wild Mushroom Beef Wellington
Vegetable Dishes
and many more nibbles, mains, side dishes.
Lots of Christmas Desserts, like Trifle, Plum Pudding, Christmas Cake, White Christmas Cheesecake and more
Lots of Gift edibles, like Lime & Macadamia Fudge, Reindeer Bark and many more
There are also a number of cocktails and other Christmas drinks.
Christmas Shopping
I thought I burnt off quite a lot of calories today! How? Christmas Shopping.
Yes, I braved the shops today and it was packed! I drove around for about 20 minutes trying to find a parking space. Then once I hit the mall, it was crazy. I think I was there with the rest of Australia. Australia only have a population of 22 million (almost 23 million), so we are a reasonably small country in the way of population, but we have a large land mass. The entire population of Australia is LESS than the population of Los Angeles! How is that, a whole country has less people than one city in the USA.
Anyway back to my shopping.
I had an embarrassing situation today. My neighbour turned up with a Christmas gift for us. Oh no, and I didn't have anything for them. Also I haven't made anything this year. I usually do make different little things like biscuits, truffles, rum balls, even Christmas cakes. But guess what, this year I haven't. I've been too busy, been away and Christmas has just crept up. So I was so embarrassed this morning when she arrive with the gift of homemade rum balls and I didn't have anything for them.
So that was all added to my list today. Containers and wrapping for some home made gifts. I not have two days to whip something up. I got some extras so that if I get any more surprises I can have a gift on hand.
The rest of my shopping is now complete! I just have the last minute grocery shopping to go which I will get done tomorrow and I have some gifts still to wrap and once the wrapping is done, I'm all ready for Christmas.
I hope you all have your shopping done and don't have to go out into the crazy Christmas last minute shopping crowds!
Yes, I braved the shops today and it was packed! I drove around for about 20 minutes trying to find a parking space. Then once I hit the mall, it was crazy. I think I was there with the rest of Australia. Australia only have a population of 22 million (almost 23 million), so we are a reasonably small country in the way of population, but we have a large land mass. The entire population of Australia is LESS than the population of Los Angeles! How is that, a whole country has less people than one city in the USA.
Anyway back to my shopping.
I had an embarrassing situation today. My neighbour turned up with a Christmas gift for us. Oh no, and I didn't have anything for them. Also I haven't made anything this year. I usually do make different little things like biscuits, truffles, rum balls, even Christmas cakes. But guess what, this year I haven't. I've been too busy, been away and Christmas has just crept up. So I was so embarrassed this morning when she arrive with the gift of homemade rum balls and I didn't have anything for them.
So that was all added to my list today. Containers and wrapping for some home made gifts. I not have two days to whip something up. I got some extras so that if I get any more surprises I can have a gift on hand.
The rest of my shopping is now complete! I just have the last minute grocery shopping to go which I will get done tomorrow and I have some gifts still to wrap and once the wrapping is done, I'm all ready for Christmas.
I hope you all have your shopping done and don't have to go out into the crazy Christmas last minute shopping crowds!
Christmas Time
I think this has to be the hardest time of the year to be trying to lose weight!
I am not sure quite how I am going to handle this festive season, food wise. In Australia we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day. I know a lot of countries celebrate on Christmas Eve but we seem to have our big main Christmas meal for lunch on Christmas Day. Our traditional Christmas meal is a big hot roast turkey, roast vegetables and gravy with Christmas pudding and hot custard for dessert. My family still has this big hot lunch. But many in Australia have moved to a delicious big seafood lunch, lots of prawns (shrimp), lobster, bugs, etc. For those with multiple families, in laws, in laws and parents who have split up and do not mix together, Christmas Day can be spent going from meal to meal.
I remember a few years, my husband and I would spend the entire day eating and driving. His family live about an hour away, mine up the road, none of our parents are still married to each other, so we have 4 meals to do on that day! It was just crazy. We would always have the morning with his family but that meant getting up very early Christmas morning to make the first breakfast over an hours drive away. Once our son was born it was just too much. He would get up in the morning and want to spend the morning opening his presents from Santa, not racing out the door at 6am, long drive, eat, eat again, long drive, eat lunch, drive, dinner, drive home, fall asleep in the car. It was CRAZY!.
How did I put an end to this craziness? We started going away! I do have to admit, we went away with my family, but for the next several years, we went overseas for a white Christmas. It was fantastic, so stress free. I would pack all of Santa''s gifts in the suitcase, our son would hang his Santa sack up outside on the balcony of our hotel room (there was a hook out there, like it was put there for my son's Santa sack). I would pack Christmas trees (just, small, cheap, already decorated ones from the $2 shop) for all of my family. We would have about 4 or 5 hotel rooms, usually on the same floor. We would all put our cheap little trees up, which were so cheap that we could leave them behind and it gave me more room to bring shopping home. We had a small gift limit, so didn't have to drag big gifts home and it was very civilised. We would wake up Christmas morning, my son would find that Santa had been, he would open and play with his presents. We would then all meet up in one of the rooms and have a big present opening session, then would head down to breakfast at the hotel. It was lovely.
We haven't done that in a few years. Now my husband's family seem to do a big Christmas celebration in the weeks leading up to Christmas as the family is so large that many are often going away so it's more convenient to do a celebration and get together before Christmas. Then on Christmas Day we go to lunch at my mothers house and that's it. It is much more relaxing and we have time to actually enjoy the day.
But the whole season, catching up with friends. The whole week from Christmas to New Year seems to consist of eating, drinking, eating, eating and eating. Christmas Day we will be having the big hot turkey lunch, then it's off to dinner at a friends house, hopefully no food required for dinner after the massive lunch.
I hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of laughs, great company and yummy food!
I am not sure quite how I am going to handle this festive season, food wise. In Australia we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day. I know a lot of countries celebrate on Christmas Eve but we seem to have our big main Christmas meal for lunch on Christmas Day. Our traditional Christmas meal is a big hot roast turkey, roast vegetables and gravy with Christmas pudding and hot custard for dessert. My family still has this big hot lunch. But many in Australia have moved to a delicious big seafood lunch, lots of prawns (shrimp), lobster, bugs, etc. For those with multiple families, in laws, in laws and parents who have split up and do not mix together, Christmas Day can be spent going from meal to meal.
 |
| Our Christmas Tree |
How did I put an end to this craziness? We started going away! I do have to admit, we went away with my family, but for the next several years, we went overseas for a white Christmas. It was fantastic, so stress free. I would pack all of Santa''s gifts in the suitcase, our son would hang his Santa sack up outside on the balcony of our hotel room (there was a hook out there, like it was put there for my son's Santa sack). I would pack Christmas trees (just, small, cheap, already decorated ones from the $2 shop) for all of my family. We would have about 4 or 5 hotel rooms, usually on the same floor. We would all put our cheap little trees up, which were so cheap that we could leave them behind and it gave me more room to bring shopping home. We had a small gift limit, so didn't have to drag big gifts home and it was very civilised. We would wake up Christmas morning, my son would find that Santa had been, he would open and play with his presents. We would then all meet up in one of the rooms and have a big present opening session, then would head down to breakfast at the hotel. It was lovely.
We haven't done that in a few years. Now my husband's family seem to do a big Christmas celebration in the weeks leading up to Christmas as the family is so large that many are often going away so it's more convenient to do a celebration and get together before Christmas. Then on Christmas Day we go to lunch at my mothers house and that's it. It is much more relaxing and we have time to actually enjoy the day.
But the whole season, catching up with friends. The whole week from Christmas to New Year seems to consist of eating, drinking, eating, eating and eating. Christmas Day we will be having the big hot turkey lunch, then it's off to dinner at a friends house, hopefully no food required for dinner after the massive lunch.
I hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of laughs, great company and yummy food!
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