Mumsey's Christmas Cake

This is my own recipe developed from one in an old Edmonds Cook book I got when I first got married. I have changed the fruit quantities and variety, the essences and the way the eggs are prepared and added.

Mumsey’s Christmas Cake

225 g Butter
225 g Brown Sugar
1 Tblsp Mixed Spice
1 dsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Nutmeg
6 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
225 g Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 kg of Mixed Fruit.
125 g Cherries
200 g Dates
1 Tblsp Brandy or brandy essence
1 dsp Almond essence
1 tsp Rum or rum essence

Preheat the oven to 120C to 140C.
Line a 19cm square (at least 6cm deep) cake tin with baking paper and then wrap the outside like a parcel with a double thickness of newspaper leaving the top open and tie with cotton string or cotton but not nylon. A synthetic material will melt in the oven. You could use a different size tin but your cooking time will vary so be aware of that.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and then the yokes in a separate bowl until well mixed.
Mix the fruit with most of the flour, baking powder and salt, saving about 1/3 cup of the flour.
Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in the spices and a tablespoon of the flour.
Beat in the yokes a little at a time with a tablespoon of flour with each addition.
Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites a half at a time and the floured fruit. (and any left over flour from the 1/3 cup you had saved)
Lastly add the essences enough to mix and then fill the prepared cake tin. Smooth the top and then gently drop the cake on to the floor to release any bubbles of air.
Bake at 120 to 140C for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Place some folded newspaper on the top of the cake tin for the first hour to stop the top of the cake browning too much.
Allow to cool in the tin.

This cake may be stored for a couple of months before it needs eating wrapped in baking paper and newspaper. Don’t put it in plastic as it will sweat. It may also be frozen. Keeping it for awhile allows the flavours to develop.

Getting ready for Christmas

It’s just under a month until Christmas and I feel strangely unpaniced by the thought. I love Christmas and most of my cherubs have the same feeling. It is not so much the presents but the time of family being together and that it is one of the few times in the year that as Christians we can truly celebrate, in this case, the birth of Jesus Christ.
Our home is decorated, presents are bought (but not at great cost), food is prepared and the coming together of family means many memories are made.

I have baked my own Christmas cake and even bought some gifts already. Part of enjoying Christmas is to me, making the time of preparation part of the whole Christmas feel. As I go about baking, decorating, wrapping gifts, writing cards etc, I have carols playing in the background. I don't let the media or what is being said on the radio or television, or what is in the shops govern what I do. This is a time of building our own family traditions. Taking a part of both my husband’s family Christmas and my own we have developed or own unique ways of celebration and built on it.

Food seemed to be a big part of my mother’s family Christmas and I had over the years tried to repeat it in our home but I was exhausted from the efforts and the fridge would bulge with the leftovers we would have to eat for days. Now this can be great for the cook as she gets "time off"!! But, there is a limit as to how much recycled food one wants to eat. I did learn through this that my Grannie was a wonderful woman and really sacrificed her own Christmas days with all the work she did cooking the food that the tables seem to buckle under.

I came to realize that planning was the best way around making it all stress free. This allowed you to see what you needed, how much in size and variety, and so also eliminate the unnecessary extras, which you seemed to think, were important. I am a bit of a “lists” sort of person and have found the Notebook: magazine meal planners fun. Keeping it simple with the foods you like to prepare makes the whole “feeding the family” a joy not a chore. If there are lots of different foods you like, spread them over the three days rather than trying to have everything on Christmas Day. You will only be disappointed when the food you have lovingly prepared gets put back into the fridge or thrown out. It’s the fellowship and tradition that you want family to remember.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

When I have been busy or away and suddenly there is food lying around that needs using up I try to make something with it instead of throwing it out to the hens.
One thing that often happens in our house is that most of our family don't like over ripe bananas, so as soon as they turn colour or get brown specks on them no-body touches them.
I can make banana cake with them or even freeze them whole for a later time but the quick way to use them up is to make these muffins.


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups self-raising four
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used chunks)
1/4 tsp salt
100 grams butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup (2-3) mashed bananas (over ripe is best)

Grease 12 medium muffin tins with margarine or butter (I use a paper towel and wipe it on or you could spray with a non-stick spray)
Toss together with a fork in a bowl the first four ingredients.
In a jug melt the butter in a microwave. Add milk, the beaten egg, vanilla and mashed bananas.
Mix with a fork.
Pour the liquids into dry ingredients and gently fold them together about 14 times. It should be lumpy with bits of flour not fully wet.
Fill muffins tins to 3/4 fill.
Bake in preheated oven at 220oC for 12 - 15 minutes until muffins spring back when pressed in the centre.
Allow to stand in tins for 10 minutes then bang and tip out.

Best served while still warm.
But great for lunch boxes too.

A glimpse of what was special at Titoki for me

One of the many gardens in the large grounds. This one has a bird house where the three white doves rest if not wondering in the grounds.


A little bridge over a pond that will take you round to a quiet secluded patch.


This pond is one of a few and the fountain had just been fixed the weekend I was there.


This is the view from the deck outside my ranch slider from my room. The chapel is the building on the right which is open everyday for you to sit or listen to music.

This is the room I stayed in with an ensuite off to the right of the photo.

Taking Time to Rest

With all that has been going on over the last few weeks and indeed over this year, I was watching for myself, to make sure I did not end up having a break down as I had five years ago when things like this had happened before. I had learnt from last time that I needed to check for panic attacks, my eating habits and many more things but above all, I needed to look after myself. I had ended up very sick and in a mental health hospital last time, then stayed with friends as I recovered which took ten days, so this time as a prevention, I was encouraged to have some time out for me.
And what an amazing time I had.
I went to the Titoki Healing Centre and was truly blessed. For me I had let the things that are important for me lapse, one being my Bible reading and study. At this retreat I was thoroughly looked after in a caring Christian environment for three days and nights and was able do all I needed and read, sleep and relax.
I also felt encouraged that all I see myself as being ( a wife, mother, grandmother and woman to share with others all the knowledge in these areas) is what God wants me to be and do.
So for you if you are a wife, mother or grandmother than please remember to look after yourself. To do you job properly you need to be nurtured and filled first otherwise you will be of little use for others and so unable to give out to those you love.

I was reminded of the things I enjoy as pampering just me and I encourage you to think about some things for you and buy or put into action what they are.

Examples of what I have on my "list" are:
Lavender body products e.g. Talc, soap and body creams.
Lady Grey tea and a ginger nut first thing in the morning.
A journal to write my thoughts.
A daily walk even if it is just to post a letter.
Time to sit in the sun (or by the fire) with no thoughts of the demands or having to make conversation.
A time slot in the day/week (you will know what amount of time that realistically can be) to do what you love, e.g. reading, writing, drawing, a craft.
A treat just for you (mine is Rose Turkish Delight and I ask my family to give me boxes as gifts)

And remember this is not being selfish or self centered. If you don't look after yourself, who else is? Don't wait for the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, use the harness to get yourself down safely.

In Sickness and In Health

If you have followed any of my posts you will have read that last week my husband was admitted to hospital with an overdose. It is not the first time, but still a time of anguish, emotional upheaval and general feeling of being confused and let down. Each time I am challenged to think deeply of what I have as a marriage and relationship with my husband. Mental illness is a part of our lives but it is just one part and not all of it. Like a bubble, along with others, inside the big bubble of who we are.

I will admit that at times I have felt deep down that maybe it would be best for us all if he succeeded, but that is the selfish part of me speaking and I know that is not our destiny. Life was not supposed to be a bed of roses. The thorns are well and truly there and we can either let them dig in or we can prune them away. You won’t know where the thorns are to prune if you don't rest deep enough. It’s like facing the challenge and growing deeper and stronger for doing so.

I have a daily reading from "The Word For Today" that I read and today's was on "Thoughts On Marriage".
I was encouraged by the last paragraph that said

'a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.' Genesis 2:24 (NKJV). This verse is read at almost every wedding. The problem is, most of us don't think about what we're promising. It means breaking all other ties and giving yourself totally to your mate. Rather than working them into your life, it's building your life around them. The word 'cleave' means to stick like glue through bad times and good, and to commit to loving and caring for each other.'

Many times people who don't understand this have suggested it would be best to walk away or seem surprised that I would stay and live with all that is a mental illness. When we marry some use the vows

"to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part,
according to God's holy law.
In the presence of God I make this vow."

and this is now one of those times.
As the above says,
... stick like glue through bad times and good, and (to) commit to loving and caring for each other.'

It is still early days but we are on the road of recovery again and learning new ways to stand strong.

When things are tough and you need food quick

We have had a crisis the last few days. My husband has a mental illness of depression. This has been under control for the last few years with medication, acceptance, a job with less expectations and new tactics to manage the illness when it starts to make its presence known. Unfortunately my husband felt he could go with out his medication with out telling anyone and thinking he could manage it on his own. But this was not successful and the depression kicked in and he took an overdose last Thursday. This has been a major time of disruption, confusion and stress for the rest of the family both at home and for those living away now.

I have been traveling the 50 or so kms to visit him and some members of family while the younger teenagers have wanted to stay at home.

Mental illness is hard to understand even when you live with it in the family and we all accept and relate to it in our own ways. It is a part of us as a family so we can not sweep it under the mat or hide from it.

Today I came home from being away for 24 hours and I saw we needed something nutritious, filling and quick to make up for the picky feeding the teenagers had eaten while I was away. I was also extremely emotionally and physically tired.
Opening the cupboard I could see a can of baked beans. That was the fibre and protein we needed. I gathered some fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden, some flavourings from the cupboard and produced the quick meal below that was quiet delicious!!!