It seems a nice rounding off to the Christmas posts to make my 400th post to this version of the blog with a Merry Christmas to you all. Thanks for making this journal worth coming back to with your comments and with your own blogs and journals as well! Looking forward to 2008 with anticipation of more great adventures.
Merry Christmas, and if I don’t make it back here before 2008, a Happy New Year to you too!
Oh Fudge. (Click to embiggen the images)
Christmas Fudge = Russian Fudge… sorry Fi if you were expecting some new revelatory recipe… for our family, this is an annual event… all of us girls make it and give it away… Funnily we all have different preferences in terms of cooking time and final texture of the completed work… this is mine… the illustrated edition…
Here’s the recipe… oooh I’m having a flashback… have I done this before??? This is another traditional Kiwi one straight out of the stock standard Edmonds Cookbook… (every other Kiwi you know probably has one…)
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
125g butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon golden syrup
- Put sugar and milk into a saucepan. (I’ll point out at this stage that I made double recipe – this is clearly more than 3 cups of sugar!!)
- Heat gently (I usually start at the very middle setting on my stove and watch it, if it starts to bubble before it has fully dissolved turn the heat down) , stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. (I always find this is tricky, just how dissolved is dissolved??? I find if I’m patient I can get the melted sugar to be virtually crystal free… how long it takes depends on the heat… and my patience – it usually runs out when it’s about 90-95% runny and that’s usually 15min or so I think.)
- Add condensed milk, butter, salt and golden syrup. Stir until butter has melted. (I stir till the melted butter has mixed in with the rest…I hope you’re not dieting, by the way…)
- Bring to the boil and continue boiling until the soft ball stage, stirring occasionally to prevent burning (you’ll notice darker flecks of fudged which has cooked to the bottom come through the pot as you do this, it’s no drama, but you do need to do this regularly as those brown flecks turn to burnt if you’re not careful).
- Edited to add – I’d probably cook it for longer than this if I were doing it now, the fudge is a bit soft here… actually, I’ll get a sugar thermometer and cook it to the right temp 235F or 113C) Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
- Beat until thick.
- Pour into buttered tin.
- Mark into squares. Cut when cold.
The recipe doesn’t tell you to eat it… I guess that goes without saying, but I can report that even if you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth this recipe is seriously restrictive in the amount you can eat at one sitting… it is rich beyond compare…
Deeleea has Left the Building
I can relax…
**1. My job list at ‘real job’ is ticked off with two teeny ‘can fix from home’ exceptions.
2. The staff Christmas Lunch (which felt a LOT like a wedding, given the speeches we sat through) is done and dusted and was gorgeous.
3. There’s enough money in the bank not to stress on holiday… if we eat lots of salad (and make it ourselves).
4. The flat is being well looked after (and eagerly anticipated) by Ooh La La who’ll be great company for the cat… They were introduced today and will have lots of lovely fun together… (she says hopefully).
5. The Christmas fudge is made (I have photos for you but haven’t had time to tweak and upload… will do on the w/e) and mostly delivered.
6. The weather is warm.
7. The library is open tomorrow.
I still have a bunch of things to do
1. Make Cheesecake for Christmas Dinner, will have to do that on Christmas Eve… which reminds me…
12. … buy ingredients for cheesecake, and other holiday requirements.
13. Buy Christmas gifts for those I’ll be seeing before Christmas. (saving others for sneaky post Christmas Sale shopping).
14. Go to the Library and get lots of lovely holiday reading.
15. Buy film for the Ultra-Wide and Slim…
… but these are all low stress items. I’m shooting two events this weekend so am looking forward to having that over but by and large I’m feeling the relaxation creeping up on me… to the point I’m sitting here yawning my head off… pity I’m on my way out for the evening… I could conk out right now!!!
Won’t be a late one then.
** Image captured at the Christmas Lunch – beautiful restaurant called Orso. On Middle Harbour.
Christmachino
I’ve been holding off on putting up the tree. There are a few reasons for this, one is that the tree and it’s adornments were tucked away in the backest of beyond in my wardrobe and getting them down involved hassle. The second was that it really is a bit redundant putting up the tree just for oneself… Still, in view of my sentimental attachment to me decorations this is a weak argument… go back to point one.
The final and most compelling reason I’d held out was the anticipation of feline interference in not only the decorating process but at an ongoing level.
It would appear as though my fears are by no means groundless. Remains to be seen what state it will all be in when he’s home alone with it all…