I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Ours was the perfect combination of faith, family, friends and food. Nearly all the gifts we received were edible and many of them homemade, which made them all the more special.
Andrea’s mum, Iris, made us a loaf of her Pan de Pascua. Even though it translates literally to “Easter bread”, it’s traditionally eaten at Christmas in their native Chile. It’s richly flavoured with walnuts, dried fruits and subtle spices – sort of a cross between fruit cake, raisin toast and tea cake. Iris’ recipe is an old family secret, so even if I can beg it from her, I won’t be allowed to share with you. So far all she’s confirmed is that it doesn’t have ginger in it…
Carol very kindly baked me some of her almond bread for Christmas, since she knows how much I love it!
Diana and I are both big fans of The River Cottage series, so when she saw medlar jelly at her local country markets, she bought us a jar to try. It’s a deep amber colour and very softly set.
The Little General EVOO is one of our favourite gourmet oils – lovely neighbours Pete and El have kept us in stock for yet another year..
Dottie gave us a jar of her delicious yellow bean soy dressing – it was the perfect accompaniment to our leftover Christmas chicken!
My wonderful cousins gave us a set of hand-painted espresso cups and a jar of homemade cookies, which included these beautiful stained glass treats.
These are my aunt’s special achar pickles – sweet, hot and delicious. They only last about two days in our house!
Gourmet treats from Cliff and Kathy included jars of organic fig relish, black olive pate, and New Zealand Beechwood Honeydew honey. The honey is unique in that it’s not created from the nectar of flowers, but rather from the excretion of tiny insects that feed on the bark of the beech tree.
The chocolate teddies are from Aunt Anna, and I just managed to keep them from the boys long enough for a photo.
Maude made me jars of her lime pickle (which I love, but am always too lazy to make) and also gave us a bottle of porcini oil, which will be perfect in Pete’s wild mushroom risotto.
Joyce and Marty brought us a packet of single origin chocolate from their recent trip to the Margaret River in Western Australia. These 75% cocoa buttons are from Tanzania.
Cousin Andrew grows Corregiola and Manzanillo olives in the Cudgegong Valley river flats in Mudgee, NSW and cold presses them into this very special extra virgin olive oil. It’s fruity and full-bodied, with a delicious pepperiness.
Finally, a couple of very special bottles – the 2003 vintage rosé Moët & Chandon is a gift from the gorgeous Terri, and the citrus (lemon) vodka was given to us by our old friends and neighbours, PeteV and Nic. Does anyone have suggestions of what I can use the vodka for? I don’t need any help with the Moët…
Did you give or receive any exciting food gifts this Christmas? We’d love to hear about them!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thankyou for your Christmas descriptions – proof that giving is receiving…
I was lucky enough to receive a jar of black tahini, amongst an assortment of organic treats. Ground from black sesame seeds, it is possibly abit deeper in flavour, yet smoother than the regular (or maybe it was just very well ground). I was glad to test it with an old favourite – spread over fresh sourdough and topped with organic tomato..
Kind Regards,
Craig
Wow, Craig, I’ve never heard of black tahini before! One to watch out for, thanks for the heads up…
Pete made a great tomato dish recently, based on a recipe we read years ago in an old Vogue Living magazine. He sliced up some perfectly ripe tomatoes, then spread them out on a plate and grated over a little lemon rind, salt and black pepper. The slices were then scattered with basil leaves and a drizzle of really good evoo, before being covered and rested in the fridge for an hour or so to let the flavours meld. It was sublime on fresh sourdough! :)
Cheers, Celia
OMW….Celia. All these food gifts. How amazing. Only a few days ago I first heard of Medlars….and now I see them here again. I love all of your gifts. Stay very blessed and love to your family.
Thank you so much, Oz! All the very best to you and yours for the new year!