What better excuse to stay indoors now that the weather is colder and the snow from Friday evening's downfall is still lingering across the gardens and pavements around here than to enjoy 'stir-up' Sunday.
Photo taken from our bedroom window on Friday night
above - what was left of the snow on Saturday morning - the grass is green again today but it is still bitterly cold.
Stir-up Sunday is the day when traditionally puddings and cakes are made for the festive season ahead. We had the ingredients, we had the time and we had the inclination to cook as there is no better way of keeping the chill at bay than cooking and baking in a warm kitchen filled with wonderful spicy, seasonal aromas.
Firstly we made a cake using the well used and trusted recipe from the BeRo book, the hardest part of this processes is lining and preparing the tin and then timing the baking.
Then we made a pudding which is still steaming on the hob as I type again the recipe was from the BeRo book. Stir-up Sunday is a tradition that harks back to Victorian times when the whole family would gather to make the Christmas pudding, each stirring and making a wish and at this point coins or charms would be added to the pudding to be found by a lucky family member on Christmas Day.
I really have to venture out tomorrow as I lost my mobile phone when I visited the library on Friday; a very kind person handed it in and I'm so grateful for that. Whoever you are - thank you.
