christmas cordial

Living in Tasmania means that we get to emulate many of the culinary efforts of times past. That may not be strictly true of course, but I seem to make and create a whole lot more 'old fashioned' food and drink than I did when living in the warmth of NSW. Last years rhubarb champagne is an example, as is the elderflower champagne we made last year too. Dj made both (and enjoyed both!) along with the family. I still don't know if they have any alcohol content but I'm happy to pretend there's none!!

This year he has made elderflower cordial due to a shortage of plastic fizzy drink bottles. We never drink those and never think to start asking friends to collect them for us early enough to make a batch for the festive season. Oh well, a change is good and we did have various glass bottles that were just right for cordial. Perhaps it looks like we give the fizzy's a miss and drink only vodka and wine, but truly that is not the case at all.... really!!

We used Tanya's great recipe which you can find here and although it's a bit cloudier and darker in colour than hers, the Dj assures me it's delicious! It certainly looked very pretty with the late afternoon sun streaming through the window.

Today we started on the first four batches of the mountains of biscuits we bake each year. Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts) coated in chocolate are another of those things that I've only been making since we moved to Tassie.... chocolate biscuits in 40˚ heat?? No way!
Tomorrow they will be rolled, cut out, baked and coated with delicious chocolate and I'll be photographing the process to share.


Unser Dj hatt wieder etwas gutes für uns zu Weihnachten gemacht. Holunderblüten Sirup, goldener süsser Saft zum trinken mit prickelnden Wasser. Oder vielleicht für mich ein Hugo!!
Wir haben aber viele Blüten auf denn baum gelassen dammit wir auch Holunderbeere haben im Herbst.
Heute sind endlich die ersten Keks entstanden, Lebkuchenherzen, weil es ist nicht mehr lang bis das Christkindlein kommt!