It’s time to slow down. In the run-up to Christmas, all Granny Trude thinks about is baking tasty treats for her loved ones, and making personalised presents. The festive shopping frenzy is becoming worse, she thinks, and it’s very important not to get caught up in the Christmas stress that everyone complains about. Follow the principle of buying low-value, high-quality gifts for those you love, and take things easy!
My dears,You know how I love the summer. I always long for it to come round again, pretty much from 27th December onwards. But until then I’m enjoying Advent, and of course Christmas Day and all the festivities with my loved ones. In any case I’m up to my ears in preparations for the big day. This year I’m focusing on oranges, for me it’s a traditional part of the pre-Christmas period. Admittedly I’ve cut back on my orange consumption, because for an orange to get to me in Hollenbach it’s already had to travel a long way – even if it came from Spain, Italy or Greece. So I make sure I use almost every part of my oranges, and I’ve got a few lovely tips for you here.
Oranges everywhere
This year I’ll be gifting candied orange peel pieces in pretty jam jars, with a few tree decorations made from dried orange peel. My grand-daughter Miri from Hamburg says it’s called “upcycling”. I only buy chemical-free organic oranges, which are not only better for consumers but also for the pickers. To make a fairly small quantity I wash and peel five to six oranges thoroughly, and cut them into strips. I simmer them in a large saucepan of water for about 45 minutes – until they’re soft. Then I add 350 g sugar to half a litre of water and boil until the sugar dissolves. I drain the orange peel and bring to the boil, stirring all the time until the peel soaks up the syrup (about 50 minutes). I sprinkle sugar onto a baking tray covered with baking paper, rolling the orange peel in the sugar until they are coated all over. I let it all dry out overnight. I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you how long they keep though. They only “survive” a few weeks here – especially if my pal Inge visits a few times.O is for Orange, D is for Decoration
My Christmas tree – Christbaum in Southern Germany and Weihnachtsbaum in the north of the country – gets decorated slightly differently every year. One reason for that is that I like putting up the hand-crafted creations from nursey and school that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren bring me. But alongside the lovely paper angels and stars I’ll be hanging my home-made organic orange peel decorations too, the ones I told you about earlier. To make these I just use metal loibl cutters (loibl is a regional cookie or confectionery) to make shapes, and then dry them for a few days between two chopping boards with a sheet of kitchen paper, so that they don’t curl up. I weigh them down with something heavy, but let the air to them for fifteen minutes every day. I put a clove in the middle for the Advent wreath, or add a pretty ribbon to make a lovely tree hanger. I used to love the garlands of tinsel and the sparkle of the real red candles reflected in the baubles on the trees we had back in the day, but nowadays I find tree decorations like this equally charming.The best thing about Christmas: the stollen
One thing I’ve had ready since the end of October is my Christmas stollen, thank goodness. My family started reminding me to bake enough of them right at the beginning of October! The thing is, a stollen tastes best if you keep it for four weeks, so baking it early also minimises my “pre-Christmas stress” (I hope you don’t have any of that!). Everyone adores the family recipe – apart from my great-grandson, who doesn’t like raisins – including my pal Inge. Since I’ve been on my own, I always cut the first slice of stollen with her on the first day of Advent. I’ve tweaked the recipe over the years. You see, when I was a child my Mum always scrimped on ingredients – she needed to save money! It wasn’t until we were more comfortable financially in the 1970s that she started putting more and more ingredients into the dough. But the basic recipe’s still the same, and I’m going to pass on the secrets of the family stollen to you now. I hope you appreciate it – after all it’s an ancient family recipe. J
But I haven’t even got around to the fact that you can make a natural household cleaner or a festive air freshener out of orange peel. Maybe another time.
I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year – a year that’s filled with good health, happiness and prosperity.
Yours, Trude
December 2019