Christmas 2020

Welcome to our Christmas 2020 edition of bare ingredients. Well, what a year 2020 turned out for all of us. For us Foodies, it has been one where we developed our 'at home' culinary skills, and we have had to be very inventive in thinking new ways to cook those staples to avoid insurrection from the family.

So, Christmas is almost upon us, so let's make the big event something spectacular for the whole family to enjoy. We here at bare ingredients have been busy checking recipes, and Sarah has put together her Christmas Preparations list, including of things you need to be doing now so that on the big day there will be far less to prepare and do.

Christmas Preparations

If you are like me, Christmas is a period of temptation, with Christmas cake, chocolate truffles, mince pies and all demanding attention. The cake and mince pies better made in advance, so now is the time to be assembling the ingredients, soaking the fruit for the cake and mincemeat, cooking and preparing them.

Once you have baked the Christmas cake, feeding it is a tradition that makes the difference between an average cake and a superb cake. A few days before Christmas, you engage in icing the cake and putting the final decorations on it. Then, all is revealed to the family, and it is then that all that effort pays off, making the day complete.

The recipes: Cake, Pudding and Mincemeat

Cakes

Mincemeat

Pudding

Seasonal Recipe Ideas

Sarah's Seasonal Recipe List has been updated with great ideas, which can be found below. Also, we have the August's guide to the best seasonal produce. It is our "What to eat now" guide for those who are looking to get the most out of their local ingredients. There are Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere articles.