on the Homestead means
Kitchen Chaos
Show off dishes
and first time trys.
It’s last minute trips to the shops with big decisions to be made; should we buy a lettuce or gamble on the goats respecting the garden’s haphazard fencing. We’re gambling.
There’s always a quick-fix evening meal – pancakes this time,
and evening coffee in front of Love Actually. Yes, I know, I know: dated, dubious messages, doubtful plotlines but it ain’t Christmas Eve on The Homestead without it.
Altogether now:
I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes
Union Homestead 
Merry Christmas to all of you! Those are beautiful looking mince tarts…although being used to eating them in the cold, dark depths of winter, I can’t imagine eating them in the heat of summer. We’re used to having them hot, with brandy butter melting on top….Lettuce to go with the feast is also hard to imagine, whether from garden or shop…first of all, lettuce not imported from our neighbour to the south is hard to come by this time of year, and secondly, see comment about deep dark winter. Our Christmas Eve supper is nearly always tourtiere (a kind of spiced meat pie) with baked beans or possibly home fries. Brunch casserole tomorrow morning/noonish (hashbrowns, sausage, egg batter) and leftover tourtiere for supper…our big family feast is happening Jan 3 because there are three shift workers among our younger folk, and that was the only day that we could get all of us together. That will be turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed spuds, brussels sprouts, winter squash with christmas pudding and apple crisp for afters. We are truly not ALL about food this time of year, you’ll just have to believe me!
Munce pies are very nice cold with a dusting if what we call icing sugar ..confectioners sugar, maybe?No big feasts for us,,, more like progressive eating. Ham, salads, new potatoes, peas. Trifle is not negotiable, and FGs chocolate silk pie is a new tradition. Definitely not all about food here either 😉
Canada calls it icing sugar too. Trifle is Easter for us…
Very adventurous mince pies. I hope that they tasted as exciting as they looked. Anything with Bill Nighy in is OK by me. Happy Christmas.
Truth be told I’m a little scared of pastry so I got a little creative to mask that my pie lids never stick down properly. Totally agree re Bill Nighy. I recently found his podcast,Ill Advised, on Spotify. Very much worth a listen. Merry Christmas to you and Mrs Tootlepeda from all of us xl