Santa Claus is coming to town …

Last Saturday I went Christmas shopping with my cousins. When they recently visited my mother on All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1^st) we treated them to some nice lemon curd cakes, mini muffins (lemon and chocolate flavour) and cookies with chips of white chocolate and lemon rind … all purchased at Stonemanor, the all British store. They were very impressed and clearly enjoyed the unusual treat. My youngest cousin, P. was particularly fond of the cherry and cinnamon tea from Twinning’s. Before leaving on that cold November day, she suggested we’d visit the store together, to do some Christmas (food) shopping. We all agreed on Saturday 15^th and promised to call each other to fix time and place.  

P. called me two weeks ago, confirming our rendezvous and informing me that her sister I. (and husband W. who cooked us pheasant a while ago), as well as her brother J. (and wife M.J.) would be joining us. 

We met at my apartment at quarter to twelve. Saturday being a very busy day at Stonemanor – especially during the dark days before Christmas – a lunchtime visit seemed the best solution. We arrived at the store around quarter past twelve and left at … half past one. All the time I tried to keep an eye on my five visitors, herding them through the aisles, hoping not to lose anybody. At some point I felt like Callie the collie, Ken and Walt’s Border collie … trying to keep the group together. It was quite a challenge as they all had different interests. P. had the time of her life, examining all the intriguing products, her reading spectacles dangerously balancing on the tip of her nose. Although she’s 52, she looked and behaved like a kid in a candy store. It was really fun to watch her.  

After stocking up on food, we moved on to the first floor … wrong decision, because we had to drag our heavy shopping baskets up there. We should have made our tour the other way round. But by then, it was too late. So we spent another half an hour browsing through Christmas cards, Christmassy table cloths and napkins. At some point, I noticed that W. – I.’s husband – was missing. I looked at the time and noticed that is was well over half past one. As I had booked a table for seven – including my mother, who didn’t come on our shopping spree – at our local Chinese restaurant, I rounded everybody up to join the long lines at the cash register. I. was hanging behind. She finally turned up, clutching some extra Christmas decorations to her chest. 

It was almost two p.m. when we finally made it to the Chinese restaurant. It was a very close call!!! We decided not to overstay our welcome and therefore ordered an aperitif, a main course – no first courser - a bottle of rosé wine and a large bottle of sparkling water. The food was great and conversation lively. My mother enjoyed her nieces and nephews’ company and I managed to relax for a few hours – after a very stressing time at the office and my ‘guard dog duty’ in the shop. We had a great time … It was almost five p.m. when we said goodbye in the best of spirits. And we all agreed: we should this more often. 

And Santa? Where does he come in? Well there was a ‘life’ Santa with a noisy bell at Stonemanor who scared the hell out of I., when he suddenly showed behind her shouting ‘HO, HO, HO…’ in her ear.

And today Santa came to my house … leaving this package on my doorstep … Curious?

P.S. I did take my camera on Saturday, but I was having such a good time that I forgot to shoot photos ... Sorry!

Soup

Winter is the perfect time to make and eat soup. It’s warm, full of vitamins and fibres. Things we need most when outside temperatures are below freezing point. My favourite soup is tomato soup with small meatballs. In fact, I think it is most people’s favourite. Second in line is split pea soup. This is a really wintery soup: thick, smooth and really nourishing. It’s often served with croutons. And the croutons are best when they are slightly burned. They add a very nice smoky flavour to the soup. In Holland people tend to add thick slices of smoked sausage. Btw, split pea soup is called ‘snert’ in Holland. I find this quite surprising as in Flemish the word ‘snert’ is used to describe something that is really foul.

Rinsed split peas.

Last Monday our weather man Frank mentioned the possibility of heavy snowfall and frost as from Thursday night. On Thursday he confirmed that a snow depression would slide over our little country from West to East during the night. He predicted chaos on the roads during Friday morning’s rush hour. I considered myself lucky, because Friday is my day off. But to make a long story short, I did snow … a lot. And there was a lot of wind. I wouldn’t call it a blizzard, but it was quite impressive.

However, by 11 a.m. almost all the snow had disappeared and the sun was actually shining. I therefore decided to do my weekend shopping before more snow would fall. Despite the efforts of the winter sun, it was freezing cold and I had visions of a nice bowl of hot pea soup. I remembered having a pack of dry split peas in my cupboard. All I needed was some mix vegetables to treat myself to this wintery delight.

Instead of buying separate portions of the required veggies (leeks, onions, carrots, celeriac …) I chose a bag assorted pre-sliced vegetables. They may not be as fresh as the real stuff, but you have less waste and it requires less preparation time.

Yesterday afternoon I made almost two litres, which will last me for several days. Can’t wait to have another bowl later today.

Soften the vegetables in butter or oil.

You want to make your own pea soup? Here’s my recipe:

Heat some butter or oil in a large pot. Don’t let it get brown. Throw in the sliced vegetables. Let them cook gently until they are all ‘floppy’. Stir constantly so that they don’t get burned. Add the split peas which you have rinsed under cold running water for a few minutes. Stir again. Wait another minute or so before adding the water. Don’t add too much. You don’t want your soup to be too runny. Add a stock cube (I used vegetable stock, but you can also use chicken or beef stock), salt and pepper to taste. Put the lid on the pot and let the soup simmer for 45 minutes. When the vegetables are nice and soft, pour the liquid in a blender, and mix until you obtain a thick and smooth soup. Add more pepper and salt if needed and water if your soup is too thick.

Before serving, take one large slice of bread per person and cut it in 1x1 cm dices. Heat some oil or butter in a pan and throw in the bread. Keep the heat under the pan really high and stir the bread constantly. When the pieces of bread have turned really brown or even black and smoke is coming from the pan, put the bread in a soup plate or bowl and immediately pour the hot soup over it. When you hear a sizzling sound, you know your pea soup and croutons will be perfect. Enjoy!