Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding!
It's been over a year since I last updated this blog. In late November last year, my Mum died of dementia, and I have struggled to maintain proper momentum ever since. However, her greatest gift to her children was a love of hospitality, so preparing food for the Christmas festivities seems the best place to pick up my writing and honour her memory. I've made my Christmas puddings today, which always brings back to me the importance of family, both natural and created. As children, we always had a home-made pudding at home. It was something my Grandma would make every year and bring with her on Christmas day. Mum was busy with young children and a large dinner (that's 'lunch' if you live in the south of England), and Grandma's pudding was a welcome help. With Grandma's death, though, the tradition of a home-made pudding came to an end, as Mum discovered the convenience of buying one ready-made from the supermarket. No shop-bought pudding ever tasted as good,...