CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS NO 4 - FOOD (complete with HICCUPS)

'Twas the night before Christmas...

All the work is done; now it is time to sit in front of the fire with a dram*...

This is a selection of Scottish cheeses bought for tomorrow. Crowdie a dry curd cheese; think cottage cheese without the moisture and with a much smaller curd.

This is cheese I bought in a delicatessen, The Brig Larder, in Kirkwall, Orkney.  I brought a selection home in September which we consumed over the ensuing weeks ... with the exception of this one.  Last week when I was making a big batch of macaroni and cheese I ran short of cheese and decided to cut into this one which was still in its waxed coat with the red label around it.

Well... what a shock I got!  This cheese looks like a piece of coal but it is soft enough to cut, and ... yes, it tastes like cheddar.

The label says it is 'Flaming - the first all black cheddar cheese'.  Looking on the internet I found "This truly unique cheese is made with charcoal from the Featherstone mines in Yorkshire."

But to quote from Harriet: "Eugghghgh... that's disgusting!"  Now I am a person who can and does eat anything; I have a cast iron stomach.  But I want to declare this is (but does not taste) absolutely revolting!  I mean who would eat this?!  I didn't even know you could make cheese of that colour!

Not one to waste food, I eat a little bit every day with a piece of excellent fully flavoursome 'Fenland Traditional' Cambridgeshire celery (from Waitrose) and it is fine; no ill effects ... but Thank You... never again!

Now that the run up to Christmas is over I can shine a light on 'the backroom helper'.  This is Iain, to whom all Christmas is "Bah Humbug', at work in the kitchen.

* * * * * * * * * AND FINALLY * * * * * * * * * 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ...

The children have hung up their stockings on the Kedddy fireplace in their living room.  Tomorrow we are going to join them and Granny Margaret for Christmas dinner after the Queen's Speech.

My lovely Norwegian Christmas stocking knitted by Ragna some years ago.

Shut down the computer ...

Ragna's stockings - mini version, again bought at the Norwegian Julefest over the years.

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* Small crisis... backing out of my garage mid-afternoon I became aware that I had a flat tyre.  My car is now sitting out on the street not because we couldn't sort out the tyre (which hasn't been sorted) but because it has been drawn to my attention that the paperwork for my vehicle tax is not right and until I get it right I cannot get help from the lovely AA people to sort the tyre.  (There is no spare; it's a repair kit only as is the way these days.)

So ....

At the moment I have the same feeling of helplessness as when the boat goes aground; there is absolutely nothing you can do about it until the tide comes in ..... so ... it is now time to put the fire on and have a dram ... and deal with it when things get operational again!