Wind-down

I don't know about the rest of the planet, but motivation for work is in very short supply today. It's a marvellous day outside, there are loads more interesting things to be doing (gotta wash the darn couches too), and for goodness sake it's nearly the holidays! Our offices are closed down next week completely, and that attitude is seeping over into Thursday. I hate to think what Friday's gonna be like!

Well, I got up the effort last night and started to bake a Christmas cake - one of the few things I attempt annually. The other being vegetarian turkey (will be made on Saturday, it needs to be reasonably fresh). Why? Not because I'm into the whole baking/decorating thing, but because this is when the ingredients are available, and it usually has snack value for at least 2 months hence! :-) YES I like fruitcake - you would too if you tasted my moist, divine version. No heavy blocks of dry crumbs in sight.

However, there's a strange phenomenon going on with fruit mince. Last year Safari made bottles that were more "gel" than "mince" (as a Food Techonolgist I know they put a whole lot of filler starch in there, and a whole lot less decent ingredients). This year there's not a single bottle of the stuff to be had anywhere! Perhaps demand has simply evaporated and people are paying the exorbitant amounts charged for ready-baked fruit mince pies? Anyway, if this is going to be a trend, I'm going to finally attempt what I've been threatening for ages - I'm going to concoct my own! I've got some awesome recipes for the stuff, traditional, full of nuts and fruits and all that stuff, but it's going to take a few months to mature, so I'll have to get to it early on.

But so much for Christmas baking. All the effort is going instead to feeding guests on really lekker stuff - and making sure they leave me having upped a clothing size.. :-) That way I look thinner next to them.

Anyway, let me go look busy again. Though typing furiously does make it appear that I'm working. As if!

Image above courtesy Demotivators.