It comes but once a year [CONTEST!]
I'm so excited to be part of the Stuff Your Stockings Christmas blog hop (click the link to see the other participants)! Big thanks to Drea for hosting this wonderful event. There will be a contest further on down the post, but before we get to those goodies, let us discuss some other stuff!
So, Christmas is just around the corner. I do love Christmas with a fiery and all-consuming passion. I love the decorations and the food and the goodwill to all humankind. I love the giving of presents and the delight on the givee's face when they unwrap their gift. I love the get togethers with friends and family, the one time of year when everyone makes time for each other.
I was tossing up ideas for this post and I thought I might somehow tie it to ENSLAVED, but as ENSLAVED is set in Ancient Rome, and they didn't have Christmas as the concept we understand it to be today, that didn't really work. Yeah, it's a bit hard to have Christmas when a) half your era occurred Before Christ and b) you didn't really like the Christians all that much when it clocked over to AD anyway. Although, a quick squizz of the internet does show the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a celebration for the Roman God Saturn, which some believe was the basis for Christmas.
However, in any event, you guys should totally check out ENSLAVED! It would make a lovely Christmas gift for that special someone. Or just an "I was thinking of you, gift." Or an "meh, I feel like buying a book" gift. Or just, you know, buy it and stuff 
Christmas is mentioned in TEACH ME, but it's not the driving force behind the narrative. TEACH ME is set in the early Victorian era and the Victorians did love Christmas. I could talk about that a bit.
The Christmas Tree originated in Germany and when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, the German prince brought many of his country's Christmas traditions with him, including the concept the tree.
Christmas crackers were invented by a London sweet maker who wanted a new way of delivering his product. However, they became such a hit he added notes and gifts – the rest is history!
Christmas cards became popular with the cheapness of the "Penny Post", where it literally cost a penny to send a letter. Thus, people began sending cards with Christmas wishes and the rest is history!
The industrilisation of the era also saw the production of cheap, mass produced children's toys and gifts, making it easier and more affordable for parents to give their children less practical presents.
However, we have way more exciting things to talk about! You lovely peeps deserve something special, so how about the recipe for the tried and true Christmas pudding that stuns and delights my family every year*?
Recipe below!
~STEAMED CHRISTMAS PUDDING~
(adapted from a magazine I found in the kitchen at my then-job)
~INGREDIENTS~
185g butter
65g dark brown sugar
60ml golden syrup
3 eggs
50g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3/4 teaspoon ginger powder
150g day-old breadcrumbs
200g sultanas
200g currents
150g raisins
100g apricots
185ml brandy
~METHOD~
Combine fruit in large bowl. Heat brandy and pour over fruit. Mix well and stand overnight.
Mix butter, sugar and golden syrup until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger over fruit mixture. Add butter mixture and breadcrumbs to fruit adn mix until combined.
Spoon mixture into lined pudding basin. Place baking paper on mixture and cover in foil.
In a large pot, place pudding basin and fill until water comes halfway up the sides. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, checking every 30 minutes to add more boiling water.
Serve, and enjoy!
And now for something completley different – The Contest#!
Comment below on your favourite Christmas recipes. Tell me what delicious dish cannot be missing from your Yuletide table. One lucky commenter will win a copy of any ebook in Decadent Publishing's backlist, as well as a signed ENSLAVED postcard and ENSLAVED magnet!
And want to win some more stuff? Go to Stuff Your Stockings Christmas blog hop page and have a squiz at the other participating authors. Go nuts! Treat yourself to something this Christmas!
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# The small print: Comment before midnight on 24/12/2011 (Australian Daylight Saving Central Standard Time) to be entered to win one (1) ebook copy from Decadent Publishing's backlist (http://www.decadentpublishing.com), one (1) signed ENSLAVED postcard and one (1) ENSLAVED magnet. Winner will be selected via random.org, with winners' names posted on this blog by 26/12/2011. Cassandra will also contact the winner by e-mail; the winner need to reply with their postal address so Cassandra can send the prize to them. Only one entry per ISP address. International entries are welcome. No purchase necessary to enter. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Void where prohibited.
*I say stuns and delights, and yet you only have my word for it… ;p
