Sometime ago Kerry and I had a Christmas party. No, not that one, the one before, yes, the first of the annual Gilmore Hill Christmas Parties. At the time Kerry’s good friends Allison and Punit (now engaged) were out from London and staying with us. Kerry had warned them about our little party and they had come prepared. Secret Santa gifts had been arranged and this included a Marks and Sparks one person serving teeny tiny Christmas pudding (what’s Christmas without a little alcoholic fruit, that no one really likes, but becomes part of the traditional and therefore also becomes a must have). Imagine my surprise when I was the lucky recipient of this little gem on the night. Many presents came and went, but my Christmas pudding outlasted them all (the bubble gun, the whipped cream, the Amaryllis bulb, the condoms [can’t quite remember who got that])…recently, Kerry has been eyeing my little baubel, not for tasting purposes but for binning purposes.
Now my mom brought me up in true “waste not” style- you thought that cheese was unsaveable? Cut off the moldy edges and you are left with a bite sized piece that may just cover a slice of bread. Vegetables with a spot (or 10 of mold)- the other half is fine, what are you talking about?! My friends know this and are much despaired but I am probably the healthiest of the lot, so I would definitely agree with ye old adage “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Mom also traditionally keeps her Christmas cake until at least the next one has been baked (if you know anything about Christmas cakes these are generally baked in October, then marinated liberally, monthly, until they can be cut open in December). So in true Mom style I couldn’t just let Kerry bin my little gem.
[Enter brother] My brother arrived last night to pick something up so I invited him to dinner (left overs, not the most glamorous, but effective, and it was family you know?), when the little red, cellophane wrapped package beckoned. Now as you can see the best before date on this little beaut is 13/02/2008 (it being 24/06/09 i.e. last night). But we all know that is just a guideline. So I suggested a bit of cake…I was a little surprised when my boet agreed (I know we’re from the same stock and all but he has been having some ‘stomach problems’ the last week or two) but quickly unwrapped the pudding before he could change his mind (it looked and smelled normal [solid, alcoholic])and popped it in the microwave for its 40 second warm up. In the meantime I dug out my flatmates almost finished ice cream (sorry kez, its even closer to being almost finished now, I meant to tell you) for a scoop on the side.
Now my mom brought me up in true “waste not” style- you thought that cheese was unsaveable? Cut off the moldy edges and you are left with a bite sized piece that may just cover a slice of bread. Vegetables with a spot (or 10 of mold)- the other half is fine, what are you talking about?! My friends know this and are much despaired but I am probably the healthiest of the lot, so I would definitely agree with ye old adage “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Mom also traditionally keeps her Christmas cake until at least the next one has been baked (if you know anything about Christmas cakes these are generally baked in October, then marinated liberally, monthly, until they can be cut open in December). So in true Mom style I couldn’t just let Kerry bin my little gem.
[Enter brother] My brother arrived last night to pick something up so I invited him to dinner (left overs, not the most glamorous, but effective, and it was family you know?), when the little red, cellophane wrapped package beckoned. Now as you can see the best before date on this little beaut is 13/02/2008 (it being 24/06/09 i.e. last night). But we all know that is just a guideline. So I suggested a bit of cake…I was a little surprised when my boet agreed (I know we’re from the same stock and all but he has been having some ‘stomach problems’ the last week or two) but quickly unwrapped the pudding before he could change his mind (it looked and smelled normal [solid, alcoholic])and popped it in the microwave for its 40 second warm up. In the meantime I dug out my flatmates almost finished ice cream (sorry kez, its even closer to being almost finished now, I meant to tell you) for a scoop on the side.
And so the big moment had finally arrived. I had waited over a year and a half for a taste of this illicit red bauble, would it make the cut? Garth had first bite (I needed to document the moment)- no face pulling, looked like he may have survived, then a smile broke out and I knew it was all good. My first taste was, well, if you love Christmas pudding I would say heavenly, in my case I’ve come round to alcoholic fruit but am not quite at the love stage so, good. Yes, it was good! Ahhh, Garth and I proceeded to quickly polish it off between the two of us (it is only one portion size after all)…which just goes to show that Mom is right, and we should be pushing those best before dates when it comes to alcoholic fruit.
My thanks to Allison and Punit, Mark and Sparks, for the subject of this little Christmas tale.
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