I keep it traditional
pot filling the kitchen, on Christmas Eve, the ham in the oven competing with the Pepperpot for attention.
It was traditional in our home to always make a big pot of Cook-up Rice on Christmas Eve night so that when we returned home from Midnight Mass, along with friends we’d enjoy the late-night meal. The hot pot sat on the stove waiting for us. I swear, that 2 am Cook-up was the best. Mommy used to cut up the ham skin she’d removed earlier in the day and include it in the Cook-up; that just made the Cook-up even more tasty.
Garlic Pork, Ham, Pepperpot, Scrambled eggs along with homemade bread are still the only things I want on my Christmas breakfast table. I generally do not drink coffee but on Christmas morning I drink a mug or two of it because it was the only time (as a kid) that I was allowed to drink coffee. When I turned 16, I got my first sip of Sherry on a bright Christmas morning.
There are lots of emotions and feelings associated with this time of the year. That is why it is more than the food. It is for this reason that I am not really a fan of the “diluting” of traditional foods by making and eating them throughout the year; the food does not taste right, it’s missing everything that traditionally goes with it. As I have written on various occasions, taste is more than the physical act of eating; it is about a place, a time, the company. It is about the environment. Having these traditional Christmas foods all year round makes them seem, well, common, everyday, thereby losing their meaning. Traditions and rituals are how we mark our lives and I like my Christmas food to be traditional. So, if you ever come to my home at Christmas, I hope you won’t be disappointed. I’m off now to make some anise seed bread for the Pepperpot and then give the mauby its last brewing before pouring off, bottling and refrigerating. Tomorrow evening, even though I will not be going to Midnight Mass, there will still be a late-night pot of Cook-up Rice (with the ham skin)! You coming?
Merry Christmas everybody!
Cynthia cynthia@tasteslikehome.org www.tasteslikehome.org