Christmas curry.

Yesterday I baked myself a loaf of bread and the house smelt great of warm yeast and flour. I have found that home baked bread lasts so much longer than bread bought from the supermarket.

This morning I enjoyed some delicious coffee and treated myself to some flaky croissants with butter for breakfast. A good way to start Christmas Day.

The preparation for my non traditional Christmas dinner started yesterday (Christmas Eve) with the decision to cook myself a curry for my festive lunch. I had previous purchased a joint of topside from the local butchers (in case I went traditional) and sliced the joint into thick steaks and then cubes. I then added a stick of cinnamon and some little balls of allspice and cloves and a piece of star anise donated from my good neighbour. Half a bottle of Cotes de Rhone red wine went into the bowl and I left the mix to marinade in the fridge overnight. The other half of the bottle of wine forced itself down my throat. Well, it might go off otherwise.

I got up early this morning and drained the beef cubes, taking out the spices before frying the meat in a wok and draining. Separately I quickly fried some red onions until soft and slightly brown with a small amount of chopped ginger and chopped and seeded chilli peppers.

The whole mix was added to three big jars of Patak’s Jalfresi curry sauce that includes coconut, coriander, tomato sauce and sweet peppers. I intended to freeze some for further use. The casserole was very close to being full. I warmed it through in a pre-heated oven for an hour on a medium heat and ate it with some simple boiled rice. Certainly, it was lovely and hot for a cold winter’s day but the beef was a tiny bit chewy. I don’t know if it was the cooking method or the grade of meat. I wasn’t disappointed, however.

I’m now enjoying a tempting box of Sarjeants’ hand- made chocolates. A gift from my neighbour. Speaking of my neigbours, they are appearing on Jack Dee and Jo Brand's Christmas show on Radio 2 today in a piece about people who are spending Christmas apart. Her new husband is currently in Papau New Guinea.

Hope that you are all having a good Christmas. xxx Leave those chocs alone you!!! They're mine!