In a week and a half it’ll be Christmas Day and I’m sure you are all rushing around trying to get everything bought, Christmas gifts wrapped, food lists made and if you enjoy a tipple, seeing you have the right ingredients in your drinks cabinet to shake up a few cocktails.
Getting everything right is all in the planning and if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s planning. Although not to say plans actually go according to plan all the time.
And, of course, now with loadshedding very likely to be with us over the festive season, planning is going to be even more important. Try and see you have the loadshedding schedules for over Christmas and plan accordingly with your cooking, etc.
No one wants to sit down to a half-cooked roast turkey and raw veggies. So it’s going to be a Christmas season very much about checking and planning. I guess the braai will come very much into its own this season.
Stock up on plenty of candles and solar jars if you can find any. We have one Consol solar jar and it’s been a godsend when the lights go off.
Celebrate in style
Glühwein
Even though we are hoping for a warm Christmas, why not make a jug of glühwein to enjoy with family and friends.
Ingredients
1 litre dry red wine
300ml water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken into two
1 bay leaf
1 lemon struck with a few cloves
Method
1. Pour the wine and water into a large saucepan, add the sugar and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.
2. Float the remaining ingredients on top of the mixture and heat gently for five to 10 minutes. Do not allow to boil.
3. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar as necessary, then strain and serve hot in heatproof glasses. Fills eight to 10 glasses.
Melktert shooters
Better known as “melktertjies”, these are quite the modern South African shooter. It smells and tastes like melktert (South African milk tart) with a bit of kick and can turn people who never bothered with shooters or cocktails before into melktert shooter enthusiasts within a single sip.
There are a few variations of this sought-after recipe, but the basic ingredients remain the same.
Makes approximately 860ml.
Ingredients
A 375ml bottle of vodka (you can reduce it to 300ml if you prefer less kick)
A 395g (300ml) tin of condensed milk (use up to two cans to make it thicker and sweeter)
Half of a 375ml tin evaporated milk
Ground cinnamon to serve
Method
1. Mix well, using a food processer or whisk, and bottle, or simply pour the ingredients into a 1-litre bottle and shake well.
2. Keep in the fridge. Shake well before pouring into shooter or shot glasses.
3. Sprinkle each melktertjie with ground cinnamon and serve chilled.
Pink cocktail recipe – Turn n Tender Bassonia
Ingredients
2 tots of vodka, any will do
2 tots of rose liqueur, Butlers is good
150ml cranberry juice, we use Sir Juice, but Woolworths has a nice juice too
Method
1. Combine the juice, vodka and rose liqueur in a cocktail shaker with some ice and give it a good shake for about 60 seconds.
2. Pour out the blend into a hurricane glass (the one that looks like an hour glass).
3. Top up the cocktail with some chilled Sprite to finish it off.
4. Garnish with lemon zest strips and give it a good squirt of orange zest essence for the aroma.
The Bag Lady is packing her bags
After much deliberation, I’ve decided to bring The Bag Lady column to an end. As they say in the classics – all good things must come to an end.
And with all this said, all that remains, enjoy a wonderful festive holiday with your family and friends. Be safe on the roads and return safely next year.
Shop till you drop!
Julie
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The Bag Lady: The holiday season is here!
