How Green is Santa Claus?

Apparently Father Christmas originated as part of an old English midwinter festival, normally dressed in green as a sign of the returning spring. He was affectionally known as 'Sir Christmas', 'Old Father Christmas' or Old Winter'. Old Father Christmas did not bring gifts for small children or climb down the chimney. Instead he wandered around from home to home, knocking on doors and feasting with families before moving on to the next house. Images of Father Christmas (Santa Claus) dressed in red started appearing on Christmas cards in the late Victorian times.

Christmas Recipes

Luke's Roast Potatoes...
Parboil your potatoes after cutting them to the right size. Drain and then give them a good shaking in the saucepan. An optional extra at this stage is to chuck in a handful of polenta to coat the potatoes with, but don't bother if there's none to hand. Put them on a tray and baste with oil or, even better, goose fat if you've got any. Leave them for as long as possible in the oven, turning and basting every half hour or so until they're a crispy golden brown.

Martin's Bread Sauce...
The great thing about this recipe is it uses up any stale bread! Remove crust from half a loaf, chop into chunks and transfer to processor, whiz them up until you get fine breadcrumbs. Place a peeled onion, studded with 4 cloves and a couple of bay leaves in 1/2 litre of milk, season, and bring it all gently up to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and strain the milk through a sieve, pour back into the pan over a gentle heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs a little at a time. Stir to allow the crumbs to absorb the milk evenly. Whisk in a little olive oil. This will enrich the flavour and gives the sauce a great shine. Add a little butter to give a nice creamy texture. Whisk thoroughly. Taste and add seasoning if necessary. Heat through and thicken until ready to serve. Yummy!

Last minute present ideas?

As well as doing your food shop at Trevaskis Market, they've also got a great range of deli delights which could solve those last minute present problems. Why not wrap your loved one up in a luxurious blanket from the Atlantic Blanket Company, or steal away with them for a new year break with Classic Cottages? If you want to see some real snow try Meriski. For a huge variety of British present ideas, visit From Britain with Love, while cheese fans should visit Lynher Dairies for a variety of award winning cheeses, all made in Cornwall. To get more active after all the celebrations, take your family out to Trebah Garden to walk off that Christmas pudding!