Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown 21 .... St Nicholas' Eve Feast

from : http://baking-jds.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/spectacular-spicy-speculaas.html


Today's and tomorrow's Christmas food countdown are both about the celebration of St Nicholas' Day (6 December) - mostly celebrated in Europe - the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland...  For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas is celebrated on the 5th, the eve of the day, by sharing candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the saint's horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early Advent  helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child. ( information from http://www.stnicholascenter.org/) 


St Nicholas Eve (5th December) is a time for family feasts. The foods include:
    • Boiled chestnuts served with salt and butter;
    • Hot punch;
    • Milk chocolate letter of your first initial;
    • Spicy ginger cookies called "speculaas koekjes" made in the shape of a windmill or of St Nicholas.
While our family have not had a tradition of celebrating St Nicholas Day, the special food has not been part of our Christmas menu, but speculaas cookies have often  been a favourite in our family and I must admit this is how we know them ... straight from the shelves of the supermarket.... 
However, if you would like to try these spicy treats yourself today for tonight's St Nicholas" Eve feast, here is the link to a recipe by Martha Stewart.  Although, St Nicholas' speculaas cookies are usually the shape of windmills,, Dutch children or St Nicholas himself, you don't have to have a fancy mould to make them, but  make sure you have the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves  and cardamon .... 
from http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com.au/2007/09/curiouser-and-curiouser-speculaas.html

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Countdown 15 : Christmas Tree #11 - Disposable

Plastic cups  https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/christmas-stem-ideas-kids/ Advent Blog : Day 11 - Disposable  We are all so much more conscious about ridding our landfills and oceans of plastic waste. For Christmas, here is a way to use up some of those disposable items which seem to multiply at holiday parties and celebrations, or perhaps you have just been saving them up for a creative use.... Who would have thought coffee pods would make such stylish Christmas trees ? ... Add caption If you don't have one of those machines, then perhaps you have coffee on the run - Starbucks or Nescafe ?  from  https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/369858188126737920/ Nescafe cups https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/72761350208620530/ The disposable cups don' t have to be brand names to work well as materials for Christmas trees. Taking an engineering approach to plastic cup trees seems to be the answer for a more ornate result.  from  https:...
1 comment
Read more

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflecting on Christmas Cards Past - November Project Update

  It's  so close to the end of the month, but honestly, I'm not  ready to give up yet. I've only had one day when I was too tired to give any creative attention to making a card. Some other days have been hard to fit in the time as I set myself the goal of  taking a photo of a finished little work by 5pm each day.  What  have I  found difficult?  - choosing a postage stamp. - coming up with 'different' ideas and bringing  the ideas to life quickly  -  including both stamp and stitch into the design ( occasionally) .  - compromising by using some previously stitching samples.  - no time for revision.  What have I enjoyed?  - knowing I will have 30 Christmas cards made , ready for posting by 1 December.  - sorting through my stash of beautiful Christmas stamps.  - combining media ( although that is also what I found difficult!) . - deciding who will be the recipient of each card.  - the focus of crea...
Post a Comment
Read more