I had already spent the previous few years creating gift hampers for family and friends at Christmas. Browsing the supermarket shelves for “good deals” on small sample products of chocolates, wine and biscuits to put into carefully chosen and created baskets, but this year… this year it would be different. This year the hampers would be preserves, preserves created with love and- admittedly- obsession.
Why had I not done this before? Why had I not created such gifts for my loved ones, having used my own fair hands to fashion something so unique and individual before? Except I had. As a child, we did this all of the time. At Christmas the old cookery books would come out and along with my two older siblings the kitchen would become a sweet factory. The fudge and coconut ice my brother’s speciality. The marzipan fruits my sister’s own favourite and mine the chocolate snowball- which required no cooking as I was the youngest! So, my childhood came back to greet me. The pleasure of making and giving. This has since developed into the pleasure of growing, then cooking and giving, which takes planning. So forgive me for mentioning the Christmas word too soon for some, but sometimes love can be more than money can buy and that takes time.
Allotment Cooks
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