The Edible Christmas - Parmesan and Rosemary Shortbreads


What, another post? So soon? Has the woman gone crazy, you'll say. No, but it's Christmas and all my creative juices come alive through this season, and all I want to do is create pretty festive vignettes and photograph all the food, so you have to put up with more posts at the moment. There. It won't hurt too much, and maybe you'll even find something worth your while, here! I do love these Christmas moods, and this season, not for it's cultural or religious meaning, nor for the absolute insanity over shopping and grabbing and owning and getting, nope. It's the homeliness of it all. I am a homebody, after all is said and done. There's no place in the world I feel more comfortable or happier than home. Especially in the cold weather.


I love the putting up of Christmas baubles and decorations, and always tend to go a bit overboard with it all, but I couldn't care less. It makes me so joyful, just looking around me and seeing all the lights and the colours and the magic of my festive decor. It's all about the magic, in the end, and that light twinkling away, so warm, so golden, so comforting. For me, this is what the festive season is all about, enjoying the home, the hearth, the family - not so much the extended family, but those who happen to share house with you, and who, at the end of the day, due to the fast paced lives we're forced to live, end up enjoying less of your company or your attention than those family members who tend to live farther, but whom you remember to call and spend an hour with over the phone regularly. I find we tend to neglect those closest to us, simply because they're here, beside us.


So for me, this season is mostly about catching up with slowing down, enjoying the perks and comforts of home - so many people do not get to enjoy a roof over their heads, think about that - the introspection more than the outgoing, the lazyness more than the overworking. I really end up slowing down, these days, though it might seem differently. I'm not so rushed with putting down stories to paper, my work schedule becomes very forgiving, I do what I want, when I want, and if I want. I really take a break, during Christmas. I don't tend to do so, on Summer hols or Easter vacation, for whatever reason none of those two spell slow living and indulging like Christmas does. Maybe it's the cold, though I live in a moderately temperate climate. Maybe it's the tiredness, the need to hibernate and replenisn myself, maybe it's the end of the year thing, where I find myself taking stock of what's it been like. And it's been a mighty grand one.


It's also a season where I want to cook and bake and eat all the yumminess, where I want to get into the kitchen and try my hand at different things or old staples of delightful food. I love having assorted nibbles around my table, at this time of year, and just grabbing a bite here and there along the day. Trying not to over do it, of course, but I always want to indulge a bit more. Am so much more forgiving to myself around this season. Actually, that may be just it. I'm a very forgiving person, where others are related, all year round, but am very hard with myself all the time. Come Christmas, I tend to take it easier on me, and not demand so much, nor expect so much of myself. I allow myself some leeway, and it feels good. No excesses, I am a control freak, after all, but not so much guilt trips either. Just an all round easiness of living, of being, of going.


Like these savoury cookies. They're easy to bake, and easier to eat, make for a nice hamper filler, a delightful gift for friends and familyk, if you're into cooking your Christmas presents. If you want to try your hand at these, here's how you go about them:
  • 100 gr flour
  • 50 gr whole spelt flour
  • 100 gr salted butter
  • 75 gr grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 egg yolk
Place the ingredients inside the food processor and whizz, until a golden dough starts to form. Pour onto a floured surface and knead for 30 seconds, until it's smooth. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 to 45 minutes. Turn on the oven at 180º, and when the dough has set, bring it out of the fridge and roll onto a floured surface. Cut into the shapes you want, but seeing it's the festive season, do go overboard and get all the Christmas-y cutters out! Arrange the cookies on a baking tray lined with baking parchement and bake in the oven with the fan on for about twenty minutes, or until they've risen and look all golden and pretty. Let them cool before tucking in, if you can. I hope you cook these, and share with your loved ones, they make the greatest gift and are perfect appetisers with a nice glass of red!


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