Boxing Day

Anne here, as we move into our Wenchly daily Christmastide blogging. I've scored the Boxing Day blog several times in the past, so if you'd like to read my 2008 blog about the traditions and practice of Boxing Day, as well as some odd Australian traditions, click on this link.

I'm avoiding the Boxing Day sales, and not watching the cricket — or any TV. Nor will I be cooking for a while, as I'll be browsing on the leftovers from Christmas dinner, as well as cherries and mangoes and watermelon. It's summertime and I always have this bowl filled with cherries on my Christmas table. And there is some of the "Christmas Crack" I made for Kris Kringle "home-made" presents left over, so I guess I'll be nibbling on that, too. It's very yummy. Recipe here.

For Christmas dinner we started with a prawn salad, then a hot meal followed; baked loin of pork with crackling, baked vegies and green bean salad. We followed it (after some time) with hot plum pudding, ice-cream and brandy butter. We flamed the pudding with brandy. It's very easy to do, but for some at dinner it was the first time they'd seen it. You just heat some brandy, light it and pour it over the pudding. There's a video here.

Not all Australians go for the hot traditional baked dinner these days. Because it's hot, many go for lighter meals, seafood, cold meats and salads, while for some it's a meal cooked on the barbecue — my friend baked these potatoes on her barbecue because she didn't have space in the oven.

Some people will simply have crayfish (lobster) and prawns at the beach, washed down with champagne, and followed by mango or watermelon or some other kind of fruit for dessert. Or ice-cream.

 

A lot of people will be at the beach, because for many it's the start of the long summer holidays. Most of my childhood Christmases were spent at the beach, which is why I love this photo of the little girl with the driftwood Christmas tree. Brings back all sorts of happy memories.

And many have replaced the hot Christmas pudding (aka plum pudding) with plum pudding ice-cream or pavlova for dessert. Plum pudding ice-cream can be made by simply mixing a crumbled plum pud into softened ice-cream and then refreezing it. It surprisingly yummy. Or you can follow this more complicated recipe.

As for pavlova, it's a huge favorite here— a crisp meringue shell that's soft and marshmallowy inside, filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit — a perfect summer dessert. There are even vegan pavlovas, the meringue part of which is based on the liquid from canned chickpeas (yes, it sounds weird but it works!), and the cream made from coconut cream or whipped cashew nut cream. There's a recipe here.

How's this fabulous OTT pavlova Christmas tree from this site?  I love it.

 So, what are you doing for Boxing Day? And what are you likely to be eating?

Comments

[Sue McCormick]

Well we won't be doing anything special today – the family get together must wait until tomorrow, but we WILL be getting together for desert tomorrow!

[Sue McCormick]

Off topic and addressed specifically to Kareni:

I showed the new word-based jigsaw puzzle to my daughter and she fell in love with it; we are now waiting for it to be delivered. Thank you SO much for leading us to this new famiy puzzle.

For those who don't remember – this is in reference to an earier post this month about family traditions. I thought I should share our family's joy with everyone here.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Anne, let me check the flight times to figure out how long it will take to fly to your house. *G*

[Anne Gracie]

That's a nice idea, Sue -- to come just for dessert, rather than the big (too big) feast that is usually Christmas dinner. Enjoy.

[Anne Gracie]

Sue, I remember this discussion and I suspect a lot of readers do. Where did you find it? Could you post an URL?
Thanks.

[Anne Gracie]

LOL Mary Jo. I suspect most houses will have a fridge stuffed full of leftovers by now.

[theo]

I follow a blog called Natasha's Kitchen. She has a wonderful recipe for Pavlova as well, but they're minis! And adorable. I've never seen a 'tree'.

I did the whole prime rib with sauteed mushrooms and sprouts with bacon for dinner Christmas eve. Then Thing 1 and Thing 2 go to their inlaws for Christmas day and hubs and I do nothing. It's perfect ;) It was 57 here today though. Definitely Not the 8 degree weather we usually have in Mid Michigan!

Oh! And for dessert for us? Eggnog cheesecake. Fabulous!

Merry Christmas all and a Happy upcoming New Year. :)

[Jeanne Behnke]

Well, no Boxing Day for me. I'm at work. Very sad except for catching up on my Word Wench Blogs. It's not very busy. I have a few leftovers at home but we went to friends to eat for Christmas so nothing exciting. I am reading a good book though!

[Anne Gracie]

Theo, this is the first pavlova tree I've seen as well. Never seen an eggnog cheesecake -- might have to look up that recipe. Sounds like you had a lovely Christmas.
Thanks for being a friend of the wenches. All the best for 2020.

[Anne Gracie]

Jeanne, I really feel sorry for people working on Boxing Day, especially those who work in shops and in sales. I think it's especially hard on women. They carry most of the load at home on Christmas Day, and then wham! back at work on one of the craziest days of the year.
I suspect it's the same in the US, with ThanksGiving followed by Black Friday.
All the best for 2020.

[Kareni]

Sue,

How lovely to hear that the new word puzzle is on its way and is eagerly anticipated. Thank you for brightening my day with your message.

My husband and I started a jigsaw puzzle last night, so I'll be puzzling with you in solidarity!

[Kareni]

Here's the puzzle information, Anne.

100 Great Words Puzzle

https://www.basbleu.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?ACTION=DETAIL&ITEM=UQ8902&websource=BBGOOGLE7&source_code=BBGOOGLE7&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIp8KZgNS45gIVDMNkCh0znA8sEAsYAyABEgL4VvD_BwE

[Kareni]

Anne, what a wonderful post! I'm drooling at the idea of pavlova; it's been quite some years since I've eaten one.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for that link, Kareni. I'm sure plenty of wenchly readers (including me) will be grateful.

[Anne Gracie]

It's the perfect summer dessert food, really, and very easy to make.

[Margaret]

Anne, Thank you so much! I never thought I'd find a vegan recipe (and a delicious sounding one at that) here at the Word Wenches. Good organic berries aren't in season here in the North East U.S., so I'll have to safeguard this until next summer. It's been a bit of a glum Boxing Day here amidst saying good-bye to family members and the madness at RWA, but for a day off from work during which I also did no cooking, no cleaning, and no shopping, it wasn't all bad, especially after finding this delicious post. Happy New Year!

[Anne Gracie]

Margaret, I'm so glad you enjoyed my "foodie" post, and even better that you enjoyed a relaxing day off work — of all kinds. You could always use frozen berries, but a pav is a good summer dessert. And my friend who has a vegan daughter tried that vegan pavlova on Christmas Day and thought it worked really well. Apparently the liquid from the chick pea can has absorbed some chick pea protein and acts much like egg-white.