xmas fruit mince

I like mince pies but during xmas i always feel to full to eat them the fillings just to heavy & meat tends to take up a large portion of our xmas menus and meals & its just to much for me to handle. So i like to make fruit mince yes you guessed it mince made from fruit its light & still just as tasty if not more so! My mince doesnt contain candied peel because i dont really like it but if you wanted to add some in then feel free to tinker & play around with it to find what suits you best.

8oz pears

grated rind of 1 lemon & 1 orange

3oz raisens

3oz currents

3oz sultanas

4oz apricots

3oz apple

4oz glace cherries

4oz dates, chopped

2oz cranberries

1 tsp ground mixed spice

1/2 nutmeg

1/2 ginger

4 fl oz sherry

3 fl oz brandy

3 fl oz water

Mix all the ingredients into a large bowl. Set aside to let the flavours mingle for 1-2 hours or over night. 

Transfer to a casserole dish with a lid & bake covered at 180 C/350 F/ Gas 4 for 1 hour

When complete store in an air tight jar ready to use.

Home Sweet Home

Iv been neglecting this blog a little due to not being able to cook my own food and cant help but feel bad. I was suddenly rushed away for work. I only arrived back last week but boy was it a definite welcome home i love cooking my own food and being away from it for 7 weeks is not easy by the end of my time i was missing it like mad! Restaurant food is enjoyable for a short while but ending up going to the same places all the time was just boring. The place i enjoyed the most was called wildwood there was a big selection of food and it always tasted as thought it was fresh. very nice.

Ill be away again this weekend spending it in London but once i get back ill be getting started on those xmas delights. Im starting with a light boozy tasty fruit mince for my mince pies.

xx