It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.......

The brilliant red flowers of the poincianas are covering the horizon everywhere I look, the storm birds are gathering and the heat of the day is smothering, I can smell the scent of frangipani blossom in the air.  It's nearly Christmas in the Tropics. It's a time for hastily baking goodies to pack in hampers as gifts for dear friends and filling orders for Christmas puddings to be enjoyed on the day. The kids will soon be finished school and the sound of their voices will be heard through the rumble of thunder clouds.

This year will be a bittersweet Christmas for us as our first born prepares to leave home for the big wide world of university.  I still can't believe I have a child heading off into the world, where did that time go to? Seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from hospital and then it was her first Christmas.

As I'm sitting here writing I have puddings in the steamer, the delicious aromas of cinnamon, ginger and spice are pervading the kitchen. It's one of my favourite smells. Aromas, fragrances, scents and perfumes are all so evocative of memories. Tweed and Old Spice will always remind me of family members now passed, Brut and Drakkar Noir of first loves, Johnsons Baby Powder of new borns and soft skin and cinnamon of Christmas time. I can tell you if a cake is nearly finished cooking by the smells emanating from the oven and I love the smell of wood smoke on a winters day.
I hope that when my kids have their own homes that fragrance will remind them of home and bring back memories of family and friends and places.
Merry Christmas everyone, may you find joy and happiness with your families this year.

EARLY BEGINNINGS

For those of a certain vintage Home Economics classes are a dim dark memory best left in a jar at the back of the pantry. I know hate is a strong word but it's the best word to describe how I felt about these classes. The most challenging culinary creation our poor teachers could summon was at best curried mince or at the worst - a boiled egg or watery scrambled eggs with cold toast. On the days when we weren't cooking we were trying to master the art of sewing. I can remember a rather disastrous full circle wrap around skirt in a dark, unflattering floral print. After high school I went to university for a while, where I wasted a lot of time having a good time. I was introduced to the culinary highlight of this period by my Korean flatmate who was a little too fond of packet noodles. Packet noodles with iceberg lettuce added for a bit of extra something was a cheap and convenient meal. In between lettuce and noodles there were trips to a little restaurant at St Lucia called The Cat's Tango - this now defunct place was so exotic at the time and I loved it. If I couldn't afford to eat there my other favourite was the pasta bar downstairs called Pasta Pasta.
My food life has not always been a love affair with creating food however I do love eating it. It's only now that we have the Teahouse and I'm baking cakes and cooking each day for friends, family and customers that I see the joy that homemade produce brings. A delicious slice of cake with a cuppa at morning tea, a bowl of fresh soup straight off the stove or homemade jam with light fluffy scones is often enough to brighten someones day. And I guess this is why we do it day in and day out because food brings people together, it creates community and a sense of well being that is often missed in the daily rush of life.

I'm now looking forward to a bowl of pea and ham soup, just off the stove it's a meal in a bowl. The only thing wrong with cooking is washing up!

"Let's Get Started"

Let me start by saying that I'm new to blogging so this could be a painful learning curve. My thought about this blog is that maybe it's an opportunity to say a bit more than is possible on Facebook. So a bit about myself. I am a 40 something mother of two children, I have a husband, a dog and two cats. I run my own business called The Old Station Teahouse. We specialize in homestyle baking - including delicious scones and homemade jams. In 1994 we purchased a disused railway station, moved it to our property and set it up as The Teahouse. The building is now set amongst lush tropical gardens and is host to visitors from all over Australia and beyond. The station was built in 1904 and for many years was an integral part of life in the community. The station fell into disuse in the early 1990's and was put up for tender in 1994. My husband and I fell in love with the building as soon as we saw it and grabbed the opportunity to buy it. Marian Station is now an integral part of our daily life and continues to have a valuable function instead of going to ruin as many old buildings do.