What are your favorite winter rituals?

Since childhood I’ve been a big believer in angels and in fact I credit them with  the magic and wonderful opportunities I’ve had in my life to travel around the world and share my gift with people.  I rely on them a lot to be my kitchen helpers – and of course they let me take all the credit – it’s our little secret!

I love Winter time, and depending on where I am in the world, I have different rituals for this time of year.  I grew up in rural Ireland and my childhood memories of winter are of warm cozy meals and gatherings around an open fire, storytelling with my family.  Making snowmen and sledding down the hills on makeshift sleds, usually old pieces of wood we found in the shed.  Snowball fights and of course the anticipation of Christmas and what gifts Santa Claus would bring.

These days, with my traveling lifestyle, I can never anticipate where I’m going to be come Winter.  Some years I’m swimming in tropical waters and some, I’m huddled up by the fire to stay warm.  Always though, my life and days revolve around food, so I’m usually creating winter delights with whatever ingredients I can find locally.  Last year I spent winter between Los Angeles and Hawaii. I love the feeling of festivity at this time of year as we have Thanksgiving in the U.S., Christmas and New Year – all excuses for me to create celebratory feasts and bring people together around the table.

Do you celebrate Christmas and how?

I love to celebrate Christmas – perhaps because I carry so many happy memories from the Christmases of my childhood.  I’m not a religious person as such, but I will often find myself going to church or some sort of spiritual gathering on Christmas day as I enjoy the ritual of it.  Although sometimes my church is just time alone, sitting on a rock on a beautiful beach, or a nice walk in nature. 

I love to decorate my home wherever I am, but often it will be with things I find in nature.  Last year I went to the beach and found a nice piece of driftwood and turned it into a Christmas tree of sorts.  Adorned with some lights, jewelry and ribbons it looked perfectly festive. 
I also love an excuse to give gifts to people I’m with.  Simple, thoughtful gifts that don’t involve mountains of wrapping paper and packaging – I really don’t wish to contribute to the commercialization of Christmas and all the waste this involves.  I sometimes go to the local thrift store and find old scarves and fabrics to wrap my gifts in and look for creative ways to make my Christmas a little lower impact and fun. 

And then there’s my favorite part – the food!  I’m usually cooking for clients or friends on Christmas day and often have various palates and dietary preferences to cater to.  My choice is to keep my cooking predominantly plant based, but often I’ll be cooking for clients who want to include a turkey or something traditional in their Christmas meal, so there will always be choices. 

Any tips for food regime in the cold climates?

What I love about nature and being in tune with nature in my life and cooking is that it is perfectly designed.  Foods that naturally thrive in a colder climate are the perfect foods for us to consume to help us stay warm and be in balance at this time of year.  Winter time draws us inwards and encourages us towards warmth and heartiness in our cooking.  Cooked porridges for breakfast, warming soups, stews and oven baked casseroles are all good options for cold climates.  Root vegetables and foods that grow on or below the earth have a more heating effect on the body, unlike food and fruits that grow on trees that keep us cool in warmer climates. 

It’s important also to get good quality fats to insulate the body in colder climates – good sources of fats are oily fish like salmon and mackerel, nuts and seeds and using good quality oils like olive, flax, hempseed oil.  Rather than frying foods, I like to drizzle oil on my vegetables and other dishes, or use in making dressings.

Can you share your favorite winter recipe with us? (you can add a photo if you like)

This is a difficult choice as I’m always creating new dishes, but we never had a Christmas growing up without Christmas pudding, or plum pudding as it was also called.  My Granny would make the puddings and traditionally they were made early in the year and stored so the flavors matured.  This is my own variation on my Granny’s recipe and it’s usually thoroughly enjoyed.  It’s traditional to pour brandy over the pudding and light it at the table to burn off the alcohol – I still like to do this as it gives it a lovely flavor.

Aine’s Christmas Pudding:

1 cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup chopped pitted prunes

½ cup chopped dried figs

1 cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup crystallized ginger – small diced

¼ cup brandy

1 Tbs. orange zest

1/2 cup orange juice

1 Tbs. lime juice

½ cup maple syrup

Big pinch sea salt

½ tsp. allspice

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. cloves

¼ tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup melted coconut oil

2 cups grated carrots

1 ½  cups ground almonds

2 cups white breadcrumbs

1 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ cups non-dairy milk (rice, hemp, oat, almond)

EQUIPMENT:

Mixing bowls

2 ceramic or glass pudding bowls with rims

Cheesecloth or light muslin

Aluminum foil

String for tying bowls

THE NIGHT BEFORE MAKING:

In a mixing bowl, combine all the dried fruit and ginger and add brandy, orange zest and juice, lime juice, maple syrup, salt, spices and vanilla. Mix well, cover bowl and set aside to marinate overnight.

When ready to make puddings, transfer the soaked fruit into a large mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Rub the inside of two ceramic or glass pudding bowls with oil and line the inside with a couple of layers of cheesecloth, leaving enough to hang out over the edges.  Divide the pudding mixture between the two bowls and draw the edges of the cheesecloth together in the middle and tie with a string. 

Cover the top of the bowls with aluminum foil, putting a pleat in the middle of the foil to allow for expansion during the cooking process.  Tuck the foil well in around the bowls and tie around the outside near the top with string, looping the string over the top to make a handle that can be used to lift the bowl.  You want to make sure the foil is tucked in and tied securely so that no water or steam gets into the pudding during the cooking process.

Put the bowls into large saucepans with tight fitting lids.  Fill the saucepans with enough water to come to within an inch of the top of bowls.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 4 hours.  Check occasionally to make sure there’s enough water and add some if it’s getting low.

It’s traditional to make your puddings several months before Christmas and re-steam on the day.  When ready to use, steam them again for about 2 hours.

To serve, turn out onto a platter and drizzle liberally with brandy – set it alight immediately to burn off the alcohol. 

You can serve with ice cream or whipped cream or non-dairy alternatives.

Where are you going to be this winter/what are your plans for work and celebration?

I can honestly say at this stage that I really don’t know.  I’m currently home in Ireland for a couple of months cooking for my mother who just had surgery.  I love being home in Ireland and may extend my stay here until Christmas, in which case I will be celebrating with my lovely parents, who just celebrated their 67^th wedding anniversary!

What’s your favorite book to curl up with by the fire?

I’m obsessed with wild foods foraging and fermentation at the moment.  I made my first batch of beer using wild foraged herbs recently and it was quite delicious.  One of my mentors in the wild foods world just published a wonderful book called “The new Wildcrafted Cuisine” which I have by my bedside and enjoy reading for ideas and inspiration.  I really don’t take cookbooks into the kitchen as it’s my creative space and I like to let my creative spirit loose when I pick up my knife, but I enjoy reading cookbooks in my leisure time, particularly if they have nice food images. I love the Ottolenghi cookbooks for inspiration and creative ideas. I also love a good novel

Does snow make you feel grumpy or romantic?

I love snow!  It makes me happy, especially if it’s a snowstorm big enough to slow the world down. I remember being in busy Manhattan one winter and we had the biggest snowstorm ever and the entire city came to a standstill.   The cars were all buried under mountains of snow and people were snow skiing in the streets.  I know it’s probably not the best thing for business, but it brings a sense of calm and peace when the world is clothed in white.

What’s your fondest childhood winter memory?

Waking up on Christmas morning and going downstairs to see what Santa Claus had left.  We always left him a glass of milk and cookies the night before.  It must have been challenging for my parents to keep us all happy, with 11 children to feed and clothe on one man’s salary, but we were always surprised and thrilled with Santa’s generosity. 

We went to midnight mass at Christmas, which was also a big thrill, to walk to church in the dark.  The smell of the incense in the church still lingers with me.

What’s your secret wish for this Christmas? If you’d like to share it with us

Well then it won’t be a secret any more!  When I worked for one of my actor client’s we all had to make a wish list for Christmas and this was always a challenge for me. The things my heart desires the most are things that money can’t buy.  My wishes usually involve being with the people I love and who make me happy.  Having access to great food, feeling healthy and joyful.  Being somewhere in nature where I can take a nice long walk or a swim. 

When I think of “things” to wish for, it’s usually something small that travels easily – beautiful jewelry is always appreciated!

Are you planning any more cookbooks or projects?

Being a creative mind, I always have many projects and books brewing, I would like to do a revision on my first book “Recipes to Nurture” and bring it up to date – I still use recipes from it, but as my cooking is constantly evolving, I’d like to add some more recipes to reflect this.  I have a few other cookbooks in the works that I’m hoping to get out there soon. 

I’m really inspired by the food culture in Ireland whenever I come home – so many artisan food producers popping up all over the place and it’s such a magical and beautiful country, I’d love to bring groups over here to explore the food and foraging culture.  I have a Facebook page, Feastandforageireland, where I’ll be posting updates on this.