Winter festival in Britain

As temperature keep falling, sometimes accompanied by strong wind and shower rain, British has been preparing for winter festive since the beginning of December.

The biggest event is Christmas, an annual festival on 25th December to celebrate the birth of Jesus (Isa al Masih, a.s). The Christian have celebrated Christmas since 4th century and has incorporated Pagan customs such as, decorating homes with evergreens like holly (for a symbol of continuity of life), kissing under the mistletoe (for fertility), Yule logs was considered lucky if keep alight for 12 days and wassail (to drink alcohol as a celebration).
Christmas tree was introduced by the German Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, to Britain in 1841. The British custom of Santa Claus coming down the chimney to deliver presents to all the children on Christmas Eve (24th December) comes from Dutch St Nikolass Day on 6th December. The red suit that Santa Claus wears come from a 1930's coca-cola advertisement.


Boxing Day is the popular term applied to 26th December in Britain and the commonwealth countries. Traditionally, this day the gentry would give presents in boxes, generally money, to their servants, trades-people and others of humble life. Nowadays, it's a biggest sale time!!

New Year's Day was observed on 25th March in the Middle Ages in most of European countries. This time also being the equinox (when day has same hours as night) and the beginning of spring. When Gregorian calender was introduced in 1582, Roman Catholic countries began to celebrate New Year's Day on 1st January, possibly because the Pagans would celebrate the start of longer days as part of their winter solstice (the shortest day in the northern hemisphere) celebration at that time of year.

Guy Fawkes and The Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes was born in 1570 in York in the north of England. He was born a Protestant but became Roman Catholic after his father died and his mother re-married. When he was twenty-three, he enlisted in the Spanish army in Flanders (north-east France and Belgium) and in 1596 participated in the capture of the French city of Calais by the Spanish in their war with Henry IV of France.

Around 1605, James I, king of England, applied oppressive anti-Catholic laws, so The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy to kill the King, the Lords and the Commons at the opening of Parliament (an annual event) on 5th November 1605.

The originator of the plot was Robert Catesby, a country gentleman, who took his cousin and two friends into his confidence, along with Guy Fawkes, a soldier of fortune. They in turn drew other Roman Catholic gentlemen into the plot.
The conspirator discovered a vault directly beneath the House of Lords (a division of Parliament) and rented it to store thirty-six barrels of gunpowder.

In the final arrangement, Guy Fawkes was set fire to the gunpowder in the cellar on 5th November and then flee to Flanders.
However, one of the conspirators wrote a letter of warning to a friend, who was one of the member of Parliament, and the plot was exposed.
Guy Fawkes was arrested as he emerged from cellar. He was tortured by the rack, until he confessed his own guilt and finally revealed the names of his associates, nearly all of whom were killed when captured or hanged along with Fawkes on 31st January 1606.

The Gunpowder Plot is still commemorated annually in Great Britain on 5th November. Effigies of Guy Fawkes are made by children and "Penny for the Guy" is usually asked for charity (though nowadays it's a lot more and who knows where it goes!). The effigies are placed on top of a bonfire and fireworks are set off to represent the gunpowder.

Source: Intermediate English Class on 08/11/2012, material by Sarah_SWC.

Muffins

Chocolate muffins

Ingredients:

300g / 2 3/4 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

10 ml / 2 tsp baking powder

150g / 3/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar

a pinch of salt

250 ml / 1 cup milk

120 ml/ 1/2 cup sunflower oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

5 ml/ 1 tsp vanilla essence (extract) (optional)

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5/fan oven 170 C for at least 5 minutes. 

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cases (cupcake papers), or simply place the cases on a baking tray.

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and stir them together.

Mix together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla essence in a separate bowl or a jug

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together briefly; the mixture should still look lumpy with a few specks of dry flour showing.

Divide between the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until risen and golden

 Cool in the muffin tin or on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Serve warm or cool.

Variations

Double chocolate muffins:

Swap 30 ml/45 tbsp of cocoa (unsweetened chocolate) powder for the same amount of flour and stir 100g/ 1 cup of white, milk or plain chocolate chips into the dry ingredients.

Cappuccino muffins:

Substitute 30 ml/45 tbsp of cocoa (unsweetened chocolate) powder for the same amount of flour. Blend 15 ml/ 1 tbsp of coffee powder/granules with 15 ml/1 tbsp of hot water and stir into the wet ingredients. Serve the muffins with a dusting of drinking chocolate (sweetened chocolate) powder and with whipped cream, if liked.

Mixed berry muffins:

Add 100g each of fresh or frozen raspberries and blueberries to wet ingredients.

Fruity muffins:

Stir in 75g/ 1/2 cup of chopped dried fruit such as pears or apricots, raisins or sultanas (golden raisins). Add 5 ml/ 1 tsp of ground cinnamon o mixed spices as well.

Student Food in Colour by Catherine Atkinson, 2007

Carrot Cake ala Anita Maft

Carrot cake is one of traditional british cake served in any occasions. I had brought these to a picnic at Southampton Common and an Islamic study amongst Indonesian society and they loved them!
Thanks to Joanna, who was a chef before she works at halls of residence where I work as well,  and gave me this fabulous recipe. This is an easy peasy recipe, you'll find that you won't fail in every single shot. This cake is gloriously moist and a healthy snack for kids and the rest of family.

 Equipments:

2x23cm loose-bottomed cake tins (or any cake tins you have)

A mixing bowl

A spatula

A hand-whisk/mixer

Ingredients:

300 ml sunflower oil (I'd prefer to use butter, melted)

225 180 g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

175 g golden syrup (you may swap with honey or any kind of liquid sugar) 

350 g self-raising flour, sifted

2 1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp crushed cloves ( I never use this)

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

225 g carrots, coarsely grated

55 g desiccated coconut

55 g raisins

1 tbsp chopped walnut (if you like it)

As you seen, I have reduced some of ingredients according to my taste. You can add other dried fruit, like sultanas, and you'll get a scrumptious one.

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4.

Butter and flour the cake tins.

Blend the oil/melted butter, sugar, eggs, and golden syrup in a large bowl.

Then beat in flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda.

Fold in the carrots, raisins, coconut and walnuts.

Divide the mixture between tins, level the tops and bake in the oven for 35-40 minute, until a fine skewer plunged into the centre comes out clean. (It take up to 60 minute if you use loaf tins)

Leave the cooked cakes to rest in the tins for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

Well, this time I baked without raisins and walnut as my kids don't like them. 

Measles Outbreaks

As you have seen in the news that there have been serious outbreaks of measles in Wales over the last month. Outbreaks are now occurring widely in England, with teenagers being the most affected. This is because of them missed out their MMR vaccinations in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the vaccine was mistakenly linked to causes of autism.

Measles is a highly infectious disease, spreading quickly from person to person, especially in schools. A child with measles will infect almost all unprotected children they have contact with.

Measles can be a very serious disease, leading to ear and chest infections/pneumonia , eye disorder, diarrhoea and vomiting, and damage to the brain/meningitis. Measles can kill. Our child is at risk of measles if he/she hasn't had the MMR vaccination.

Two doses of MMR vaccine are needed to get the best protection. If the child has got one doses/hasn't got any doses, it's recommended the child has two doses of MMR.

The MMR vaccinations are usually given between 12-13 months of age and again at 3 years and 4 months, with one dose on each occasion. But, if the child wasn't vaccinated then, he/she can be vaccinated at any age with two doses one month apart.

There may be any side affects to the vaccination for up to 6 weeks after the vaccination but in very much milder form. This proves that the vaccine is working and the child is building up resistance to future contact with the viruses that cause the 3 diseases : measles, mumps and rubella. Not all children show these symptoms but that doesn't mean the vaccine isn't working.

Source: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/measles-outbreak-advice.aspx