Well, it's 9 days until Christmas and so much has happened in the last few weeks. Evie had her first birthday, My colleague, Elaine and I finally got our Gold Award, we've had a Christening, Evie has started walking properly, I helped with some of the 26 Christmas dinners in my schools and I cooked the one for the council, the first birthday parties of Evie's first friends have started and Evie and I have been having fun shopping amongst all the Christmas decorations and carollers.
Unfortunately, Evie's teeth started bothering her the day before her birthday (the top 2 finally came through a few days after she turned 1). So, our plan to go into London and wander around the Winter Wonderland got cancelled and we stayed at home and played and got ready for the party instead. She was very cute in the morning opening her presents. She still only has enough attention for one or two, but it's very sweet. Evie's party was a fabulous night. We had all Thanksgiving Food and Decorations. Evie had a beautiful dress and all of the other party girls looked lovely in their frocks. I made Christmas stockings with the kids' names on them as party bags. We had beer and wine and even an "EV" cocktail (elderflower and vodka). The kids used Evie's room as a playroom and Evie had such a great time with them all. Below is the menu (I add this because I'm hoping someone will print this for my Grandmother, Evie's namesake, and I know she'll want to know):
Starters:
Baked Brie with Apple Compote
Blue Cheese and Walnut Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheese and Port Spread
Warm Blue Cheese Bacon Dip
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Olives
Warm Turnip and Spinach Dip
Caramelised Onion Dip
Butternut Squash Turnovers
Fruit and Vegetable Platter
Mac and Cheese Bites
Main:
Turkey
Giblet Gravy
Stuffing (the American kind)
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole
Cornbread Broccoli Strata
Dessert:
Pumpkin Spiced Cake with Butter cream Frosting
Vanilla Cupcakes with Butter cream Frosting
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart
It was such a lovely evening and Ian and I really appreciate all of you that were able to come and join us in the celebration of Evie.
Even though Evie's birthday was over, we had no time to rest. The next week, I finally got to celebrate with my friend and colleague, Elaine. We finally achieved our Food For Life Gold Award. This is something that we have been working on for the past year. We are only the 3rd caterer in the country to achieve this and we're the first in London. Outside of the fact that I got to have a fabulous night out in London with my friend, it really was the culmination of the last 10 years of work for me. Even when I was an executive chef and running restaurants, all I have ever really wanted to do was focus on children's food. I firmly believe that what children eat plays an utterly important role in their life. I believe that you should know where your food comes from and that you should know with confidence what you eat. And I believe this knowledge should be accessible to everyone. I see everyday the difference well balanced and freshly made school dinners make in students' lives and I'm very proud of the work that Elaine and I have done. It was wonderful and inspiring to spend the day listening to others' stories and achievements and to be around people that share our passion for food. In my speech that I gave on the day, I said this has given us the determination to keep moving forward and keep making changes. I truly mean that and I can't wait to get started!!
But still, there was no rest for the weary as one of Evie's first friends, Max C, had his first birthday and we were off again. It was a great day at the rugby club. They had a bouncy castle and lots of other toys for playing. Max's Dad, Dan, cooked an amazing pork roast and he and Lorna, Max's Mom, made the cutest monkey cake EVER!! They were fabulous hosts and we had such a lovely time. It was the perfect way to truly kick off the party season.
In between all of this there have been christenings, play dates and lots of school Christmas Dinners (27 in all). And it's just getting started. I have one more school Christmas Dinner to attend next Tuesday and then I'm off until the 3rd. The holiday season has started out great for Two Galbraiths and a Teichman. We're looking forward to seeing Evie with Santa and to see her beautiful face Christmas Morning.
We hope you're all having a lovely holiday with your families and we wish you all the best in 2012!!
Happy Holidays!
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