Translating Christmas into Summer

A glass of chilled sorrel, and in the absence of Crix,
I also had some poppyseed crackers
with extra mature cheddar

When one thinks of summer, one usually thinks of sunshine and sunshiney type drinks like daiquiris and mojitos. Not rain and cappuccinos. Nevertheless, I was not to be derailed in my taste of summer plans today, despite the downpour here in London.

I had brought some dried sorrel with me back in September, to ensure I had a little piece of Trinidad with me at Christmas time. Sorrel is traditionally our Christmas drink but because I was ill for the most of the holidays and a bit lazy, I never prepared the sorrel, instead having loads of Rexona and orange juice. Today though, as I whip up a pelau, and despite the summer thus far being a soggy mess here in London, I was in the mood for a tropical, summery burst of joy.

It's really very easy to make once you have the main ingredient - the sepals of the sorrel flower. Usually you can buy these fresh, but since I was away from home, I bought some dried sorrel. You also need spices, typically cinnamon and cloves, and sugar to taste.  My mother told me to steep the sorrel but I did boil it a bit, cause I am impatient. The smell was heavenly and after it had all cooled and was sweetened, the taste was even more heavenly. If you have Angostura Bitters, dash some of that in it too. And add some stronger spirits, like rum, if you really want to spice up the ting, which I did! It was a piece of Trinidad in soggy London.

My pack of dried sorrel; the dried sorrel in the pot with the cinnamon and cloves; boil boil boil sorrel;
the beautiful scarlet coloured concoction, ready to be sweetened and "spirited"

I took my sorrel and my yummy poppyseed crackers to the couch, where I proceeded to flip through the hundreds of channels, looking for one show that would hold my attention for at least an hour, while my pelau did its thing on a low heat. Instead, I got Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, Law and Order episodes with Chris Noth (ancient!!), Diagnosis Murder (really??), Dawson's Creek - wow, that one really took me back. I mean, can you believe paying money every month to see shows as old as the road? Is it any wonder why, trapped indoors because of the wind and rains, and at the mercy of corporate London,  I am incredibly bored?

Still, I had my summery sorrel! And after a long day of grocery shopping, kitchen prep, cooking, with a terrible shoulder pain, having slipped in the bathroom this morning, I needed a sorrel break!

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Missing the Water when the Well Runs Dry

I am not a huge Christmas person. I have not been a huge Christmas person since I was a child. It's a lot of bollocks, with all the crazy shopping, squandermania, topsy turvy cleaning, none of which I will miss. But I will miss the Christmas cooking. And the parents and my nephew. Christmas in London has a lot to make up for, lemme tell ya. But I have started off with my best foot forward.

Yes. I pre-ordered and will be packing my pastelles in my luggage and I hope noone from Customs is reading this but even if you are, we will have to fight for these pastelles. I really actually enjoy making my own pastelles but who has that kinda time, and worse would I be able find the good cornmeal in London? I may also take up some dried sorrel and hope to God the Brits don't think it's some kinda new hallucinogenic herb for smoking. This will be my first Christmas ever away from home and it feels odd already. I will miss my nephew's first Christmas and cute stuff like that and it's these things that make me want to change my plans and stay home. But then I have days like today at the office (hellish) and it reminds me to call the High Commission and confirm the time I can pick up my passport with my visa.

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