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Two things happened in January. First, the United Kingdom left the European Union. Second, the coronavirus took grip of the world. Both these things have high­lighted how racist and insular the world still is.Brexit divided the UK, with Scot­land and Wales voting to stay in the EU and the majority (oddly with the exception of London, the capital) voting to leave. The sit­uation in Northern Ireland is far more complicated and outside of my ability to analyze. Needless to say both the citizens of Northern and Eire (Southern Ireland, which remains in Europe) and the newly formed coalition Stormont Execu­tive in Northern Island are waiting to see what the transition period (from 1 February till 31 December 2020) brings. Meantime, even here in Kathmandu there has been dis­agreement between expats on the Brexit deal.

What has surprised many, me included, is how anyone living voluntarily in a country which is not their own, and not being a naturalized citizen of that coun­try, can support the division of a continent and the loss of freedom of movement (people and goods). We thought, perhaps naively, that if you are living in another country by choice— that is not being an economic migrant or having been trafficked—you are more open to inclusion and less open to racism and everything associated with it.

Oddly, in very recent years, we have also seen the world turn to egotistic, sexist and wealthy men. We have been dazzled, it would appear, by their supposed charisma and loud talk. Some of us thought, wrongly it seems, that sense and sensibility prevailed in the world. Is it the strength of social media where the loud and brash hold center court that is beguiling us? Someone said that through Hollywood we have confused real life with the screen. They questioned who would watch a film about the good guys—the Angela Merkels and Justin Trudeaus of this world. Much more entertaining are the likes of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Rich bad boys with a ten­dency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. And, more worryingly, get away with it.

On 27 January was the 75th Anni­versary of the Liberation of Aus­chwitz (the German Nazi concentra­tion and extermination camp). We should reflect how a whole nation was mesmerized by one charismatic man to participate in or simply ignore the killing of over six million people. Here we see both the power of the alluring, compelling, captivat­ing and powerful speaker and how the nasty worm that is xenophobia can take hold of the masses. Have we forgotten that the reason behind the EU was the ending of wars between neighbors and unification of Euro­pean countries economically and politically to secure peace?

And how does China and the coro­navirus fit into all this? While I fully agree with the drastic steps to take this virus under control, would air­lines be so fast (two weeks) to cancel flights in and out of ‘ground zero’ if that country was, say Switzerland or France? Are decisions being made tinged with bigotry and bloody mindedness? We hear of Chinese origin people being shunned in pub­lic, regardless of whether or not they have recently been to China. We are hear of how hundreds of people are stranded on cruise ships (with coro­navirus onboard) as countries shut their ports. And yet, China has huge financial and political weight. Will some countries be faced with little choice but to continue accepting Chinese tourists and goods through their borders? Even through a pan­demic? Are some countries taking this too lightly while others appear over-cautious?

There are no answers here in this column but only more unasked questions. I leave you to reflect and come up with your own conclusions

Short answer: yes! But read on… Recently someone sug­gested I try Ethiopian cuisine. It came as quite a surprise that there was such a thing in Kathmandu. But I thought, well why not? Later I discovered the two ladies responsible for producing, what turns out to be delicious food, are in my Pilates class. The city is indeed small! Betty Attfield and, her business partner, Halima, both came to Nepal a year ago when their spouses transferred here. Both being from Ethiopia it didn’t take long for them to meet up and become friends. From this friendship, Addis Ethiopian Cuisine Kathmandu was born!

“Often I have found work in the countries we have been posted to but this is the first time I have been involved in food. We started Addis Ethiopian Cuisine more as a hobby and a way to intro­duce people to our culture,” states Betty. “We both pre­pare the food, but Halima is the real chef here.” So what exactly does Ethiopian food consist of? Like rice is central to Nepali cuisine, a flatbread known as injera is central to Ethiopian food. With a slight spongy texture and made of teff, a gluten-free grain found in Ethiopia, this bread is pre­pared in a way not dissimi­lar to an Indian dosa. Spread out over the plate, the food is both laid on the bread (like a banana leaf ) and scooped up with the bread (like a roti). The bread has a slightly tangy, lemony flavour as it is fermented. I wondered if teff was available in Nepal or was in imported? “We bring teff from Ethiopia but obvi­ously we cannot bring huge quantities. So we combine teff with millet from Nepal to make it go further. Halima is the expert on producing the injera,” Betty.

Wot is the collective name (like ‘curry’) of the spice-filled vegan and meat based stews which are then ladled onto the injera. Lentils, split peas, chickpeas, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, green beans and spices are found in the dif­ferent types of wot. Salads, spinach, kale and ayib (cot­tage cheese) are served as side dishes. The meat dishes can be chicken, beef or mutton. Somewhat like the masala used in Nepali dishes, berbere serves as the base for many of the wot. Berebere is a com­bination of powdered chilli and other spices. We find familiar spices in this cuisine such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and ginger, so as I was told, it is not so very different on the local pal­ate. Which might be one rea­son for its success. Although the chefs report it is mainly foreigners who come to eat their food. We should change that right now!

A traditional alcoholic drink is also available from Addis Ethiopian Cuisine – tej. Tej is a honey wine not unlike mead that you can still find in parts of the UK. Made of honey and gesho (as spe­cies of buckthorn) it is the gesho that gives it a slightly bitter, fermented taste. And like all good wine, the longer you store it the better and more potent it becomes! If you don’t like wine, then there is also Ethiopian cof­fee served black, in small cups, and in a traditional cof­fee ceremony. Halima roasts some coffee beans (Ethio­pian of course) in a pan and infuses the whole room with the aroma.

If you would like to try some of this unique, yet very popu­lar now in USA (according to the New York Times) because of its vegan and gluten-free properties, Halima and Betty can be found every Friday evening from 6pm at Top of the World in Jhamsikhel (and I loved the fact recorded Ethio­pian music is thrown in!) and at the Le Sherpa Saturday Market. Reservations should be made in advance for dinner as space is limited. 

For further information please see Addis Ethiopian Cuisine Kathmandu on Facebook.  

 I didn’t want to write about it. I still don’t. But it’s hard to ignore. So here I go... Visit Nepal 2020.Recently, I was in Lisbon, Portu­gal, home to around 15,000 working Nepalis. Yet every (English speak­ing) shop-keeper and taxi-driver looked at me quizzically when I talked about Nepal. Where is that, they asked.

In fact one stall-holder thought I was confusing Nepal with Thailand! No need for me to explain to the waiters in the restaurants and cafes as they were mainly Nepali. And right there, an untapped source of VNY2020 ambassadors who are interacting every day with travel­lers and visitors from around the world! And that is just in one city of one country!

Out of curiosity I Google Visit Lis­bon 2020 and find a well-construct­ed, informative website aimed at me, the visitor. It’s the first site that comes up. Followed by Trip Advisor on Lisbon. I Google Visit Nepal 2020 and the first site that comes up is Virgin Holidays—Tours to Nepal. Okay so I am sitting in the UK as I Google, but the Visit Nepal 2020 offi­cial website comes only after a few more private travel company sites. I click on it. First words on the site are ‘We are Visit Nepal 2020’. What does that even mean?

I scroll down to the Latest News section to find an invitation to bid on being able to use the official Visit Nepal flag. I just need to submit my bid and proof of the not insub­stantial security amount in a sealed envelope... hold on! Is this site for visitors or for those in the tourism industry? Has no one updated the site or sectioned it off? But far be it for me to question the reasoning of the authorities. So I move on...

Meantime, what is Portugal famous for? If you’re a football fan, you might say Cristiano Ronaldo. If you are not, you might say port wine or pastel de nata (pastries and tarts). You might also know that almost half the world’s cork is harvested in Portugal or that Azulejo tiles, which today still decorate the outside of many buildings, originate back to the time when the Moors ruled. Surfing beaches, Fado music (inter­estingly a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage), and the explorer Vasco da Gama (first person to sail Europe to India in 1497: think Goa) are up among the top 10 things Por­tugal has to offer.

Wonderful as all these things are, I am sure Nepal can do better—I mean, custard tarts as a national treasure? Come on!

What Portugal does have is easy access from Europe, fantastic win­ter weather, and beaches. Well we can’t suddenly relocate Nepal to the ocean, but we do have stunning scenery and—dare I say it—moun­tains! Access to Nepal is however difficult and expensive and the wel­come, which might be friendly, is not exactly what modern holiday makers expect on arrival.

Enough has already been said about TIA’s facilities and the drive to the hotel so I won’t bring that up again... But let me say, visitors who came to Nepal 20 or 30 years ago accepted the lack of facilities, terrible hygiene and sketchy infor­mation. But today we must update our thinking... this is not the 1990s anymore folks.

In the current climate of social media overload, well-travelled Mil­lennials, and more retirees travelling to this part of the world than ever before, no one is going to accept below-par facilities. Regardless of how high the mountains or how wide the smiles.

Sometimes I’m just a little slow on the uptake. Although I’ve been there for four years I have only recently really discovered Flat Iron Grill (or FIG as they affectionately call it). This small but light and airy 30-seater restaurant is to be found inside the Ambassador Hotel on the corner of Lainchour and Lazimpat Road. Serving amazing, meaty sandwiches, burgers, and wraps, they also serve salads, soups and a mouth-watering array of pastries. There is a nice breakfast menu (7-11am).

What I really wanted to know was about their meat, of which I had heard wonderful things. I talked to the joint owners, Shibani Simha-Swiger and Raju Rijal. “Originally my husband and Raju established FIG around five years ago and we had just started selling goods at the 1905 Farmers Market when the earthquake hit,” explains Simha-Swigar. She goes on to tell me that they cure and smoke their own meats from animals they select at source.

Although the butchering is not carried out by them, Brian Swigar has trained the butchers in how to cut the meat. Having designed their own smoker, FIG smokes and produces, in its kitchen in Kaldhara, ham, holiday hams, pulled pork, chicken, sausages, bacon, mutton, pastrami, and pork hamburger meat. All the meats are produced fresh every week in order to keep standards consistency high. Cured for seven days then hung in a smoke house for eight hours this slow smoking produces sweet, savoury, and
smoky meats.
Along with locally sourced organic vegetables and cheese, they produce homemade potato chips, breads and pastries. Everything comes from Nepal, with the exception of mortadella and salami imported from Italy. All these items can be found either on the menu, or be pre-ordered (24-48 hrs in advance) for collection. Lunch boxes (from Rs 500) can be ordered, as can platters for private parties and meetings.
Now to the desserts! There is a collection of around 10 pastry items. They tell me their best sellers are the éclairs and the bearclaws. I must admit I had never seen a bearclaw—having only heard of it through the TV when someone orders ‘coffee and a bearclaw’. Sure enough it looks like the claw of a bear (with a bit of imagination) and tastes delicious. The other favourite of mine is the buckeye. Which is a sweet from Ohio, where Swigar is originally from. It’s basically peanut butter wrapped in chocolate. To die for!
Products from FIG can be found at the Le Sherpa Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Yellow House Market on Sundays. All of the above can basically be had, or ordered and collected from the markets. Additional items found at the markets are sausage rolls and blueberry muffins. And interestingly what can also be found in the restaurant are beers from the Great Divide Brewing Company based in Colorado. These are perfect to wash down a good pulled pork sandwich or buffalo chicken wrap. And if you don’t drink beer, they service fresh organic Nuwa coffee and fruit juices.
When other responsibilities took Swigar away from the day to day running of the restaurant, Mrs Simha-Swiger stepped in and has brought some new ideas. Like the recent promotion of FIG.CEPTION where three Kathmandu influencers were invited to create their own sandwiches. “We are also looking at green packaging and have been working with Doko Recyclers for some time,” explains Simha-Swiger, “and this is an area we will continue to explore.”
I wondered where the name Flat Iron Grill came from, assuming it was in reference to the grill the meats were cooked on. But what do I know? Flat iron in fact refers to the shape of a building, triangular, and originating in New York.
To order up your fresh meat items or for further information call 01-4413075 or find Flat Iron Grill on Facebook. 

Noir Fennel opened in July 2019 in the Anand Bhawan Complex in Lazimpat, but it took me six months to finally walk through the doors. A last minute decision to go there for dinner with a friend was an eye-opener. Beautiful comfortable seating in white with polished wooden tables gives a modern, fresh look.   There is a separate smoker’s lounge as well as a lounge for private parties or work meetings. The walls are lined with a good selection of wines. While waiting for my friend the waiter showed me around. In fact the young male and female waiters were exceedingly helpful and friendly. And anticipated what the customer wanted—a rare thing in Kathmandu! Another rare thing—they had central heating, which was on!

The menu consists of both French cuisine and Indian, with a few Nepali standards thrown in for die-hards. There is a lunch menu which has more standard fare such as burger, pizza, and rice sets. I can only assume this is to entice people in who will then return for the dinner menu. We were more interested in the French side of the menu. Les Canard (duck) looked very tempting as did the Pork Chop and French Cut Lamb. In the end we both settled for vegetarian options. I had the Savory Crepes—two delicate crepes served with a light mushroom sauce. My friend decided on the Cheese Casserole. The name is deceptive as it did not come in its individual hotplate as we imagined but in a generous cube of delicious almonds, walnuts and vegetables. 

As she is vegetarian she was most impressed to get a nutty veg dish here in Kathmandu. Both dishes came with deep fried spinach leaves. Very crispy and difficult to handle! Over on the Indian side, I was fascinated by Vin d’Aloo which is a curry of bacon, curry leaves, vinegar and coconut. I’m going to try that next time! There is also Cauliflower with Raisins, Rogan Josh, Shrimp Mad-rush and a variety of Biryani, rice and naan. As my friend pointed out—perfect for her and her husband. She can eat French vegetarian and he can eat meaty curry! 

There is no dessert menu: we were given the choice of Oreo Mousse (which wasn’t actually available that night), Fried Ice Cream, or Carrot Haluwa with Ice Cream. I chose the Fried Ice Cream as I only know two other places you can get this in Kathmandu, so it’s a bit of a treat. It was wonderfully presented and tasty. My friend didn’t like her haluwa so much as she was told it was ‘carrot cake’ so was expecting something less Indian and less sweet. Speaking of presentation—all the dishes are gracefully presented in a contemporary way. With prices ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,200 (for lamb chops), and with most prices around the Rs 700 mark, it’s not going to break the bank!

The owner, Resh Maskey, based in the US, spent many years in hospitality. But not as a chef despite his penchant for fresh, tasty food, served in his ideal setting—somewhere relaxed yet contemporary. With this in mind, Maskey headed to a culinary school in France where he learned about flavor, techniques and presentation. With his first love being Asian cuisine he took this learning and turned it into Le Mirch.  Opening first in Washington, DC in 2012, Le Mirch later opened in Kathmandu (Labin Mall).  

Now this passion for the essence of Asian food—the spices—combined with the flare and sophistication of French cuisine has led to Noir Fennel. Maskey states his journey through the French and Indian palate story is similar to the film ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’ (Google it!). Why not head along there for dinner then give us (and the restaurant) feedback! For reservations call 01-4410463.

Chernobyl
Looking back in time: This mini-series was produced by HBO

**the top TV series in 2019 in the UK

It tells the true story of the Chernobyl (USSR) nuclear disaster in April 1986. The series focuses on the reason behind the events that spiralled into the worst nuclear disaster the world has seen, with tens of thousands of fatalities over the following decades; the night of the disaster, the following few days, and resulting trials. But not as boring as it sounds! One friend described it as “more edge-of-your-seat than Game of Thrones”. In brief, a safety check went wrong when it was subject to 10 hours delay because of “decisions from the top”. The delay meant those carrying out the test had no prior knowledge or training.

Pressured by the head man at the plant into carrying out procedures which the operators knew were unsafe, the reactor core basically exploded sending airborne radioactive contamination over USSR and Western Europe. We watch in horror as local firemen, called in totally unprepared, literally melt over the next few days after exposure. We watch while villagers, who where only evacuated 36 hours later to a mere 10km away, proceeded to die over time. To this day the village of Chernobyl remains unsafe for habitation and children are born with defects resulting from their parents’ exposure to off-the-scale radiation. We get to see how the system worked in the old Soviet Union where blame was placed on others and problems denied. Commu­nism at its worst.

The Crown
Looking back at history: This on-going 6 season series can be found on Netflix

This is a fascinating look at Queen Elizabeth and the British Royal Family starting when, on the death of her father, Elizabeth was crowned in 1952. In November 2019 Season 3 came out. But do watch the first two seasons, which focus on the early years of her reign and show how this young girl went from being a happy-go-lucky princess to Queen Heir Apparent and then Queen. Sea­son 3 brings us into the 1960s and 70s with historical happenings that I can remember from my childhood and school books. It also takes us into the—what would have been then a very secret—world of the personal lives of the Royal Family. It’s an excellent look into British society too. To paraphrase the Queen in Season 3 (and the writers would not have predicted the whole Boris Johnston suspension of Parliament fiasco in September 2019), the Queen supports the post of Prime Minister, not the man, and the Queen supports and abides by the Constitution. So if you know your history and modern day politics, this is for you. Even if you don’t, it’s a lovely look at a living Royal Family. Constitutional Monarchy at its best.

Handmaids Tale
Set in a fictional society: Shown on AXN India

Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, the Hand­maids Tale takes place after the Second American Civil War results in a totalitarian, patriarchal society. Women in general have been rendered sterile by warfare. We also learn all individuality, independence, money, jobs and status are removed from all women. The ‘wives’ are those married to high level ‘Commanders’, and the ‘Handmaids’ are those remaining fertile women who are drafted into a life of child-bearing slavery. The rest of the women are then placed into various roles such as cooks, housemaids or sent for hard labour, depending on their age and skills. The Handmaids Tale follows the life of one Handmaid, Offred (women’s names are also taken from them) and shows what Handmaids have to go through in order to produce a baby for the Commanders.

A baby which is then handed over to the Commander’s wife and the Handmaid reposted to the next Command­er’s household. Needless to say the Commanders enjoy in their private clubs forbidden fruits such as prostitutes, alcohol, etc that are banned for the rest of the popula­tion. This series demonstrated how those in power can take freedom from the masses by simply closing bank accounts, removing employment, and closing borders in a single sweeping move. Totalitarian, tyranny and patriarchy to be avoided.

I was recently told by the GM of a 4-star that Kathmandu has really good training colleges for hos­pitality. So good in fact that they do not recruit inexperienced staff unless they have done a degree in hospitality at one of them. So maybe that’s the reason why ser­vice in the new hotels and restau­rants is definitely improving. Or am I just going to better places? Winky face!

Years ago, I seem to remember that service with a smile came as part of the deal. Whether a restau­rant or corner shop, the staff seemed happy and smiled. Then somewhere along the way the smile was lost. Could it have been that in the earlier days those staff were the owner’s family? Or perhaps just hap­py-go-lucky youths who didn’t see their working careers in the shop or restaurant, but this was just some­thing along their life path? May­be when working in restaurants, hotels and shops then became a ‘real job’, certainly in the bigger towns and cities, the smiles van­ished, to be replaced by frustra­tion that there seemed nothing better in life.

But now, with good edu­cation, training and mentor­ing, perhaps the youths feel these ‘jobs’ are paths to good careers in hospitality or retail. And the smiles are back! Well, most of the time.

I was horrified to hear from a friend last night what happened to her work colleague from Sri Lanka who was staying in one of the older 4-star hotels. Being obviously Asian and dark she was treated quite indifferently by the staff. Despite the fact she was on the Executive Floor. When her white colleague arrived to stay in the same hotel he was as horrified to see the difference in treatment they received.

I was extremely happy to know, with the help of my friend, that they checked out of that older establishment and into a new­bie in town. A newbie where I know they have a training department and whole training routine for staff so that their stan­dard in Kathmandu remains the same as their standard throughout the world. I assume that involves treating everyone equally. Certainly when I have, frequently, been there, both Nepali friends and non-Nepali friend receive the same level of ser­vice and care.

That same Sri Lankan lady also revealed to my friend that she can­not wear a kurta shalwar on an Asian airline flight. My friend was puzzled, as this is her ‘comfort dress’ for flights. No, replied her Asian colleague, I get better service when wearing jeans and a t-shirt than when wearing traditional dress. Presumably she then looked less ‘vil­lage’ and more ‘modern’. Equality isn’t taught to airline staff then. So could it be where I see smiling faces others do not?

On the other side, I have seen how some people treat waiting staff. On first meeting I will assess you on how you treat the staff. You might not get a second meeting if you treat them badly. That’s not to say I don’t sometimes lose it at waiting or other staff. Shelf stackers in a well-known super market come to mind. And we all know how much I love our local taxi drivers!

But in general, I feel those who have grown up in a culture where class or caste differences are high­lighted and ingrained are at a disad­vantage when it comes to manners. I’m sure you will let me know if you disagree. On the other hand those of us, regardless as to whether we were middle or working class, who had Saturday or holiday jobs when at school, know what it’s like to be on the other side of the counter. And having an after-school job didn’t mean you were necessari­ly poor; it was just what everyone did. It taught us humility and independence at the vital, impres­sionable age. And looking back, it has certainly made us more understanding of servers. With the exception of taxi drivers of course! Another winky face!

Besides from the presents and the feeling of togetherness at Christmas, like all other festivals and holidays, it’s the food we remember most. While the list of goodies is endless, for me there are two things that sig­nify Christmas. Christmas cake and mulled wine.

Both these items are hard to get in Nepal. Yes, there are Christmas cakes on sale at some of the larger hotels and even some homemade ones at the Christmas markets. And yes, at the same Christmas mar­kets you will find mulled wine, or Gluhwien to give it its Germany name. But these are not quite the same as in other countries that have a longer tradition of Christmas.

While I am not going to attempt to teach you to make a Christmas cake, I can pass on my recipe for mulled wine. And I wanted to share something about the Christmas cake mixing gatherings that happen here. Something I had never heard about until I came to Kathmandu!

• Dry red wine (no need to go for the most expensive).

• Two to three glasses of orange juice per bottle of wine (depending on how potent you want it to be).

• Khukri Rum. Again it depends how potent you want it. As rule of thumb, half a quarter bottle per bot­tle of wine.

• Honey. How much honey depends on your taste. May­be around 2-3 tablespoons per bottle of wine.

• Spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black pepper corns, star anise (added as you like).

   • Cubes of real fruit; apples

Christmas cake mixing ceremony

Christmas is not Christmas with­out that alcohol fueled cake. The earlier you (or preferably mother or grandmother) make this the better it is as the alcohol then has a chance to flavor all of the dried fruit which make up a Christmas cake. This tra­dition of early preparation has been taken up by the larger hotels in Kath­mandu. Yet it seems it’s something which doesn’t happen anywhere other than Nepal and India. This required further investigation.

It would appear the Christmas cake mixing ceremony originally started in India. Most of the online posts claim the mixing tradition started in ‘Christian households’ way back in 17th-century Europe when dried fruits and nuts were har­vested to be made into a traditional plum cake. Other stories have it that the cake mixing ceremony was born in mid-19th century. But whatever its origins, it seems to have really caught on in India where it is seen as the bringer of the Christmas season. This tradition crept into Nepal, no doubt along with the star hotels.

But what exactly is this cake mix­ing ceremony? Like all good Christ­mas cakes, a lot of preparation goes into its making before it’s finally put into the oven. In fact this prep starts weeks in advance. Dried fruits and nuts including dates, raisins, red cherries, cashew nuts, cloves, cardamom, ginger peel, lemon peel, orange peel, dry figs, walnuts, apri­cots, prunes, pistachios, almonds, pepper and spices are laid out by the kilo. Most likely these days in the shape of the hotel’s logo. In goes bottles of liquor and wine. This intoxicating mix is then stirred up by hand and put into an airtight container to ferment and grow more delicious over the next few weeks before being finally turned into a cake with the addition of flour etc.

Today VIP guests are invited to do the mixing; kited out with kitchen gear and gloves. It’s a fun event that also helps to draw the media attention to the hotel. I recently attended one of these cake mixing ceremonies and was reliably told that this year the Aloft Hotel Thamel will be producing cakes with that heady mix that I helped with. These cakes can be pre-ordered from the hotel.

Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is a spiced and heat­ed red wine, perfect for a cold win­ters evening and smelling every so much like Christmas! I am often asked by friends for the recipe for mulled wine so here it is, tried and tested!

Pour your wine into a big pot. Add the orange juice and rum (or brandy if you prefer). Start to heat SLOWLY. When warm add the spices, hon­ey and fruit. Keep warming it. Do not boil it—why burn off that lovely alcohol? Serve in tall heat-proof glasses. You can also prepare in advance and bottle it. Re-heat before serving. Do remember this goes down smoothly so don’t have too many glasses!

For non-drinkers and children, replace the wine (and rum) with cranberry juice and reduce the quantity of honey.

Merry Christmas eating!