There is a Christmas advert currently running  for ASDA which tells the story of a busy mum’s preparations for Christmas day.  Mum, who is the hero of the piece, runs around like a blue arsed fly  looking more  worn out and knackered as the ad progresses.  In the end scene we are treated to a rather wan smile from mum.  The message – it may be mayhem and madness but we wouldn’t have it any other way.  I beg to differ!

My parents came to us for Christmas last year and as I sat happily with my new cookbook and a glass of fizz  mum commented on how relaxed I was on Christmas Day.  My secret weapon – M&S.  Shock horror, food obsessed blogger buys pre prepared food on Christmas day.  Thing is I wouldn’t dream of doing it on any other day of the year,  but on Christmas day I actually want to just sit and chill and eat the odd chocolate.  I don’t  want to be red-faced and sweating in the kitchen, wringing my hands about the state of the turkey.  To be honest I learned the hard way.

After 30 odd years of being catered on Christmas day by my parents I moved in with BC and we invited the elders to ours.  I spent a silly amount on books, magazines and even a DVD, offering advice on wowing my guests with the perfect Christmas feast.  The Jamie Oliver Christmas DVD was particularly influential as I recall and on Christmas eve I was to be found feverishly making an array of different flavoured butters (as suggested by Jamie) to compliment my many vegetables and fretting over a ridiculously complicated starter.

My favourite sort of cooking is one pot – stews, chillis, curry’s, tagines – you get the message.  Christmas dinner is a multitude of pots and on this memorable Christmas the pots were boiling over.  I got so stressed about the whole affair that I completely forgot to enjoy the day and most of my other guests were concerned about my rising stress levels.  Of course it was not the perfect feast – the sprouts were cooked to oblivion, the turkey too dry. I moaned about my failed efforts all through dinner whilst gulping down wine like there was no tomorrow.   Never again!

The following Christmas I was still mentally scarred and decided to cheat.  I went to M&S and bought lovely little chipolatas wrapped in pancetta with rosemary tucked inside, two beautiful varieties of stuffing some succulent rolled turkey breast and a pot of cranberry sauce.  I bribed my Dad to make a good old trifle and made a stupidly simple warm salad to start.  I did prepare my own veg,  but aside from adding a bit of honey and thyme to the parsnips and making sure the tatties were in goose fat – they were very simply presented.

The result of my ‘shove in an oven and cook as long as the packet tells you to’ method worked a treat and I actually enjoyed Christmas.  Many of you may be tutting and advising me  to do it myself but to prepare in advance, but you are wasting your time.  I am now a convert to the cheats Christmas.

This year my dad is in hospital so we will take a three-hour break in the festivities to drive to and from the hospital for a visit.  So this year yet again it is thank goodness for M&S.  The starter will be my homemade wild mushroom soup which I could make in my sleep and a easy peasy pavlova to finish.  Job done.  Therefore the time I do have at home will be spent playing with my daughters new toys, enjoying the food and watching a bit of festive telly.

So here’s to another simple Christmas at Grumbling Tummy HQ!

Merry Christmas one and all xx

I was distressed to read this week that Dunfermline’s Farmers Market was under threat of closure. The article was printed in the Dunfermline Press, and although I am not sure how much truth there is in the story, I was concerned enough to take to twitter and facebook to encourage my fellow Fifers to use the market or risk losing it altogether.

If you think  this is going to be a sanctimonious rant then be rest assured it is not. I am ashamed to say that I am not a regular face at my local Farmers Market. I know full well that there are fabulous local producers gathered at the Glen Gates on the second Saturday of every month; but like many people I often forget on the day or just take it for granted that I can pop along “sometime soon”. Perhaps this sort of complacency could in part be to blame for the downturn in footfall at Dunfermline Farmers Market.

Feeling rather contrite, I headed off to the Glen Gates last Saturday morning on a mission to buy local produce and support this fabulous asset to my town. It was a pretty dreich day truth be told, but the top of the town was buzzing with Christmas shoppers. As you head further down Dunfermline High Street the shops and shoppers thin out a bit and then you get to the Glen Gates, the site of the market. The Market Co-ordinator was cited in the Dunfermline Press as suggesting that parking is a problem and I would agree that it is indeed an issue, however there are plenty of shopppers at the top end of the high street so I don’t think parking is entirely to blame.

The Glen Gates is a great spot for a market but I think location in this case is both a strength and a weakness. It is perfect in terms of space I grant you, but it is really not very visible to the average Dunfermline shopper. Surely they know that the market is on, just minutes away from Marks and Spencer? Well no, not really. There is nothing that I could see to remind shoppers that there is a Farmers Market happening right under their noses. No banners, no A-boards – nada! Marketing is my day job and I often get frustrated at the lack of marketing on the ground for events. A few A-Boards at the top end of the High Street promoting the market could do wonders?

The Farmers Market in Dunfermline has around a dozen local producers selling their wares including the fabulous Puddledub , Trotters Condiments and the Wee Pie Company. It wasn’t long before my shopping bag filled up and I began to question why I am not a market regular. I bought some marvellous Sweet Chilli Sausages from Puddledub which were later transformed into a Sausage Roast with Chorizo, sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, peppers, paprika and rosemary. I also bought some Anster Cheese which BC and I tucked into along with oatcakes and lashings of plum chutney from Craigies Farm Shop. A couple of Cheiften’s Choice Pies from the Wee Pie Company also made it into my bag. This is a Venison and Chorizo pie which I plan to have with roast beetroot, sweet potato and cherry tomatoes – very much looking forward to it.

The lovely folk from the Fife Diet also had a stand on which stood the marvellous Christmas Mystery Recipe tree. Recipes hidden within a silver macrami star hung on a little tree, free to take. My mystery recipe was for Cloutie Dumpling – will try this soon so watch this space. As well the opporunity to buy beautiful local food it was lovely to chat to the local producers who are so passionate about what they are selling. Makes a change from a justifiably bored looking check out girl in Tesco.

West Fifers need to do a better job of supporting their local Farmers Market and perhaps a bit more needs to be done to give us a shove in the right direction. The Grumbling Tummy is one Fifer who has been guilty of complacency, but no more!

So if you are from around Dunfermline then please visit your market on the second Saturday of every month from 9am – 1pm. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Those from other parts of Scotland – please find out where your local Farmers Market is and use it.