My Profound Thoughts

It’s already halfway through October, and for my family and me, this has been a remarkable year in all regards.

“—Depression wasn’t the right word to describe the phase, I would rather name it, as losing oneself, feeling empty or numb. It was just darkness all around, I looked for a ray of hope, I found nothing, my dreams were shattered and I lost my purpose…”

It is true that some setbacks in life indeed lead to new beginnings. Though it sounds perfect in words, the actual process takes a lot of effort and enthusiasm.

Since my favourite season is only 10 weeks away, (to be precise 10 weeks and 4 days to Christmas Day), I have gathered myself so I could leave all the bitter memories behind and look forward to the better days ahead.

As you know it by now, that it isn’t early at all to get started with some preparations for the festive season. Yes, guys, you got it right; I am talking about cake mixing; why not just let’s start with soaking dry fruits with spices and a bit of dark rum.

I spread a clean towel on my worktop and gathered the necessities, including a clean, dry mixing bowl and wooden spatula/spoons/ measuring cups/ scissors/ glass jar/ paper towels. Then I placed my ingredients: dry fruits (tutti frutti, raisins, dates, prunes, sultanas, glazed cherries, apricots), orange marmalade, black currant jam, honey, black rum and crushed/ powdered spices ( cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon).

A cake mixing ceremony is a ritual, and often it is done to bring people together in harmony and welcome the festive season with warmth and joy. To me, it imparts immense pleasure and satisfaction. True joy is when my friends join me doing the same from different parts of the globe.

I measured each of the dry fruit in a measuring cup and added to the bowl.

(tutti frutti 250g, dates 150g, cherries 150g, sultanas 125g, raisins 125g, apricot 125g prunes 60 g)

The whole mix was nearly 1kg in total, to which I added orange marmalade 5 spoons, black currant jam 5 spoons and honey 60 ml, followed by a teaspoon full of spices mentioned above crushed together. A half-cup (125 ml) of dark rum was added to the dry fruit mix and thoroughly mixed.

Our cake mix is now ready to be stored in an airtight glass jar in a cool, dry place. Now, I’ll have to remember stirring the dry fruits every 3-4 days using a clean, dry wooden spatula to blend them thoroughly. In the next 7-8 weeks, the dry fruits, the spices and the rest of the ingredients will merge to bring out the unique flavour and aroma that will add to the richness of our Christmas fruit cake.

And now the countdown begins…

Much love ❤️ God bless

~Chinchu Gibu