One of the things I love about spending Christmas at home is all the traditions linked to the festivities and getting to spend time with my loved ones. I love to light a candle on every Sunday before Christmas Eve, I love to open a door each day on my calendar until December 24, receiving my little surprise with as much awe as when I was five years old, I love the cookie baking and tea drinking and getting cozy at home and I love Christmas markets and sparkling lights and music and oh…

Since the beginning of memory, winter with it`s fading light and shorter days marks a time of winding down, of coming to halt and of exploring the darker spaces of our existence, reconnecting with our roots and the essence of life.

With the festivities approaching, this immanent exploration of the dark together with our rising excitement often leads to challenging confontations with ourselves and our loved ones.

For me, one way to step back and remember the true essence of this time, which is basically one of love and compassion and reaching out, is therefore to make something for the people I love, with as much dedication and diligence as possible, in the homely and warm surroundings of my kitchen.

 

Vanilla Chestnut Cream

∼6 glasses∼

750 gramm chestnuts (fresh or vacuum packed)

500 gramm sugar

50 ml rum

1 vanilla bean

 

Cook the chestnuts with 150 ml of water, then blend in a mixer until smooth.

Open the vanilla bean and take out the vanilla mark with the tip of a knife. Cook the vanilla bean, mark, 400 ml of water with the sugar for about five minutes until the liquid condenses into a bubbling sirup.

Slowly add the chestnut puree and cook for another 1-2 minutes until you get a mushy mixture. Take the pot off the stove, add the rum and take out the vanilla bean.

Fill the boiling hot mixture in clean glasses that were rinsed with hot water and close them tightly.

Good for about three months. Keep refrigerated after opening.

Duration: 35 minutes
Per serving: 580 kcal, 2g grease, 128g carbohydrates, 3g protein