Before we got married, we would chat a lot online. One of the things Pete would tell me about was his family's traditions. One thing I would hear a lot about was his mum's turkey dinner. She would cook turkey and all the trimmings for her birthday and invite all her children and grandchildren. This year, I am lucky to have been invited to her birthday party. Her birthday was on a weekday so the party was held on a Saturday, yesterday, instead.
Pete and I didn't wait for the weekend, though. During her birthday, we went to her place with a cake. I had school in the afternoon that day so I baked the cake, chocolate of course, early in the morning and let it cool. Once I came home from school, I warmed up some ganache I made earlier and poured it over the cake and sprinkled some pretty red, strawberry flavoured sprinkles on it and off we went. It was easy to decorate the cake. The cold weather makes working with cakes and chocolate very easy. Back home, the warm, humid kitchen would always make cake decorating a huge challenge.
Anyway, she loved the cake and was pleasantly surprised by our visit. We didn't bring any presents though. We were waiting for it to be delivered from Singapore. We were hoping it would get to us in time. I bought her a painting-by-numbers kit but could not bring it with me on my flight back. I had too much in my luggage. Anyway, it felt more festive to give it to her during the party. Oh and yeah, the package arrived on Thursday, well in time for the party.
On Saturday, she greeted us in her new dress. My aunt gave her a piece of cloth big enough to turn into a dress. Back home, the Malay ladies would have such cloth made into the traditional Baju Kurung, a two piece outfit. My mother-in-law had worked on it for a few weeks and got it ready in time for her party. She looked good in her simple sleeveless dress. She even made a ribbon to tie the dress at the waist.
Two of Pete's siblings and their children and husband were there. When we got there, I could smell the turkey she had roasting in the oven. Soon, when everything was cooked, we sat down to two roasted turkeys, boiled potatoes, peas, carrots and Brussels sprouts. There was also red cabbage, gravy and red and black currant jellies.
I've cooked turkey once before but found the smell to be too gamey. But I've never had Brussels sprouts before. I enjoyed the dinner that my mother-in-law cooked. The turkey didn't smell too strong and everything was great together. The Brussels sprouts though, had a slightly bitter aftertaste. I'm not sure I like those. But I finished the rest and even had seconds!
After the turkey, she served us warm apple baked with cinnamon, sugar and butter. It's served warm with a huge bowl of cold custard. The combination is so good. Hot and cold. Sweet and sour. Yummy. I didn't have too much of that since there would be more food after that.
Then, as we chatted, his sisters helped to lay out the cups, plates and cutlery for fika. Coffee and tea were served, along with some chocolate covered almond macaroons and an orange custard roulade made by his mum. His sister made the birthday cake. It's a two layered chocolate sponge with chocolate custard and bananas in the middle. It was all very good. I was well and truly stuffed.
We had a great time there, feasting and chatting. The whole family would meet every few weeks but it's not enough, especially since one of his sisters lives so far away. So we would treasure the time we get to spend with each other. Next month would also be an exciting time. Christmas is coming and one of his sisters would be having her birthday. More celebrations and more food! More exercise is definitely needed too!
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