Building up to Christmas

There are new arrivals in the shop for Christmas.
The Victorian shirt is now available in Red, Pink, Gold, Lime and Black silk. I use Duppion silk and it really does look absolutely stunning over a pair of black trousers. £280.00 in two sizes, M & L.

The Cashmere dress is proving so successful that the supplier has run out of Cashmere for this season! All I have left is on the website. I have made myself one of these and it is simply delicious. Warm, comfortable and minimally perfect.. even if I do say so myself.

The books have been expanded but do not all appear on the website. The India 365 Days makes a lovely present, as do the Indian cookbooks by Simon Parks and the Classic Vegetarian Cooking.
For those of you looking to give something to someone feisty, Who Cooked the Last Supper is a good choice, and for the friend longing to find a calmer way, Practicing the Power of Now is unmistakably wonderful.

There is a Christmas gift section on the website with little trinkets starting at £2.00. In the shop there is a huge table laden with wonderful sparkly things, notebooks, silk eyemasks, Hindu deity fridge magnets and all sorts of other treats and delights.

The collection of Cashmere shawls is an excellent choice if you want a real treat for yourself or a really loved other. I only have one seriously large shawl left but it is stunning, naturally coloured and softly flowing, great for wrapping up on the sofa. Otherwise the colours range from softly muted creams, through to black and white stripes and on into lime green or Sadhu orange. All brushed from the chin of a very patient goat.

The current postal issues

The chaos in the postal system is now settling. But their prices have risen to alarming levels.

The mail that is sent from here goes in several different ways: All Amazon orders are sent 1st class. Amazon does not pay more than the bare minimum for postage.
Mail orders with a value of less than £39 are sent signed for which has an insurance that covers stock up to that value and then everything over £50 in value is sent Special Delivery. Here the insurance is up to £500. If the order is above this amount then it is either sent by courier or split into two parcels where possible to make sure it is covered by the insurance.
 
To keep stock moving and to guarantee that you get your desires fulfilled in time for Christmas I think it may be better to switch to using a courier to deliver larger or more expensive orders. The charges for this service depend on where, how heavy and how quickly so if you are pressed for time then place your order by calling the shop on 020 8675 7069 and I can sort it out from here without too much problem. So far the cost of a courier within the UK is now £21.00 for up to 10kg but do be aware that they like to be received when they arrive, the courier companies, ordering a re-delivery is time-consuming. So I would normally allocate the morning for a delivery and let you know by email what I have arranged. International parcels are sent by arrangement.



Baked Apples
Children love baked apples. In fact everyone loves them.Delicious with yoghurt they’re a wonderful comfort food without the stodge. If you do not make the cut all around the waist they will literally explode.

Preparation and cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 5 - 6
Ingredients
3 - 4 large cooking apples cored, with a shallow cut around the waist of each one
Sliced almonds
Raisins
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cinnamon
Dark brown sugar (optional)
Unsweetened apple juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas 4
Place the cored apples in an oven proof dish and fill each with a balanced
mixture of the ingredients. Pour the unsweetened apple juice into the centre
of the cored apples, and fill the dish until it is about 1cm deep with the juice.
Bake in the oven for approximately 35 - 40 minutes, depending on the size
of the apples. Insert a knife into the expanded flesh to see if they are cooked.
Keep an eye on them for the last 10 minutes or so as they fluff up and dissolve
into the juice if cooked for too long.
They are delicious served with a dollop of natural yoghurt.
Variations
There is no end to the combination of flavours that you can use. Drizzle
with honey instead of brown sugar, replace the raisins with chopped dates,
try different nuts etc. You can also use ready made vegetarian fruit mincemeat
which can be bought from most supermarkets.



If you like the idea of this please do look at the Sacred Chef DVDs.