Box of Delights

Imagine my surprise when I tried to open our front door yesterday and there was something blocking it. When the door opens slowly due to weight on the other side my heart does a little pitty-pat flip because I know it means we have a parcel!

I could not imagine who would be sending us stuff, but I quickly ran up stairs and laid it on the table. Searching for the return address, my heart did a little happy dance.

 

It was from my friend and former student Lena and her lovely husband Max and adorable children Fyodor and Pavel. We had a lovely ritual every year of exchanging gifts and making Christmas crackers with the children. Last year my Mum was visiting and Lena, who is so generous and kind, invited my mum and had a little pressie for her as well. It was a lovely family and friends get together that always ended with a warm cup of tea  and some scrumptious Turkish Delight.

You mean to say you have never eaten Turkish Delight? Poor you. I had always wanted to try it ever since Edmond was persuaded to betray his family and friends by the White Witch after she offers him Turkish Delight in CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Since my first bite it has become a firm favourite and a decadent treat. For those of you who don’t know, it is cube shaped rose and lemon flavoured sweets dusted in copious amounts of icing sugar.   Despite having a jell quality which normally is made by the use of the definitely non-vegan ingredient gelatine (made from boiling the bones and hoofs of animals to get the marrow. Yuck. That’s what you are eating my American peeps when you eat JELL-O) they are completely vegan the gel is made with cornflour (cornstarch). 

 

Anyway, I had been feeling a bit sad about missing our annual get together and cracker making session. I sent them 2 pages of cracker jokes if they wanted to make without me, but I was really missing their company. Then this box appeared! I opened it and inside was a box of delights.

 

Look at that! A box of Turkish Delight! Some matching  posh fairtrade tea (green tea with jasmine and roses!) and some festive, warm socks!!!!! All of which I could really use as our flat is really cold and I have begun to follow Spiderman’s habit of drinking a whole pot of tea to stay warm.

 

I was so excited I didn’t know what to do. There was a temptation to scoff the entire box of Turkish Delight before Spiderman got home from work but then he would have found me lying on the floor in a diabetic coma covered in icing sugar which would have been a bit of a giveaway.

We decided to divide it into 2 containers so we would each get our equal share. This was his idea as he knows I could easily eat them all. He  also knows I would be like Edmond and heartlessly betray my loved ones for a taste of that rose flavoured goodness. Sorry, loved ones. Them's the breaks.

 

What a lovely treat. A real box of delights. I miss you guys. Thank you friends for making my Christmas a little warmer and lot sweeter.