The Sourdough School: cheap Christmas wreath

Indoor Christmas Wreath ... on a budget

I wasn't going to post this but Englishmum and I were just tweeting about the wreath on the front door .. and I said I'd take a photo of the indoor wreath I made. Next thing I know I'm writing post!

I don’t want to spent a fortune on Christmas decorations I’d much rather save my spare pennies and get some real roses for Christmas day… but in the run up to then I still like to make the place festive .. so my indoor wreath is also on a budget and is made up of my dried hydrangea’s from in the garden, ivy from on the wall outside and left over cones and old cinnamon sticks. I used silk roses, although they look very real, and a big white candle. It took about 30 minutes to make and I popped it onto a large platter. It looks so pretty with candle lit in the evenings.

This is the cost breakdown:

Oasis Circle £3

3 x roses @ £1.50 each £4.50

Candle £7

Greenery from the garden

Total Cost

£14.50

Roast Pork Belly with Orange & Cloves

As Christmas approaches, my purse and my spare time inevitably seem to shrink in unison. This ultra simple dish is now a favourite in many restaurants, especially as these cheaper cuts of meat have become so fashionable. This has a crisp, crunchy crackling with melt in the mouth sweet meat, alongside the aromatic, festive orange and cloves. .. and what’s more I challenge anyone to take more than 6 minutes to get it into the oven!

Serves 6

Prep time 10 minutes

Cooking time 6 hours

Suitable for freezing No

6 garlic cloves, whole and unpeeled

peel of 1 orange using a vegetable peeler to get large strips

15 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1.5kg pork belly, scored (ask your butcher to do this)

2 tbsp sea salt

35ml of Orange and Clove Brandy or zest of an orange and 35ml of brandy

1 glass 100ml of orange juice

1 tsp sugar

1 Preheat your oven to its full whack: at least 220°C/gas mark 7.

2 In a roasting tin, put the garlic cloves, the orange peel, 8 cloves and the cinnamon stick on the bottom, underneath where the pork will be.

3 Rub the underside of the pork belly with half the salt and rub the other half into the skin.

4 Press the remaining 7 cloves into the skin and pop it into the oven. Drop the heat to 150°C/gas mark 2 and cook for 5–6 hours, until tender

5 Remove from the heat, take the meat out of the pan, and set it to one side to rest. Strain the juices into a pan and add the brandy and heat up until boiling. Slowly add the orange juice and and sugar. Boil this for 2–3 minutes to reduce the liquid and concentrate the taste of the sauce.

6 Slice the pork, drizzle it with the sauce and serve with pan-fried potatoes and rosemary.

Photo above of my raw pork by Nikki Callis

My wreath on a Budget.

I have a friend Gill, who is an artist with flowers. Every year she helps me make a wreath for Christmas. We sit in her cellar, where she works, drinking hot soup and chatting about how another year has passed making our decorations. It is one of the loveliest days before Christmas, and I treasure it.

Up until this year I use fresh roses .. as you can see from last years video .. but this year I’m on a budget so I’ve used Hydrangea’s instead. Its so beautiful .. even if I do say so myself !