Cate's Cates

We had our work Christmas party today.  Well, one of them.  When you work with two highly sociable Divisions, you don’t just get one work Christmas party – I believe that my official count this year is a modest six, down from a high point of ten a couple of years back.  (There will be a seventh party, but it isn’t a Christmas one, so that doesn’t count.)  There are Division parties, Kris Kringle for the whole floor, the Institute party, the Admin party, and the party for my little choir.  No technician party this year (they had that one during the Conference of Doom), and I don’t generally go to the Union barbecue or the individual lab get-togethers, because enough is really enough, but they exist, oh yes they do.

(Oh, and let’s not forget the work Christmas Choir or Food for Families, which aren’t parties, but do keep me usefully occupied in December…)

Anyway.  Today’s party was for the more sociable and hyperactive of my two Divisions, which means we always have to have an Activity, preferably of the Outdoors variety (the lab heads insist… and it’s more fun than lunch at the pub).  This year’s party was a bit of an excursion – we took the ferry to Williamstown, and then walked around the coast to Williamstown Beach where we had afternoon tea and beach cricket (a cultural experience that not all our overseas scientists were willing to try).  It was actually a really fun day out – like a miniature summer holiday – and the weather was very kind to us.  And it turns out that the French – or at least, our French – make surprisingly good cricketers, at least if one is playing by beach-cricket rules, though the Germans were resolute in their refusal to play such a non-soccer-like game.  It also turns out that it’s impossible to convince a USA-born Professor that one does not twirl the bat around while waiting for the bowler to run up.  And the less said about his (terrifying) bowling style, the better.  Baseball has much to answer for.

Anyway. Our best Christmas parties always seem to come with scones, so when we aren’t going somewhere that will make scones for us, I feel compelled to make them myself.  This is dangerous, because once I start making scones, I find it difficult to stop, and the next thing I know we have ninety scones, which is silly when I know perfectly well that everyone else is bringing food too.  Also, making ninety scones in only one flavour is *boring*, so I’ll always start off making plain ones, and cheese ones, and then the next thing you know I’ll be sticking lavender or pink lemonade in them, and who knows where it will end?

I got a bit carried away.

The pick of today’s litter turned out to be the ones I flavoured with blood orange, raisins, spekulaas spice mix and cinnamon.  They were really good, with a surprisingly wholemeal-like texture and colour – I think this came from the blood orange juice, interestingly.  I sprinkled them with Viennese Christmas Sugar from Gewürzhaus just before I baked them, which gave them a lovely crunchy top.

These scones don’t really need anything on them, as they are pleasantly sweet when eaten plain, but butter would never hurt.  And if you have any of The Butter Factory‘s honey and walnut butter, that would be even better.

I am almost positive that these scones constitute a healthy breakfast for Christmas morning.

But I might be lying.

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