Our Christmas tree: decoration made of straw and dried orange slices

Tonight is the Christmas Eve and the Dinner preparations are already in progress. I’ve been fully busy in the kitchen since early morning, preparing the star dish of the menu: the traditional lamb dish, caldereta. The meat has been marinating for almost 24 hours in rooibos infusion (read more about rooibos here), which is a good  meat-tenderizer. I had marinated meat in rooibos once before already, and with excellent results, I must say. Here I added also some crushed spices, sweet paprika, whole-grain mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice to the marinade.

Leg of lamb marinating in rooibos infusion, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, crushed spices (rosemary, marjoram, oregano, sage) and sweet Spanish paprika

However, I think the “theme” of this year’s Christmas will be the queen of winter fruit – orange. I’ve dried several trays of orange slices to use them as Christmas tree ornaments and as a part of table decoration. I’m also considering an orange-flavored dessert to finish our dinner with… but I won’t reveal more yet because I still haven’t made up my mind about it completely.

Christmas table decoration

I’d like to wish to all of you a peaceful Christmas celebration, with some tasty, hearty food on the table, prepared with love and enjoyed with your dearest ones – MERRY CHRISTMAS!