The Christmas Fruitcake

You might be thinking of your old uncle, but I'm referring to the real thing - I'm one of about four people in the world who actually LOVE fruitcake! The rest of you just make the same old joke about the same old fruitcake, but it's a tough little cake so you can't hurt it's feelings. It's tough for a reason - it has been around since the 1400's; the Crusaders carried it to feed themselves during long periods away from home, so it was made in such a way that it wouldn't spoil (hence, the rum). In Europe, during the 1700's, the fruitcake was baked one year to be eaten the following year to celebrate a successful year of harvest (the more rum, the better the celebration). They were outlawed in the 1800's because they were considered "too rich" (hmmn...the rum?) The Queen of England broke through all that (she's never been known to be a teetotaler), and it became popular and necessary at every tea - she would save hers from one birthday to the next, which was believed to show restraint, moderation and good taste (but actually just fermented some more, which is why it tasted so good). It was also the custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of fruitcake under their pillow at night so they would dream about the person they would marry (see, something good comes out of everything - maybe some of you might want to try that!) AND, it's not the worst as far as desserts go either - one average slice is 140 calories, 5 grams of fat (and most of that is from the nuts, which is a healthy fat - rum doesn't have any fat, good thing), and 6% of your iron. I like mine warmed up with a HUGE scoop of fat-free cool whip - even for breakfast! Oh go on - give it another try - it's a great way to start a day! Melissa