Flambe Christmas Pudding

Here is my Mom’s Christmas pudding for Christmas Day dinner that she made every year and served with a brown sugar sauce. I continue to do so, but have varied the fruit I put in, ie figs, dried fruit like apricots, then this is Flambé to the wows of the kids not to mention the adults!   It is always so festive! 

This recipe was written in my brother's unused old Science Notebook and the stains in the corner have made the recipe difficult to read.  Most of all if not all of my Mom's recipe were written with little instruction or details.  

Christmas Pudding

1 c Bread crumbs, 1 c dates, 1 c suet* , 1/2 c Brown sugar, 1/2 c citron peel, 1 c raisins, 1/2 c chopped nuts

Spices; 1Tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp allspice.

1 c flour, 1/4 tsp Baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, 1 c Milk, 1/3 c molasses

Mix, cover double foil, steam 3 hours.

*Suet is ground beef fat used in many classic old recipes like savoury pies and puddings. One can use butter in place of the suet.  Suet is found in the meat frozen section.

Steps in mixing the pudding


Combine bread crumbs, suet, dates, raisins, citron peel, sugar, nuts
Mix spices, baking soda and baking powder with flour
Whisk eggs, milk and molasses together
Mix flour mixture into egg mixture, then mix in the fruit mixture. Very thick batter!
Grease well your moulds, fill and smooth the top, double foil the pans.

 Since I tend to add more fruit to my batter I have an assortment of moulds ready to go. This is a rich pudding and a little goes a long way when served!  Marilyn's recipe

Before you beginning, you need to plan out your moulds and steaming pots which need water with a rack to steam the puddings ready to go. I use my canner with the rack insert and I can get two moulds in it. Making sure your water level doesn't drop during the cooking time. steam for 3 hours.

Let cool on a rack, rewrap and freeze.

Big Boy Strawberry Pie

This is a recipe from Big Boy American chain restaurant which originated in California  starting as Bob's Pantry in 1936 Glendale, California.

This recipe was especially popular in June during strawberry season

I though the name was a great name for a pie to make for Father's Day!

 The recipe used cornstarch and jello as as a glaze that thickens so that the pie can be sliced once it has been chilled! 

The glaze was mixed with the prepared strawberries and poured in to the pie.  I think a nicer presentation would be to arrange the strawberries first and then pour the glaze over the berries.  One would have better control of the glaze not flowing over the crust.  I probably would also use only total of 1 1/2 cups of water.  The almond oatmeal bases is delicious with this pie!

Pineapple Pie

This is my version of Pineapple pie 

The handwritten recipe was posted on a Facebook site, which said the recipe was seventy years old.

I love the old recipes that are easy to make, ingredients easily found and usually available in one's pantry

I only had to buy a can of crushed pineapple.  

This is what the pie looked like after an hour in the oven at 350.  I was happy that I decided to put a meringue topping on it at the beginning of making the recipe.

The meringue really dresses up this pie without adding any toppings.

The eggs had been separated and the whites were whisked with 1/4 tsp of Cream of Tartar until soft peaks, then 1/3 C of sugar was added and whisked until stiff peaks. 

Make sure the meringue is spread right to the edge of the pie plate so it doesn't shrink. 

These are my modification to the recipe;

I reduced the sugar to 1/2 c, separated the eggs to make a meringue, used 1/2 c of pineapple juice in place of the water.  I also baked the pie at a lower temperature. 

Baked Fried Rice Casserole

Revisited an old recipe that was given to me by a colleague when I was first married and learning to cook.  This "Fried Rice" casserole as it was called is baked.  It is easily put together and then baked covered for an hour at 350 degrees. 

This casserole uses ingredients that are easily found in one's kitchen or pantry.  Variation in this casserole are endless, good way to clean out your refrigerator and a recipe that is very quick to assemble, yet great taste!

 

This recipe has been updated and I must say the appearance and taste is much improved. 

One cup of uncooked long grain rice is covered with twice the amount of water.  To this, my hubby chopped one onion, 2 carrots and 2 stacks of celery.  I also did add the 2 T soya sauce to this.  The mushrooms were tossed in melted butter, Olive oil can also be use, along with a minced garlic clove, hot chili flakes, salt and pepper    

The mushrooms were layered over the rice mixture.  The layer of mushroom were to act as a lid in steaming the uncooked rice, but half way through the cooking, foil was added as the rice was not absorbing any of the liquid. 

This dish served with BBQ pork ribs was a hit at the Sunday Family Dinner.