Plum Pudding

Happy to have the holidays behind us. It was so much fun and so very busy that it feels good to sit still for awhile and knit.

First of all, my sister arrived last Tuesday. Went directly to babies house. Home that evening to keep my sister warm; it was below zero and she had just arrived from Phoenix. Wednesday was baking day. I had promised plum pudding to "B" for his family gathering. I have never made this before. I got Shirley's recipe and then I found a True English pudding on Epicurious Recipes.

So, I soaked all the fruit in brandy for 4 days, then you add the dry ingredients, put in molds, steam for 6 hours. So, I did all that and realized the 6 hours would mean waking up at 2:00 pm to take them out of the oven. You can steam in the oven or on top of the stove. Well, the water had evaporated from the pan when I took the cakes out of the oven, so they baked a little. I tried a bite and it tasted like sawdust. The Old English recipe was not working.



The next morning I woke up and used Shirley's recipe which is:

Fruit I soaked: Raisins - 1 cup

Figs - 1 cup chopped

Chunky apple sauce - 1 cup

1 T candied orange peel

1/2 cup crisco

1/2 cup molasses

8 oz. of rum



Dry ingredients from Shirley's recipe:

2 eggs - well beaten with 1/2 cup milk or cream

2 cups flour

2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp mace

1/2 tsp alspice



I emptied four cans I had in the pantry - 8 oz. and this filled three cans a little over half full.

Covered with foil and tied with string. Put them in a big pot on the stove and steamed for 3 hours.

You can check to see if they are done with a knife.



I made a hard sauce to go over the top:


White Hard sauce:
1 1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 cup soft butter (unsalted if you have it, I didn't)
2 tbsp. Brandy or rum
1 tsp. organge peel
You should keep this sauce warm to pour over the cake when eating it.

This worked - "B" said they ate it at his family gathering. My sister has a recipe that she used years ago and she will send it to me.

After mixing up the Plum pudding I went on to making Dan his pumpkin bread and "pupcakes" for Ellie on Christmas Day with Pink frosting.

Then I did a chopped salad for Marge and Dick's that evening. I love chopped salad.

Recipe:
6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 - 15 1/2 of can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained
1 - red and 1 green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup fennel (if you like it)
1/2 cup crumble feta cheese (3 oz)
2 oz. thinly sliced and diced genoa salami
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata Olives
You can also add chicken or anything else you like in salads

Dressing: 6 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 small garlic clove, minced

Enjoy!

I am currently knitting a hat for Jenna and a scarf, Tina needs mittens and Dan found a sweater he likes. It's Drops Design - free pattern - Pullover in Alaska - I'm using Karabella but it looks gorgeous.

Dan bought me a new camera for Christmas - it's a Nikon Coolpix L18 - it's RED! I love it!! I have no new photos yet, however.

Had lunch with Shirley and Sandy at Maude's on Sat before the plane ride home. I have a photo of the inside of my old shop. It is now a wine bar. Hard to believe it was a yarn shop.
Sorry I cannot get the photo to scan right now. More later.