This is the sauce that mum always uses on her Steamed Christmas Pudding. This recipe makes lots of sauce, so don’t be suprised if you have left overs. She got this out of an old Purity CookBook.

Brown Sugar Sauce

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour (all purpose)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla
Rum to taste (or sherry)

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and salt. Stir until smooth. Add brown sugar. Blend thoroughly and cook over medium direct heat, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and is lightly browned (about 5 minutes).

Remove from Heat. Blend in boiling water. Stir until well combined.

Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Add vanilla. Just before serving add in the rum. (just make sure you tell everyone you have added it, so that they don’t come along and add it…this happened to us one year when my mum wasn’t feeling well and all the kids and dad helped to get dinner together..now THAT was some sauce, I must say!) If you have left over pudding and sauce, you can just resteam and reheat the sauce another day

I am on a mission to get all of my mum’s recipes written down, so that we all have them once she is gone. I had forgotten about this particular recipe until mum pulled out the pudding at Christmas time. We ran out so didn’t have any for New Years Day. I had to get a store bought one and I have to say it wasn’t half as good as mum’s. It’s not really a pudding but more of a steamed cake that you put a sauce on (sauce with lots of alcohol in it I might add). It has taken from Christmas to now to get her to cough up the recipe…here we go…

Christmas Steamed Pudding

1 cup flour (all purpose)
1 cup bread crumbs (plain)
1 cup suet
1 cup white sugar
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup dates
3/4 cup currants
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 cup milk

Mix all the dry ingredients well. Break the egg into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add milk and mix. Pour wet into dry and mix until everything is mixed well. Pour batter into small ceramic bowls. Steam covered for 2 hours. Remove and allow to cool. Wrap whole container/s in tin foil and then in heavy duty sealable freezer bags. Place in freezer until needed. When ready to use (ensure they are well thawed) place ceramic bowl into a steamer and steam pudding for about 2 hours checking water level from time to time.

Mum says she usually makes this in October for Christmas, then early December she pulls it out and lets it thaw in fridge and all the flavour meld. She says it usually make 3 smaller ceramic bowls full. She will use her bigger ceramic bowl for the 1st Christmas/New Years and the other 2 which are smaller for the second Christmas/New Years. (She only takes the larger one out the 1st year) In the second year, she takes them out of the freezer about a week before Christmas. I have left this in mum’s traditional version. At some point, I am going to try using whole wheat flour and whole wheat pasrty flour…speaking of which, mum says that she has used pastry flour when making this in place of the all purpose if that is what she had on hand.

Make the Rum Brown Sugar Sauce to put on top and nosh down! It is a very rich pudding and sauce so just take a little.

This is a recipe I got from Teresa. Boy was it easy, quick to prep and tasty!!! I roasted parsnips with the chicken and once the parsnips were done, I tossed them with a teaspoon of walnut oil. YUM. With it I made a tossed salad with a cranberry pear dressing that is now a new fav. THANKS TERESA S.!!!

CHICKEN
Pre-heat oven to 350. In a bowl mix…
1 can whole Cranberries
1/2- 3/4 pkg Onion Soup Mix
Garlic Use as much or as little as you wish (I used pre cut stuff that comes in a jar and put a teaspoon in)
Pepper to taste

Arrange Chicken in bottom of a deep baking dish, add potatoes. (I used the little one called gems). Pour cranberry mixture over chicken and potatoes. bake covered for 1/2 hour, then uncovered for 1/2 hour.

PARSNIPS
Slice up as many Parsnips as you would like and arrange in a baking dish, so that they are covering the bottom of pan. Add a bit of salt and cracked pepper and dot with butter. Cover pan and put in oven with chicken (I put them in while oven was pre-heating). Uncover after 15 minutes, so they will caramelize. They should be done same time as chicken, but check then periodically in the last 15 minutes so they don’t burn. Once you remove them from the oven, put them in a bowl. Toss with about a teaspoon of Walnut oil.

SALAD
While everything was cooking in the oven, I made a salad using organic baby romaine. I added pecans (I didn’t have walnuts), dried cranberries and slices of Cara Cara oranges. I wanted to use peas but couldn’t find any nice ones. I found this cranberry dressing on the Ocean Spray website that looked super easy and tried it.

SALAD DRESSING
1 cup jellied cranberry sauce
1/2 cup diced canned pears
1/2 cup reserved liquid
1/8 tsp grated fresh ginger

Blend everything in a blender or food processor until smooth (approx. 2 minutes). It makes about 2 cups.

Found this recipe on the Whole Foods app on my iPad2 and it is so good! It is a yummy springtime salad and a definately a keeper…

Ingredients:
3 Green onions, trimmed (I used chives fresh from the garden)
1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup orange juice
3 oz or so of spring mix, or Mesclun (or my fav baby romaine/baby spinach)
1 cup fresh strawberries, slices
1/2 lb. asparagus
sea salt and pepper to taste (I like a Himylayan Sea Salt as it has a delicate taste which is perfect for a salad)

DRESSING – Trim asparagus then slice into strips with a potato peeler. Puree green onions, avocado, juice salt and fresh cracked pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

SALAD – In a fairly large bowl add greens, strawberries and asparagus and toss. Divide between 2 plates and drizzle each plate with dressing.

The dressing will keep for one day in the fridge.

Note: I added about a 1/3 cup of pecans that I had toasted and chopped. If you do this , please keep in mind the nutrition values below will change.

NUTRITION – per serving (about 11oz/307g-wt)
120 calories (35 from fat), 4g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 170mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 11g sugar) 4g protwin

THANKS WHOLE FOODS FOR THE AMAZING RECIPE!!!!

This is a great “man o man it’s damp out and I’m chilled to the bone” day recipe I found on Oprah.com

Biscuit Topped Chicken and Root Vegetable Stew
Recipe created by Laura Pensiero

A meal in a pot, this biscuit-topped chicken stew contains cancer-fighting turnips, plus carrots and sweet potatoes, which are packed with vitamins A and C.

This recipe is from The Real-Food Diet Mix-and-Match Meal Plan on Oprah.com.
Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots , sliced
• 2 ribs celery , sliced
• 1 clove garlic , peeled and minced
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 tsp. plus 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sweet potato (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 turnip (about 6 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup grated Cheddar
Preheat oven to 375°. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, garlic, and onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, and add chicken, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add wine and cook until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broth, thyme, bay leaf, sweet potato, and turnip; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until vegetables are almost tender, about 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, then stir into simmering stew. Cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, to make biscuit batter, in a large bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add canola oil and buttermilk; stir until just combined. Drop batter on top of stew to form 6 biscuits, then transfer pot to oven and bake until biscuits are just golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle cheese over biscuits. Return to oven; bake until cheese is bubbly, about 10 minutes. Ladle stew and biscuits into bowls; serve immediately.

Recipe variations:
• Substitute rutabagas or parsnips for sweet potatoes or turnips.
• Add 1 cup frozen peas or 1 cup chopped dark, leafy greens like chard or kale to stew before topping with biscuits.
• For an Indian flavor, add curry powder, turmeric, and garam masala to taste, then stir in a spoonful of spicy mango chutney toward the end of cooking.
• For a Mexican flavor, substitute bell peppers, chili peppers, beans, and corn for root vegetables and add chili powder to taste. Adjust broth amount as needed.
• For a Thai flavor, add red or green curry paste, chopped cilantro, and coconut milk to taste.
From Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, by Laura Pensiero. Copyright (c) 2009 by Laura Pensiero. Published by William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

The 3rd in the series of my favourite childhood foods is Spiced Pear Jam. Actually, I think this is number 1! I lived on this jam, when I went away to university. Well this jam and KD (Kraft Dinner). Back then, there would be sales on KD, 5 for a buck. (I’m dating myself aren’t I?) It was toast in the morning with Spiced Pear Jam, lunch and dinner were variations on KD theme. Anyway, here’s the recipe that my mum used for over 45 years. She got it off the Certo label. Go figure.

Spiced Pear Jam

4 cups prepared pears (about 2 qt. of fully ripe pears
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/2 – 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 – 1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 – 1 tsp ground allspice
4 oversized cups sugar
1 bottle certo

First prepare fruit. Peel and pit or core about 2 quarts of fully ripe pears. Grind or finely chop. Measure 4 cups of the fruit into a large saucepan with a tight lid. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice. Add cinnamon, cloves, allspice. Add sugar and mix well. Cover and leave overnight.
Next day, give fruit mixture a really good stir to ensure everything hasn’t settled to bottom of the saucepan. Over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. At once stir in Certo. Skim off foam with a metal spoon. Then stir and skim for 5 minutes to cool slightly to prevent floating fruit. Ladle into sterilized jars. Cover at once with 1/8 inch of hot paraffin. Makes about 11 medium jars.

Who knew there was fruit in the chili sauce? I grew up eating this and didn’t have a clue until I asked my mum for the recipe and couldn’t find it in her recipe box because it was called fruit chili sauce. So not only is it tasty but it’s good for you

Fruit Chili Sauce

6 large peeled peaches
6 pears roughly chopped
6 onions roughly chopped
3 sweet green peppers (or use whatever sweet pepper or combo of peppers you like)
30 medium tomatoes
3-4 stalks of celery roughly chopped
2 apples cored and roughly chopped
3 cups white sugar
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper more or less
3 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup whole pickling spice
cheese cloth and butchers string.

Finely chop tomatoes and put in a large pot. In a food processor, chop up all the remaining fruit and vegetables. Add to tomatoes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar to pot. wrap the pickling spice up in a piece of cheese cloth and tie with butchers string. String should be long enough so that you can tie it off to the pot handle. drop it into the pot. Bring pot to a boil and let it boil for 1/2 hour. Turn off and put lid on pot. let it sit overnight. Next day bring pot back to a boil and let boil for 2 2/1 to 3 3/12 hours. Sauce will cook down somewhat and thicken a little. In the last 1/2 sterilize your jars and lids. Make sure that once you fill the jar to the top, run a knife around the inside of the jar. This will remove any air. Wipe rim so the lids will seal properly. Makes between 8-9 pint sealers.

To those who do canning all the time, this post is a little redundant, but to those of us novices, it may be helpful. I remember watching my mum do her canning, jams, relishes, pickles etc. every fall and was puzzled by this process. I couldn’t understand why this step had to take place, why it wasn’t good enough to just wash the jars and lids. I learned the hard way, when I made some jam and it went bad. But I digress.

Here is how my mum has always done it!

Wash all jars and lids. Put a saucepan on the stove filled with water about 1/2 way. Bring water to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Put the lids and sealers in and let sit while the jars are prepared. At the same time boil water in a kettle. Line the jars up in a tray. Put a knife into the 1st jar (preferably silver or silver plated but stainless steel will do). Pour boiling water down the knife until the jar overflows a bit. Remove knife and put it into the 2nd jar. Again pour boiling water down knife until jar overflows. Repeat until all jars are filled. If my mum was making a large batch of something, she would often use the water from the sterilized jars and pour it into some of the other jars. When she was ready to pour relish, jam or whatever into jar it would be emptied of the water, then she would pour or ladle the product into the jar.

This is probably the fav thing that my mum used to make when I was a kid. Nothing spells fall season to me more than a fresh batch of this relish. Although it’s call “hot dog” relish, I use it on lots of things. I love slices of cheese on lightly buttered toasted bread with some of this. Still a favourite snack for me.
Try it…you’ll like it and never want store bought again. It’s not hard to make and you can pronounce every ingredient. My next thing is to start playing around with the sugar. I am going to start by substituting agave and/or coconut sugar for the white sugar that the recipe calls for. But try it with the white sugar 1st then you have something to compare it against.

Hot Dog Relish

8 large ripe cucumbers (the oversized ones are best)
6 large onions
3 sweet red peppers
3 sweet green peppers
18 green tomatoes
1 bunch celery
4 level tbsp salt
7 cups sugar
1 quart cider vinegar
1.2 cup flour
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp celery seed

Using a food processor, chop all vegetables, put in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let the mixture stand overnight. Next day drain. Put mixture in pot. Add the sugar and flour with a bit of the vinegar, to mix it. Then add sugar mixture and the remaining vinegar to the pot and bring to a boil.. Boil about 20 minutes. Add tumeric and celery salt and boil about another 10 minutes. Put relish into sterilized sealer jars. My mum would always run a knife around the inside of the jar, to remove any bubbles, then wipe the rim before putting the sealer and lid on tight. Makes about 10 pint jars.

I have been working on this rub for a while. Tweeking, tweeking, tweeking. I am still tweeking but this is almost perfect! I use this mostly on chicken, but feel free to use it on ribs, pork tenderloins stc.

Deborah’s Dry Rub

• 1/4 cup coconut sweetener* (you can use sucanat or brown sugar), packed
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon granulate garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 3 teaspoons mustard powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper

Mix together. Rub as much or as little as you want on chicken (I prefer bone in chicken) Let rubbed chicken sit in fridge at least 6 hours. Bake or BBQ. Enjoy! It will keep a few weeks to a month in an air tight container, out of direct sunlight. I usually make a double batch, so I have it ready for the next time.

* Coconut sweetener looks and tastes like brown sugar but has a low glycemic index of 35. It is pure coconut sap, the sweet juice that’s extracted when the budding flower is about to grow. I has vitamin B, amino acids and minerals such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium. I use it in recipes to replace white and brown sugar.