This coming Sunday in the UK is what is commonly known as Stir-Up Sunday. Stir-up Sunday is a term which has been used in the Anglican Church in the UK for the last Sunday before the season of Advent.
It gets its name from the beginning of the collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins with the words, "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people".
Traditionally this has been the day each year that people make their Christmas Puddings! Its time to pop on some Christmas Music and your apron and begin your Christmas prep for this year's festivities.
Christmas is going to be a bit different for most people this year, but there is no reason why we can't still enjoy some of our traditional treats. When it comes to Christmas Puddings, Mary Berry's Christmas Pudding is a recipe which I have made many, many times. Like all of her recipes it is reliable and fool-proof!
Christmas (or Plum) Pudding is the traditional end to the British Christmas dinner. But what we think of as Christmas Pudding, is not what it was originally like!
Stir-up-Sunday is usually a family affair. Each family member is supposed to stir the mixture from East to West to honour the journey of the Magi. This ritual is also thought to bring the family luck and prosperity in the coming year.
At one time it was also customary to hide a number of small trinkets in
the mixture, a bit like the twelfth night cake. These charms often
included a silver coin (wealth), and a ring (future marriage). Woe
betide the guest who stumbled across a thimble in their serving. A
future of Spinsterhood was a cert for them! Nowadays this generally
isn't done, although my husband does remember his mom putting coins into
theirs.
The fruit mixture of the pudding is usually a mix of dried figs, currants, raisins, golden raisins, cherries and candied ginger. All are mixed together in a bowl the night before you go to make your pudding and a portion of brandy is poured over top and the fruit left to macerate in this overnight on the counter top. A clean towel over top to keep it safe from dust and insects. If you don't like to use alcohol, you can use orange juice in an equivalent amount.
Mary Berry's recipe differs slightly in that there is no figs or ginger, and you have no need to soak the fruit overnight, which is a bonus!
I am all for time saving if I can, and if Mary Berry only soaks her fruit for an hour, that's good enough for me! Softened butter is creamed together with soft light brown sugar, orange zest, and ground mixed spice.
(You can easily make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.)
Eggs also gets beaten into this, a bit at a time so it doesn't curdle. Don't worry if it does, you can always stir in a bit of the flour to fix this.
Fresh soft bread crumbs are also a part of the mix, along with chopped blanched almonds and self rising flour. You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour needed. I always make my own, especially now during the time of Covid when I can't always access what I need.
Mary Berry's Christmas Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) dried mixed fruit (sultanas, raisins, glace cherries and chopped dried apricots)
- 1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- the grated rind of one medium orange
- the juice of one medium orange
- 3 TBS brandy (plus extra to flame)
- 5 1/2 TBS butter, sofened, plus more to butter the pudding mold
- 1/2 cup (100g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 3/4 cup (100g) self-rising flour
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 2/3 cup (40g) soft white bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup (40g) whole blanched almonds, roughly chopped
- scant 1/2 cup (100g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cup (8 ounces) sifted icing sugar
- 3 TBS brandy
- 4 TBS brandy
Instructions
- Measure all of the fruit into a bowl. Add the brandy and orange juice. Leave to macerate for about an hour.
- Cream the butter together with the orange zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, until thoroughly combined. If the mixture starts to curdle stir in a spoonful of the flour.
- Sift together the flour and mixed spice. Fold this into the creamed mixture along with the bread crumbs and nuts. Stir in the soaked fruit along with any juices. Mix well together.
- Generously butter a 2 1/2 pint (5 cup) pudding basin. Cut a piece of baking paper into a circle large enough to cover the bottom of the basin.
- Spoon the pudding batter into the basin, smoothing over the top with the back of a spoon.
- Have ready a large piece of baking paper and a sheet of foil. Place the paper on top of the foil, making a pleat across the middle to allow for expansion. Tie securely over top of the pudding with some kitchen string. Trim off any excess.
- To Steam: put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for eight hours, topping up the water as necessary.
- To Boil: put a metal jam jar lid, or metal pan lid, into the base of a large pan to act as a trivet. Place a long, doubled strip of foil in the pan, between the trivet and the pudding basin, ensuring the ends of the strip reach up and hang over the edges of the pan. This will help you to lift the heavy pudding basin out of the pan of hot water when it has finished cooking. Lower the pudding onto the trivet and pour in enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the bowl. Cover with a lid, bring the water back to the boil, then simmer for about seven hours, until the pudding is a glorious deep brown colour, topping up the water as necessary.
- Once cooked, remove the pudding from the pan. Remove and discard the paper and foil. Replace with fresh. Store, covered, in a dry cool place.
- On Christmas Day make the brandy butter by beaing the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the sifted icing sugar until smooth. Stir in the brandy and spoon into a serving dish. Cover and chill until needed.
- Steam or boil the pudding for about two hours to reheat. Turn onto a decorative, heat proof serving plate. To flame, warm the brandy or rum in a small saucepan. Pour it over the hot pudding and very carefuly set light to it with a match.
- Serve the pudding hot, spooned into bowls with a dab of brandy butter on top. Pouring cream goes very nicely with this.
notes:
To make your own mixed spice: Combine 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 1 tsp each of ground coriander and nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves and all spice. Mix well and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months.
To make your own self-rising flour: You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour needed.
You really cannot fault any of Mary Berry's recipes. If you follow them scrupulously, they always turn out and are fail proof! I have never had a failure with any of them!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
As most of my readers are aware, I recently made the decision to return to my home country of Canada to live. As you can imagine, this was not easy amidst a World Pandemic!! Only I would make a decision like that at a time like this! haha
- 1 loaf of whole wheat bread
- some kind of butter spread (I am watching my cholesterol so Benecol with olive oil was my choice)
- 1 small jar of peanut butter (a great source of protein)
- A box of breakfast cereal (I like cheerios)
- Eggs
- Milk
- A carton of Orange juice
- A carton of Prune juice (don't ask, lol)
- A package of luncheon meat
- Dijon mustard
- Salad stuff (mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions)
- A packet of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Fresh vegetables (not a huge amount, some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
- Baby new potatoes
- A bottle of good salad dressing (my choice was blue cheese, but pick your favourite one)
- a small block of good cheddar
- dried figs
- a few apples
- a few pears
- Vanilla pudding pots, or yogurt
- Plain pretzels to snack on
- Plain sparkling water
My sister very kindly asked me ahead of time were there any treats that I missed from home that I might enjoy when I got here. Of course there were! She picked me up some of my favourite Coffee Crisp Bars, a package of Crunchy Doritos, a bag of Dill Pickle Chips (yumm!!), some Bran Muffins,Diet Coke and she threw in a few surprises, including some ordinary plain bottled water. Plus I had a lovely bouquet of flowers waiting my arrival. She even had the fire turned on.
One thing I did not think of, and you might want to consider is Salt and Pepper. DUH! Such a simple thing.
You won't be having any herbs in your room/flat and if you are going to cook anything at all a little bit of seasoning would go down well. Of course it is not practical to have a whole assortment of seasonings and spices.
Last night my sister brought me over some salt and pepper and a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast. BONUS!! (Isn't she sweet!)
So, don't forget some seasoning!
If you are really lucky you will be in an area that has good takeaway/delivery meals. I am not in one of those aareas, so I will very much have to rely on my own abilities to provide for myself.
My daughter did drop me off one of my favourite Sour Cream Doughnuts on her way back from Tim Hortons yesterday which was a real treat!
A few things you will want to bear in mind:
1. You will not have top cooking tools/knives/eating utensils/pots/pans. Prepare for bare bones cookery.
2. You will need to be somewhat inventive with what you cook and eat.
3. This is not forever. Its only for two weeks.
4. Keep it simple.
With all of that I managed to cook myself a fairly delectable main meal yesterday, which I will be sharing with you next time. In the meantime, here is a photograph of just what you can do with a minimum of ingredients and equipment.
Do take note that cooking in quarantine from a hotel room will be vastly different from cooking in quarantine from home. This is a completely different experience, but can be just as delicious!
See you tomorrow with the recipe from above!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
But I so wanted to get it, to enjoy it too. I was not ready to give up on it just yet. I couldn't understand why so many people waxed poetic about it. I wanted to be able to do the same.
And so I kept with it, persistently. Periodically trying a new recipe to see if I might not come up with something that I enjoyed. I so wanted to be able to taste what it was that other people were tasting.
A few weeks back I saw a video on Tasty for what looked like a really pretty ratatouille. It was composed of a sauce that was cooked first on top of the stove and then layered in a dish.
Next they added layers of thinly sliced rounds of vegetables to the top. They were arranged so prettily. It looked like a picture.
They drizzled a basil oil over top and then covered it tightly and baked it, until the vegetables were meltingly tender. It looked quite promising.
This week I added all of the vegetables to my grocery order so that I could make it. I bought myself some fresh yellow and green courgettes (zucchini) and ripe roma tomatoes. I also bought some baby aubergine (eggplant).
I did not want to make a full recipe, as I knew it would be far too much for us to conceivably eat. We do not have the appetites these days that we used to have in the old days.
Instead of their suggested topping for the vegetables I created one of my own using basil pesto, olive oil and a splash of Balsamic vinegar. I cannot think of anything that doesn't taste much better when having added a bit of Balsamic vinegar to it.
It looked as pretty as a picture before it went into the oven. I was so pleased with how it looked. I was almost dancing around the room. If this tasted even half as good when done as it looked before baking, we were in for a real treat!
I envisioned this beautiful pie dish of ratatouille coming from the oven. We eat first with our eyes after all, and it did smell quite lovely when it was baking.
Hmmm . . . it came out looking a bit like a dog's dinner I am sad to say. LOL I had to laugh when I saw it. Where was the visual appeal?
Anyways, I dutifully scattered some fresh basil over top and took some photos. If I am honest, and I always am, I wasn't feeling very hopeful.
To say I was more than a tad bit disappointed in how it looked is a bit of an understatement. The proof of the pudding is in the eating however, so I was reserving my judgement for that.
Even though there was a huge part of me that was thinking that if this looked this nasty, then it was going to taste nasty also. Admittedly it looked quite a bit better once I broke through and spooned some of it onto a plate.
But how would it taste . . . I held my breath. I had some lovely fresh French Bread that I had been saving to dip into it when it was done.
Admittedly, I hate to waste food. Fresh vegetables are somewhat expensive, even at this time of year when they are plentiful. If you don't have a garden, you are at the mercy of the shops.
I have to say the fresh veg I have been getting from Ocado have been really nice. They cost a bit more than Asda, but quality speaks for itself, and I have been more than happy with everything. They have now partnered with M&S and M&S is quality.
I spooned some out onto the plate. It didn't look half bad. It smelled gorgeous if I don't say so myself. I was feeling rather hopeful.
I had my crusty bread at the ready. Was I going to be happy? Was I finally going to see why people wax lyrical about Ratatouille?
I was pleasantly surprised just by what it looked like spooned onto my plate. It actually looked so good that my tastebuds started to tingle . . .
It was filled with colour and texture. It smelled amazing. I was beginning to be hopeful.
I spooned some onto my bread. I did not butter the bread. I did not want my palate for the ratatouille spoiled by my love of butter. I wanted to try it completely unadulterated . . .
I did toy with the idea of toasting my bread, but in the end, I left it in its natural crusty state. I am happy that I did.
This was amazingly delicious! I was really pleased. The zucchini and the eggplant were properly tender. The tomatoes melted in the mouth . . .
There was none of the bitterness that you can sometimes get from both zucchini and eggplant. Both were somewhat buttery, almost sweet and somewhat indulgent.
The flavour of the sauce that was on the bottom perfectly enhanced and had flavoured everything. The pesto/balsamic mixture I had sprinkled on top had done its job perfectly.
The crusty bread was perfect without butter. It did a beautiful job of mopping everything up. I did what I had not done in a very long time. I went in for seconds.
Baked Ratatouille for Two
Ingredients:
- 1 14-oz (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, trimmed and chopped
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 basil leaves chopped
- 1 medium green zucchini (courgette) thinly sliced, 1/8 inch thick
- 1 medium yellow zucchini (courgette) thinly sliced, 1/8 inch thick
- 1 very small egg plant (aubergine), trimmed and thinly sliced, 1/8 inch thick
- 2 roma tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced, 1/8 inch thick
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS basil pesto
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- torn basil leaves to garnish
- crusty French bread to serve
Instructions:
- Begin by making the sauce. Add the oil to a saucepan. Add the peppers, onions and garlic. Sweat over medium heat, stirring frequently for 4 to 5 minutes until tender. Add the tomatoes and seasonings. Simmer for about 15 minutes until nicely thickened. (This is important as the vegetables will give out more liquid in the oven and you don't want them to dilute the sauce too much.) Pour into an 8 inch pie dish, smoothing over the top. Place on a baking tray.
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.
- Arrrange the sliced vegetables decoratively over top of the tomato sauce, pushing them down into it a bit.
- Whisk together the pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle this over top of the vegetables in the baking dish. Cover tightly with aluminium foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are meltingly tender.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, garnish with fresh basil and with some fresh French bread to help mop all of it up. Delicious!
notes:
I am really pleased that I decided not to give up on ratatouille. If you have never tried it before, I really hope that you will. Especially now when we have an abundance of fresh zucchini and tomatoes to work with! Thanks so much for visiting. Do come
At the weekend I like to pull out the stops a bit and make my husband a delicious dessert. We only ever very rarely eat dessert the rest of the week. If we do have anything at all it will be pots of yogurt or once in a blue moon a sneaky mini-magnum bar or a two finger kitkat.
This weekend I had some stale brioche bread that I wanted to use up and so I decided to make a small batch bread pudding, perfectly sized just for two. Sweet Almond Bread Pudding. And I made a sauce to serve with it as well, a blackberry sauce. Two generous servings of decadent deliciousness.
The custard is then divided between the two ramekins. You must press the bread down into the custard until it is covered, then you play a bit of a waiting game while the bread absorbs that rich custard.
While they are baking you can make your blackberry sauce. If you haven't got blackberries, feel free to substitute raspberries in their place. They will be just as delicious. Another name for the sauce is a berry coulis.
Its lovely, not too sweet, but slightly tart and coloured like a jewel. I tried to be a bit fancy and spread some beneath the puddings in a pattern before I set the puddings on top. That only lasted until I popped the puddings onto the pattern. Oh well . . . best laid plans and all that.
Sweet Almond Bread Pudding with Blackberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces of stale Brioche, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 1 heaped cup)
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 6 TBS granulated sugar
- 2 large free range egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 TBS flaked almonds
- 1 tsp finely granulated sugar
- 2 cups (170g) of blackberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup (65g) sugar
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter two (8 ounce) glass baking ramekins really well. Set aside.
- Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. Place onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove.
- Heat the cream with half of the sugar just until bubbles appear around the edges and it is steaming. Do not allow to boil. Keep warm.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar and extracts until smooth. Slowly whisk in the warm cream mixture a little bit at a time to temper the eggs. Once the eggs have heated you can just whisk in the remainder of the cream.
- Divide the bread cubes between both ramekins. Strain half of the custard over each ramekin and lightly press down so that the bread is soaking. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
- At the end of that time put the ramekins into a baking dish with sides, large enough to hold both of them. Sprinkle the top of each with 1 TBS of flaked almonds and half the sugar.
- Fill the baking dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water.
- Place into the oven and bake for one hour, or until the custard is set.
- While the puddings are baking make the sauce. Put the blackberries into a saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer. Leave to simmer for 2 minutes. Blitz until smooth with an immersion blender. (or a regular blender) Strain through a sieve.
- Unmold the warm puddings onto a dessert plate and drizzle some of the sauce over top. Refrigerate any leftovers.
his content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: theenglishkitchen@mail.com
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