Grannymar

Fruit & Nut Cake (no Flour)

Preheat oven to170°C

75g Ready soaked dried Apricots

75g Raisins

100g Glace Cherries chopped

175g Ground Almonds

3 tablespoons Ruby Port or Sherry

3 Eggs separated

75g Butter

75g Caster Sugar

½ teaspoon Almond Essence

75g toasted chopped Nuts (almonds, walnuts & Brazil nuts)

Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment. Put raisins and apricots in a little saucepan with port or sherry. Heat gently, to allow the fruit to soak up the alcohol. Transfer into a bowl to cool. Then add the cherries and nuts to the cooled fruit. Also mix 2 tablespoons of the weighed ground almonds and toss these together. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. In another mixing bowl beat together the butter and sugar until soft & fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks & almond essence. Stir in the remaining ground almonds into the cake mixture. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold ½ into the egg, fat and sugar mixture. Then add the fruit and nut mixture and mix. Finally, stir in the remaining egg whites until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Level off the surface – no well and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin. When cool, dust with icing sugar.

Slice thickly with a sharp knife.

Mincemeat for Mince Pies

Makes 2-3lbs.

12oz Mixed Fruit

4oz Suet

2oz Mixed peel

2oz Cherries

2oz Nuts

8oz Demerara Sugar

4tablespoons Lemon Juice

½tablespoon Mixed Spice

1 Orange, Rind & Juice

Wine, Rum or Brandy

4 Cooking Apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Clean and prepare the fruit and put into a large bowl. Add chopped apples, suet, peel, cherries, nuts, sugar and spices and mix well. Add lemon juice, rind and juice of the orange and selected booze. Mix thoroughly, cover and leave for 2-3 days.

Bottle and leave for 2 weeks in a cool place before using.

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Pastry for Mince Pies

8oz Plain Flour

¼ teaspoon Salt

5oz Butter

½oz Ground Almonds

½oz Caster Sugar

1-2 tablespoons Water

Beaten egg or milk to glaze

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, add the butter and rub in until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and almonds. Add 1 tablespoon of water and with a knife mix to a stiff dough, adding more water if necessary. Draw the dough together with the fingertips and turn onto a floured board. Knead lightly for 1 minute then wrap in foil and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Roll out the pastry very thinly, cut out 15 small rounds and 15 larger rounds, re-rolling the trimmings as required. Line patty tins with the large pastry rounds; place a spoonful of filling in each. Damp the edges with the egg/milk and cover with the smaller rounds, sealing well. Brush the tops with the beaten egg or milk, make a small hole in the top and bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar while still warm.

Now you are all set for Carol Singing!

Nana’s Christmas Pudding (No suet)

2×2pint Bowls greased well

8oz Butter

8oz Brown Sugar

2oz Plain Flour

¼ teaspoon each: Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Mixed Spice

8ozs Bread Crumbs

3 large Eggs

18oz Dried Fruit

1 large cooking Apple, chopped

2oz Nuts

3oz Candied Peel

2oz Cherries

1 grated carrot

Juice & Rind of 1 Orange

½ glass Spirits

Stout to moisten

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using your hands – part of the mystery of Christmas! Add the stout a little at a time to moisten the mixture. Finally stir ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda into a little milk last thing and add to the pudding mixture and mix well. Divide between the two bowls. Cover with a double layer of greased greaseproof paper and tie well. Place each bowl in a saucepan of boiling water making sure the water does not cover the bowls. Boil for 5 hours topping up the water level at intervals. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Boil 2 further hours before use. This second boiling can be done a week or so before Christmas and the pudding heated on the day.

Curried Parsnip Soup

1½ lb Parsnips chopped

1oz Butter

1 Onion peeled & chopped

1 clove Garlic crushed

2 teaspoons Curry Powder (mild)

3 pints Chicken or Vegetable Stock

7 fl ozs single Cream (optional)

Melt butter and add chopped parsnips, onion and garlic. Cook gently for 5 minutes (do not brown). Stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Blend in stock and season to taste. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes until parsnips are tender. Liquidize and add cream if desired.

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Since the trappings of Christmas are appearing in the shops it is time to think of the Christmas Cooking. Earlier in the year I promised to post my mother’s recipe for a ‘no suet’ Christmas pudding. She always made it at this time of year to give it time to prove and let the flavour develop. So unlike the TV programmes I will not wait until Christmas week to pass on one of these delights. Next Monday will be pudding day.

Steph asked before she headed off for warmer climes if i had a recipe for Chicken stock. I do and reproduce it here today. I hope it is to her and your liking.

Chicken Stock

Bones from a cooked chicken carcass including skin
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium sized onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stick of celery, roughly chopped
6 black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt.
1 dried bay leaf
fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme

Put all the ingredients into a large pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and skim off any scum that has formed. Cover and simmer very gently for 2-3 hours. Strain the stock into a large bowl, allow to cool and chill overnight. Skim off any fat that has formed on the surface. Use within 3 days or freeze.

To freeze, reduce the stock by half by boiling vigorously. Cool. Pour into ice-cube trays and freeze. When frozen put the cubes into a bag, label it, and when you want to use one, just put in a jug and add boiling water to dissolve the cube.

Beef Stew with Guinness

Serves 4-6 Preheat oven to 140°C

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 Bay leaves

2 lbs stewing steak cubed

1 large onion sliced

A sprig of thyme

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

2-3 tablespoons all- purpose flour

¾ cup beef stock

½ cup Guinness stout

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

½ lb carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

Season to taste

In a pan heat the oil and the bay leaves. Cook the bay leaves for a moment and then add the meat brown on both sides on high heat. Add the sliced onion and cook for a few minutes until it is clear. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and flour, and stir well until smooth. Add the beef stock and stout; simmer, stirring, until the stew thickens a bit. Add the remaining ingredients and transfer to casserole dish and cook in a preheated oven for about 2 hours, stirring a couple of times. Check for salt and pepper before serving.

The days are shortening and soon the trees will don their autumn glory. Warming soups are always welcome at this time of year so again this week we have another one. I hope you like it.

Parsnip, Chicken & Orange Soup

Serves 6

2 onions, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons Olive oil

10 cloves garlic, halved

8 Parsnips chopped and roasted

3 pints Chicken stock

1 tsp salt

2 oranges squeezed

Black pepper, freshly ground

Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the onions cover and cook for about 10 minutes until softened but do not allow to burn. Add the garlic cloves, cook for a further 3-5 minutes stirring them occasionally then add pre-roasted parsnips and the chicken stock, season with the salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, then liquidize. Return to pan and adjust seasoning, add the juice of the freshly squeezed oranges and reheat.

Autumn is upon us once more and with the change of temperature my hunger pangs increase calling for more filling foods. Soups appear on my lunchtime menu with more regularity. Today’s offering is a little unusual. It comes from Elly’s days at University. When the recipe was given to me I had a wry little smile, my young lady was turning into my mother! Mammy, as you all know by now NEVER measured anything when cooking. It was a handful of this or a pinch of that, somehow it worked for her every time.

I love the last line

Elly’s Peanut Soup

Make a basic soup from carrots, onion, potato and 1 parsnip (no more that one as the flavour is too strong). Use stock made from a chicken or stock cubes for ease. Blend down and return to pan. Add half a jar of smooth peanut butter for a small batch for 4-5 bowls or a bigger jar for more - remember to melt peanut butter briefly on low in the microwave so it will mix in easily. Add cream if desired to taste. Don’t salt and pepper it too much when making it. Add chicken pieces if desired. Serve with crusty bread.

Real easy - just make it up as you go along

Tea Brack

Preheat oven to170°C

¾ pint cold Tea

7 ozs Brown Sugar

12 ozs sultanas

2ozs nuts

10 ozs Plain Flour

1 tsp Mixed Spice

1 Egg

2 Tablespoons whiskey (optional)

Steep the fruit, nuts and sugar in the tea overnight. Sieve the flour add the mixed spice. Beat the egg. Stir the flour, egg and whiskey into the fruit and mix well. Pour into a 7 inch greased tin. Bake in a preheated oven for 1¾ hour’s approx. Test if a clean skewer comes out clean then the Brack is cooked. Cool in tin on wire rack.

Keep for 2-3 days before cutting.

Earlier in the week I had a book in my hand and it brought back memories.

Memories of the many Usborne titles.

The memories it invoked were like this:

And this:

The item this week was a little different. It was bright, colourful and very useful. In fact I wouldn’t mind having a copy myself. It was The Usborne Cookbook for Children.

• A bumper cookbook with 70 recipes taken from “The Usborne Children’s Cookbook” and “The Children’s Book of Baking”.
• Contains both sweet and savoury recipes, including chicken stir-fry, salmon fishcakes, pizzas, ice-cream, mint choc chip muffins and a classic chocolate cake.
• Each recipe is explained in simple step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations.
• A super spiral-bound edition of two excellent recipe books for budding cooks.

It would make a wonderful gift for a fledgling cook out there of any age. The recipes were modern simple and inviting.