Easy Christmas Pudding

I have made this easy Christmas pudding recipe for years ever since my Auntie Win gave it to me.
So it is really called Auntie Win’s Overnight Christmas Pudding. It is a light flavourful pudding and is great eaten cold the next day.

Ingredients
1  375 gram pkt of Mixed Dried Fruit
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of sherry or rum or brandy
Mix the above ingredients together and stand all day.
Then add
1 cup of freshly made breadcrumbs
1 cup of Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 small teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon of honey or golden syrup
1 or 2 beaten eggs
Mix well .
Spoon into a greased pudding basin.
Cover with buttered greaseproof paper.
Cover with aluminium foil.
Tie these around the lip of the bowl with cotton string.
Leave to stand overnight.
Next day boil the pudding for 3 hours in a pan with boiling water and a lid.
Remove from the pan, allow to stand for 15 minutes, turn pudding onto a plate and serve with custard, cream and seasonal berries.
This pudding keeps for months in the refrigerator or it can be frozen.
The original recipe had 1 cup of sugar which I leave out. Dried fruit, honey and sherry add ample sugar. I usually multiply the recipe by 4 to make 4 puddings and I substitute 1 375 gram pkt currants for the mixed fruit. Dried black currants add a wonderful flavour and richness.

Spinach and Fetta Stuffed Mushrooms

12 large flat mushrooms

500 grams of spinach, blanched, drained and chopped
1 egg
1 cup of breadcrumbs or rice crumbs
chopped oregano, thyme or marjoram
1 cup of crumbled fetta cheese
salt and black pepper

Mix filling ingredients.
Pile on to mushrooms
Bake about 10 minutes until cooked.

Mushroom Pate

I chopped onion
3 Tablespoons olive oil
500 grams mushrooms
1 large chopped tomato
3 cloves garlic
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
slices of mushrooms or olives to garnish

Cook onion gently in oil until soft
Add mushrooms over a high heat until they have wilted.
Add tomatoes and cook until soft and the liquid has evaporated.
Process to a thick paste, season well.
Stir in parsley and chives.
Add more olive oil to moisten if necessary.
Store covered in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Cover with melted butter if desired.

MUSHROOM FRIED RICE

Fry some onion or spring onion and garlic in a little sesame oil.
Stir in some sliced celery, chili, and sliced mushrooms.
When starting to soften stir in some finely sliced cabbage or Asian greens and a splash of soy or tamari sauce.
Stir in some cooked brown rice some chopped walnuts or pecan nuts and some chopped coriander.

Mushroom Stroganoff.

Fry some onion and garlic till soft.
Add sliced mushrooms and black pepper.
Cook over a high heat until mushrooms start to soften.
Stir in some paprika, a little chilli, a dollop of tomato paste and some thin cream.
Reheat gently add a handful of chopped parsley.
Serve with rice or noodles.

 

CAULIFLOWER AND ONION BALLS

Serves 3             July 2010

Finely chop:

1 onion and the tips of ½ a large cauliflower

Grind together:

1 tsp roasted cumin seeds

1 tsp roasted coriander seeds

1 tsp unprocessed salt

A little turmeric

Something hot of your choice, but not too much…Chilli, a few peppercorns, Tas. Mountain pepper leaf(1) or berries (2)

Place all into a bowl with:

½ cup chickpea flour

1 lightly beaten egg (optional)

Water to make a stiff batter

Make into walnut sized balls and drop into hot oil or flatten a little and shallow fry, until well browned.

Dipping sauce:

Plain yoghurt

Crushed garlic

Lemon juice

Chopped fresh mint

(salt)

Serve with a big plate of green salad.

Oaty Pancakes

Extraordinarily good in every way and wonderful all year round for breakfast.

Combine in a large bowl	1 cup oats 1 cup wholemeal Pl flour 1/4 bran or LSA 1.5 tsp carb soda 1 Tbl brown sugar
Combine in another bowl then pour into the dry ingredients and mix to combine	4 Tbl oil of choice 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup yoghurt
Add more liquid if its a bit too thick to spread out in a frying pan.	Serve with maple syrup, stewed fruit and yoghurt.

Avocado and Ginger Pasta

Serves 6
You couldn't get a better, faster pasta meal than this. Buonissimo!
2 large or 3 smaller avocado chopped
1 lemon, juiced
6 tablespoons toasted almond flakes/ or chopped
2 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
500 g Tagliatelle Pasta
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook pasta.
In a bowl place the chopped avocado with a squeeze of the lemon juice. 
In a large bowl place the warmed pasta with the oil and minced ginger, toss. Add some salt and 3/4 of the roasted almonds, toss. Then add the coriander and then the rest of the roasted almonds and toss. Add the avocado last, serve with some freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste, and some lemon juice then add the shaved parmesan (just a handful). Serve.

Turnips

 

First, I sauteed them in butter and olive oil, turning them to coat and brown. I used plenty of butter - if you are going to cook a good, English meal, you need plenty of butter, I reckon. Otherwise it would be like fish and chips without lots of salt - a bit pointless!

Soon they were browning up and the I put in a good 1/2 cup of white wine and the same of water, scraped the brown bits off the bottom and it was looking good. I put the lid on for about another 10 minutes.

When the rest of the meal was ready to serve, I threw in the chopped turnip leaves - something my mother would never do! - and boiled the excess liquid off. Actually, I also added some chopped bok choy from my garden too. Next time I would thicken that yummy liquid a bit or use more liquid, chop the turnips up more and serve it as a soup. Excellent winter lunch that would be.

Give it a bit of salt and pepper and there you go, my turnip recipe. Deeelicious!

Harvest Stew with Fresh Herbs & Dumplings
STEW
*1 c. pear nectar
*1 c. low-sodium vegetable broth
*1 T Dijon mustard
*3 tsp chopped fresh thyme
*1 tsp salt
*Freshly ground pepper
*1 small (1 lb) butternut squash, peeled & cu into 1-inch chunks
*3 small turnips, peeled and quartered
*2 carrots, peeled and sliced
*2 zucchini, sliced
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1/2 tart apple, cored, peeled & grated
*6 garlic cloves, chopped
DUMPLINGS
*1 c. all-purpose flour
*2 tsp baking powder
*1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
*2 T unsalted butter, melted
*1 T chopped scallions
DIRECTIONS
*Whisk together pear nectar, broth, mustard, 2 tsp thyme, ½ tsp salt and pepper in a large saucepan. Add the squash, turnips, carrots, zucchini, onion, apple and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered until the veggies are just tender (about 15 minutes).
*Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder and remaining ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Combine the buttermilk and butter in another bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the mixture forms a soft dough. Stir in the scallions and remaining 1 tsp of thyme.
*Drop the dough by 6 heaping tablespoons onto the simmering stew. Simmer the stew, uncovered, for 10 minutes, then cover and cook until the dumplings are firm (about 10 minutes more).

PATTIES

SWEET POTATO AND WALNUT PATTIES

Cooked for Emma in Hobart, Jan 2010

Original recipe from Maggie.

• Cooked and mashed sweet potato
• Walnuts, roughly chopped
• Parmesan cheese
• Sundried tomato, chopped
• Egg
• (Fresh breadcrumbs)
• S and p

Form into patties and fry.

RICE AND MUSTARD PATTIES

From Maggie, Jan 2010

• Cook 250g rice
• Add 2 Tbl fresh thyme
• 1 Tbl mustard
• 200g tasty cheese
• 250g pl. flour
• 1 egg

Form into patties and fry.

CAPSICUM AND LIMA BEAN PATTIES

From Maggie, Jan 2010

• Capsicum
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Eggs
• Breadcrumbs
• Lima beans, tinned or cooked

Form into patties and fry.

HOT CROSS BUNS

 

Recipe From BBC Food, photo is mine.

Truthfully these are the best buns I have not only ever made but also ever eaten! I did exactly what it says but instead of the whole crosses thing, I just dipped my finger in honey and rubbed it gently onto the hot buns.... perfect!

For the buns
625g/1.3lb strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground mixed spice
45g/ 1.5 oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
85g/3oz sugar
1 lemon, zest only
1½ tsp fast-action yeast
1 free-range egg
275ml/10fl oz tepid milk
125g/4oz mixed dried fruit
For the topping
2 tbsp plain flour
vegetable oil, for greasing
1 tbsp golden syrup, gently heated, for glazing

Method

1. For the buns, sieve the flour, salt and ground mixed spice into a large mixing bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the sugar and lemon zest and yeast. 
2. Beat the egg and add to the flour with the tepid milk. Mix together to a form a soft, pliable dough.
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Carefully work the mixed dried fruit into the dough until well combined. Knead lightly for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
4. Grease a large, warm mixing bowl with butter. Shape the dough into a ball and place it into the prepared bowl, then cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour to prove.
5. Turn out the proved dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knock back the dough. Shape it into a ball again and return it to the bowl, then cover again with the tea towel and set aside for a further 30 minutes to rise.
6. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a bun shape using the palms of your hands. 
7. Grease a baking tray with butter and transfer the buns to the tray. Place inside a large polythene bag. Tie the end of the bag tightly so that no air can get in and set aside in a warm place for a further 40 - 60 minutes to rise. 
8. Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 8 while they are rising. 
9. Meanwhile, for the topping, mix the plain flour to a smooth paste with 2 tablespoons of cold water. 
10. When the buns have risen, remove the polythene bag and the greaseproof paper. Spoon the flour mixture into a piping bag and pipe a cross on each bun.
11. Transfer the buns to the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. As soon as you remove the buns from the oven, brush them with the hot golden syrup, then set aside to cool on a wire rack.

AZUKI BEANS AND MUSHROOM SAUSAGES

 

 

This is a slightly modified version of one of Maggie's great vegetarian sausages / patties / rissoles recipes.

Please adjust everything as you go.... I actually didn't measure any of it.

 

 

Soak a cup of azuki beans and then cook them. Mash roughly.

Gently fry                          250gr diced tasty mushrooms

Add and cook a bit             2 cloves garlic

                                        1 Tbl cumin seeds, ground

Into a large bowl place       the cooked azuki beans, the cooked mushrooms mixture

                                       2 eggs

                                       100gr fresh breadcrumbs

                                       2 Tbl flour

                                       4 Tbl parsley

                                       2 tsp thyme

                                       1 cup grated tasty cheese

Form into whatever shape you like and fry.

MUNG BEAN PATTIES

A simpler meal you could not cook... What a stupid thing to say! You could just boil an egg or some corn cobs! OK, simpler meals exist but these are definitely the simplest patties you could cook.

Makes 7 patties:
Soak 1 cup mung beans overnight or overday, like I did.... They go a pretty light green, as in the photo.
Drain them then put them in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of cumin.
Blend until pretty smoothish.
Scoop out and make into balls with your hands... they are so light and gorgeous to touch.
Fry both sides until brown.
Pick up with your fingers and dip into what you fancy.... the recipe said sweet chilli sauce but I used a little plum sauce or just have them plain, with some Asian greens.
So there it is. They held together perfectly.... and tasted great and after the soaking, the total preparation time and cooking time combined was about 10 minutes!