I attended one of these do's once; it was silly, but fun, of course this was back in the days when I could drink wine, so that may have something to do with my rosy memories!
This year is simply flying by, which is really strange given how home-centric life has become. Luckily, the little filing clerk in my head is still working and she kindly tickled my brain and reminded me that I should be making my preparations for ...Christmas. (sorry!)
I lifted down the kitchen scales, rummaged through the dried fruits and alcohol stores in the pantry to see what was available to make a Paradise Cake which is what I use as a Christmas cake these days. I found the recipe in an old WI recipe book which used to belong to our old friend (the beekeeper) and his wife.
Blogger is messing about at the moment, things
are scooting around all over the page, images disappear then reappear in the wrong location. That's what I get for trying out the new version.
As you can see from the photographs, it does involve a lot of chopping and slicing of dried fruit, but I just put the radio on, sit down at the kitchen table and get on with it. Then I soak the dried fruit in alcohol, but it isn't really necessary. The cake is a celebration of dried fruits, nuts, and ginger. I more or less stick to the quantities in the recipe, but how I make up the weights depends on what I have available!
(The recipe can be found in the post Paradise and Aztecs which is in the side bar.)
Once baked the cake should be cooled and then wrapped and stored until nearer Christmas. It is far better than regular Christmas cake, if you like the delights which go into it. Serve it with a slice of cheese and you have a feast fit for a king. It is so good that I bake two of them. If there was nothing else in the pantry you could survive for quite a while on a slice of Paradise Cake!
This was the pile of books which I had by my side the other day. Most of them are old recipe books which I find endlessly interesting, not for the recipes, but for exploring their economic and social context. I suppose they are also useful because they can be enjoyed in small snatches, which fits into the demands of a day.
Our Hidden Lives is wonderful - Mass Observation Diaries of five people, post Second World War. Again, a useful one for dipping in and out, real people, real lives, very difficult times. On Chapel Sands was recently recommended to me, it is a Lincolnshire based story, so of interest to me.
Life rolls on. I have had some inner ear problems recently. Luckily it has only occurred while I was indoors and able to clutch on to something as I lurched around like a drunkard (is one allowed to say drunkard these days?!) as the world spun around and I felt sick, legs like lead I staggered to the nearest chair. Growing older is such fun.
To end on a lighter note - one of the Best Way books has a recipe which begins "Not many people know how to make Pork taste like Turkey....". I bet they don't. Do let me know if you would like to try it out. 😊
I've never heard of a Christmas cake being baked as early as June - that's really being prepared! It certainly has some different ingredients and fruit cake with cheese is always delicious - I'd add in an apple too - a complete winter meal.
ReplyDeleteHello Sue, Perfect addition! I'm sure the cake would be delicious without the long storage period but at least it takes the pressure off at the busy end of the year!
DeleteMy Aunty used to make a great Christmas Cake, I used to love it. Have to say it was the one thing I missed after she passed away
ReplyDeleteHello Billy, Did she leave you the recipe? It's funny the things which link us to the memory of some people.
DeleteI looked at the recipe for Paradise cake... tempts me... but what is white fat??? The cookies also tempt me.... must be lunchtime!
ReplyDeleteHello Bettina, Just ignore the white fat (lard or solid vegetable fat) and use all butter, or margarine if you prefer. As I mentioned, it is an old book when lard was often used in cakes - not to our taste these days!
DeleteParadise cake sounds just like paradise. Hope you'll be able to get an appointment soon to get your inner ear checked out. Take care. Love Molly
ReplyDeleteHello Molly, Every bite is a delight! Don't worry, I will be having a check fairly soon. I hope all is well with you. xxx
DeleteHaha. I like pork pork, thank you. That Paradise cake sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHello Joanne, I immediately thought of my father, when I read that recipe. He absolutely loved roast pork but detested turkey, simply wouldn't eat it. Next time I come across it I'll be thinking of you, too. The cake is great!
DeleteLovely to hear that someone else sits and reads recipe books, I love doing this especially when they are new to me. The new blogger takes a bit of getting used to doesn't, I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to locate all the things that I use when creating a post, I think I have found most of the now.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of that Mass Observation diary book, it sounds interesting. I recently read Work Town by David Hall which is about he observations themselves rather than the diaries. That was an interesting read.
It sounds like you could have Labyrinthitis, my mum has it too. Please do and get yourself checked out, she had a nasty accident on her stairs because of it.
Hello sustainablemum, I hope your mum is well on the road to recovery after her accident. I am very glad to say that we don't have any steps in Parsonage Cottage, but don't worry, I will get checked out properly at the earliest opportunity.
DeleteA decade or so ago I would never have dreamt about the pleasure there is to be found in reading old recipe books - they are so much more than the recipes, aren't they! I have a few shelves filled with them, they are my most treasured books, despite the fact that so many of them have kicked around in other people's kitchen drawers and shelves for many decades, or perhaps that is why I love them so much. They are books which have seen active service on the kitchen front. I will add Work Town to my book list, thank you for mentioning it.
i have many vintage cookery books but the recipes to try are the ones with notations and finger marks , theyre the ones people used loads
ReplyDeleteHello Kate, The much used ones are absolutely the best. Marmalade and jam recipes often come off worst, I find. Isn't it funny how such messy books would be really off-putting, were they not old recipe books. I ordered an old local book from a bookseller and received two copies because the seller thought the 'dirty' one was not a decent copy. The one I had ordered was much used and splashed, filled with notes and had obviously been well used. The other one was as pristine as a 65 year old book can be...guess which one I love the most.
DeleteOh my! You are prepared. I'm going to take a look at that recipe now but I don't think I'll be baking one just yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you've been having some problems with your ear. Please make sure you get checked out. X
Hello Jules, Big fruity and nutty cakes are certainly not to everyone's taste! I like the feeling of security which comes from having it tucked away at the back of the pantry, even though we may be well into the new year before I remember that it is there!
DeleteIt´s great to skim through old recipe books, sometimes giving you ideas when you get a bit stale from just cooking the usual. How organised are you with the Christmas cake. Mum always started hers in October, strangly no one here likes fruit cake and as they usually contain orange peel and apricots I can´t have them, but then we are not really cake and pastries eaters either xcx
ReplyDeleteHello Chrissie, Those old books are fascinating, I also love it when you find little cuttings and odd bits of paper tucked into them, things which were of interest to a previous owner. It was a cold, wet and rainy day when I prepped the fruit for the cake so it was nice to be indoors. I'm sure you have some alternative treats to make your celebrations special, something without those pesky apricots and peel!x
DeleteNo way I would want turkey to taste like pork. Reminds me of a NZ recipe which was mutton without the mutton. Darn will have to look it up now to see what it was all about.
ReplyDeleteI have a jar of raisins soaking raki for our Xmas cake, which I won't be making for months.
Off to look also at your recipe.
New blogger just makes life tedious. I've been using it for a week now. Just makes things more complicated, more clicks needed. I guess we will get used to it
Hello Linda, I don't understand why anyone would, but I guess it shows us that pork was readily available/inexpensive at that time and turkey was a luxury few could afford. 'Mock' recipes fascinate me, did they really fool anyone? Reading some of them, I can't believe they fooled anyone. Call a spade a spade for goodness sake, unless you are trying to persuade a picky child to eat...!!
DeleteThose raisins sound as though they will be very potent indeed!
The Paradise cake sounds interesting. I also enjoy cookery books that you can read and get some of the social bit of life. I have read some Mass Observation books and found them quite interesting as I am interested in social history anyway. I have started a new blog a few weeks ago and don't use blogger. I haven't done any posts for the last few days as I haven't done much because of the weather. If you want to have a look it is pastorswife69.com
ReplyDeleteKeep safe
Hello Pat, The Mass Observation books certainly help to provide a little insight to life back then, as do the recipe books of that period with housewives and cooks trying to make nourishing food from so little. I am also keen on those which encompass WWI. Thank you for letting me know about your blog, I have been over a couple of times but was unable to comment.
DeleteThe vertigo could be this: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-bppv-dizziness-caused-by-inner-ear-crystals/
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine encountered this and it sounds like your symptoms. She checked with her Dr. It's a real thing but is easily fixable with a set of exercises of head movements. Sounds weird but they worked.
Hello Vic, Thank you for the information, it is much appreciated. Another friend has also told me about the head movements so I will definitely explore that avenue. It is quite shocking how one second everything was normal, then whoosh, I was staggering and collapsing. Certainly makes me appreciate just how well I normally feel. Best wishes.
DeleteThe paradise cake sounds delicious, I must look at the recipe and have a go. Hope the inner ear problem gets better doesn't sound like fun. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHello mamasmercantile, I hope all is well with you and your husband. I often think about you on that beautiful island that we both love so much. The cake comes with strict instructions that it must not be cut into until at least six months have passed, which is just as well because otherwise one would be very tempted to have a nibble.
DeleteHi Elaine,
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of the maneuvers you can do at home to help with the inner ear? They certainly have helped me in the past. Take care!
Hello Silver Willow, Sorry, I have only just found your comment. Lovely to hear from you. If I have further problems I will definitely give the head movements a go, thank you.
Delete