For Thanksgiving this year I cooked the turkey meal with all the trimmings and then transported it to our son and daughter-in-law’s.
When we arrived, my son was out picking up some eggs so he could make Yorkshire pudding to go with our meal.
I knew of their love of them and the puddings had been made and were part of the trimmings that I had brought along.
The look in their eyes as they enjoyed the meal, but especially the Yorkshire puddings, was wonderful.
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A Yorkshire pudding is a traditional English dish that is a simple combination of eggs, flour and milk beaten to a thick cream consistency. It can be baked in a cake pan or in large individual muffin pans.
Right from the oven, good Yorkshire pudding is a puffy, irregularly shaped golden mass. On standing for a few minutes the surface settles and may dip in the centre. When cut, the outer crust is tender crisp and the centre is soft and custardy.
Traditionally, Yorkshire pudding is served with roast beef and pan gravy. But our kids want it with any meal that has gravy, which is usually on special family gatherings.
Our family has several stories that go along with Yorkshire pudding. One is my husband’s remembrance of having a meal in my parents’ home shortly after we had startedto date.
His impression of my mother’s buns was that she needed a lessonor two until he realized we were eating the bun with gravy, not butter, and that maybe they were supposed to have that sunken appearance. He hasn’t developed a love for them yet.
Our family recipe has been passed down from my mother who got the recipe from a neighbour, Echo Gardner.
She and her husband had no children so I often feel when I make Echo’s recipe that our family is carrying on their legacy through our love of her Yorkshire pudding.
Rituals strengthen families
This year’s theme for National Family Week, which was Oct. 6-12, was strengthening ties through family traditions. The material prepared for the week by the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs stated that traditions and rituals can provide a sense of identity, closeness and security within a family.
“The feeling of belonging strengthens both the family and the individuals in it, contributing to what is called resilience. This is the ability to thrive in spite of experiencing difficult circumstances. For instance, studies done with alcoholic families find that the children whose families maintain some rituals such as family dinners, regular bedtime routines and annual celebrations are less likely to become alcoholics themselves.”
If you think about what your family does that is different from other families or is really important to you, you will probably find that you do have family traditions. One of our family rituals when our children were young was to spend time with them at bedtime. It gave us an opportunity for a little talking time and often included a story. We always concluded with prayers.
Rituals can be elaborate or simple. They may be connected to special life events, like weddings and graduations; annual happenings, like birthdays and religious holidays; daily occurrences, like saying good-bye in the morning at child care or certain locations, like Grandma’s house where we always play cards.
In all these cases, the meaning of rituals goes beyond their surface details. Those songs sung at bedtime or in the morning are a private code for the bond between parent and child. When a family gets together for traditional celebrations, they are also celebrating the ties that bind their lives together, spanning generations and linking them to a larger community.
Share your traditions
Once again we are asking our readers to share with us. Because food is often tied to many of our family traditions, we would like you to share with us your family’s favourite foods. You know the ones you want to have when you return to your parents’ or grandparents’ home or the foods your children or grandchildren request when they come for a visit.
Send us the recipe and a brief description of the family tradition related to it. We will be making a draw in early December from all of the entries for several prizes. Send your recipe and tradition to TEAM Resources, c/o The Western Producer, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 2C4 or e-mail to team@producer.com.
The deadline for entries will be Dec. 5.
Following the tradition theme Atco Blue Flame Kitchen has for several years printed two cookbooks a year, a Christmas one in the fall and then either a barbecue or everyday eating cookbook in the spring. It has given us a variety of these cookbooks to give away this year. Also Company’s Coming, whose cookbooks originated when Jean Paré began recording the recipes her family and friends were often requesting, has supplied us with several of its new craft series books.
Potato cookie recipe
One reader wrote that she and her sisters are looking for a snowball cookie recipe. It contained mashed potatoes and was baked into a soft cookie. They remember making these cookies at Christmas with their mother. We have been unsuccessful in finding this recipe and request readers’ help.
Family cookbook
Joan Airey of Rivers, Man., decided when her children left home and started phoning for her recipes that it was time to compile a cookbook. Her Good Friends Sharing Good Food is now in its third printing as of June 2008.
Airey states in the introduction to her book that “food is much more than nourishment. It’s about sharing and connecting with and learning with the ones we love. Food is one of those pleasures in life that appeals to all senses.”
The cookbook is dedicated to the memory of her sister-in-law, Joan Sutherland, who lost her battle with cancer in April. A portion of the proceeds of the cookbook will be donated to Cancer Care Manitoba in Joan’s memory.
Copies of Good Friends Sharing Good Food are available from Joan Airey at Box 790, Rivers, Man., R0K 1X0 or you can contact her at 204-328-7103 or by e-mail at hairey@mts.net. The books sell for $10 plus $4 for postage and handling.
Here is one of her recipes.
Maple pumpkin brunch cake
Topping:
3/4 cup sugar 175 mL
1/2 cup chopped pecans 125 mL
2 teaspoons cinnamon 10 mL
1 teaspoon maple extract 5 mL
Cake:
21/4 cups flour 560 mL
1 cup packed brown 250 mL
sugar
1 tablespoon baking 15 mL
powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 mL
1 cup buttermilk or 250 mL
sour milk
3/4 cup canned 175 mL
pumpkin or puréed, cooked
fresh pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil 125 mL
3 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon maple extract 5 mL
Combine the topping ingredients, mixing well. Set aside.
Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat together the sour milk, pumpkin, canola oil, eggs and maple extract. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until mixed.
Spread half of the batter in a greased nine x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) cake pan. Sprinkle with half of the topping ingredients. Repeat the layers. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm. The cake may also be warmed in the microwave.
Echo Gardner’s Yorkshire pudding
3 – 4 large eggs
11/2 cups milk 375 mL
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour 175 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
Grease a nine x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) pan or 16 muffin tins liberally with cold butter or margarine and place in the freezer for half an hour.
Beat together the milk and eggs. Measure the flour and salt into a sifter and then sift and add to the liquid mixture. Beat until smooth. Put in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.
Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Pour the chilled batter into the cold pans and bake at 450 F (230 C) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 F (200 C) and cook for 20 minutes or longer, until deep golden brown and puffed up. They will be crusty on the outside and custardy on the inside.
Remove from the oven and remove from the muffin pans or cut into squares and serve immediately. They will deflate quickly.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
