Mother’s Day is May 11. Motherhood is a full-time, lifelong job, complete with love, laughter and tears. Small gestures of appreciation are always welcome.
This verse written on a gift touched my heart when I received it from my son a few years ago:
What Mom Took
Most often when we think of Mom
We think of what she’s given:
The softness of a loving touch,
A gentle guide for living,
A nightly tip-toe in a room,
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An understanding look.
But sometimes when I think of Mom
I think of what she took.
She took a child and taught it how
To live this life with pride.
She took those kindergarten tears
And kept them all inside.
She took the hands that longed to hold
Her child and not let go
Used them to push her child along
The way, to thrive and grow.
Took time to do some other things
Like sew and clean and cook.
And never thought to ask for thanks
For all the things she took. Thanks, Mom.
– Judith Bond
Entertaining this weekend?
Jean Paré has done it again. The new Company’s Coming Weekend Cooking has 40 menus for entertaining. The menus in this cookbook are listed in various ways for easy selection. Five categories include Morning ‘Til Noon, Summer Fare, Family Fun, Table Travels, and Evening Entertaining. You can choose by mealtime or group size, make-ahead or cook-and-serve, theme, nationality or season.
I am trying out some of these recipes on friends this month. The first recipe I tried was during the famous April Storm of 2003, when travel plans to Saskatoon were cancelled, and we had friends over instead. I had to work with ingredients I had on hand. Don likes lemon dishes, so I was eager to try this sauced lemon pudding cake. Jean Paré described it as the perfect comfort food, and it is indeed.
Sauced lemon pudding cake
1 cup all-purpose flour 250 mL
2/3 cup granulated sugar 150 mL
2 teaspoons baking powder 10 mL
1/4 teaspoon baking 1 mL
soda
1/8 teaspoon salt 0.5 mL
2 tablespoons 30 mL
hard margarine or
butter, softened
1/2 cup mixture of 125 mL
juice of one medium
lemon, plus milk
1 tablespoon 15 mL
grated lemon peel
13/4 cups boiling 425 mL
water
1 cup granulated sugar 250 mL
1 tablespoon hard 15 mL
margarine or butter
2 teaspoons lemon flavouring 10 mL
Measure first eight ingredients into medium bowl. Stir until just moistened. Turn into greased 11/2 quart (1.5 litre) casserole.
Combine boiling water and second amounts of sugar and margarine in small bowl. Add lemon flavouring. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over batter.
Do not stir. Bake uncovered in 400 F (200 C) oven for about 30 minutes until top is golden and firm to touch. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Serves four.
Biscuit recipe wanted
Dear TEAM: I am looking for an old-fashioned tea biscuit recipe with currants or raisins in it. I don’t want the new one that has flour and sugar in it. – S. M., Sunset House, Alta.
Dear S.M.: I have had trouble coming up with a tea biscuit that does not have flour and sugar, and invite readers to send in recipes. I looked in my old high school home economics book (originally published in 1923, revised in 1953, and in its 28th printing in 1963) for these recipes I used to make.
Scones
2 cups pastry flour 500 mL
4 teaspoons baking powder 20 mL
2 teaspoons sugar 10 mL
1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
4 tablespoons butter 60 mL
1 cup raisins or currants 250 mL
2 eggs
1/3 cup cream 75 mL
Sift flour, then mix and sift dry ingredients. Cut in the fat until it is the consistency of coarse meal. Add the fruit, washed and dried.
Break the eggs into a bowl, saving apart a little of the white. Beat the rest of the eggs and add in the cream.
Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients and form a soft dough. Knead a few times until the dough is smooth. Roll 3/4 inch (two centimetres) thick then shape into a nine inch (22 cm) circle. Mark in pie-shaped wedges cutting through the top about 1/4 inch (0.5 cm). Brush with the egg white and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 425 F (220 C) for 25 minutes. This recipe is for a basic tea biscuit using sifted pastry flour.
Basic tea biscuits
2 cups sifted pastry flour 500 mL
4 teaspoons baking powder 20 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1/3 cup shortening 75 mL
2/3 cup milk 150 mL
Sift pastry flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
Cut in fat with a pastry blender or two knives until there are no lumps of fat. The mixture will have the appearance of fine crumbs.
Add milk, stirring with a fork or spoon until the mixture will form a ball around the spoon. Too little milk makes a stiff dough that will crumble or crack; too much milk makes a sticky dough that will be difficult to handle.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead lightly until the ball of dough is smooth and beginning to spring back. This amount of dough will require about seven turns. Turn the ball of dough with the smooth side up and roll 3/4 inch (two centimetres) thick for large biscuits, 1/2 inch (one cm) for small biscuits.
Cut with a floured cookie cutter, or cut in squares with a sharp knife. For a shiny surface, brush the top with milk or milk containing egg yolk. Place on an unbuttered baking sheet and bake 10-20 minutes, depending upon the size, at 400-425 F (200Ð220 C).
Variations: Add raisins or currants.
Substitution: All-purpose flour can be substituted for cake or pastry flour by using two tablespoons (30 mL) less for each cup (250 mL) of cake or pastry flour called for.
Thank you to readers
Thank you to M.M., of British Columbia for a prompt reply to our request for the original Sunny Boy Cereal Muffin recipe. I made this recipe this morning for breakfast – what a great way to start the day. I used raisins and Red River cereal, which is similar to Sunny Boy cereal.
Another option would be to add dried fruit or nuts of your choice. Although the recipe says eight to 10 muffins, my batch made a dozen.
Sunny Boy muffins
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk 175 mL
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 30 mL
1/2 cup Sunny Boy cereal 125 mL
11/2 cups all-purpose flour 375 mL
2/3 cup sugar 150 mL
11/2 tablespoons baking 22 mL
powder
Soak cereal in milk for 15-20 minutes. Blend liquid ingredients in a large bowl. Blend dry ingredients. Add the dry to liquid ingredients, mix well. Turn batter into a greased or lined muffin tin and bake at 375 F (190 C) for 25 minutes.
Sunny Boy muffins 2
Here is a second version of the recipe:
3/4 cup rolled oats 175 mL
1/2 cup Sunny Boy cereal, 125 mL
uncooked
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk 250 mL
1 cup all-purpose flour 250 mL
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 175 mL
1 teaspoon baking powder 5 mL
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3 mL
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
1 egg
1/3 cup butter or 75 mL
margarine, melted
1 cup cranberries, 250 mL
fresh or frozen (can substitute raisins)
Combine oats, Sunny Boy cereal and buttermilk in a large bowl. Let stand 40 minutes.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add egg and melted butter to cereal mixture.
Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in cranberries. Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.
Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 20-25 minutes, or until set.
I used Craisins for this second recipe. I will continue to make both recipes. The second recipe seemed more moist and chewy, whereas the first was a little more dense, and the taste of the cereal was more prevalent.
