Mincemeat at Christmas
Traditionally, the making of mince pies was one of the first signs of Christmas. Many a child’s job was helping fill circular pastry shells with the dark fruit mixture that had been around for some time. Even today, the absence of mincemeat’s rich and spicy taste from the Christmas dinner would be looked upon as a breach of custom in many homes.
It is difficult to imagine that originally mincemeat was made to keep meat from rotting. In Europe, many centuries ago, the discovery was made that surplus meat from autumn would keep indefinitely if mixed with sugar. Over the years the meat content was gradually reduced until mince pies were filled with a mixture of dried and fresh fruit, suet and spices. The fruits often used are apples, green tomatoes, cranberries and pears.
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Mincemeat may be made at home or bought ready to use. Meat and meatless recipes are available in cookbooks. Labels on ready-to-use jars will list the ingredients and tell whether meat is included.
Homemade mincemeat can be used fresh, preserved in jars or frozen. For safety reasons, when preserving your own recipes with meat, use a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 20 minutes.
Mince baking
Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard have included their favorite mincemeat recipe – because of its fruitiness and freshness – in their cookbook, Put A Lid On It!
Mincemeat
6 cups finely chopped 1.5 L
tart apples (2 lb./1 kg)
2 cups raisins 500 mL
1 cup currants 250 mL
2Ú3 cup brown sugar 150 mL
1Ú2 cup dried 125 mL
cranberries
1Ú3 cup water 75 mL
2 grated rind and juice 2
of two lemons
2 teaspoons ground 10 mL
cinnamon
1Ú2 teaspoon ground 2 mL
cloves
1Ú4 cup brandy 50 mL
Combine apples, raisins, currants, sugar, cranberries, water, lemon rind, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in brandy and return to a boil. Remove from heat and use in your favorite mincemeat recipes.
To preserve for later use: Ladle into hot jars to within a half inch (one centimetre) of rim. Process for 20 minutes for half-pint (250 mL) and pint (500 mL) jars. Begin timing when the water in the canner returns to a boil.
Makes six cups (1.5 L.)
Put A Lid On It! was published by Macmillan Canada in 1997 and sells for $24.95. If you would like a new preserving cookbook with many great recipes and up-to-date safe preserving methods, consider this one.
Mince tarts
pastry shells (bought
or homemade)
11Ú2 cups 375 mL
prepared mincemeat
2 teaspoons grated 10 mL
orange rind
1Ú3 cup coarsely 75 mL
chopped maraschino
cherries
1Ú3 cup chopped 75 mL
walnuts
Combine mincemeat, orange rind, cherries and nuts.
- For tiny mince tarts, which have become a tradition at our house:
For homemade pastry, roll out to one-quarter inch (0.5 cm) thickness. Cut 36 circles with a floured
21Ú2 inch (6 cm) cookie cutter. Line two inch (5 cm) tart tins with each round.
Spoon the mincemeat filling into each shell.
Decorate each tart by making a cross with two pastry strips, cut with a sharp knife two inches (5 cm) long and one-quarter inch (0.5 cm) wide. Garnish with half a cherry placed in the centre. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 15 minutes or until the filling bubbles.
Yield:Three dozen.
- Candle tarts: Cut a small hole (with thimble or bottle cap) in centre of each top crust before baking. Arrange baked tarts on tray. Place a tiny red candle in centre of each and light just before serving.
Remove soft vinyl toys
Health Canada advises parents and caregivers of very young children to dispose of soft polyvinyl chloride teethers and rattles. Animal studies show potential damage to liver or kidneys for very young children if:
- The child weighs less than eight kilograms.
- The objects are sucked or chewed on for three hours or more a day.
- Used for a long period of time.
Plasticizers are added to the PVC to make the products softer and more flexible. It is one of these plasticizers, DINP, which is causing concern.
Pacifiers and feeding bottle nipples are not included in the advisory since none of those tested include DINP. But pets and their toys could be at risk.
For a list of products that do not include DINP and are therefore considered safe, or for additional information, visit Health Canada’s website at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/advisory or call toll-free 888-774-1111. For hearing-impaired 800-465-7735.
Four on a couch
The following game has been played at our family gatherings. Any number can play, young or old.
The objective of the game is to get all men or all women on the couch. Men vs. women. The team that accomplishes this first is the winner.
1. You start by placing two men and two women on a couch (or a pretend couch of four chairs). Everyone sits in a circle, including the people on the couch. Have one extra chair in the circle with no one sitting on it.
2. Ask each person to put their name on a piece of paper. Put the pieces of paper in a hat, shake to mix them up and then each person draws a name. Keep that new name a secret.
3. The person sitting on the right of the empty chair starts the game by calling out the name of someone in the room. Whoever has that name on their piece of paper moves to the empty chair and exchanges that name with the person that called out the name. Your name will change each time you move.
4. Repeat Step #3 over and over again with each person around the circle clockwise calling a name until four men or four women are on the couch.
You try to remember who is who, so that you can remove them from the couch, or put them on it, whichever is needed to get all four of your team on the couch.
A course for Christmas
Looking for a unique Christmas gift for your spouse, son or daughter? Consider the management program offered by the University of Saskacthewan’s college of agriculture and the Agriculture Institute of Management in Saskatchewan. The program is designed specifically for current and future agribusiness leaders. Participants will learn to effectively manage change, capital and risk.
The program held at the U of S consists of four progressive weekend modules on Jan. 28-31, Feb. 18-21, March 4-7 and March 25-28.
The registration fee is $1,250 and covers a small percentage of the actual cost of running the program.
The application deadline is next week, Dec. 15. Program information can be obtained by contacting Tom Allen, 306-966-4012, Anne Cooney, 306-966-4027 or Laurie Dmytryshyn, 306-787-5964.
