Pudding / in Memory of my Grandmother K.

With all the items in my inbox this morning, ranging from American conspiracies for the Middle East, the shooting of 11 indigenous Christian missionaries in Iraq, the heroic saving of a young woman by a young man at the College shooting in Oregon...  I just want to say a word about Dr. Oetker Pudding.

You can purchase the pudding powered simply packed in thin paper in quantities of three or five, for a good price.  The sugar has not yet been added, which makes the packages smaller, cheaper to transport and therefore environmentally more friendly.

The pudding powder comes in many, many flavors and I buy mine usually at an Italian store that distributes various other European products.  The whole array of the Dr. Oetker pudding line is much superior to, for example, a Jello product, so I want to advertise it, here.

My grandmother used to make me a nut flavored pudding, which I have not seen in stores.

It must exist because it seems you can purchase this one in Istanbul, though my grandmother's wasn't chocolately like this one.




There is also a pistachio flavor:




And one with almonds:





In any case, be it in our house growing up, in my grandparents' house visiting, or cooking for my own family, a simple Dr. Oetker pudding has always been a delightful treat.  My husband, himself, is a dedicated fanatic--here we have a simple way to his heart.  Last night we cooked a caramel pudding.  I make mine in the microwave, which simplifies the procedure and clean-up--no more scorched bottoms of the pot, as in the old days.

But today, I am remembering my grandmother.  I saw her often, but I don't know very much about her.  She had a twin sister, not identical, whom I had only met a couple of times.  She got up early to start the fires in all the little briquette ovens in the house.  She did not like innovation in technology.  She steadfastly resisted all improvements.

She always said that she loved all food--that she had cooked herself.

The other thing she made me was a soup from a stock that came from a tube.  It also was incredibly delicious.

She had long silver hair which she braided and laid in a knot in the back.  My other grandmother did the same thing. She wore sensible dresses and shoes, very decent in darker colors.

She always knew who had lately died, as they were in the demographic.  People were always dropping in, as my grandfather was an elder in the congregation.  They brought boxes of European chocolates and wine, which always lay around the house, and we got into them (--the chocolate, not the wine.)

There were many fruit trees and fruit-bearing bushes around the house.  We would go pick from them, eat them or bring in plate-fulls for the grandparents to appreciate.

The red currents went particularly well with the vanilla pudding.

Curried Chicken Soup--Winter Comfort Food

As per request:
(sorry the ends of the lines are not correct in the printing)
1/4 cup butter
2 onions, chopped
1 small turnip, cut into small dice
(I use a large yam and cut it into not
so small pieces)
2 carrots, sliced
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 cups chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lemon
6 oz/175 g cold cooked chicken cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra to garnish
( I never put this in because I don't like cilantro and never have any)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup cooked rice, to serve


Note from me:  this is soup, so you really can alter it how you
like. Mostly I leave out the lemon juice because I have no lemons. I use yam
instead of turnip because of availability. The butter and the onions to start
with, I do consider essential for most soups.


Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions, and sauté
gently, until soft but not brown.

Add the turnip, (yam), carrots, and apple and continue to cook for an
additional 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the curry powder until the vegetables are well coated, then pour in
the stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Season well
with salt and pepper to taste and add the lemon juice.

Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and
return to the rinsed-out saucepan. Add the chicken and cilantro to the saucepan
and heat through.
Place a spoonful of rice in each serving bowl and pour the soup over the
top. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Erdbeerbowle/ Strawberry alcoholic punch with champagne

This is a very common German party drink.   I think I'll make one for a very large party at our house next week.

Everything wedding is slowly shaping up now and coming to the crunch soon.  Visitors are expected from the North (Yukon), the East (Germany and Ontario) and the West (Vancouver) and Southern Alberta.  Long lost friends and relatives have announced themselves.  


There are versions that also add mineral water.  I think we will add some mineral water.  We don't need everyone too happy and we are talking about an afternoon party.  

Erdbeerbowle for a Summer Party

"Erdbeerbowle" is a wine punch with strawberries served at summer parties and German BBQs. Made with sweetened strawberries, lemon, wine and sparkling wine (German Sekt), it sets the mood of warm summer nights and tiki torches. Serve with cocktail picks to spear the fruit.
Makes about 10 cups, or 20 five-ounce servings.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts of strawberries, washed, cored and sliced
• 1/2 c. sugar, or to taste
• 2 lemons
• 1 bottle of dry, white wine
• 1 bottle of white, sparkling wine
• Mint or lemon balm to garnish

Preparation:

Sprinkle the sugar over the sliced strawberries in a bowl. Zest the washed lemons and then squeeze the juice. Add both juice and zest to the strawberries and let sit for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Drain and reserve the strawberry juice. Add the white wine to the strawberries and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the guests start arriving. Pour the wine and berries into a punch bowl, add the reserved juice and stir. Pour the sparkling wine into the bowl and serve.
To serve, ladle punch and strawberries into the glass, garnish with mint, if desired, and serve with a cocktail pick, so that the guests can eat the strawberries.