Cindies

Cindies

I started cooking/baking my mom's recipes a while ago, and recording them in this blog.  I didn't want to forget all my favorites, and thought it would be a good way to share the recipes with my brother's.  As with happens with many of my projects, the ideas gallop away in my head and before I know it, the project has taken on a life of it's own.  I went from gathering the recipes to print out on some letter-sized paper, to taking photos of finished product with the idea of creating a recipe book complete with recipes and pictures.  Ugh!  What a project.  It went from printing out black and white copies of recipes for Mother's Day 2009, to a color cook book... which was then forgotten in the busyness of life.  I am now determined to finish this crazy project... I wanted it to be completed by this coming Mother's Day... but not sure that is an achievable target either.  The good news is I am back on the case at least, progress is being made... time will tell!

This here is a recipe for cinnamon buns, or "Cindies", as nicknamed by my dad.  More often than not, Cindies would be a Saturday morning treat. They are built upon the scone recipe, and are best the day of baking... if not straight out of the oven!  (Another adaption is to grate cheese in the middle for some cheesie scrolls!)

Scones

2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup butter – cold and cubed
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 205C (400F).
Mix dry ingredients.
Cut in cold butter with pastry cutter or use fingers until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add milk all at once with a metal spoon.
Tun out onto floured surface and pat out with fingers until approx. 1/2” thick.

Filling

Butter
3/4 cup+ brown sugar
Cinnamon

Butter the scone mixture.
Sprinkle with brown sugar... may need a bit more than 3/4 cup.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Roll the scone/sugar mixture into a log.
Slice log in 1" segments.
Place each segment on a baking tray.
Bake for approx 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Yields 12.

Apple Crisp



Apples being peeled...

Crumble assembled and ready to place on top of apple mixture



Apple crisp ready to be consumed!

Topping
1/3 cup flour
3/4 rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 butter

Filling
4 cups sliced apples (about 5 medium)
1/2 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon

Method
Pour flour, oats & brown sugar in a bowl & mix well.
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Apple part: Arrange apples in greased casserole dish, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice Spread crisp topping over.

Bake @ 350F for about 35 minutes or until fruit is tender.

Serve with warm or cold, with whipped cream or ice cream.

PS... noticed with the clean up that there were only a few items to get cleaned... that's always a treat!

Cheese Sauce

Driving home from the grocery store this evening (yes - I'm fully aware one should figure out dinner prior to going to the grocery store), I had a real craving for mom's cheese sauce. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to locate the recipe in the Hearthside Cook Book. I was totally impressed with how fast it whipped up. Wouldn't take any longer than mixing up Kraft Dinner... and without the chemicals!

Cheese Sauce

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
¼ tsp dry mustard
1 cup milk
¼ tsp salt
Dash of pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.
Mix dry mustard into the flour, add to the melted butter and blend well.
When the mixture bubbles, add cold milk and cook and stir over moderate heat until the resulting sauce is smooth and thickened.
Add seasoning and blend.
Add cheese and stir over low heat until melted and smooth.

How I made the mac and cheese above:

Made cheese sauce.

Cooked noodles.

Fried up some onions.

When everything was ready, I tossed all together with a pinch of cayenne pepper and popped into a 180C oven for approx. 20 minutes.

Side note: For as long as I can remember, mom babysat kids at home. She made their lunches, so that all the kids would be eating the same food and wouldn't feel left out. This was their favorite sauce... so I know for a fact that this is a kid favorite!

Christmas Pudding

I must be mad... or a glutton for punishment... because I'm attempting to make Christmas pudding again. The last time I made it, I boiled the pot dry, which is never a good thing!




The recipe calls for a cup of mixed fruit. I ended up chopping up way more than needed, but guess I can use that in the next recipe... fruitcake. (I used a mix of dried pinapple, apricots, prunes, currants, apple and pear.)

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients
1 cup sultanas
1 cup mixed fruit
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup flour
Pinch of baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg
2 tbsp rum (or brandy)


Method
Put fruits in a bowl, sprinkle with rum (or brandy), leave overnight.
The next day, cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs.
Add fruit.
Add flour.
Add the pinches of spices etc.
Grease a heatproof bowl.
Place mixture inside.
Double foil and cover tightly.
Place in a double boiler and boil for 4 hours. Don’t let water run dry!
Serve with custard, crème anglaise or rum sauce.







What your pudding should look like prior to double foiling and cooking it in the double boiler.

Cookie Update!

It's holiday baking time again!! I made mom's shortbread cookie recipe again... and updated the original post with pictures. Click on the link below to be taken to the recipe.

Shortbread Cookies

Uh oh... now that I've mastered the shortbread cookies... I guess it's on to Christmas pudding and fruitcake. Do I dare!?

Pumpkin Pie

Just in time for Thanksgiving... mom's pumpkin pie recipe. Sometimes pumpkin pies can taste, well, pumpkin-y. This one has a nice texture and flavor, thanks to the condensed milk. (In my opinion, condensed milk makes everything taste better... the minute the can is open, I'm in there with a spoon!) Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone!




Pumpkin Pie

1 – 9” unbaked pie shell (see pastry recipe)
1 – 14oz can pumpkin (400ml)
1 – can condensed milk
2 – eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves

Preheat oven to 220C.

Beat eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and stir well until blended.

Blend in condensed milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake at 220C for 10 min. Reduce oven temp to 180C and continue baking for 45 min. longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool and top with whipped cream and grated sugared ginger.

Donna’s tip: Cut out tiny pasty ‘leaves’ to edge pie crust with.

Spaghetti Sauce

Sadly, I was not born Italian. I think they’ve got it going on... food, coffee, style, architecture... they know how to live! Having pale freckled skin, fuzzy red hair and a habit of putting my foot in it, I couldn’t be more different from the olive skinned, dark silken-haired, sophisticated Italians. However, I am proud to say that our family has our own spaghetti sauce. It has been nurtured over many conversations with mom on the phone, many notes, and many pots of spaghetti sauce. Thing is, every time, the sauce tastes a little different. Sometimes it’s good... other times it’s simply fantastic. It’s better the next day, and freezes well. Many times I’ve heated up spaghetti leftovers, sat down to eat it, and ‘sunshine-on-a-cloudy-day’... this meal is fabulous, just what I needed!

So, while I may not have been born Italian... there’s still the chance that I could marry an Italian! As long as he can get past my bad habit of putting my foot in it!

Spaghetti Sauce

Tbsp olive oil
Package of extra lean ground beef
Clove of garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp Italian Spice
1 can tomato sauce
1 can stewed/canned tomatos
1 tbsp Ketchup
Pinch of cayenne

Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat.
Add onions and garlic and fry for a minute or two.
Add ground beef and Italian spice, fry till beef is cooked.
Turn beef mixture into a stock pot over medium heat.
Add cans of tomatoes, Ketchup and cayenne.
Bring to a simmer and simmer for half an hour or more.
Serve with spaghetti pasta.

Optional: add handfuls of chopped vegetables... carrots, zuchinni and peppers are all great in this sauce.

Author’s note: This was my favourite meal growing up. Every birthday dinner, it was spaghetti with garlic bread for dinner and angel food cake with pink icing for dessert.