Meatless Monday - Grown Up Applesauce

It’s Meatless Monday again, and although my recipe this week would work as an accompaniment to a meal that is not meat free, I think it is just the sort of thing that is special enough to save for a Meatless Monday!

This applesauce is a wonderful treat, and makes a beautiful accompaniment to just about anything, from vegetarian sausages to a vegetable gratin. 

It’s also a wonderful dessert, with or without a bit of cream. You can serve it warm or cold – and one of my favourite things to do is to serve a bit of it, warm, in a bowl, topped with some good vanilla ice cream and some crumbled ginger biscuits. Ambrosia!

You can use cooking or eating apples for this, and I find it tastes best if I use more than one variety of apples in a batch if possible. We love cinnamon in our house, so I always put lots in, but do go according to your own tastes. It gives the apple sauce a lovely colour as well as a great flavour.

Calvados, or apple brandy, works best for this, but ordinary brandy is good too. I suspect apple schnapps would work as well, although I honestly haven’t tried it yet!

About 2 to 3 cups of peeled, sliced apples

¼ cup Calvados or brandy

1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Put the apple slices, Calvados or brandy and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir well and heat over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to soften. (Try not to let them boil too much.) This usually takes about half an hour.

I then use a potato masher to crush the slices down and give the applesauce a nice, chunky texture.

Serve either as a meal accompaniment or dessert. Leftovers (if you have any) keep well in the fridge for a couple of days.

The 21st Century Housewife's Blueberry Sauce

I developed this recipe a couple of Sundays ago, when I discovered that I had covered all the bases for Sunday lunch except dessert. Faced with serving a frozen store bought Blueberry and White Chocolate cheesecake that was hiding at the back of the freezer, I wondered how I could bring it up a level and make it a bit more special. A rather large package of frozen blueberries provided me with the inspiration I needed.

The best thing about this sauce is that as it uses frozen berries, cooked from frozen, so not only can you make it all year round but it is also great when you need something special at the last minute. It’s nice to know you have a recipe up your sleeve that you can keep all the ingredients on hand for. Of course, you can definitely make this from fresh blueberries, although I only needed a teaspoon or so of cornstarch when I tested making the sauce that way. (It’s a hard job, but someone’s got to do it!) The frozen berries give off more water so they need a bit more help to thicken, especially if you include the tiny alcoholic kick I like to add.

I used Ocean Spray’s newest juice, their Light Blueberry juice, the first time I made this but orange juice works just as well. The Cointreau or Grand Mariner could just as easily be brandy or Amaretto if you preferred, and of course the alcohol is purely optional and can be left out entirely.

I served this at room temperature with the cheesecake on the Sunday and it was scrumptious, and then I kept the remainder refrigerated. Monday night I warmed it gently for a few minutes and we had it over vanilla ice cream as pictured above. It took hardly any effort to put together but it looked and tasted pretty impressive - exactly the kind of dessert I like!

4 cups frozen blueberries

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons orange or blueberry juice

2 tablespoons Cointreau or Grand Mariner (optional)

1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with a little water

Bring blueberries, sugar and juice gently to a boil.  Turn back the heat a bit and cook for several minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the Cointreau, if using, and cook a little more. Add the cornstarch and water mixture, stirring through thoroughly.  Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Turn the heat to low and continue to stir and cook for a few minutes to cook away any taste of the starch. Pour into a heat proof container and allow to cool a bit.

Can be cooled and stored in the fridge for a day or so.

The 21st Century Housewife's Raspberry Almond Muffins/Cupcakes

Is it a muffin?

or a cupcake? 

This recipe kind of has a split personality, because it really can be muffins or cupcakes, depending on what you do with it. The ingredients themselves are pretty healthy. The ground and chopped almonds, raspberries and wheat germ are all great sources of vitamins and minerals. There is sugar in this recipe, but only a small amount compared to most muffins as the raspberries, coconut and almond extract lend it a real natural sweetness. So it really is up to you whether you serve them for breakfast as muffins, or dress them up and take them out for dessert!

1½ cups flour

½ cup ground almonds

½ cup wheat germ

¾ cup finely chopped almonds

½ cup desiccated coconut

¾ cup white sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup mild olive oil (not extra virgin) or mild oil of your choice

1 cup milk

1 tsp almond extract

1 generous cup raspberries

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground almonds, wheat germ, chopped almonds, coconut, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the oil, milk and almond extract.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large bowl all at once.  Very gently fold in the raspberries.

Scoop into greased or lined muffin tins. The cooking time will vary depending on your oven and the size of the muffins/cupcakes, but I usually find that 20 to 30 minutes at 350℉ or 170℃  (160℃ for fan ovens)is just about right.  The muffins are done when a skewer or piece of dry spaghetti inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack. (Be sure to cool completely before frosting and decorating if you are using these as cupcakes.)  These are best kept in the fridge after they are cool.

Meatless Monday - Healthy Eton Mess

Eton Mess is a traditional British summer dessert that has been popular since the 1930’s, when it was invented at Eton College. Founded by Henry VI in the fifteenth century, Eton boasts many famous graduates, including most male members of the British Royal Family and many British Prime Ministers.

There are several theories as to how Eton Mess was invented, including one about an excitable labrador and a picnic basket (my personal favourite!) but one thing everyone agrees on is how delicious it is. The only problem is, it is absolutely loaded with calories and fat. You see, Eton Mess consists of crushed fruit (most often strawberries), crushed meringue, whipped cream and confectioners sugar.

I’ve developed a much healthier version which tastes almost as good as the original and makes a fantastic summer dessert. Meringues are not, in themselves, that high in calories and this is a great way to use up leftover meringue - or even to use up meringue that didn’t quite turn out as you planned! Having said that, I often find myself using store bought meringues for this and they work really well too. 

You can make this dessert a little while ahead and refrigerate it, but I don’t recommend leaving it for more than a couple of hours as the whole idea is the meringues retain some of their crispiness.  This recipe will serve about 4 people, depending on how big your serving dishes are.  You can serve this at the table from a large serving bowl, but I prefer to serve it in individual serving dishes. It’s a great opportunity to use those pretty crystal glasses you may have tucked at the back of the cupboard!

1½ cups sliced strawberries

2 cups strawberry or vanilla yogurt

½ cup crushed meringues + about 2 tablespoons extra for decorating

Mix everything except the extra 2 tablespoons of meringue together lightly in a large mixing bowl.  Spoon into serving dishes. Sprinkle a little reserved meringue on top of each dish for decoration.

Enjoy without guilt, preferably in the sunshine!

The 21st Century Housewife’s Healthy Mini Fruit Parfaits

This is a delicious, healthy and fresh dessert that only takes minutes to put together, yet is pretty enough to serve at a dinner party.  It also gives you a great opportunity to use those special glass dishes - or even teacups - you have tucked away in the cupboard or china cabinet.

The proportions of the ingredients depend on how many desserts you are making and the size of your dishes, so this is just a guide.  Of course you can use any berries you like - I just happened to have strawberries on hand when I took the photographs.  Just use a flavour of yogurt that compliments the berries.  (Blueberries are lovely with peach yogurt by the way.)  The almond-y Amaretto liqueur does give a lovely flavour, but feel free to leave it out if you are serving these to children or those who don't want to drink alcohol.

You can make these parfaits about an hour or so before dinner and refrigerate, but the sooner you can serve them the better as you don't want the Amaretti biscuits to go too soggy.

For four servings you will need about:-

12 Amaretti biscuits
4 teaspoons Amaretto Disaronno liqueur (optional)
2 cups low fat, low calorie strawberry yogurt
about 1½ cups sliced strawberries

4 pretty glass dishes

Place one Amaretti biscuit in the bottom of each glass.

If using, sprinkle 1 teaspoon Amaretto over each biscuit.  Layer some yogurt over top of the biscuit.

Add a layer of sliced strawberries, and another layer of yogurt.  Then add a final layer of strawberries.

Crush the remaining Amaretti biscuits and sprinkle the crumbs over top.  Enjoy without an ounce of guilt!

Rice Krispie Squares

Remember these? If you live in North America you’ll remember them from every buffet table and every school bake sale of the 1970’s and 80’s. They were a huge part of my childhood.

I have fond memories of making these with my Mom. I can remember painstaking counting out the “40 marshmallows” the recipe called for. My Mom always said, “Honey, you don’t have to count the marshmallows. There’s usually about 40 in a package – maybe a little more, maybe a little less, but it won’t matter.” I was okay with the more, but not with the less – so I kept counting!

I used to make them with my son when he was little. Then one time when we were making them, he slipped on the stool he was standing on to stir the marshmallows. I couldn’t grab him in time and he managed to catch his neck on the pan and burnt it as he fell. (Yes I know now that it was a dumb idea to have a five-year old standing on a stool to reach the stove, but at the time it seemed perfectly safe. The stool was especially for kids and I was standing right there.) Although it wasn’t a serious burn (I took him to the doctor to be sure) and it didn’t leave any mark, we never made Rice Krispie squares together again, despite his numerous requests that we do so. In fact, although he is scarred neither physically nor emotionally from the burn experience, it took me years to get over it. The first time we made Rice Krispie squares together again was about a month ago. My son is seventeen years old.

Anyway, since then I’ve been making up for lost time, and we’ve been having Rice Krispie squares quite regularly. You’d be amazed by how much people love them. Over here in England where I live now, not every one remembers them from their childhood, but they still love them! Marshmallows over here are somehow different in taste and texture, making them pretty much unsuitable for melting, and it used to be nigh on impossible to get North American style marshmallows. (I used to bring marshmallows back with me in my suitcase when I visited Canada.) Now you can get what I consider to be “proper” marshmallows fairly easily, at the big warehouse store Costco and from speciality importers of foods from Canada and the US like American Sweets in Aldershot and the Canada Shop in Covent Garden in London. Both have on-line stores too.

To make these sweet treats, I use the time-honoured recipe that Kellogg’s post on their North American website, with the addition of one extra ingredient. My best friend’s Mom used to make the most amazing Rice Krispie squares and she shared it with my Mom. Just add one to two tablespoons of corn syrup as you stir in the Rice Krispies. If you are familiar with Rice Krispie squares you will be amazed at the difference it makes to how they taste. Okay, okay, it’s yet more sugar in something that is already alarmingly sweet, but nobody ever said Rice Krispie squares were healthy. Kellogg’s may have tried to imply it, but seriously – 40 marshmallows and three tablespoons of butter definitely negates any health benefit of eating something made with rice cereal, no matter how nutritious that rice cereal might be to start with. A little corn syrup isn’t going to make that big a difference! If you live in the UK and can’t get corn syrup easily (the Canada Shop does stock it) you can always use Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

Anyway, I urge you to give these delicious squares a try, whether you have ever made or tasted them before or not. For me, they are a blast from the past but even if they are new to you I’m sure you will enjoy them. And seriously, next time your little one mentions those dreaded words “school bake sale” – these take about ten minutes to make and they definitely qualify as home-made. Just cut them up in small squares make little packages of three or four in food safe cellophane bags, tying them with a ribbon. I can tell you from experience, they disappear from bake sale tables almost before anything else, no matter what country you are in!

Rice Krispie Squares

3 tablespoons butter
40 marshmallows - American style, a brand such as Rocky Mountain, not European-style marshmallows like Haribo
(This is about 1 large package or half the very large package of Rocky Mountain brand. You can also use 1 large package of mini marshmallows.)
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 to 2 tablespoons corn syrup

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low to medium heat. Add the marshmallows, and melt into the butter, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful the marshmallows don’t start to catch on the bottom of the pan.

When the marshmallows are melted, remove the pan from the heat. Quickly stir in the Rice Krispies and the corn syrup, making sure the cereal gets totally coated in the buttery, sticky marshmallows.

Now here’s the tricky bit. Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch pan that is about 2 inches deep. Now, using two buttered knives (just run them along a block of butter to lightly coat them), firmly press the mixture into the pan until it looks like this.



Allow to cool at room temperature. Then cover with Saran Wrap or cling film and put in the fridge. They will keep for a couple of days in there, if they last that long!

Serve cut into small squares with a knife. Once they are cool, they are not so sticky so are pretty easy to serve. As I said, it’s hard to qualify these as a nutritious snack, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that as this recipe involves cereal, there must be some good in it! Perhaps it is nostalgia on my part, but for some reason, they taste particularly lovely with a glass of ice-cold milk.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Cointreau Soused Orange Slices

This may well be the easiest recipe I have ever posted. Inspired by beautiful blood oranges and some very pretty glass dishes, I had an idea for something so quick and delicious I could hardly believe it might work. But it did. In fact, it was amazing.

Blood oranges have a relatively short season. The months they are available varies depending on what country you are in and the weather conditions. Here in England we can usually get them imported from Italy in late January/February, but the season can start as early as November and carry on into March. Athocyanin, which is a pigment more commonly found in flowers than fruits and vegetables, gives blood oranges their distinctive red colour. They can be slightly more tart than ordinary oranges but are very delicious.

I served this as a simple dessert for two last night, but I think it would be wonderful at a dinner party, particularly where there is going to be a cheese course and you only want a light dessert. It would also be a lovely for the summer, although you would only be able to use ordinary oranges as blood oranges are not in season then. I don’t honestly think it would matter though.

I used both blood oranges and ordinary oranges in this recipe because I like the idea of the contrasting colours. Instead of peeling the oranges by hand I used a knife and carefully pared the skin off along with the pith. It can help to cut a small slice off the bottom of the orange first so that you can sit it flat on a chopping board to do this. Be sure to use a sharp knife and be careful of your fingers!

It’s nice to serve this in pretty glass dishes so the colour shows through.

You need:-

2 to 3 oranges per person, peeled and sliced in rounds
(try to remove all the seeds)
about 2 tablespoons of Cointreau or Grand Mariner per person

Peel and slice the oranges and place them all in a fairly deep bowl. Pour the liqueur over top, covering the oranges as much as possible. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a cool place (not the fridge) to soak for about an hour or so, gently turning the oranges from time to time. The liqueur encourages the oranges to release some of their juices, so a lovely boozy juice will develop.

Divide the orange slices between the serving dishes and pour some of the juice over top. Serve with a little whipped cream or crème fraîche on the side for people to dollop on top. I have a feeling this would also be delicious served as a topping for good vanilla ice cream.

My Mom's Mincemeat Tart Oat Squares

This recipe is one of my Mom’s, from the recipe box she left me. The box is such a treasure to me as it contains so many memories of my Mom and the things we used to cook together. I have to admit to playing with the recipe a bit over the years to make it my own, but the original idea is my Mom’s. These squares are great for this time of year as not only are they seasonal, but the oats in them almost allow you to convince yourself they are good for you!  It’s the perfect recipe for a Saturday afternoon, when hopefully you have not only the time, but also the inclination, to bake something delicious. Having said that it is so quick and easy you could even put it together after a frantic day of shopping.   These delicious squares can be cut in small squares for dessert buffets, or larger ones if you want to serve it as a dessert at a sit down dinner.  (In which case a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or a nice dollop of whipped cream is a lovely accompaniment!) Be sure to use proper oatmeal, not the instant kind.
 
¾ cup rolled oats (not instant)
¾ cup all purpose (plain) flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup butter, (cold, cut in small cubes)
1 – ¼ cups mincemeat (store bought is fine, but choose a good brand)
2 tablespoon rum, brandy, Cointreau or Grand Mariner
(Cointreau or Grand Mariner give the recipe a gorgeous citrus hit)
 
Grease and flour an eight inch square pan.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF or about 150º - 170ºC.  Put the mincemeat in a small bowl and stir in the liquor.
 
In a medium size bowl or in the food processor, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Add the butter and either process or cut in until the mixture is crumbly.  Firmly press half this mixture into the square pan.  Pop the pan in the freezer for about fifteen minutes.  Put the remaining of the oat mixture in the fridge for the same amount of time.
 
Remove the square pan from the freezer and the remaining oat mixture from the fridge. Carefully spread the boozy mincemeat over the top of the oat mixture in the square pan.    Gently sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.  Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.   (Ovens vary so wildly it is hard to say so please do keep an eye on the pan.)  When the squares are cooked they will be lightly golden brown on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  (Seriously, do not cut into these when they are warm as they will just crumble everywhere.)
 
When they are totally cool you can slice in either small squares to eat with your fingers as a snack or on a buffet, or in larger ones to serve with whipped cream or ice cream as a dessert.  If you have any left over, they will keep in a sealed container for a few days. You can store them in the fridge, but bring them to room temperature before eating.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do in our house!

Grandma Ruby's Lemon Sponge Pudding

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is hosting a recipe party today, and I thought I would post one of my favourite recipes ever. I'm also linking it to Foodie Friday on the Designs by Gollum blog for Friday. It’s my oldest family recipe – at least I think it is – at any rate it is the only one I can date so accurately. I made this recipe loads when I was a little girl, using a recipe card written in my Grandma’s hand. When I got married, my Mom gave the recipe to me written out in her own handwriting. Later, she gave me the card Grandma had written. Then, after my Mom died and I inherited her recipe collection, I found a small, yellowing newspaper clipping from the 1920’s for a recipe very similar to Grandma’s! She had clearly made a few changes to make the recipe her own, but it must have been her inspiration. As you can see from the stains on the cards in the photograph, all the recipes have been well used!

Now I’ve seen lots of variations on this theme over the years for a pudding cake that creates its own sauce “magically” as it bakes, leaving you with a lovely light sponge on the top and a sauce underneath. This is the best I have ever tasted though as the cake is angelically light, and the sauce has a marvellously sweet yet refreshingly tart taste. Following the family tradition, I have “tweaked” Grandma’s recipe a little to bring it into the 21st Century and also used more modern measurements (my Grandma’s recipe was measured out in “dessert spoons”). However the essence of the recipe is still my Grandma’s, inspired by something she clipped out of a newspaper by a young bride back in Canada in1925, before my own Mom was even born. Every time I make it I think of my Grandma, my Mom and I, making the same recipe all down the generations. I’ve taught my son to make it too. I love a recipe with a history!

Like many good recipes, this one is a bit labour intensive, but the spectacular finish is well worth the effort. To cook it, you need to put the baking dish you are cooking the pudding cake in into another larger empty baking dish. You then pour boiling water into the larger pan, so that it comes half way up the side of the outside of the pan the pudding is in. This slightly fiddly step makes all the difference to the results as it helps the “magic” to happen. This recipe will serve 4 people.

¼ cup butter
2/3 (two thirds) cup sugar
4 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/3 cup all purpose (plain) flour
1 cup milk
½ cup lemon juice
Pinch salt

Butter a medium size baking dish or casserole. You can use just about any shape or depth dish, as long as it will fit inside another larger baking dish. Preheat oven to 325 F or 150 C.

Cream butter with all but 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl. Beat the egg yolks into this mixture. Beat in the lemon rind and the flour until just mixed. Add the milk and lemon juice. Stir well until you have a smooth mixture.

Put the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light. Now gradually beat in the remaining two tablespoons of sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg white mixture very gently into the lemon mixture with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be quite loose and uneven. Take care not to over-mix. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish. Now place the dish with the pudding in it into the larger dish. Boil the kettle and very carefully pour boiling water into the larger outside dish until it is just half way up the sides of the dish with the pudding in. (Take great care not to get any water in the pudding.)

Very carefully, place both baking dishes (the one inside of the other) in the preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes until gently firm and brown on top.

Remove from the oven carefully (any remaining water will be boiling hot) and take the baking dish or casserole with the pudding in it out of the outer baking dish. Pat the outside of the baking dish with the pudding in it dry as best as possible and take the pudding to the table. Serve immediately, making sure everyone gets some of the lovely lemon sauce that is hiding under the spongy pudding.