Christmas Pudding
Chopping
Mid-November is a good time to make Christmas Pudding! As usual Constance was an invaluable assistant.
Wring the cloth
She watched me wring the boiling water out of the pudding cloth…
Flour
…and helped sprinkle on flour….
Rubbing it in
and supervised rubbing it in.
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Spoonsful
She scooped out a mound of filling…
Help with the knots
…and helped with the knots…
Into Boiling Water
…but stood well back while the pudding went into the boiling water.
kitchen paper foil and string
She helped to fill the pudding basins with the rest of the mixture, and covered them with kitchen paper, then a layer of foil, tied down firmly with string!
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A Wee Pud
There was enough for a Hitty-sized pud…
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Boiling
…which, like the big ones had to cook on the stove top for six hours, continuously being topped up with boiling water from the kettle so it wouldn’t boil dry.
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Tea At Last
Constance was happy to help, but we were all glad when all the puddings came off the heat, and we could use the kettle to boil water for restorative cups of tea!! Now we have to store the puddings till Christmas-time!
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We used Roz Denny’s Christmas Pudding Recipe from the Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook – we’ve eaten this version, made by relatives, and can pronounce it delicious (Click here to see last year’s pudding in it’s moment of glory!)
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We hope our invitation is in the mail…the Christmas pudding will no doubt be delicious and well-received. Quimper Hittys standing at the ready with quilts to smother the flames should they burn out of control?
Oh we don’t stand on ceremony here at the Hitty Cupboard – we have PLENTY of pudding to share, you are always welcome!
Brings “Dickens classic “A Christmas Carroll” to mind. Mrs. Cratchit’s Christmas Pudding was a “triumph” and so is this story. Sweet and endearing in every way…am crazy about the stove with the pudding steaming and that fabulous rocking chair with our much-loved Constance having her cup of tea when she is finished.
A wonderful friend sent us this rocking chair – it was made by Albert Nadeau, an artisan in St Jean-Port Joli, Quebec! Constance loves sitting in it, it is very restful. The Hittys favourite photographer took most of the pictures today – I will pass on your kind compliments!
We are beginning our Christmas preparations here, too 🙂 Happy Pudding!
It is good to get the puddings done, pretty soon we’ll have to start on the other cookies! It takes a long time to get all the favourite recipes made – though not nearly as long a time for the cookies to evaporate!
It’s one of the laws of nature. 🙂
Stepping into your kitchen with Constance alongside is purely delightful. Thanks for another homey narrative from the QH household.
You are very welcome – and we like the company (it feels like you are encouraging us from just the other side of the electrons!)
so very interesting. Must admit that I have never tasted Christmas pudding but have often read of it in stories. So charming to see Constance busily minding her own wee pudding. Puts me in a holiday spirit!
It is a tradition adopted from our favourite photographer’s side of the family. We like making it and watching it being doused with brandy on fire – but I come from a Swedish/Finnish ancestry and don’t actually have that particular Christmas flavour in my genes!
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