ABC, at eight months, is adding new foods to her repertoire.
This week, she has enjoyed mushroom ravioli, bucatini with tomato sauce, and caramel panna cotta.
She was especially enthused about me sharing my panna cotta with her.
It’s not surprising.
After all, one eighth of her ethnic heritage is Italian.
I have not (yet) fallen off the face of the earth.
Life is increasingly complicated, so I haven’t been able to post much lately.
It’s so complicated that I forgot to post for National Indian Pudding Day yesterday! Here I am belated sharing an Indian Pudding blog post from last year. Enjoy!
I am very pleased to announce that I have another poem published today! The blog of Silver Birch Press has published “Making Aunt Gert’s Indian Pudding” as part of their “My Sweet Word” series. You can find it here: https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/making-aunt-gerts-indian-pudding-poem-by-joanne-corey-my-sweet-word-series/
Enjoy!
Update: The recipe is now available here: https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/indian-pudding-recipe/
Yesterday, my mom, known here as Nana, turned 84!
I had planned to take her and Paco out to supper; B had a business dinner he had to attend, so he could not join us. Unfortunately, late last week, Nana came down with a horrible chest cold and we decided that I would get takeout from the restaurant instead.
We were lucky in that her cough improved enough that she was more rested and comfortable for her birthday. She got calls from my two sisters and her three grandchildren who are stateside and a special youtube rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” from my daughter E and her husband L, who are currently visiting his family in London. There were lots of birthday cards, too.
I was happy to see that Nana had gotten some of her appetite back when I arrived with the dinners at 5:00. She and Paco really enjoyed their main course, but did save room because I had brought a surprise dessert.
I had made a side trip to one of the local Italian restaurants to buy panna cotta for Nana. They change the flavor they offer on a regular basis and the day’s offering was cappuccino with hazelnut. I hoped Nana would like it.
She did! Usually, when we get it when we dine out, she shares it with someone else, but, for her birthday, she ate it all herself! It was great to see her enjoying it, especially as her appetite had been so low the few days prior.
Just to clarify, I also brought a carrot cake for Paco and tiramisu for me, so we all had a treat.
Nana said it was one of the best birthday dinners she had had in a long time, so mission accomplished.
Best wishes, Mom, for your 85th year! Thank you for making our family what it is and for showing us that something as simple as dinner and dessert together can be a great joy!
When I visited with daughter E in Honolulu for five weeks last year, one of our favorite treats was mochi ice cream, a Japanese-style bon bon made of pounded sticky rice wrapped around ice cream. The shops in Honolulu had many different flavors, a number of them tropical fruits.
When I returned home, I tried to find mochi ice cream. I finally found some green tea ones at Wegman’s, but my body doesn’t react well to tea, so I did’t buy them.
Yesterday, I happened to walk by the case and there were vanilla and strawberry mochi ice cream available.
I bought a box of strawberry and ate one after dinner last night.
It was delicious, but the memories of eating them with E made it all the sweeter.
*****
This post is part of Linda’s Just Jot It January. Join us! First here first: http://lindaghill.com/2016/01/25/just-jot-it-january-25th-prestidigitation/
To find the rules for Just Jot It January, click here and join in today.
I think we are finished baking Christmas cookies. B did the bulk of the work, with assists from me and T.
We have:
lemon pizzelles
chocolate pizzelles
sugar cookies
gingerbread with frosting
pfeffernüsse
shortbreads
cranberry pistachio biscotti
We also have homemade fruitcake which is made with dried fruits rather than candied.
There is still a batch of fudge to make to be ready for Christmas dinner dessert.
Lasagna will be the main course. We started making it for Christmas Day when my daughters and I were involved in choir for children’s Mass on Christmas morning. Lasagna was an easy thing to prepare ahead and pop in the oven after church so we could still have dinner at noon. We always make the lasagna using the recipe my mom used to make. Because she grew up in an Italian immigrant household, she always had Italian food for Christmas, so we appreciate making that our tradition, too. It’s even more special that she is here to share in our Christmas dinner, along with my dad and B’s mom.
This year will be even more fun because daughter E and her husband L arrived today from Honolulu. We are so excited to have both daughters and our son-in-law here to celebrate with us!
November 13th is National Indian Pudding Day! In keeping with a Top of JC’s Mind tradition, here is an Indian pudding themed poem for you. Enjoy!
Indian Pudding
by Joanne Corey
It’s simple –
an old family recipe
milk
cornmeal
tapioca
molasses
sugar
a bit of salt
butter the size of an egg
Two hours in a 300 degree oven.
But the sweetness brings memories
of Great-Aunt Gert
and Thanksgiving
and generations of frugal New Englanders
making do with what they had
to fill children’s bellies with warmth.
Aunt Gert’s recipe can be found here: https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/indian-pudding-recipe/
Yesterday, I posted about my poem “Making Aunt Gert’s Indian Pudding” which precipitated several requests for the recipe. So, here it is, with various notes, because I can never seem to share a recipe without side commentary. Sorry that the measurements are all US ones. The recipe is pretty forgiving, so if you do have to estimate amounts, don’t worry about it.
Indian Pudding
2 Tablespoons cornmeal*
3 Tablespoons tapioca
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup molasses
1 quart warm milk
1 cup cold milk
butter size of egg
Add first four ingredients to molasses – then add cold milk and mix well. When the quart of milk is thoroughly heated, add gradually to above mixture. Pour into buttered 2-quart casserole. Add butter and bake two hours at 300 degrees F. Stir occasionally first 1/2 hour. Serve with ice cream.
*For a thicker texture, increase cornmeal to 6 Tablespoons and stir occasionally for the first hour. I’ve been doing this variation lately.
Other notes:
I’ve made this with whole milk, 2% milk, skim milk, and lactose-free milk. I have absolutely no idea what would happen if one attempted it with soy milk or almond milk.
It’s best to bake this a day ahead and then store in the refrigerator. The flavors seem to meld better after they set.
You can reheat individual servings in the microwave or reheat the whole casserole dish in the oven or microwave. You definitely want to serve it warm so that the ice cream melts over it as you eat it.
You can experiment with adding spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I happen to like this recipe without them, but many Indian pudding recipes do add them.
Indian pudding is deceptively filling. Don’t try to eat a large bowl unless you are very hungry.
I am very pleased to announce that I have another poem published today! The blog of Silver Birch Press has published “Making Aunt Gert’s Indian Pudding” as part of their “My Sweet Word” series. You can find it here: https://silverbirchpress.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/making-aunt-gerts-indian-pudding-poem-by-joanne-corey-my-sweet-word-series/
Enjoy!
Update: The recipe is now available here: https://topofjcsmind.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/indian-pudding-recipe/
This evening, E introduced me to mochi ice cream. It was delicious! I had a guava, a white chocolate raspberry, and a pineapple coconut. The pineapple coconut was my favorite!
I may have to search for it when I get home…
Joanne Corey 