December 2022 Food Challenge: Christmas Desserts

A novel way to combine (faux) seafood and dessert?

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Is that a mocap from ā€˜The Pirates of the Caribbeanā€™? :laughing::rofl:

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Nah. That is the one who has predicted the winner of the World Cup. Brazil apparently.

Ris a la mande (Riz a lā€™amande in French).
Cook Danish rice pudding (see it on the net). You can actually cook it in a bed - helps it not stick and burn (just get it to the boil first and then wrap it in blankets for about 1 hour - put on stove again until thick).
Vanilla, Almonds and a bit of sugar. Serve with warm black cherries - preserved in their own juice - thickened and poss. sweetened if not sweet enough already).
Best dessert ever ā€¦

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Trifle is always a winner at Xmas, great way to cool down.

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Kept it simple with a butter short crust base, pre-baked and store bought. It was already in the pantry! A convenient excuse to save 10 minutes and some baking time. Could not bring myself to top it with a crumb, the short crust base seemed enough with the shallow fill.

Nearly forgot to get a pic. Iā€™m clearly no food photographer. Blackberry and apple tart for those not up with the prior posts. For a Christmas flavour added cinnamon and grated fresh ginger, to the apples as they lightly cooked in butter and sugar sauce. Blackberries hardly need any cooking, added at end of cooking and left to infuse as the mixture cooled.

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Voted for, and planned to have, pavlova. One Pav is too much for me, so I need an occasion to share. However, both social opportunities fell through and no one was visiting us, so no Pav!

Fell back on a steamed pud from our baker, the last one, a little defective having escaped its bounds and looking a trite lopsided. No home cooked delights, but at least I was noshing down the most favoured fare as voted by my fellow Choice Community - Plum Pudding!

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This year we had homemade sago plum pudding, the recipe is a family favourite and a modification of:

For the sago, if it is instant sago, then it only needs soaking for an hour. If standard sago, soak overnight to ensure the pearls soften (otherwise they will be chewy in the pudding).

We also added mixed dried fruit (no peel). One could also add dates or prunes or any other dried fruit one prefers. About 1/3 of the sugar was also used - the fruit makes it sweet enough without the need to add a lot of sugar. The pudding is very moist and had a delicious flavour (noting that no spices are added which id doesnā€™t need).

We also did a trial run with a traditional plum recipe handed down through the generations but found it drier and not as we remember in our childhood.

We cooked about 16 plum puddings all up and gave them to friends and neighbours for Christmas. We have also had many requests for the recipe from those we gifted them to.

(and if you are wondering, no, not a relative of Flo but a grandmother was active in the CWA and this recipe is from one of their old cookbooks).

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No plums! Puzzlement for the younger ones at the table. :joy:
Also a well established favourite here. Our family recipe for the same also lacks plums, but preferences finely chopped dates and a half teaspoon of mixed spice.

A pressure cooker can shorten the cook to around 50 minutes. Rest the basin on egg rings in the cooker. Add two cups of water and steam vented for 20 minutes. Top up if required to ensure at least half a cup of water remains and cook under pressure for a further 30 minutes.

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From: Pudforallseasons.com.au

Why is Christmas pudding also known as plum pudding?

The interesting thing is, plum pudding does not contain any plum! This goes back to the Victorian practice of substituting dried plums with other dried fruits, such as raisins. Dried plums or prunes were so popular that any goods which contained dried fruits were referred to ā€˜plum cakesā€™ or ā€˜plum puddingsā€™.

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It would be useful for others to know the product brand and the source of the GM attribute. I saw packs of very plump blackberries, Driscols brand in Woolies at a premium price.

As an aside.
My knowledge of the commercial production is essentially zero. I do know that there are many varieties. Some have been developed by traditional selection of natural hybrids or cross breeding long before GM was developed. Commercial production of soft fruits favours varieties which hold their size, shape, colour, travel well and present as perfect for as long as possible. Taste comes a distant second. I canā€™t store mine fresh picked from the weed patches more than a few days. They bleed readily and soften quickly. This years crop has been paltry, possibly due to a lack of secondary cane growth.

For those keen a little more on what is generally considered a weed. NSW WeedWise

Iā€™ve locally sourced tube stock of Australian native raspberries to plant out as a trial of a better alternative.

Edit note: link to commercial varieties listing added.

The blackberries arenā€™t genetically modified through inserting DNA into the genome of an organism using establish laboratory techniques. In Australia there are only three GM crops grown, that being cotton, canola and safflower. It is worth reading the OGTR website about GM crops approved in Australia and are grown commercially:

Blackberries have been subjected to traditional crossbreeding programs to increase yield, size etc. This has resulted in some with their shape being more elongated (like a mulberry) than round.

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Almost all edible fruits and vegetables have been extensively modified by selective breeding during cultivation. Some so much that you would not recognise their progenitor. In past centuries the aim was to reduce toxins, increase yields and improve eating qualities. Recent work has focused on looks and durability. This has resulted in the indestructible tomato and the giant red strawberry with almost no flavour.

Food animals have also been extensively modified the same way. By that definition there would be very little we eat that is not GM.

That is correct that over thousands of years of evolution or through breeding, genes can change, but this isnā€™t the definition of genetic modification. GM has a specific scientific definition where it is the artificial transfer of genes from one organisation to another using generic engineering techniques. The WHO gives a good definition of what GM is and it shouldnā€™t be confused with breeding or natural evolutionā€¦

https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-genetically-modified#tab=tab_1

And this website explains the difference between breeding and GM:

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I see the blackberry weed around growing in some areas. Takes over growing in thickets woody hardy. Some local areas consider it worse than other areas to remove it

The plant like many others introduced in the 1800ā€™s has an interesting history in Australia. It can be time consuming and difficult to eradicate. For discussion in a different topic if there is any further interest.

Iā€™ll suggest when compared with the plumper store sold versions that the ones growing here might qualify as a heirloom variety! :joy:

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A good (by good, I mean ā€˜Golden Northā€™) real bowl of ice cream.

Maybe a sprinkle of Milo on top :slight_smile:

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I bought a pack of mini pavlova shells from Coles and made them up two at a time. Served me well.

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