Microwave Christmas Pudding - MS Word document for downloading

The last Sunday before Advent is Stir-up Sunday, and has come to be accepted as the day when people “stir up” the Christmas Puddings. It takes its name from the traditional prayer for the day, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. I’ll add the photograph after I have made the Pudding on Sunday.

Christmas Pudding recipes often rely on steaming for hours, usually 4-8. Sufficient reason alone to go and buy one! Here’s a delicious recipe that can be cooked on the day in about 10 minutes, or made a month before and reheated. This recipe is from a “BBC Good Food reader”, Anne Payne. Yes, it does take a while to measure out the ingredients, but as you will see, this is done in two stages. If time is really short, use 270g (10oz) mixed dried fruit, instead of measuring the currants, raisins and sultanas separately.

It is traditional to flambé the pudding with brandy. I read recently that Fanny Craddock advised using vodka instead, because it burns for longer. Put the vodka (about 125ml (4 fl oz) in a small pan and warm on the hob. Light it, pour it over the pudding and carry ceremoniously to the table. I think we’ll try it this year!

The cooking instructions are for a 750w microwave.

Serves 8-10

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Fruit & Nut Pilaf - MS Word document for downloading

I must remember this recipe after Christmas, as a way of using up the leftover meat. It’s a meal in itself. You can vary the dried fruits you use, according to the meat. Fruit and Nut Pilaf is delicious without meat, in which case, this quantity would probably serve 4. Don’t substitute oil for the butter. The butter is essential for the flavour, unless you are going to be very generous with the seasoning and/or herbs.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes, if you need to cook the rice

This is turning out to be quite a week! No time for lunch again today and it was duty day as well, so I hadn’t managed a coffee at morning break! Both staff are back, I am delighted to say, so I thought things might be getting easier, but not just yet. A kind colleague clearly saw that I was “wilting” as I was going to my afternoon class and offered me some chocolate. Just what I needed! That and a bottle of water kept me going!

After school, another meeting, so I was late going to the supermarket and getting home. I definitely needed a quick to prepare meal this evening! I put the rice onto cook before I started to unpack the shopping. The apricots and sultanas soaked in boiling water for ten minutes, while the onion cooked. Lovely black grapes were on special offer in the supermarket again, so they made a lovely quick pudding.

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Apple & Mincemeat Crumble - MS Word document for downloading

I began to sort out the freezer at the weekend. With half - term coming up, I needed to make room for some Christmas dishes. I found two small containers of mincemeat left over from last Christmas. I had completely forgotten they were there! I decided I’d make an Apple and Mincemeat Crumble on Monday evening. It could cook while the Spicy Chicken casserole was re-heating. Preparing the apple wouldn’t take more than a few moments and I already had the crumble mix ready made in the fridge,(from the extra quantity I’d made when making the Apple and Blackberry Crumble).

After the day I had yesterday, I was so grateful for such a quickly prepared meal. It was cold and drizzling as I arrived home, so a Crumble seemed like real comfort food. The meal smelt wonderful as it cooked. As I was really tired, it did seem an effort to prepare the veg, so I opened a can of sweet corn . While that was heating, I made the custard in the microwave. It was a really delicious meal, with minimum effort on my part. (By the way, the sauce from the Spicy Chicken is good with pork and lamb, as well). Read more »