Recipe Time

RAG PUDDING

1 cup sugar                          1 cup milk
1 cup currants or raisins         shaking of cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder               2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil        Flour to thicken

Wet sack in cold water put in pudding and place in kettle of boiling water for cook for 2 hours.  Serve with sauce/dip.

DIP

1 1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
butter size of egg
shaking of nutmeg
Cream and Brandy
1 tablespoon cornstarch to thicken

This recipe comes from a cookbook that my Grandma kept.  Many of the recipes in her cookbook were handed down from her Mother, and who knows how many generations before that.  I love that she mixes standard sizes of ingredients (tsp, tbl, cup) with NON-stand sizes (shaking of cinnamon, butter size of egg). 

Grandma was an amazing cook.  Even her string beans were amazing.  She cooked the fresh beans in beef consomme, and added sliced almonds for garnish.  I was not a picky eater but I was allergic to lots and lots of foods.  It was Grandma who researched what foods an extremely allergic person should eat.

At Grandma's we would sit on the porch and watch the evening slide into twilight and night.  I was always safe with Grandma.  There were no kids there waiting to attack me, to tear down my self-esteem.  That happened at school. 

Grandma did not show love in the traditional ways.  She never called me sweetie, or honey.  She did call me a "Cute little shit," and "Knothead."  Somehow, somewhere along the way I learned that those non-traditional Grandma terms for me meant the same as the traditional terms!

When Grandma was 75, my cousin and I visited her for a weekend.  She gave us some chalk and we drew a hopscotch on her porch.  Imagine our surprise and wonder when 75 year old Grandma joined us in a game!  Grandma's body aged, but her spirit was ageless...filled with wonder and delight at life's pleasures.

The day that Grandma passed away at 91 I was pregnant and felt our baby move within me for the first time.  It seemed that I learned more that day about the seasons of life...the beginnings and endings.  I personally believe that my Grandma helped our baby girl get ready for this earth.  

I love you Grandma...I hereby challenge you to a game of hopscotch in the Heavens above!