Pear Gingerbread Upsidedown Cake

My brother in Mexico has acquired 18 litres !!!!!!!!! of molasses. He wants some ideas on how to use it up. Most recipes I have use small amounts of molasses. We love gingerbread, and this recipe, from The New Maritimes Seasonal Cookbook (a very good cookbook) is a family favourite.

Topping:
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 peeled ripe pears, thinly sliced

Spread butter in a 9 inch square baking pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange pear slices in overlapping rows.

Gingerbread:
1/4 cup soft margarine or butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup hot water

In a medium bowl cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in egg and molasses until batter is light. Combine flours, and seasonings to molasses mixture alternately with hot water. Spoon batter over pears. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven for 30 -40 minutes.Cool on rack 10 minutes and invert on serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

Potluck offerings

The Becka and I both prepared for potluck meals last night. Here are our simple recipes.

Wraps

Large 10" wheat tortillas. Spinach or other flavoured varieties add colour. The high fiber, high protein wraps are very flexible and durable, and are tasty too.

Fillings:
These fillings are my favourites as they survive without getting soggy.
1. Egg salad- chopped egg held together with your favourite dressing (Miracle Whip for me)
2. Refried beans from a tin and cheese. I use a variety that has jalapeno peppers for extra zip
3. Canned Sockeye salmon ,deboned, with skin removed, and mixed with light cream cheese
4. Cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce or other shredded vegetable

Construction:
Spread filling within 1/2" of the tortilla edge.
For the refried bean filling, spread a thin layer of light cream cheese over the wrap, then a layer of beans and a couple of tablespoons of shredded cheese
Roll the tortilla up and chill in the fridge until serving time. Slice in 1" rings.


Black Forest Trifle

Swiss chocolate jelly roll, or plain chocolate cake (see this recipe)
One package prepared chocolate pudding, instant or cooked (4 serving size),
One tin cherry pie filling
Whipped cream
Chocolate curls (optional)

Construction

Use a nice glass bowl if you have one.
Cover the bottom of the bowl with a 1/2" layer of chocolate cake or jelly roll
Layer 1/2 of the pudding on top of the cake
Layer 1/2 of the cherry pie filling on top of the pudding.

Repeat layers

Top with whipped cream (1 cup of whipping cream, whipped and sweetened)
Decorate with chocolate curls of desired.
This needs to sit for several hours or overnight before serving.


Sugar cookies

This is a very easy recipe from Kraft Kitchens

Cream together

8 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Add

2-3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda

Mix dough and form into 3-4 balls. Chill in the fridge for 1/2 hour or more.
Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness, cut into shapes
Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned
Ice cookies before serving.

Icing

3 tablespoons butter
2 cups icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk or cream

Tourtière

Tourtière is a traditional French Canadian savoury pie that is served on Christmas Eve. One of my patients gave me a Robin Hood recipe booklet from 1945 that featured a Christmas Eve menu of molded Waldorf salad, oyster casserole, biscuits, sausage rolls, tossed salad, tourtière, and of course, buche de noel (yule log) for dessert.
Tourtière traditionally featured a variety of wild game meat, but now ground pork is used. I use a 50/50 mixture of ground beef and pork.

Pastry for a covered pie

Meat Filling

1-1/2 pounds ground pork (or beef and pork)
1 medium onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 cup potato cooking water
1 large cooked potato, mashed

Brown the meat with the onions, garlic and spices over medium heat. Drain any fat. Add the mashed potato and water and mix together. Put in pastry lined 9 inch pie plate. Cover with pastry and cut slits in top crust.
Bake at 400-425 degrees F for 30 minutes.

This is a rich dish and serves 6-8.

Pea soup

Mom made great soup. Most Saturday nights we had a bowl of hearty legume soup, or a homemade batch of baked beans. A cabbage salad and some good bread rounded out the menu. Soups are created from ingredients on hand and should vary from batch to batch. The story of Stone Soup gives the idea of how a great soup is created.
Soups made from dried legumes have been made in all cultures for millennia. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage served by his brother Jacob. This pea soup, made in the European tradition, can be sliced with a knife when cooled. It is thick, like pea soup fog. When I made the soup tonight, I took note of ingredients and quantities. I had a ham bone, ham, carrots, potatoes and half a tin of tomato paste in the fridge that needed to be used up, so in it went.




1 pound split green peas (I find split yellow peas take longer to cook)
1 large onion, diced
diced garlic to taste
8 cups water
stone soup additions (see below)
seasoning to taste ( I like to include a few hot pepper flakes)

In a large pot, soften onion in a little oil over medium heat. Add dried peas and water. Bring to a boil and simmer until peas are tender, about 1 hour.

Stone soup additions

Add any or all of these ingredients to the pot….
Ham bone
1 cup diced ham
2 peeled and sliced carrots
4 small potatoes, diced
tomato paste
canned tomatoes (a 19 ounce can will do)