Sharing a recipe!

We're not sure how many of you know that the real, original Grandma Coco was our very own paternal grandmother. She was a talented seamstress and, in fact, provided for her family of 4 kids during the dark days of the depression entirely by her needlework skills. She was also a fabulous cook!! There are so many stories we could recount on the subject of her cooking. She was a legend. At least within the family.

We remember maple walnut layer cake and chili sauce and icicle pickles!! And bread!!! She baked the best bread. Irish potato bread. Grandma Coco had one little quirk. A tiny one, really. Almost insignificant.

When asked for her recipe, she gave it to you ... sort of. That is to say, it was sometimes difficult to duplicate her recipes. We've never been sure if she did this intentionally or if she just had a basic recipe (the one she wrote down and handed to you) and she riffed on it when she actually cooked it, the way a jazz musician improvises on the fly.

So, because a couple of you, dear readers, have asked, here is our recipe for Date Sandwich Cookies and we're trying really hard to give you the real deal. We started with the cookie recipe we shared a while ago. Click on the link to find it again: http://grandmacocosdesigns.blogspot.ca/2012/02/best-cookie-recipe-ever.html  It's a very versatile cookie recipe that we recently found. It's not a family heirloom ... at least not yet.

We rolled the cookies out thinly this time and cut them with our mother's old round cookie cutter. We baked them as usual. While they cooled, we made the date filling.

Date filling is a mystery to us. We've seen lots of recipes, even old ones, that add sugar and we've never been sure why you'd do that. Dates are so sweet all on their own. We just chop up some dates to break them up a bit. How many, you ask? Well, OK. A handful. We put them in a small saucepan and just barely cover them with fresh water. Add a pinch of salt, if you like, and turn the heat on. Simmer them (being careful to stir the mixture so it doesn't scorch) until the excess water has evaporated and it's the consistency of jam. That's it. Let the date filling cool a bit and then spread a little between 2 thin Brown Sugar Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies. That's it! Simple. Simple.

Our mother-in-law made a very nice spiral cookie with date filling in it. We must hunt for that recipe. It was one she made for Christmas. A rolled-up log of cookie dough with date filling, chilled in the fridge and then sliced and baked. The cookies which inspired our sandwich cookie were made years ago by a bakery in Kingston, Ontario that is no more. A large-ish round oatmeal cookie folded over a dollop of date filling and then baked. Oats and dates. Yum! And of course, now that we think about it, what's a Date Square if not that? Did you know that the Date Square we know and love is known in Western Canada as Matrimonial Cake? How cool is that?  The history of cooking is a fascinating subject all on its own.

Best Cookie Recipe EVER!!

First of all, Grandma Coco would like to apologize to anyone who receives these blog updates via email. We've discovered that sometimes these updates look a little bit like a dog's breakfast. We thought Blogger's tendency to mangle our prose might be the price to pay for the ease of getting our oh-so-valuable insights delivered right to your inbox. Fortunately, Maria (editor of The Quilt Pattern Magazine) has lots more experience than we do with such things and she has tipped us off as to what the problem might be. We will endeavour to do better in future.

For right now, what better way to make amends than with cookies? Here's the best recipe we've found yet for cookies you can roll out and cut and decorate, if you're so inclined. We'd credit the original creator except we don't remember where we got the recipe and besides, we sort of changed it up a bit....as we are wont to do. Surprise, surprise.

CoCoCookie Baking Copyright © Cheryl Coville 2012

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies

1 3/4 cups flour
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup butter-flavoured Crisco
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Mix them up in the usual way.....Cream the Crisco and brown sugar. Mix all the other ingredients together and add them to the Crisco and brown sugar. Leave the dough to chill a while in the fridge. Roll out, cut and bake on parchment paper at about 325F until they start to look golden brown around the edges. We found they were a tad fragile straight out of the oven so be sure to let them sit for a moment on the cookie sheet before you try to move them to a rack.

~ Low Cal Cookies for EVERYONE!!!

What the mind dredges up

August Ladies
Copyright © Cheryl Coville 2011

Sometimes when we draw, we are as surprised as anyone else by what comes up. Sometimes, we start with an idea of what we want to show but often we just start doodling. This time, we started with an oval which got eyes and that became a head which went on to get a body. Often, it's a case of asking....now what would this one be wearing? and what's she up to? It's a meditational thing.... a stream of conscious process that is very engrossing, relaxing and entertaining. We thought this one was interesting and it pleases us but after we thought about it for a while, we realized that it also speaks to some things that have been percolating in our brain.

One lady sits in a deck chair .... on a beach maybe?....and she looks overwhelmed by something....some problem. The other lady has turned her whole body toward her....giving her her full attention....and great concern. She's touching her with both hands. She's a large figure....soft and comforting and substantial. It occurs to us that there have been several mothering souls (not all of them female) who have come to sit with us and hold our hand (metaphorically) during this trying time. We are very grateful to them.

Tomorrow we mark the 6th week since we got our prism and since the neuro-opthalmologist said the 6th nerve palsy ought to resolve in 4 to 6 weeks. We think we should have got that in writing. :)  However, we are beginnng to see some improvement. In the mornings when we awake to find Cassie staring us down from atop our chest, we think we can see ONE (blurry) furball. The doctor said our vision would return gradually, just as it left, so we are hopeful.

Santa suit progress ...

..... from toes to baby crotch. Done. :)

... and something delicious!

Tofu Cheesecake

Grandma Coco can't eat dairy....no cow's milk, no cheese, cream, ice cream. Nothin'! However, we've become quite adept at substituting and this tofu cheesecake is really delicious, simple to make and CHEAP!!!

Into a blender, chuck the following:

1 530 gram block of silken tofu (Mandarin Soy Foods - purple package)

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup of sugar (more or less, as desired)

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp. salt

Whizz this up until smooth. Pour into a prepared (uncooked) crust....graham cracker works well or we do this:

Into the food processor, chuck the following:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp shortening, lard or margerine

1/4 cup coconut

2 Tbsp COLD water

Whizz this up and pat it into a pie plate. This will be crumbly and won't want to stick together. Just pat it into submission.

Bake the pie (cheesecake) at 350F for about 30 - 35 minutes or until it's starting to puff up around the edge and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. It's best chilled for several hours (or even overnight) and then served with fresh fruit.  Mr. Coco's got a bumper crop of raspberries this year. Imagine GC doing her best JC impersonation ....

 "Bon appétit!" 

Don't forget to check back on Tuesday

for details of the special project we're planning!

It's gonna be FUN!

 

Illustration Friday - Stir

Copyright © Cheryl Coville 2011

Grandma Coco is not what you’d call a ‘linear thinker’.  Her mind is more like one of those old-time pin ball machines where the ball bounces wildly in all directions, lights flashing and bells sounding. She gets to the same place, in the end, but it’s quite the ride.

Often one thought reminds us of something else which takes us somewhere else entirely. This is the case with this week’s Illustration Friday topic…. ‘stir’.  These drawings are often streams of consciousness themselves….doodles that start out with one character and flow into something else entirely. For some reason, these ladies showed up to stir up a little something and they prompted a memory of reading about ‘Stir-up Sunday’ years and years ago.

We had to google the term to confirm our memory but yes, it’s true. Stir-up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent (in the Anglican church). It, too, is the result of a pin ball cascade of ideas. No wonder it stuck in Grandma Coco’s mind.

In England, especially, Stir-up Sunday (which occurs about 5 weeks before Christmas Day) is the traditional day for making the Christmas pudding. It came to be because of the prayer-of-the-day which starts out: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people …”.

Traditionally, the whole family returns home from church and is supposed to take a turn stirring the pudding and adding a good wish. Adding a good wish as you accomplish homely tasks is a cool idea. We do that when we knit or quilt for people we love. That, we understand.  However, there are other traditions surrounding Christmas pudding making that are even more deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. For instance, there are supposed to be 13 ingredients, to represent Jesus and the 12 disciples. And what about this one?  That the pudding needs to be stirred from East to West to honour the Three Wise Men who visited the Baby Jesus. Fascinating, no?

So, we got out our recipe box to look up our Christmas pudding recipe because, yes, we do have one. It came to us from Mr. Coco’s mother and goes by the rather uninspired name of “Economical Plum Pudding”. (For Mr. Coco’s mother, thrift was a virtue.) However, this pudding is also the best Christmas pudding we’ve ever tasted so, even though we’re a long way from Stir-up Sunday, here’s the recipe:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar (1/2 cup is really all you need)

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

¾ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Soda

Sift all these dry ingredients together and add:

1 cup grated apples

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup raisins

1 cup currants

Stir to mix thoroughly and add ½ cup vegetable oil or melted shortening. Fill a buttered mold (like a coffee can). Cover tightly and steam for 4 hours.

Serve this pudding with a sauce….brandy or lemon or custard, depending, we guess, on whether you're a teetotaller (as both our grandmothers were) or a lost cause.

You will notice there are only 11 ingredients in Mr. Coco’s mother’s recipe. It’s still good. As far as we know, she never worried about the directionality of her stirring. It will still be good. And one last thing…..You don’t have to wait for Stir-up Sunday (or Christmas) to enjoy a steamed pudding.

A Little Christmas Rant

Grandma Coco has a love/hate relationship with Christmas. She loves the Norman Rockwell version with the Coca Cola Santa Claus. She loves Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. She even likes the movie (with Alistair Simm). She loves the decorations, the lights and the music. She loves the food. She actually loves Christmas.

In theory.

It's just making it all come together that gets her down. All the hustle. All the bustle. It's just so .... pointless. Running here. Running there. There seems to be an unwritten rule that families (who've somehow managed to avoid each other all year) absolutely must get together in spite of the fact that in Canada, it's  pretty dicey weather-wise for travel at this time of year. Who thought that up? You see people crying in airports, for heaven's sake, because a freak storm has grounded all the planes. I repeat: It's December. In Canada. It shouldn't come as such a shock.

Grandma Coco also has a bone to pick with news reporters who must constantly remind us that any disaster is somehow made worse by happening "only days before Christmas!'" As if the death of a child, for instance, would be more easily borne in the carefree days of summer or workers would be better off if their lay-offs occurred in January (when the Mastercard bills start rolling in). Humbug! 

And speaking of credit card bills, there's the absolute orgy of gift-buying and debt. People going into debt to demonstrate their affection for each other does not spell Christmas to me.


Now, lest you worry that Grandma Coco will be visited tonight by a trio of ghosts, I should hasten to point out that she has made her peace with the season. Oh, it's taken a few years but it's true what they say. With age comes wisdom. Here's her strategy: Take the best. Forget the rest. From the smorgasbord of Christmas offerings, choose those things that resonate with you and....quite simply....ignore the rest.

For example, chez Coco, we don't decorate. It's so much easier to get those pine needles out of the carpet without a tree. This year we're cooking the Christmas dinner and we're really looking forward to hosting our family at our own table. (See how cleverly Grandma and Mr. Coco have figured out how to avoid that Canadian travel issue?) We'll make a pretty simple meal and other family members will bring dishes to add to it. There won't be any Martha-esque decorations. In fact, the plates won't all match but all the guests will be very welcome. There will be warmth and peace in our home. And music.....but no Little Drummer Boy, please. That's just lame.


When Grandma Coco was a child, her mother, a typical 1950's stay-at-home mother, would bake her heart out every year. Martha Stewart had nothing on the mothers of the '50's. My mother would kick off the season in early November with the first of two different fruitcake recipes. Then there'd be squares and bars and drop cookies and shaped cookies with chopped nuts and jam. But the star of her show...and the one treat my father actually acknowledged she made better than HIS mother...was her Shortbread cookies. She'd take an afternoon to mix them and roll them and cut them out with fancy shaped cookie cutters and decorate them with cut-up cherries and sprinkles. Buttery and rich, those cookies speak of Christmas to me...and of course, they remind me of my mother. So, in honour of the season, and with my very best wishes, here's the recipe. Enjoy!


Grace's Shortbread Cookies
1 cup real butter (no substitutes) softened
1/2 cup fruit sugar (NOT icing sugar. Fine sugar. If necessary whiz some regular sugar in the food processor for a couple of minutes)
2 cups sifted flour


Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1-3/4 cups of flour, reserving 1/4 cup for rolling out the cookies. Knead the dough on a floured surface. Roll out and cut with cookie cutters. Mom liked them thin, about 1/4 inch thick, and Dad likes them thick, about 1/2 inch thick. Place them on an ungreased pan and bake at 300F for 30 -35 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.

Copyright 2010 Cheryl Coville 

"And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843