Company and Carrot Pudding

 I told myself while I was decorating the house that I was doing it for my own pleasure.  But once it was done I wanted to share the house with friends and family.  Therefore, I invited my family and two of my friends for my mother's recipe of carrot pudding.  Most hostesses would think nothing of inviting 7 people over for a meal, but not me.  I went easy on myself, and asked this intimate group over for dessert.

 I complained while making the pudding two days in advance, that I had forgotten how labor intensive it was.  Both the cup of raw carrots and the cup of raw potato must be grated.  This took forever. I also found time from the preparation to fix supper and clean up, so I didn't finish the carrot pudding (which also has a cup of dates and could be called carrot date pudding) until 11:00 PM.  I put the two cans of pudding on to steam in the canning steamer because it's big, and set the alarm for 3:00 AM.  I slept on the living room couch, but woke about 10 minutes before the alarm, turned off the heat and let the cans cool the rest of the night.

Table setting:  I do this only a few times a year so I
feel inclined to keep a visual record of the occasion.

When I was younger...about 30 years ago...I ground the carrots and potato in a food grinder, thinking that the carrots would be fine enough to cook to soft during the 4 hours of steaming.  However, I could feel the tiny bits of carrot when I ate it, so I returned to the laborious task of grating.  You also have to be careful not to scrape your knuckles!



One of the best things about the pudding is the sauce made with 2 teaspoons of butter, a cup of powdered sugar and a raw egg. I was reluctant to use a raw egg in the recipe, but finally mixed the three ingredients together, zapped them in the microwave for 30 seconds, mixed in 2 tablespoons of rum and set it in the refrigerator for a day.  Before serving I whipped cream and added a cup to the sauce (yummy!) as it was served.  Delicious!

Friends and family:  my husband's back, my sister - Mary Sue, Carol,
Marjory (hmmm, what IS she thinking about?), Trudie and my brother - Whitney.

 I noticed, however, my sister and brother asked for second helpings, while my friends did not.  It is one of those desserts that brings back memories of our mother and of home.  My husband also ate a second piece, but that may have been because our supper was pretty skimpy. I ate a second piece after company had gone, because I wanted to make sure everyone had had enough, and I could relax with a last cup of coffee.

Recipe for Carrot Pudding

1 cup flour                                         1 cup sugar

1 cup grated raw carrot                      1 tsp soda

1 cup grated raw potato                      1/2 tsp each of

1 cup (8 oz.) dates                              cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg

(Cut up dates into flour                        1/2 cup butter creamed with sugar 

so they don't stick together.)                

Mix thoroughly and steam four hours.  (I use 'tin' coffee cans or cans of similar size. If you can't find a 'tin' coffee can, use smaller vegetable 'tin' cans. 

Cover the top(s) with aluminum foil and a plastic cover if that is to be had.)  Serve hot with the sauce described in the blog.  Use 1 tsp vanilla for flavoring if you don't care for alcohol.

Decorating for Christmas in Slow Motion

Yes, it took me four - I counted - four days to decorate the house for Christmas.  Most of the decorations are stored under the stairway.  First day I handed them off to my husband who carried them upstairs or left them in the downstairs walkway.

The last couple of days I worked on hanging garlands on the staircase, wondering if the results were worth the effort.  Finally, we lugged our forlorn Christmas tree out of the garage and upstairs. 

We arranged red and green lights on it, as it looses more of its own white lights every year. 
Of course, once lighted, nearly any Christmas tree looks lovely and warm. The ornaments on the left are made of camel bone.  I brought a number of them from Egypt where we lived for ten years in the 1990's.

The mouse on the right is the newest addition to my collection. 
The two mice behind glass are George and  Martha Washington-
won in the 'Christmas Basket' Drawing several years ago.

Our church is famous for its handmade mice that are sold at the Christmas Bazaar every year.  Since I am working during the bazaar, I have trouble finding the time to buy a mouse. This year I was able to buy the last mouse available.

This little lady arrived last year.  Notice her tiny earrings, and her cat with yarn ball beside her.

Other arrangements around the house included these angels flying over the
dining room table, making silent music.

This in just one of the Santas I display around the living room.  He is the most lavishly attired.

Of course all of the empty or nearly empty boxes and sacks need to be returned to storage underneath the stairs.  Grooooan! 

Will all this stuff go

 into this little space? 

Yes, it did, and with my husband handing the boxes and bags to me it took less then ten minutes.  Now in January (hopefully not February), all these boxes and bags must come out again; Christmas decorations must be packed away.  However, I promise I won't write a blog about that!