Russian Fudge - Fast and Easy

I think Russian fudge is wonderful, delectable, marvelous and positively scrumptious, but it takes a long time of delicately stirring and gently boiling to get this amazing fudge. It is a work of art that takes the right person with the right touch to get Russian fudge just right.

I tried to develop different methods for passing the tedious thirty minutes of standing in front of the stove (although some husbands have been known to say this is the rightful place of a wife!)
I have tried my favourite CD to listen to, movie or TV drama but it is still thirty minutes of standing and hoping that you get it just right.

So I thought there must be a better way??
And I found it!

The microwave....

Here is my recipe for Microwave Russian fudge:

The first thing is a LARGE bowl or jug - I used to use a pyrex 2 litre jug but now I use the bottom of my Tupperware stack cooker (3 litre) and lid.

3 cups white sugar

1/2 tin condensed milk

125g butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1 Tablespoon golden syrup

pinch of salt

1. Place all ingredients into a LARGE microwave bowl.
2. Stir to mix and cook on high (I do 80% for my Tupperware bowl) for 12-15 minutes stirring every 3 minutes, So I just do 3 minutes stir, another 3 minutes etc, until it is golden and thickening.
3. Beat with electric beaters until thick.
4. Pour into a well greased slice of square pan.
5. Set aside to cool and set - if the temp is warm pop it in the fridge.

And voila! Russian fudge in no time at all!

WARNING! Russian Fudge is highly delicious and you may be caught eating far more than you should....

Winter warmers - homemade soup

Today I decided to make soup for our mild winters day. It turned out incredibly delectable and I thought I would share my recipe - while I still remember what I threw in the pot!

Chunky and Hearty Soup

2 venison shanks (you could substitute these with 4 lamb shanks.)

3 medium carrots, chopped coarsely

2 brown onions, chopped coarsely

2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 medium potatoes, chopped coarsely

1 medium sweet potato or kumara, chopped coarsely

2 celery stalks, trimmed, chopped coarsely

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 litre (4 cups) of beef stock

500ml (2 cups) of chicken stock

1/2 cup of tomato paste

A shake of each, dried rosemary, oregano and thyme.

1. Place all ingredients in large saucepan; bring to the boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1.5-2 hours, or until shanks are tender.
2. Remove shanks from soup. When cool enough remove meat from bones, discard bones. Return meat to soup, stir until hot, season to taste.
3. Serve soup warm with your favourite bread for extra heartiness.

Easy and tastes great. This soup is full of rich and deep flavour that will leave you wanting more. What better way to warm a day and get a healthy serving of vegetables and meat.

Thanksgiving

Yes I know it's been over a week now since thanksgiving but I haven't had a chance to sit down and get it all here yet. I decided with the children in the throws of mayhem, that thanksgiving would be a nice way to spend some time together and focus on things that are good in our lives right now.

So as always with kids, nothing goes as it does in your head when you daydream about such glorious events. I saw everyone sitting around grinning at each other, boasting with thankfulness and cheer. But reality is the harsh reminder that they are children, not show ponies.

Whilst busily slaving away in the kitchen over our magnificent feast I had a wee conversation with Quack. I asked him what he was thankful for and he rattled off that 'he was alive and God had made him unique and wonderful'. He then continued 'that Jesus had died for us on the cross so we could be with God again'.
Bless! This is going to be perfect I thought to myself.

So you can imagine when I pulled my pumpkin pie out of the oven after the said 45 minutes and it was no where near cooked I was a little rocked from my dream state. I then thought I have doubled the filling wanting a magnificent creation so it will take a little longer. When I pulled it out 30 minutes later, and not a lot of change, the sweating began.

Oh dear, oh no, please don't - the crust was burning and the middle wasn't setting.... Uncle Google time! {I have a chicken that by the 'plan' needed to be in the oven ten minutes ago and that ain't looking good for anytime soon.}
After lots of reading I decided on covering the pie with foil and leaving it fifteen more minutes and allowing it to cool to set. The outer was cooking it was just that wobbly middle. And what do you know?! Foil is a lifesaver!

So in goes the chicken stuffed with herb and cranberry stuffing, lots of fresh chopped herbs placed under the skin for flavour and a little salt to help dehydrate the skin and make it nice and crispy.
I served the chicken with roasted pumpkin, kumara, potatoes, carrots and onions, also steamed corn kernels and peas and lavishings of homemade chicken gravy (the packet stuff does nothing for me).

Before the meal I announced that we would begin with thankfulness and grace - cue Quack.

Me: What are you thankful for Quack?
Q: Dunno? Nothing? Don't care.
Me: We talked about it earlier remember?
Q: No I don't, never said anything.
Great start...
Me: So Pops what are you thankful for?
P: Nothing. I don't do this stuff. I have nothing to be thankful for.

Arrggghh! Seriously people!! What is wrong with you??

We ended up with a few thankful people, one who was invited to our dinner was thankful he received a feast that smelt as good as it looked. I was thankful to be spending time with my family over these next few weeks before we disappear to the big west country and that we have an amazing Lord who saved us from ourselves, has redeemed us and given us the victory over death.

And then finally!! Quack was thankful his Mum is the best cook in the world! Cue the raised eyebrows from Nana... My Mammy is a fabulous cook, as my Grandmother was before her, and I have learnt a lot from her.

Jaybug blessed the food being thankful we were all together to eat good food. Then it was time to eat. YUM!

Will we ever get any?

But was it as tasty as it looked?
The chicken was moist and flavourful.
The stuff was perfect, not too wet, not too dry.
The veges were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.  
And my favourite part - the gravy was so good I could have poured myself a glass.

And then there was pudding. I was a little bit nervous about this part as I have never made pumpkin pie and have only tasted a few times. I remember as a child my Mammy making one for a thanksgiving service we had at our church with some American ministers. I found numerous recipes online like this one and this one. And in the end I mash a few of them together (hence the sweat when it wasn't cooking)

I cut into it and it looked pretty good and smelled pretty good, but would it be edible was the question. Well before I got to serve myself some I think my Mammy was on her second piece which equals huge success. I served it with a vanilla whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream. We also had jelly and marshmallow fluff dessert for the kids {packet of instant pudding made with 3/4 of the milk, bottle of cream whipped and folded into the instant pudding with a bag of marshmallows}

I think next time though I will bake it in a shallower dish so I don't use so much filling and so it cooks in the appropriate time {and doesn't burn the crust}. But other than that it was a success. I am thinking this may be a start of a family tradition. You can never run out of things to be thankful for and I think it is good for the children to have a day to celebrate life {along with all the others that are usually focused on them and what they get}
We also have some friends who have booked a seat at our thanksgiving dinner next year in Australia! Must have looked good?

Maybe some of my lovely friends and readers have a better pumpkin pie recipe for me to try? Did anyone else celebrate thanksgiving this year?