A Mother's Day Gift ....

For Mother's Day this past Sunday, my two (precious !) children gave me a beautiful wooden candle stand/holder made out of dhow wood as a gift. This wood comes from old dhow fishing boats which have sailed up and down the East African coast for years, and have reached the end of their life span, and are then recycled in to furniture and smaller items. We have quite a lot of dhow furniture in our own home. The dhow 'craze' hit Tanzania several years ago ... and most expats living here today have at least one dhow wood item in their home, as it is very popular here.

The candle stand (which was made here in Tanzania) can be mounted on a wall - I've put mine just above our bath .... so that I can have a relaxing, candle lit bath whenever the mood strikes (which, let's face it may also be when the mood does not strike, as power fluctuations and failures are quite common here - ha !) This way, I also don't have to worry about any of the cats getting their tails burned or knocking the candle over when I'm enjoying a deep bubble bath ... as I usually have a cat (or two !) sitting on the edge of the bath with me - dipping their paws in to the bubbles !


The candle stand also came with a beautifully scented candle containing beeswax derived from Acacia (thorn tree) honey found in the Maparasha hills in Southern Kenya. It has red and green Maasai beadwork around it, too. The dish which it came on (turned upside down in the photo above so that you can see the base) is made from pewter, and was also made here in Tanzania. It's a small community, and I happen to know the lady who manufactures the dhow wood furniture and other items, as well as the lady who makes all the pewter items (in fact, I've often given similar items to family in South Africa and the UK as gifts over the years).

So, I've been enjoying a few candle lit bubble baths this week .... there's nothing nicer, at the end of a day .... and a great gift from my children for Mother's day - as all Mum's out there will agree I'm sure, we all need a bit of 'me time' away from the kids now and then - no matter how much we love them !

Apple Batter Pudding

My Granny's old recipe book dates back to the 1930's and has all her recipes handwritten in to it. This recipe for 'Apple Batter Pudding' is one of them.

The apple slices are sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon & brown sugar .....

The batter is poured over the apple slices and topped with more cinnamon & brown sugar

The finished pudding, hot out of the oven. All it needs now is some custard !

The days are getting shorter – and cooler – as our African Winter season approaches. I just love Winter, it is my favourite season of the year (I know, for an African that’s quite weird – I’ll take cold, rainy, misty days over hot, sunshine-y days anytime !) Anyway, cold, shorter days cry out for hot, comfort food in my book … and a warm sponge pudding is no exception !

Here is one which I adapted from a handwritten recipe book which used to belong to my grandmother … it dates back to the 1930’s and is very precious to me. I often find that recipes dating back to this period are quite bland (little sugar, no salt, no vanilla extract for flavouring etc) – is this because our palates have been ‘ruined’ over time with excessive seasonings, flavourings and colourings, I wonder ? I also find that the recipe quantities are quite small … like the recipe below which should serve 6 to 8 but by today’s standards it would serve 4 to 5 comfortably. This is no doubt due to the large portion sizes we’ve become accustomed to over the years – even dinner plates are getting larger !

I’ve added extra sugar to the batter recipe, as well as a cinnamon and brown sugar mix sprinkled over the apples and again over the top of the pudding before baking. If you need to convert this recipe into measurements which suit you, then you can do so by scrolling to the end of this page to the ‘Recipe Converter’.

I served this with hot custard (made with custard powder out of a tin *gasp* what would Granny say ?!) and it was a hit with the whole family -:


Apple Batter Pudding

2 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Milk
1 tin (+- 385 gm) of Apple slices, drained
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar for dusting

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat well. Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the milk. Mix to form a smooth batter. Place the apples into an oven proof dish and sprinkle with cinnamon & brown sugar. Spoon the batter over the top of these. Sprinkle a little more cinnamon & brown sugar over the top of the batter before baking at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for 30 to 40 minutes until done. Serve hot with custard or cream.

Mother's Day !

07th December 2004 with my newborn baby daughter - the day I became a mother for the first time ..... and my life was forever changed !

“Just as there is no warning for childbirth, there is no preparation for the sight of a first child. There should be a song for women to sing at this moment, a prayer to recite. But perhaps there is none because there are no words strong enough to name that moment.

Like every mother since the first mother, I was overcome and bereft, exalted and ravaged. I had crossed over from girlhood. I beheld myself as an infant in my mother’s arms and caught a glimpse of my own death. I wept without knowing whether I rejoiced or mourned. My mothers and their mothers were with me as I held my baby.”

(taken from ‘The Red Tent’ by Anita Diamant)

Wishing all the Mum's out there .... a wonderful Mother’s Day today !

Lynda

xxx