INVESTING? IT'S CHRISTMAS! - Mom's Blueberry Christmas Pudding

Seasons Greetings

(IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT) SIMPLIFYING (YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND FOCUSING ON YOUR GOALS) IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS.

Now talking about 'simplifying' I gotta tell you that the following recipe is so simple that our son Connor (aka Rocky) made up several batches a few years ago (he was 14) for us to hand out for Christmas.

Okay, that's pretty much it for the investment theme for this entry (It's Christmas!) as I'm delighted to tell you that I did in fact manage to coer ... convince Mom to share this incredible
Blueberry Christmas Pudding recipe with us. This recipe has been a Christmas delight
for many years. The traditional Christmas pudding has those black currents and fruit
rinds and candied cherries in it (yeeuck!) and I just found myself passing on the pudding
and then doubling up on the ... butter cream sauce. (teeheeeheehee)

So, the following recipe is recited verbatim from Mom's kitchen (still working on the
butter tart recipe) and you might want to print this off because this is truly a 'keeper'.

Mom's Blueberry Christmas Pudding
(complete with butter cream sauce)
Here it goes ...
1/ PLACE IN BOWL - 11 ounces of frozen blueberries
2/ SIFT TOGETHER
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp soda / 2 tsp cinnamon/ 1/2 tsp salt

Okay, okay everything seems pretty quick and easy so far mom ...
3/ COMBINE IN A LARGE MEASURING CUP (or large bowl)
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 1 cup of molasses - "NOT BLACKSTRAP!" (use 'fancy' ie. Crosby or Grandma)
- 1/4 cup of canola oil
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Separate the blueberries in the bowl if frozen together
SIFT dry ingredients over the berries and toss lightly
Make a 'well' in the centre of the the berries and pour in the wet ingredients

We're almost done!
Spoon the mixture into a 2 quart mould (or soup tins) that has been greased, leaving about 1"-2" at the top for expansion
Cover the mould (tins) with foil and set on a rack in a large kettle/baking pan (must have a lid)
Add boiling water 1/2 way up the outside of the mould (tins)
Pop the lid on the kettle and steam at SIMMER for up to 3 hours, depending on the size.

THAT'S IT!
OR IS IT?

Everbody knows that Christmas pudding just isn't Christmas pudding if it doesn't have the buttery cream sauce poured over the top of it, eh? So here is the recipe for ...

THE BUTTERY CREAM SAUCE
1/2 cup of ... butter
1/2 cup of ... cre ... crea ... cream!
1 full cup of ... brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
I am sure that at this point you all realize that the only goodness in this recipe (aside from the vanilla?) is certainly in the flavour. But ... if you're not planning on making this a staple in your everyday diet, why not indulge?

Heat the butter and cream to a simmer
Stir in the sugar
Simmer and stir occassionally for about 10 minutes
Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over individual serving of hot pudding.

WOW! Now if you want to try a Christmas dessert that is sure to be a winner, why not give this a whirl? You can make it up well ahead of time and toss in the freezer. In fact, I find that if it has had some time to set that it tastes even better. (the anticipation might be an influencing factor)

A big huge thanks to my mom (Elaine) for submitting this recipe for all to enjoy. "Thanks Mom".

Only nine days 'til Christmas so if you haven't started your shopping yet ... chances are I'll see you at the mall!

All the best!

Jeff

INVESTING? IT'S CHRISTMAS! - Christmas Wreath Cookies and SnOwball Cookies

(IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT) SIMPLIFYING (YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND FOCUSING ON YOUR GOALS) IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS.

Okay, okay ... it has been suggested to me that rather than talk about all of this investment stuff and reminding everyone to plan for tomorrow, but don't forget about today, diversify, simplify and so on, and so on, and so on ... that I should take a brief furlough and just focus on a few of my favourite Christmas recipes.

Though I do not have it here today, I did put in a plea to my mom to share her Blueberry Christmas Pudding recipe with us ... and I think she just might.


But in the meantime I am going to throw out a couple of Christmas cookie recipes for you to try. They're easy, quick to make and pretty tasty.
Did I mention that they are quick to make?


CHRISTMAS WREATH COOKIES
You can never make enough of these.
This was one of my favourites (actually, it still is) and continues to be a big hit with all the kids.

I've doubled up on this recipe to make 45-50 (depends how many get snatched off the counter before the final tally). If you think this might be a little much ... just cut the ingredients in half.

1 cup of butter
60 marshmellows
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 teaspoons of green food colouring
7 cups of (kinda) crushed corn flakes
2-3 red licorice sticks

Melt the butter and marshmellows in a saucepan, be sure to mix 'em up periodically and when they're all melted and blended together, pour in the vanilla and the food colouring and blend a bit more. Pour in the (kinda) crushed corn flakes, stir them around with a wooden spoon until they're all coated with the green marshmellow mix. (Yep I know, this recipe sounds a lot like rice crispy squares)
Scoop up a tablespoon of this mixture, drop it on a piece of waxed paper, and with greased (buttered) fingers, shape into a wreath. (should look like a little doughnut)

Take out your paring knife and slice up the red licorice into small thin strips and push them gently into the front of the cookies to give the appearance of red ribbons.
Let these stand for a few hours to cool and set and then store them in a real, real secret place (kids love frozen cookies so suggest that the freezer is out)

SNOWBALL Cookies
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 tspn of salt
1 cup of softened butter
1 tspn of vanilla
2 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla
Add the salt to the flour, mix it up and then blend into the buttery creamy mixture.
Add the nuts and mix it up real well. Let the mixture set for about an hour.
Turn on that oven and set it at 375 degrees.
Shape into 1" balls and bake for about 10 minutes.
Roll these balls around in powdered sugar after removing from the oven.

Alright, so I'm getting off pretty lightly here with very little (none!) investment advice for all of you savvy investors who have an appetite for knowledge, not more food.
Well, it is Christmas and I think we'll just kick back and have a little fun over the next couple of weeks. STAY TUNED for Mom's Blueberry Christmas Pudding recipe.

Merry Christmas
Jeff & Beverley