Sunday 14th September - Apples

Stir up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, isn't until 23rd November, but I have  kitchen full of apples now.

The Christmas story all began with an apple, when Eve was beguiled by the snake into eating the apple, and sharing it with Adam.

Terrible joke alert; skip the sentence in parentheses is you are allergic...

(Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the snake,  and the snake didn't have a leg to stand on.)

There's always Eve's Pudding, basically a 2-egg sponge mixture* spread over a base of stewed apples and baked for 30-35 mins at 160C.

(Weigh the eggs in their shells, or assume they are 2oz each, mix with same weight of caster sugar, SR flour, softened butter or marg and maybe a splash of milk)

And Apple crumble and apple brown betty and any number of recipes...

And then there is mincemeat.

 If I wait until stir up Sunday I won't have any apples left so I shall get started now.

(I spotted a jar dated 2023 at the back of the cupboard; that needs investigation. It might be okay... or not. It all depends on how well it sealed, and what it smells and looks and tastes like.)

Delia Smith makes mincemeat 'ravioli' which look intriguing 

I've made rough puff pastry before using her method.

 I've spent some time researching recipes for mincemeat as I will definitely need more before Christmas. 

I remember making Freezer Mincemeat from my Home and Freezer Digest Christmas booklet.

Once again farmersgirlkitchen.co.uk came up trumps, so that's back on my Christmas cooking list. It's not a great 'keeper', just three months in the freezer, but I don't think that will prove to be a problem 😉 

On this post she mentions her recipe for slow cooker mincemeat with ginger 

I'm not too sure about ginger mincemeat but I reckon the method will work for my favourite recipe from Delia Smith's Christmas Book. This is the one I have (sort of) followed for the last couple of decades!

Delia melts the suet in a slow oven with all the other ingredients, and then, CRUCIALLY, stirs the mixture several times as it cools before packing it into sterilised jars. The melted fat creates a protective layer around the fruits and nuts, helping to preserve them. If you don't stir it, the fat will form lumps, or even a sort of layer over the top of everything. 

So, back to stir up Sunday...

The collect is worth saying more than just once a year;

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I need stirring up at regular intervals in order to stay actively involved in the Christian way...

Maybe, as I munch my apples, I'll remember the stir - up Sunday collect.