Persimmon Pudding Recipe by a Poet and a Painter
Make It Up As You Go Along -
Persimmon Pudding Recipe by a Poet and a Painter (circa December 1993)
Intention – to make enough Persimmon Pudding for our family and gifts for our friends.
Mission Accomplished - 24 December 1993 at 10:30 pm.
Quantity – Best guess from scanty records.
Make It Up As You Go Along - truly this recipe is about the experience of cooking together as a couple.
1 bundt pan (for our family)
8 small tins (recycled soup cans – 12 oz.)
2 large tins (recycled pumpkin cans – 28 oz.)
Bake in pans of water and cover the tins with foil to seal in the steam, very low oven temperature – about 300 degrees
Be patient – this is a lengthy process. I think it took over 2 hours for the bundt.
Ambience – Napa River House Kitchen
• Birds - occasionally a Kingfisher would land on the sailboat mast, scan the river, and flit away
• Music - Classical Christmas played in the background with a few Gregorian Chant tunes as well
• Ingredients - a lot of guessing as to what combinations of things we would put into the pudding
• Hint - Couples Cooking Together - Kiss and dance – it adds to the flavor
• Art - Poet read aloud the Painter’s favorite Hopkins’ poem, “Pied Beauty”
• Fire – Stoked the fireplace, added new logs
The idea is about cooking up food and putting fun into the tastiness of it – an artist's take on bringing art into the kitchen!
Okay so now the ingredients –
I think we added the ingredients in the following order. I can't really say how long it will take to bake the different sized items, but can say the fun and ambience of making up recipes is to discover what works in your kitchen.
Put love and art into your handmade food. ☺
Persimmon Pudding Recipe by a Poet and a Painter (circa December 1993)
Ingredients
6 cups sugar
9 cups flour
3 cups breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons baking soda
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
8 eggs
4 cups butter
8 cups persimmon pulp
1 cup prunes
3 cups raisins
2 cups dates
1 cup cranberries
4 cups nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc. mixture)
2 ½ cups brandy
12 oz. combination of sherry and rum
8 teaspoons vanilla
7 teaspoons lemon juice
Lemon peel slivers
Spices:
allspice, nutmeg, cloves, mace, ginger, tiny bit of cinnamon
Hints: sip some Nog ‘n Brandy, Napa Valley Wine or some Java but more important is to enjoy the process…
Happy Holidays!!! Viktorya
The memories really are the most delicious, are they not? The pudding recipe sounds scrumptious. But wait, the music and dancing even better, no calories! Thank you for sharing the memory. You so masterfully offer inspiration like no other.
Reply to this
I have many memories of your beautifully presented gourmet food art. Added to that have been the experiences I have had sitting on the bar stool at your kitchen counter and talking with you while you prepped those creations - you sliced, diced and chopped while I sipped Napa Valley Vino and watched as you put art and love into those amazing gourmet combos. Laughing out loud and listening to good music charged the evenings as well.
And now Fall is here - you know I read somewhere that Persimmon Trees are indigenous to North America. I'll have to do a search and see if that's really the case.
There are Persimmon Trees around the Napa Valley that I visit - one that is truly magnificent cascades over a wall on Silverado Trail near St. Helena where the orange globe-shaped fruit hang heavy on limbs, sparse with leaves. I think this is the season of orange?
The pudding was really tasty and with the family all coming soon, I may try the recipe again. Maybe that would be a good thing to try when all the girlfriends gather?
Reply to this
Persimmon trees grow very well in the Sacto valley. And the fruit they bare are beautiful. My parents have a thriving tree, very near to where you live. I have fond memories of munching persimmon cookies as a little girl. One neighbor, an older single gent, grew the most delicious persimmons. And the young woman next door made magical cookies from his offerings. I remember this as if it was just yesterday, but in actuality it was over 48 years ago. And if you are the impatient type, you can freeze unripened persimmons and the next morning they are soft, and ready to bake with! My youngest stepson taught me that trick. Yes, let's make pudding with the girlfriends and keep the memories mounting. The fruits of love.
Reply to this
Persimmon cookies - yummmmm.... Gotta a recipe? I have a trio of Fuyu's, orange beauties resting on a green plate. I'm afflicted with orange this year - must be the retro mood I've been in for a couple years?
Freezing persimmons - I learned that from a boyfriend and what we did was froze them, then the next night thawed and scooped the mushy pulp over vanilla ice cream - yowsers!!! They were indeed like you put it, "The Fruits of Love."
V
Reply to this