To God who gives our daily bread, a thankful song we raise.
 And pray that He who sends us food may fill our hearts with praise.

Welcome to my Kitchen Table

Here are just a few of my favourite Recipes ...

DOT'S DELICIOUS JAM SPONGE CAKE
Source: Dorothy Foley

3 large eggs
1 cup of caster sugar (heaped)
1 cup of flour (level)
1oz of butter
3 soup spoonfuls of milk

Preheat oven to 150C/300F
Line 2 cake tins (or 1 large one if preferred) with greased paper.
Melt the butter in the milk over a low heat
Beat the eggs and the sugar together.
Fold in the flour slowly.
Add the warm butter and milk.
Fold lightly and then as quickly as possible turn mixture out into cake tins.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.
When baked, turn the cakes out onto a rack to cool.
When cakes are cool, sandwich them together with Raspberry jam.

SCRIPTURE CAKE
 Source: Marion Maxwell
This fruit cake is cleverly devised to send you browsing through your Bible
to decode all the different ingredients.

110g/4oz of Jeremiah 1:11
340g/12oz of Jeremiah 24:2
340g/12oz of 1 Chronicles 12:40
500g/1lb 2oz of Leviticus 2:2
2 level tsp of Galacians 5:9
1 level tsp of Songs of Solomon 4:14
A pinch of Matthew 5:13
6 of Job 39:14
340g/12oz of Isaiah 7:15
450g/1lb of Jeremiah 6:20
Half a  large cup of Songs of Solomon 4:11
2tbsp of 1Samuel 14:29

Preheat oven to 180C/350F or gas mark 3.
Grease and line a 22cm/9inch cake tin.
Blanch, peel and chop the almonds.
Chop the figs.
Sift flour with baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Cream butter and caster sugar until fluffy.
Gradually mix in beaten eggs, adding a little flour with each addition.
Fold in the rest of the flour along with the honey, milk and fruit.
Turn into tin and bake for 2½ hours.
The cake is ready when a skewer is inserted and comes out clean.

POTATO BREAD (or Potato Farls)
Source:  Every Irish mother!
Potato Bread is an essential part of an Ulster fry*.  This serves 2 people.

2 cups of cooked mashed potato
1 cup of plain flour
2 tbsps butter
salt

Boil the potatoes, mash them and allow to cool.
Sieve the cooled mashed potatoes.
Melt the buter and combine with the potatoes and salt
Sieve plain flour into the potatoes and work in thoroughly.
Knead potato mixture out onto a floured board and roll into a circle about an inch thick.
Cut circle into quarters to form 4 triangular farls.
Fry in a little bacon fat for approximately 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.
Serve with an Ulster Fry.

*An Ulster Fry consists of  fried eggs, sausages, rashers of bacon, fried tomato, mushrooms, slices of fried black pudding and, of course,  potato bread.  Soda farls, toast, and a pot of strong tea are also served.

SODA BREAD
Source:  Elizabeth Jane Knox

4 cups of plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 230C (Gas mark 8)
Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl.  Repeat this twice to aeriate the mix.
Add buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Knead the dough a little.
Form a round loaf of about 3-4 inches in height
Using a floured knife, cut a cross into the top of the loaf
Bake immediately near the top of the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
When loaf is baked, wrap in a clean tea-towel to prevent crust getting too hard.
Serve with butter and homemade preserves.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING
Source:  Ruby Mercer

6 slices of white bread
2oz sultanas
1 oz raisins
2oz castor sugar
1 pint of milk
2 medium eggs
grated nutmeg

Grease a deep pie dish with butter.
Butter bread and cut into cubes and place half the cubes over the bottom of the dish.
Sprinkle in the dried fruit and 1oz of sugar.
Cover fruit and sugar with remaining bread cubes.
Heat milk and pour it into a bowl with the eggs.
Add a pinch of nutmeg.
Pour milk and egg mixture over the bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle pudding with the remaining sugar and grated nutmeg.
Cook at 160C/325F or gas mark 5 for 45 minutes.
Serve immediately.

PAVLOVA
Source:  Barbara McMinnis

3 egg whites
6oz castor sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vinegar

Line and grease baking tin
Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F
Put egg whites and 3oz of sugar into a bowl and beat until stiff.
Fold in the remaining 3oz of sugar and add the cornflour and vinegar.
Place mixture into baking tin, making a shallow hollow in centre of mixture.
Put into oven as quickly as possible and turn the oven temperature down to 100C/200F
Bake for 1½ hours.
When cool, top with whipped cream and decorate with raspberries or fruit of your choice.

COFFEE MALLOW MOUSSE
Source:  Ruby Mercer

1 cup of hot black coffee (strong - 2½ tsps coffee powder per cup)
½ lb of marshmallows
¼ pint of whipping cream
2 egg whites
2 tbsp dark rum

Cut up the marshmallows into small pieces and set aside.
Whip the cream.
Separate eggs and beat the egg whites until fluffy.
Make cup of black instant coffee.
Put the hot coffee in a saucepan and add the marshmallow pieces
Over a low heat, melt the marshmallows in the black coffee.
Allow coffee-mallow mixture to cool and then pour into a bowl.
Add the rum and stir.
Fold the whipped cream and egg whites into the coffee-mallow mixture.
Pour mixture into either a serving bowl or individual dessert glasses.
Refrigerate until required.  Decorate with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

NB:  When set, the mallow mixture may separate into 2 layers.
This does not affect the taste and adds to the decorative effect when served in glass dishes.

MUM'S CHICKEN CURRY
Source:  Ruby Mercer

Cooked chicken (diced)
2oz margarine
1 large apple
1 onion
1 heaped tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp curry powder
¾ pint chicken stock
2oz sultanas
1½  tbsp mango chutney
1 level tsp of sugar
salt and pepper
4-5 drops of lemon juice (or vinegar)

Chop the onion and apple.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or casserole dish, fry the chopped onion and apple in margarine (or olive oil if preferred) until soft.
Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of curry powder to apple and onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes, stirring continually.
Add a chicken stock cube to ¾ of a pint of water and bring to the boil.
Add stock to mixture.
Cook gently until mixture thickens slightly.
Add the sultanas and mango chutney.
Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper, sugar and a few drops of lemon juice (or vinegar).
Finally, add the roughly diced cooked chicken.
Simmer gently for 1 hour.
Ensure the lid on the pan/casserole dish fits tightly.
In a separate pan, boil long-grained rice in salted wateruntil soft.  Drain rice.
Serve curry on a bed of rice, with sliced banana and grated coconut as accompaniments, if desired.

POOR MAN'S FLORENTINES
Source:  Ruby Mercer

8oz digestive biscuits (crushed)
4oz margarine
1oz sugar
4oz chopped cherries
4oz chopped walnuts
2oz flaked almonds
1 small tin of sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 180C/300F
Place digestive biscuits into a clean plastic bag and then crush them with a rolling pin.
Melt margarine.
Mix biscuits crumbs, and sugar and add melted margarine.
Turn out biscuit base into a swiss roll tin and flatten down.
Mix chopped ingreditents together and spread over the biscuit base.
Trickle the condensed milk over the told of the fruit and nuts.
Bake for 20 minutes.
When cool, cut into squares.
Store in an air-tight tin.

FIFTEENS
Source:  Kathleen Allen
This sweet biscuit confection is popular as a tea-time or birthday party treat.

15 digestive biscuits
15 marshmallows
 15 red glaze cherries
 15 walnuts (optional)
1 small tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of desicated coconut

Crush digestive biscuits and put crushed crumbs into a large mixing bowl.
Cut up marshmallows into small pieces.
Chop up cherries (and walnuts, if desired) into small pieces.
Add marshmallows and cherries to crushed biscuits.  Mix.
Pour the tin of condensed milk into dry mixture and stir in until all is very sticky.
Take a large sheet of greaseproof paper and set it in a baking tray or similar.
Shake the cup of desicated coconut unto the greaseproof paper.
Turn out the sticky mixture into the centre of the greasproof paper.
Mould mixture into a log shape, 2.5 inches in diameter.  Hand pat the ends flat.
Roll the log in the scattered coconut until it is completely coated.  Don't forget the ends!
(Additional coconut can be added if required).
 Carefully roll up greaseproof paper around the log and fold up the paper ends.  Secure.
Set well wrapped log into the refrigerator and refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours.
When log has set firmly, unroll it from the greaseproof paper.
Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the log up into discs (approx 0.5 inch thick).
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for no more than 5 days.