Christmas or Plum Pudding

"Stir up Thy might, we beg You,
O Lord, and come..."
- Advent Collects

"O, Come, O Come, Emmanuel..."
- Traditional Latin Hymn, 9th century


So begins the prayer for the lighting of the wreath this first week of Advent. Historically in merrie olde England, this day (or technically the Saturday evening of the week before Advent) was known as "stir up" Sunday. This was the day that the Christmas pudding was prepared. Families gathered in the kitchen, and beginning with the head of the household and then down to the lowliest maid, all would stir through the batter and make a wish. The pudding was then steamed and stored away to be served as Christmas dessert.

In Medieval times, the recipes for the puddings varied from home to home, but always included spices and dried fruits that evoked memories of the exotic East and the Magi. Thanks to the returning Crusaders who brought with them the treasures of the East, these once unknown ingredients became part of English cookery.

Last Christmas, in a nod to our English ancestry, I served a Christmas pudding that we set alight at the table. It was truly a sight to behold. This year however, I decided to bring the tradition back of stirring up the pudding on the first weekend of Advent. I used a suet pudding recipe that belonged to Joe's Nana. And so we come full circle - blending the past with the present - and finding ourselves grounded by and in tradition.

Roasted Tomatoes

Our tomato harvest was great this season. I planted about 45 pots of tomatoes of different varieties - some heirloom (thanks, Andrew!), salsa, Roma, and cherry. I had the firm resolution not to do to myself what I did last year in planting 90 tomato plants and was determined to thin out the seedlings even if it killed me. But, unbeknown to me, Joe lovingly separated all of the seedlings one morning before work, and when I next went out to the greenhouse I found over 100 plants growing strong. 109 to be exact - Edmund helped me count them after they were put out in the garden.

Needless to say, I had hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes come harvest time. We ate as many fresh tomatoes as we could, sold some at the farm stand, and gave some away. The rest became tomato-peach salsa, regular salsa, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, roasted red pepper spread, and dried tomatoes. One delicious recipe for a roasted tomato sauce came from a book Joe borrowed from someone at work. It was a book on raising pigs, but the author also included recipes for vegetables from his farm produce.

Roasting tomatoes was not a new concept to me - the roasted red pepper spread also called for roasting a few Roma tomatoes in the recipe. But I had never thought of making a large quantity of sauce out of the tomatoes. Once tried, though, I realized that I had stumbled upon a delicious, and easy, alternative to the pizza sauce I had made last year. The flavor is unique - deep, and garlicky. It is wonderful on pizza.


Roasted Tomato Sauce

Cut Roma or other Italian style tomatoes in half, and lay in a baking pan. Add 4-6 garlic cloves still in their skins to the pan. Drizzle with olive oil. A full bodied flavored oil works well. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Place in a 400 degree oven and roast until the tomato skins begin to blacken. Cool, and press through a sieve. I made mine in large quantities and canned the sauce according to The Ball Blue Book.