Amy Taylor
The Silhouette
Being here at McMaster on exchange from the UK, I thought I’d write a recipe for a traditional festive dessert in England, the Christmas pudding. This plum pudding only formed connections with Christmas when it was introduced to the Victorians by Prince Albert. An important English tradition is to bury a silver coin in the mixture and whoever finds it in their portion is said to have good fortune for the rest of the year. The pudding should be made on the Sunday before advent, also known as “Stir Up Sunday” as the flavours develop over a few weeks (though two-three weeks before is also fine!)
Ingredients you will need:
(Serves 6-8)
- 50g plain flour
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon of ground mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon of grated nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 50g of shredded beef suet
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 50g of soft light brown sugar
- 175g of raisins
- 175g of sultanas
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 25g of blanched almonds, chopped
- 25g of mixed candied peel, finely chopped
- The grated rind and juice of ½ a lemon
- The grated rind of ½ an orange
- 2 teaspoons of treacle
- 65ml of barley wine
- 2 tablespoon of rum
Method:
1. You should ideally start the day before you want to steam the pudding. Mix together the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs, spices and sugar very well. You should then gradually mix in all of the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts, followed by the apple and the grated orange and lemon zests.
2. Next, in a smaller bowl you should measure out the rum and barley wine, adding the eggs and beating these thoroughly together. You should then pour this mixture over all of the other ingredients and mix well. This is when you would add the silver coin and make a wish! The mixture should fall instantly from the spoon when tapped against the bowl for the right consistency. Cover the bowl and leave overnight.
3. On the next day, spoon the mixture into a lightly greased pudding basin, cover it with pleated greaseproof paper and foil, and then secure it with string. Place the basin in a large saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 8 hours.
4. When the pudding is steamed let it get quite cold before removing the steam papers and foil, and then replace them with fresh ones. The pudding is now made and should be kept in a cool place until Christmas day.
5. To cook, re-steam the pudding on a gentle simmer for 2 hours.
6. To serve, remove the pudding from the steamer and take off the wrapping. Turn it out on to a plate and to further enhance the taste, you should heat a ladle of brandy, set it alight and then gently pour over the Christmas pudding. Watch it flame and once this had died down, dust with icing sugar and a holly berry. Serve with brandy butter, fresh cream or custard.
Rick Kanary
The Silhouette
(with a little help from http://www.loveandlaundry.com)
Having previously covered the nitty-gritty details of successfully executing the ‘Turkey Dump’, here at the Sil we felt it necessary to consider the other side of the coin and address the possible casualties. If you managed to ditch some unwanted baggage, well done. If you were a survivor of the infamous devastation caused by this ominous relationship bomb, then kudos to you. If, however, you are one of this season’s haunted cling-ons, our sympathy, and the following recipe, goes out to you.
Bacon is my hero. It solves world issues by distracting us long enough to forget they exist. Chocolate is bacon’s sultry mistress. If bacon is a rough-around-the-edges, down-home, Benicio Del Toro type, then chocolate is Catherine Zeta-Jones. You know what they say, opposites attract.
Throw some maple syrup in there for patriotic good vibes and comfort, and bingo- you have a recipe that can cure the deepest wounds.
Make these cupcakes in giant batches. Trust me.
Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Maple Buttercream Frosting
makes 36 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
3/4 C cocoa powder
3/4 C hot water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C butter, room temperature
2 1/4 C sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 1b bacon, cooked and crumbled (set aside about 1/3-1/2 c for topping)
Frosting Ingredients:
(if you are piping the frosting, I recommend doubling the batch)
1 cup of butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
1 lbs powdered sugar
1/3 c maple syrup
2 Tbsp milk
225 mg Prozac (optional)
Cupcake Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 and line cupcake tin with beautiful liners (cause we all know that the liner makes the cupcake taste better. Am I right?).
Mix the hot water and the cocoa powder together with a fork and set aside. Meanwhile, mix or sift the dry ingredients together. In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Mix until the butter is light and fluffy - I usually go a full five minutes! Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the cocoa/water mixture and vanilla. Mix really well. Next add a little bit of flour, mix. Then, a little sour cream and mix. Basically, what you want to do is add flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour. Mix just until combined between each addition. Finally, add your bacon crumbles (except for the part set aside for topping).
From experience, don't fill the cupcakes more than 3/4 full. They turn out the perfect height at 3/4 full.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until they are done. Let them cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Directions:
In your mixer, mix the butter for about 5 minutes - or until light and fluffy. Then add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and maple flavoring. Mix really well. It takes a minute for the ingredients to incorporate into the butter. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Mix the powdered sugar in really well. Once it's nice and fluffy, add the milk and combine well.
Try not to eat all of them. They are pretty darn good!
In order for the Prozac to be a little surprise boost, it is important to disguise it. Using a mortar and pestle (you know, that old-school alchemist’s tool where you crush herbs and stuff) crush the Prozac into powder. You can sprinkle it in batter mixture, but I find it tends to get bitter in high temperatures and is less noticeable if mixed into the sweet icing. Feel free to double or triple the volume, depending on just how badly you were jettisoned into the cultural wasteland that is now your life….I mean…depending on how you feel….
See more at: http://www.loveandlaundry.com/
By: Nichole Fanara
Dear Fellow Chocolate Aficionados,
Heed my words. Listen to my tale.
"Dear Google", I began, "why am I hopelessly devoted to Nutella?"
Google worked its hardest and in 0.12 seconds showed me the answer to all my burning questions. Turns out the answer is quite simple - chocolate is addictive.
But I couldn’t accept this. Chocolate is so good to me. I couldn’t accept that this love was simply chemical Stockholm syndrome.
So I searched further.
What I found was that chocolate has properties (other than cocoa-y deliciousness) that make you want it all the time, really badly. Like really badly. The little devils are actually the same addictive chemical found in alcohol.
I also found that apparently women crave it more than men - 40% of women in an Answers.com article crave it over only 15% of men. This has something to do with our menstrual cycles. When women are low in magnesium, there is a tendency to crave it. Thus, many women crave chocolate. Just as Mother Nature intended it.
Have I mentioned chocolate’s connection with marijuana yet? No, no it can't be found in chocolate, but according to some studies done at the University of California, a pleasure-inducing chemical found in marijuana is also found in chocolate. Here’s to hoping that the FBI doesn’t know though, because it would be a real shame if the government banned chocolate.
So friends, with all the chocolate your hunny (or you yourself) will be bringing you today, remember this one important message: practice safe chocolate.
(Hershey) hugs and kisses,
Mlle. Chocolate
Kacper Niburski
Assistant News Editor
Although Halloween may be a time where our younger selves yearn the bygone days of mountainous piles of sweets and goodies, a group of students from McMaster, dressed primarily in gorilla costumes, have found something else to go bananas about.
In an effort to promote Fair Trade consumption and awareness, Engineers Without Borders (EWB), World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and MacGreen participated in an annual reverse Trick or Treat campaign entitled “Scare them Fair” on Oct. 31st.
Members, many of whom dressed as bananas, the Fair Trade product logo, or gorillas, gave out Oxfam Belgian Mini’s, one of the many Fair Trade chocolates sold in Canada, to unsuspecting passer-bys while participating in an open dialogue regarding the merits of Fair Trade, a stance taken by ethical supply chains.
“That’s the beauty of it,” said Amy Tang, a member of the EWB McMaster chapter. “Not only we’re we out there giving sweets – Fair Trade ones at that – but we were also giving information.”
Much of this “information” was meant as an introduction to Fair Trade for those who had not heard of it before and an attempt to clear up any ambiguities to those who have.
“Contrary to what the name of the campaign suggests, we want to use the fun of Halloween to start conversations with students, faculty, staff, and the general Hamilton community,” said Brandon Desbarbieux, coordinator of Fair Trade Awareness for EWB.
The event stands as an ongoing drive for consumer responsibility in the marketplace that originated in Vancouver, Canada’s largest Fair Trade city and home to Canada’s first Fair Trade Campus, University of British Columbia.
Similarly, McMaster is seeking Fair Trade Campus status. Tang noted that it has been a topic constantly up for discussion, and “that much of the faculty support it: Patrick Deane, Ilene-Busch-Vishniac; those are just some of the many.”
Some, however, have been known reject Fair Trade because it is often more expensive than other producers.
“This is a common misconception,” said Tang. “It does not have to be more expensive. If you look at Union Market, if you look at OPRIG Office on the second floor of MUSC, if you go to any chain super market, it is not. It actually costs less.”
Financial costs are only one consideration though.
While it is true that money may be the mitigating factor for some, it is certain that the social benefits are unquestionable. Even if it is the case that finances are a concern, the social costs greatly outrun the worries of any paper trail.
Tang argued this point. Highlighting the “Scare them Fair” event, she added that this pursuit of equitable consumption is becoming more popular, even at McMaster.
“When we were giving the chocolate out, a girl said, ‘Look, Mommy! Fair Trade chocolate.’ She didn’t say chocolate. She specified the kind. That’s evidence enough of the movement spreading.”
This, coupled with the joint advocacy of ethical purchases by three groups at McMaster, may very well be compelling. If it is, then perhaps in the near future, Halloween will become a time of united chants, “Monkeys. Bananas. Fair Trade. Oh my.”
