Strawberries

Delicious, lucsious, new season strawberries are now in the supermarkets and on sale at the markets.  No matter what time of year strawberries are a treat, but the first of the season seem to be sweeter and tastier.

Last weekend I picked up a punnet of strawberries grown in a market garden in the northern suburbs of Perth with no clear idea of how I would present them.  Further along the aisles a jam roll pushed its cheeky nose towards my shopping basket, its jammy smile enticing me to buy.  Mmmmm ... jam roll and strawberries.  I could hear a trifle calling.  Next stop, the dairy for a packet of whipping cream and with its inclusion I had all the ingredients for a trifle [custard out of a packet ... cheaper, and just as tasty as home made, and certainly one less messy pot to wash ... is always in the pantry].  That trifle lasted three dinners, though had we not 'partaken' of some for an early morning tea on Sunday, it may have lasted four.  However, if one is to be decadent, we might as well go the whole hog!

As I washed the cut glass dish, essential for a trifle, strange thoughts flitted in and out of my mind.

Puddings!  Puddings that I ate as a child; those puddings today would be considered uninteresting, boring even, but to small children of the 50's they were puddings fit for a king; nourishing and full of energy filling goodness.

My favourite was macaroni custard, which consisted of cooked [al dente] macaroni tubes added to a good pint of milk into which two eggs were added, and small dollops of butter placed on top.  The butter helped to form a brown skin that was eagerly fought over by my brother and I.  Rice pudding, made in a similar way somehow didn't rate as highly.

Then there was apple pie, the one that my Aunty Clarice perfected.  The shortcrust was delectable ... oh dear, my mouth is watering at the thought!  When it came my turn to be cook to my own family I preferred its simpler cousin, apple crumble.  No shortcrust to roll out as with a large family time was of the essence.  I used to add a sprinkle of nutmeg, or cinnamon to the apples.

There were chocolate steamed puddings, golden syrup dumplings that were guaranteed to add inches to the waistline.  Back in those days we simply worked the extra calories [that we had never heard of] off.  There was a quick, but very scrumptious and ever so easy to make, pineapple upside down pudding made in the frying pan.  Its cooking time was usually as long as it took to eat the main course.

Today families seldom eat puddings.  What a shame!  Spotted dick, jam roly poly, or apple roly poly, coconut tart, all made regular appearances on the dinner table.  In summer when fruit was available from the garden we had rhubarb crumble, or a favourite with my youngest son when just a toddler, stewed rhubarb set in a raspberry jelly; or gooseberries and custard, plums and custard, or any in-season fruit and custard. 

At Christmas my Mum always made a plum pudding, boiling it for what seemed forever, and sometimes a brandy sauce as a special addition. 

That simply made trifle brought back so many memories of meals that were all home cooked from home-grown produce.