Bet's Muddle Book
Betty went out to Northern Rhodesia straight after her wedding on 24th September, 1936. She was 191/2, and had never done any house-keeping or even cooking. She and her husband stayed for a few days in Livingstone (then the Capital of Northern Rhodesia) before flying up to Sesheke, then a small village some 100 miles West of Livingstone, where they were the only Europeans. In those days there was no road, only a path through the bush; most travel was by air or by barge up the Zambesi.
While in Livingstone, her new husband, who had already been in Northern Rhodesia for six years, took her to the African Lakes Corporation store ("Mandala"), and told her, "This is the last shop you will see for six moonhs, so I suggest you order some stores." He left her to it, but had a quick word with the Manager, explaining the situation, and saying, "make sure we have everything we need." The sugar she ordered lasted about six weeks; the matches, about six years. Or perhaps it was the other way round?
So she started by making copious notes of everything; these notes she thought would be useful as an aide-memoire not only for herself, but also for other wives coming new to the country.
These notes she kept in a loose-leaf binder that she called her "Muddle Book". One section was Recipes, and that is included here. You may gather from the title that there is no particular "structure" to these entries; they were inserted as they were received; they came from a variety of sources - these are given where known.
Here's the list:-
Christm-ice Pudding
Christm-ice Pudding
Northern Rhodesia lies South of the Equator, so Christmas comes in mid-summer, and can be a quite hot. So this was a substitute for the traditional "Plum-Pud":-
A fruity, nutty ice cream, lightly laced with rum. It makes a nice alternative to hot Christmas pudding. Allow ice cream to soften slightly before serving.
Serves 8 (or fewer)
Ingredients:-
- 125 g (4 oz) mixed, dried fruit
- 12 glace cherries, chopped
- 2 preserved figs, chopped
- 1 knob preserved ginger, chopped
- 45 ml (3 tbsp) dark rum
- 375 ml (13 fl oz) milk
- 3 eggs, separated
- 75 g (21/2 oz) caster sugar
- 25 ml (5 tsp) honey
- 60 g (2 oz) chopped walnuts or pecan nuts
- a few drops of vanilla extract
- 250 ml (8 fl oz) chilled whipped cream
- extra whipped cream to decorate
Method
Mix fruit and ginger in a soup plate, pour rum over; leave to macerate overnight.
Scald milk.
Beat egg yolks with sugar and honey.
Pour scalded milk onto beaten egg mixture
Return mixture to saucepan
Cook over low heat, stirring, until it thickens and coats back of spoon.
DO NOT LET IT BOIL !
Pour into a bowl, cool, and chill
Add fruit, nuts and vanilla
Fold in cream and stiffly whisked egg whites. (Both cream and custard must be very cold, so that fruit does not plummet to the bottom.)
Pour into a 1.5-2 litre (21/2 - 3 pint) freezer container, lined with two thick strips of foil, long enough to overlap the edges, for easier unmoulding
Freeze overnight.
Turn out and decorate.
