Eating In Home
Julia Buck
I was a housewife at a time when mums mostly stayed at home and were always popping into see each other for coffee and a chat. Those were the days of elaborate dinner parties, which, looking back, involved a lot of work choosing menus, getting the house tidy and the kids into bed. Those carefree times have all but gone as most parents are far too busy juggling work and family to be fiddling round in the kitchen. So it's easy to understand why the provision of hospitality has evolved away from the home and into restaurants and cafes.
I hope we never entirely relinquish the joy of cooking at home. We are a healthy and allergy-conscious generation who are picky about what we eat. Home cooking is mostly free of additives and allows us to control our intake of sugar, salt and fats. These are the elements that make restaurant food so tasty, while increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Now that I have retired, I'm on a personal mission to do more entertaining at home. As a first step I'm digging old friends out of the woodwork and inviting them round for a cuppa. So far, this has not been straightforward. Of four couples invited, two got lost on the way and one didn't turn up at all. But I shall persevere!
For such occasions I resort to my favourite old recipes. Cherry slice is a winner, classy to look at, very easy to make and it goes a long way.
Cherry Slice
Base:
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup sugar
150 g butter
Filling:
¾ cup raspberry jam
½ cup glace cherries (I usually use a whole packet of Tasti cherries)
¼ tsp almond essence
Topping:
1 ½ cups coconut
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ cup chopped blanched almonds
50 g butter
2 eggs
1 tsp almond essence
Turn on the oven and heat to 170º. Grease a sponge roll tray (33cm. X 22cm) with a little bit of butter.
Make the base first. Soften butter, cream in the sugar and then add the flour. Press mixture into the tray and bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is just beginning to colour. While the base is in the oven, mix together the three ingredients that make up the filling, then assemble the topping. Soften and cream butter, add sugar, eggs, then the rest of the ingredients.
Spread the cherry/jam filling over the partly-cooked base, then spoon over the topping mixture, very lightly, so that the jam is covered.
Bake at the same temperature for 20-30 minutes until the topping has turned golden. Leave to stand for 15 minutes before cutting carefully into fingers. (Makes about 35!) Finish cooling on a rack, then place pieces between layers of greaseproof paper in an airtight tin. It should keep well for a couple of weeks.
julia [AT] buck.co.nz
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