Celebrate the WisdomOn Saturday 16th April Slow Food convivia all around Ireland, will celebrate the third annual Grandmothers’ Day. Slow Food Ireland's network will celebrate a day dedicated to remembering and recording lost skills, and the precious inherited wisdom of previous generations. Grandmothers’ Day was an idea born from Alice Waters and myself, presented during Terra Madre, in recognition of the varied secrets which are held in the minds of grannies and granddads the world over and may need the gentle touch of a grandchild, son or daughter to unlock. We invite grandmothers all around the world to gather their grandchildren around them, have fun, show them how to bake a cake, catch a fish, and sow a seed. Grandparents are the guardians of inherited wisdom - this is a perfect opportunity to pass forgotten skills on to our grandchildren. To celebrate Slow Food Grandmother’s day this year, we would like to invite Slow Food Members and their friends to send a favourite recipe from their grandmother and or a food memory or recollection from childhood and we will publish them on the Slow Food website. It would be extra special if we could include a photo of grandmother or grandmother and yourself beside the entry. This could build into a wonderful resource and Slow Food Grandmothers archive which can be added to on an ongoing basis. Please email submissions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Yours slowly, To get the ball rolling for Grandmothers Day here is one of Darina's favourite recipes. Great Grandmother's Butter SpongeA buttery sponge cake was standard fare to serve with afternoon tea at my Grandmothers house in Donoghmore, Co. Kilkenny and a great many other Irish houses also. When it was taken out of the oven of the Aga it was cooled on a wire rack by the window in the back kitchen. Thick yellow cream spooned off the top of the milk in the dairy was whipped and as soon as the cake was cool it was sandwiched together with homemade jam made from the raspberries picked at the top of the haggard. This is the best sponge cake you’ll ever taste.
Darina Allen's maternal grandparents Thomas and Florence Rochford Tynan Ingredients 6 ozs (175g) flour Filling castor sugar to sprinkle 2 x 7 inch (18cm) sponge cake tins Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/regulo 5. Grease the tine with melted butter, dust with flour and line the base of each with a round of greaseproof paper. Cream the butter and gradually add the castor sugar, beat until soft and light and quite pale in colour. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well between each addition. (If the butter and sugar are not creamed properly and if you add the eggs too fast, the mixture will curdle, resulting in a cake with a heavier texture). Sieve the flour and baking powder and stir in gradually. Mix all together lightly and add 1 tablespoon of milk to moisten. Divide the mixture evenly between the 2 tins, hollowing it slightly in the centre. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until cooked – the cake will shrink-in slightly from the edge of the tin when it is cooked, the centre should feel exactly the same texture as the edge. Alternatively a skewer should come out clean when put into the centre of the cake. Turn out onto a wire tray and allow to cool. Sandwich together with homemade raspberry jam and whipped cream. Sprinkle with sieved castor sugar. Serve on an old fashioned plate with a doyley. Raspberry Jam Makes 3 x 1 lb (450g) pots Raspberry jam is the easiest and quickest of all jams to make, and one of the most delicious. Loganberries, Boysenberries or Tayberries may also be used in this recipe. 2 lbs (900g/8 cups) fresh raspberries 2 lbs (900g/4 cups) white sugar (use 1/4 lb (110g/1 cup) less if fruit is very sweet) Wash, dry and sterilise the jars in a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/regulo 4, for 15 minutes. Heat the sugar in a moderate oven for 5-10 minutes. Put the raspberries into a wide stainless steel saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the juice begins to run, then add the hot sugar and stir over a gentle heat until fully dissolved. Increase the heat and boil steadily for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Test for a set by putting about a teaspoon of jam on a cold plate, leaving it for a few minutes in a cool place. It should wrinkle when pressed with a finger. Remove from the heat immediately. Skim and pour into sterilised jam jars. Cover immediately. Hide the jam in a cool place or else put on a shelf in your kitchen so you can feel great every time you look at it! Anyway, it will be so delicious it won't last long! Raspberry and Cassis Preserve Make Raspberry jam as above, add 4 tablespoons (5 American tablespoons) of cassis to the jam just before potting. Loganberry, Tayberry, and Boysenberry jams are made in exactly the same way. | mmm | An Edible Landscape For Grandmother's Day 2011, Slow Food Ireland invites convivia to celebrate by organising an event where Grandparents will Plant an Apple or Fruit Tree with their grandchildren - the start of an edible landscape that will continue to grow and provide fruit for future generations. |
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