Happy Hogmanay! with Scottish Sultana Cake

Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Year’s Eve

Slice of Sultana cake

Cover of my favorite reference book re Hogmanay traditions, "Christmas in Scotland," by World Book, Inc. 2002

Traditional Toast:              A guid new year ta ane an’ a’, And monie may ye see

                                             A good New Year to one and all & many may you see

In loving memory of my adored grandmother Catherine (who was born in Manchester, England on New Year’s Day) and my grandfather Tony (from Glasgow, Scotland), I’m going to share some family traditions celebrating New Year’s Eve, Scottish style.

One of my traditions around Hogmanay is to clear out the old to make room for the new. The idea is to make a clean break and welcome in the new year on a happy note - with remembrances of old family & friends, warm hospitality with current family & friends, along with good luck wishes for abundance, sweetness, and health. Going along with this, I tend to clean my house from top to bottom, reorganize and sort thru my clothes, pull out any books or games for donation, toss things that are broken, and make a list of all those little projects I meant to finish within the last year but just didn’t get around to. I make sure my pantry is well stocked and my laundry is all clean. I usually start the day after Christmas in my preparations - but never finish until late on December 31! The idea is to work hard right up until you’re partying, and then not to do any real work on New Year’s Day. I also cook and bake ahead so I have multiple main dishes and treats to choose from & share on January 1. Shortbread is a must; I’ve also made Sultana Cake and mincemeat cookies or a pie.

I’ll include my Scottish Sultana Cake recipe below. (Sultanas are yellow raisins to us Yanks.)

Close-up of Sultanas. PHOTO CREDIT: Abhinav619, "Raisins," Dec 2011 at Wikimedia Commons.

Ancient customs included “First Footing,” where it was thought that the best luck was delivered by a tall, dark and handsome man crossing the threshold as the first guest after midnight, bearing a piece of coal, salt or money, shortbread, black bun cake, and of course whiskey. My sources tell me that modern guests still share gifts of whiskey and shortbread.

PHOTO CREDIT: Antique lithograph print, "New Year's Day in Scotland 'First Footing'," 1876 (as seen on e-Bay)

For interesting links on the auld customs, check out the BBC Scotland page on Hogmanay or the Rampant Scotland page.

Modern customs include a multi-day festival rockin’ out in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is totally a fantasy of mine to celebrate Hogmanay in Scotland – but when my sons are older and supervising them is not so intensive! The theme this year is “Be Lucky!” The festivities include a torchlight procession, street parties, music stages & concerts, dancing and ceilidhs, even sled dog racing. For more info check out the Festival website here: http://www.edinburghshogmanay.com 

Now on to baking and then on to toasting in 2013, the Lucky New Year…

I’ve adapted this recipe from a delightful Scot who is sharing his Gran’s recipe. I love that it is not prepared at all how I think it would be – this cake is made in a sauce pot and the sultanas are steeped in tea to start. It’s fun to make, comes together quickly, and tastes along the lines of blondie bars. Slainte!

Scottish Sultana Cake

Adapted from Collin Wallace at Being Baked Blog

Ingredients:

1 cup Sultanas

1 Earl Grey Tea Bag

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 Flax "egg" (1 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp warm water)

1 Orgran "egg" (1 tsp powder + 2 Tbsp warm water)

1/2 cup demerara sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 cups wholewheat pastry flour

2-1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp sea salt

Directions: 


Preheat oven to 350F. Grease round glass dish.

Prepare replacement for eggs - in very small, separate bowls combine solid and water and mix vigorously. Let sit.

Replacers for the eggs - Orgran powder + water mixture on top & Flaxseed meal + water mixture on bottom

Measure out sultanas in a pot and just cover with water. Drop in Earl Grey Tea Bag. Bring the water to boil then lower heat to simmer sultanas for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Carefully strain off the water while leaving the sultanas in pot. 

Drop in stick of butter immediately, and swish pot or use long tined fork to stir around the sultanas and completely melt the butter.

Sultanas, after brewing in Earl Grey, melting butter in pot

Mix in the sugar, "eggs" and extract.

Measure out and mix in flour, powder, salt.

Turn out batter into glass dish, smoothing the top.

Sultana cake batter in pot; stirred with heat resistant spatula

Sultana cake batter in greased dish, before baking

Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden browned and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

ALLERGENS: contains wheat and dairy

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: to eliminate wheat, substitute with gluten-free baking mix; to eliminate dairy, substitute with margarine or solid vegetable oil

Hawaiian-style Skillet Beans

Perfect as a side for leftover holiday ham or as a super stand alone side dish

Hawaiian style skillet beans in clear glass bowl; made with regular size red beans and pineapple tidbits

I discovered this recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook a few years ago. Sweet and smoky, it’s like baked beans without the long cooking time and with less sugar. It’s a flexible recipe with holiday flavors. After several tries, I’ve tweaked the recipe just right and now it’s a favorite, especially for serving with a holiday ham. With a smoked, cooked ham I cut off medium-size slices and heat them up in the skillet, with the beans, after the beans are done. Then I serve it with the saucy beans on top and a generous side of potatoes au gratin. But it is also outstanding served without any meat. It’s a perfect pairing with the rich and cheesy potatoes, too.

Skillet beans on the right side of plate, with potatoes au gratin on the left

 

This Hawaiian style dish calls for a specific - and delicious - sauce from Asian cuisine. For families managing peanut and/or treenut allergies, as well as egg allergies, Asian cuisine is pretty much off the table. Most commercial Asian restaurants and food producers utilize peanut oil for frying, peanuts and treenuts feature prominently in many dishes from appetizers thru desserts, there is egg drop soup and egg foo young, and with open kitchens there is very high risk for cross-contamination between dishes even if the allergens aren’t intended to be ingredients. My family no longer dines in or carries out. And finding safe items at the grocery store can be tricky. But for creative and not easily discouraged home cooks, there are still ways to deliver Asian flavors and keep it tasty and safe. It just requires dogged persistence while shopping and experimenting in the kitchen.

The key ingredient for these skillet beans is Hoisin Sauce, which is a thick and sweet addition to Asian dishes like barbecued ribs and Mu Shu fillings. If you can’t find a commercially prepared sauce, especially one that is allergy safe, you can concoct your own version. I have done this. The beans are still very tasty, just in a different way. This year I found a bottle at the grocery store with no peanut or treenut ingredients or “made in same facility” warnings; it contains soy and wheat and is made in a facility that processes milk, egg, fish and shellfish – definitely not an option that will work for everyone, depending on specific allergens, but works for us. Especially since my son is unlikely to eat this (although I offer a taste every year!) so the cross-contamination risk is very low for us. Every family has a different comfort level regarding this kind of risk. Due to unique history of reactions as well as doctors’ recommendations, there can be dramatic differences in individual food allergy plans and comprehensive scope of allergen avoidance. As always, read all labels carefully and contact manufacturers directly with questions – or talk to your child’s Allergist.

I cannot tell you how many bottle labels I’ve perused over the years when on the hunt for allergy friendly Asian-specific ingredients. Almost always I come out of the store empty handed. Which makes the rare successes all the sweeter. I once found a peanut-free, treenut-free, egg-free bottle of Fish sauce and did a happy dance in the grocery aisle. I use fish sauce once in a blue moon, but that day I was still really happy! Persistence will pay off, eventually. So my good-luck Chinese cookie fortune for you is this: “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Dustyboo1080 posted "Fortune Cookie" on Fanpop.com, 2007

Look to the end of my recipe for suggestions on alternatives to commercial hoisin sauce. Reminder that my family size is small – feel free to double recipe as desired for bigger quantities. The same or two different kinds of beans can be used for bigger batches.

Skillet beans using Aduki beans on left side w/au gratin potatoes on right side

 

Hawaiian Style Skillet Beans

Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook, 1994

Ingredients:

Medium red onion, chopped finely

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups cooked beans or 1 can (15 oz) beans, drained & rinsed – Aduki red beans are ideal due to small size, but regular red beans will do nicely as well

1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (or use canned, crushed or tidbit size pieces, drained)

2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce*

2 Tbsp Catsup (or tomato paste)

1 Tbsp Honey mustard

1 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce

1 Tbsp pineapple juice

1 Tbsp orange zest

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sesame oil** or olive oil

Directions:

Chop your onion, set aside. If necessary, drain and rinse your beans.

In a small mixing bowl, measure out and combine the following ingredients to make sauce - pineapple pieces, Hoisin sauce, catsup, mustard, soy, pineapple juice, orange zest, cumin and oil. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and using medium heat sauté the onions until starting to brown. Add in beans and give a good stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in sauce and stir to coat beans and incorporate onions. Turn heat to low and simmer gently for several minutes to heat through.

(Meat option: If desired add in cooked ham slices to bring up to heat and serve beans on top of ham. Smoked ham is a great complement for these smoky, sweet, tangy beans. Vegetarian meat option: the Moosewood Collective suggests adding sliced Vegetarian hot dogs for a variation.)

*Hoisin Sauce Options:

-- Panos Brand (KA•ME All Natural Hoisin Sauce) is a commercial version with no peanut or treenut ingredients or warnings. However, it does include soy and wheat, as well as cross-contamination warnings for milk, egg, fish and shellfish. Contact manufacturer with specific questions before trying to see if this could be a safe option.

--For a quick alternate version that is good in a pinch, combine 1 Tbsp molasses with 1 Tbsp white vinegar, and a teaspoon of hot pepper sauce. (This is the version I’ve used before.)

--For a more adventurous version, closer to the original, start here with this gluten-free recipe. It calls for regular blackbeans that you mash into a paste yourself, or you could look for commercial “bean paste.” Consider McCormick’s brand for Chinese 5 Spice powder; I’ve called them regarding other spices and find them allergy-friendly with accurate labeling practices, although I haven’t inquired about this blend in particular. The sesame paste (tahini) can be made in a food processor with toasted seeds and oil, if not available commercially. I’m not familiar with Sriracha sauce, but it sounds like a straight forward hot pepper sauce – so use whichever brand is safe for the allergens you’re avoiding. I haven’t tried this recipe myself, so feel free to tell me in the comments if you give it a go.

**NOTE: Sesame Oil can be quite the challenge to find when avoiding peanut, treenut, soy and fish allergies. It is also dearly priced. If you can afford it and can find an allergen-free version, go with the darkest variety you can find. If you don’t wish to splurge or can’t find an allergen free version, just use a bit of olive or vegetable oil instead. It’s not a critical ingredient here, just a flavor enhancer.

ALLERGENS: Soy, Sesame, possible wheat in soy and/or hoisin sauces if using commercially made

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: Use gluten-free soy sauce, omit sesame oil, make your own hoisin sauce

Suggestions for Allergy-Friendly Holiday Food Gifts

A list of companies specializing in safe treats and seasonal presents

PHOTO CREDIT: Christmas Village Flash Screen free wallpaper

 Being the parent of a child with food allergies can be frequently stressful and rather isolating, especially during the holidays which feature an abundance of food-centered gatherings. Making sure everyone is included, safe, and still having a great time is a worthwhile challenge. And so rewarding! To give parents some extra empathy – or safe treats – is keenly appreciated during the holiday season. Find below a list of some of my family’s favorite and safe vendors for avoiding treenuts, peanuts and eggs. Check the section on “free from:” designations as several of these companies are also safe for those avoiding dairy or other top 8 allergens.

·        Premium Chocolatiers - http://www.premiumchocolatiers.com/
Gourmet chocolates and truffles sold in gift boxes. Solid chocolate in lollipops, shapes and bars. Chocolate dipped pretzels, chocolate cheesecake bites and chocolate “flowers.”
Free from: peanuts, treenuts, eggs, dairy, gluten
Does contain: soy
Made in designated PN/TN facility? Yes
Where to find: order online
This is a big deal because most fancy chocolates contain nuts and use eggs in their truffles. This is the only chocolatier I’m aware of that is also dairy-free. (Let me know in comments if there are others.)

·        Vermont Nut-free Chocolates - http://www.vermontnutfree.com/
Chocolates, truffles, candies, baking goods, granola bars and trail mixes sold individually or in combos. Holiday themed chocolates and giftboxes.
Free from: peanuts, treenuts
Does contain: dairy is included in several of their chocolates; egg is included in their truffles – but not in solid chocolates or baking chips; they use soy; some products contain wheat; many products are processed on same lines containing dairy, egg, or wheat (their ingredients page is very thorough with labeling)
Made in designated PN/TN free facility? Yes
Where to find: order online; in some healthfood stores in New England
This is a big deal because most gourmet chocolates contain nuts or are made on same equipment. This is the only chocolatier I’m aware of that provides nut-safe white chocolate and butterscotch baking chips. (Let me know in comments if there are others. Enjoy Life brand makes nut-safe semi-sweet chocolate chips but other flavors have had cross-contamination warnings – always read labels and/or check with manufacturers for most up to date info.)

·        Divvies Bakery - http://www.divvies.com/
Gourmet food gifts and cook book. Baked goods include cupcakes, sheet cakes, and 6 varieties of cookies. The cupcakes are sent un-iced; you choose frosting colors and decorate yourself. They also sell gourmet popcorn, candies, holiday themed candy, solid chocolate bars and semi-sweet baking chips.
Free from: peanuts, treenuts, eggs, and dairy
Does contain: soy, wheat, corn
Made in designated PN/TN free facility? Yes for some products, they don’t make everything on site - other products/ingredients are certified allergen-free by manufacturers
Where to find: Order online
This is a big deal because most commercial bakeries use nuts, peanuts or peanutbutter and eggs. Divvies offers a wide range of products.

·        Brothers All Natural Freeze-dried Snacks - http://www.brothersallnatural.com/
Fruit crisps, fruit & oat cups, potato crisps in individual and bulk packaging. Products are made using no chemicals, no oils/fats, non-GMO, vegan, kosher, and low calorie. Offers 10 varieties of dried fruit crisps. Delicious for snacking and also baking. Can use them to make your own safe trail mixes or put in cereal, too. They also offer “Fruit of the Month” discounts throughout the year.
Free from: peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, gluten, soy
Made in designated PN/TN free facility? Yes – their facilities are top 8 allergen free
Where to find: Order online; also available in variety of grocery stores
This is a big deal because dried fruit is almost always made around nuts, many dried fruits also contain chemical preservatives or color enhancers. To find all natural, allergen free and really tasty dried fruit is a treasure.

·        Gerb’s Seeds - https://www.mygerbs.net/
Vegan, dry roasted seeds (sunflower, pumpkin & flax) sold separately and in combos with dried fruits for trail mixes. Also sells seed butters and dried spice blends. No chemicals or oils are used. Certified Kosher.
Free from: peanuts, treenuts, eggs, dairy, soy, shellfish, sesame, gluten, and transfats
Made in designated PN/TN free facility? Yes
Where to find: Order online
This is a big deal because most seed providers make other products with nuts or peanuts so cross-contamination is a risk. Great source for baking, snacking & trail mixes.

·        Stretch Island Fruit Co. - http://stretchislandfruit.com/
All natural dried fruit in strips or rolls. No added sugars, no chemicals or additives. Delicious alternative to overly processed fruit leathers or fruit-by-the-foot products which usually contain HFCS. Conscientious company with a fruit tree-planting program for schools to boot.
Free from: peanuts, treenuts, eggs
Made in designated PN/TN free facility? Yes; they are also equipped with special ventilation system
Where to find: Order online; also available in a variety of grocery stores
Great safe snack. Intense flavors from the drying process. My fav is the cherry.