AN ANGEL, FLUFFY CLOUDS, AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Have you ever wonder about the origins of the good old Yorkshire Pudding? Well here's a little story that you might find interesting.

This is just one story I was told about the origins of the humble but quite famous Yorkshire pudding, its by far the most appealing so it's the one I'd like to tell you.

It was told me one afternoon by my grandmother whilst she busied herself in her kitchen, and trying to ignore a pestering young lad, (myself) with his thieving fingers taking more of the shelled peas than the pan did, for himself. She was mixing Yorkshire pudding batter, and there was I jumping for joy, me thinking oooh! Pancakes, yummy. But how wrong I was.

In her wonderful corrective ways, my gran sat me at the far end of her very old kitchen table, passed me two of the thickest slices of home made bread that were liberally coated in real butter. Now this was a real treat in those days, fresh home made bread with best farmhouse butter, so yes it was a lovely ploy to keep both my hands and mouth otherwise gainfully employed, and away from the garden peas that were after all meant to be for our Sunday dinner.

Whilst I chomped merrily on my snack, my grandmother started to tell me this story.

Once upon a time in a little village, somewhere in the Yorkshire Dales, long before industry and the miners, there lived an old lady in a small run down cottage, almost isolated from everyone else. One day she was making pancakes on the old griddle over the fire, when a knock came at the door. On opening it, she was greeted to a wonderful smile from a bedraggled young lady, who looked quite worse for ware, with her torn clothes and no shoes.

The young lady asked for food, and said everyone in the village had turned her away, and set their dogs on her. The old lady listened to her story and invited her in, saying that she herself was so very poor, but the young lady was welcome to share her pancakes. 

The young lady looked at the pancakes, which were deep brown and almost inedible, smiling she simply said to the old woman. "Fetch me two eggs from your chickens, fresh milk from your cow and I see you already have the flour, and I'll cook you something I'll guarantee you've never tasted the like of which before." 

The old lady eagerly fetched the young girl the requested ingredients but for the life of her could not imagine what she could make apart from pancakes? The young lady bade the old woman to go outside and come back in about half an hour.

When she returned, there on a plate sitting on the table was the fluffiest lightest, golden brown battercakes you could ever imagine, the like of which the old lady in her many long years cooking had never seen before. Their taste was so exquisite as they melted on the tongue. Now the young girl was nowhere to be found, and the old lady had sat by the door for the full half hour, yet she was gone. Beside the plate of goodies was a small note, and it read, "I am Louise your guardian angel, God sent me to test everyone in your village and for your kindness and generosity I've left you these simple puddings, and the recipe to make them. Do with it as you will and have a long and prosperous life. God Bless Lou." 

The old lady broke down in tears at the thought of being visited by an angel let alone being fed by one.

The old lady took the recipe and made the puddings, and sold them at her local market, they were an instant success; she couldn't make enough of these fluffy little clouds, and became quite prosperous in a small way. Certainly enough to keep her well provided, for the rest of her days. So we saw the beginning of the not so humble Yorkshire puddings, made with love by an angel, little clouds of batter so light they float off your plate and into your mouth. And well made Yorkshire puddings certainly do just that.

I'm not saying that the recipe below is the exact same one as was given to the old lady but it is one that I've used for many years, so do enjoy making them won't you.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING RECIPE

Ingredients:

1. 6oz plain flour (175grams approx) 
2. 1/2 a pint of milk (1/4litre approx) 
3. 2 medium eggs 
4. A good pinch of salt and pepper (you could also add a pinch of mixed herbs as a variation) 
5. 1/2oz lard or shortening (25grams approx)

Method:

First take a large 2 inch deep, baking or roasting tin and put the lard or shortening in it and place in a very hot oven, place near the top.

Whilst the lard is heating up, put the flour, 2 eggs, salt and milk into a bowl and beat into a thick batter mixture, try to make sure it's not too lumpy. Continue to beat the mixture well. Leave to stand a few minutes then beat again. The lard should be sizzling hot in its tin, so take great care at this stage. Oven gloves are a must here and caution advised. Now pour in the batter mix, it should sizzle as you do so. Do not let the fat cool, and put straight back in the oven. Keep the temperature on high and cook for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Do not open the oven door within the first 15 minutes of cooking; this is the puddings critical raising period, and opening the oven door will cause the pudding to sag or not rise properly. After 25 minutes you can safely move it to a lower shelf if you wish, but many don't, preferring the traditional method of top shelf cooking.

You should now have a wonderful Yorkshire pudding like my grandmother used to make and hopefully very similar to the fluffy clouds the young angel left the old lady all those many years ago.

Yorkshire puddings can also be made into individual small puddings by using small cake tins in sets of six the type used to make jam tarts.

Traditionally these delicious puddings were eaten on their own with a good gravy but as the years went by they were included in the English Sunday diner with roast meat, mashed potatoes vegetables and gravy. Whichever way you eat your Yorkshire puddings you are certain to enjoy them.

TOAD IN THE HOLE

As a variation, why not now try "Toad In The Hole" which basically involves putting sausages in the fat and cooking them, then adding your batter to the sizzling fat once your sausages are cooked, after 35 minutes you have another wonderful low budget meal to add to your ever growing collection. Served on its own or with the beef gravy mashed potatoes and vegetables, your sure to get the "MORE" response from your ever eager family.

A GOOD GRAVY RECIPE

Here is a really good gravy recipe I make for my family every Sunday. Using the water from the boiled potatoes add these stock cubes, 1x chicken, 1x beef, 1x lamb and 1x vegetable, add a tablespoon of mixed herbs and a small chopped up onion. You can thicken the gravy with cornflower if desired. This is really good flavoursome gravy and a great accompaniment to any meal, add a clove or two of crushed garlic for a variation.

About the author:
John Elliott aka Oaky Wood, is a single parent who cooks for his own family. Currently an Agony Uncle and Co-Founder of The Corner 4 Women.com ©2006  Is a Poet, Writer, Artist, Webmaster and Designer. He is also the owner of the Oakwood Grafix ©2005 group of websites

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