Steamed Persimmon Pudding

California Holly = Live Oak + Rose Hips

Recipe from Old Surrey, England

A few years ago I met a delightful woman at a winter solstice party. We both had studied art under the same professors at University, and both loved collecting historical recipes. Plus she had concocted my favorite dish of entire potluck using an old time recipe. As I raved over it, she insisted on sending me the details. Alas, I’ve lost touch with her over the years and have forgotten her name, but not her face. This year, for the first time, I made her traditional persimmon pudding recipe from Surrey, a charming rural county southeast of London.

Foil Wrapped Herbed Tiny Potatoes

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Recipe by Robin

A couple of decades ago when I first starting cooking dinners with my not-quite-husband-yet, I frequently prepared small potatoes dotted with fresh herbs and garlic, wrapped in foil and roasted. I had forgotten all about this till I received a homegrown Yuletide herb mix from my neighbor Jennifer, the same week I got small yellow potatoes in my food share. Instant memory jog! Bonus: their easy prep doesn’t interfere with more complicated holiday cooking.