mickey and marv slind

It is Steamed Pudding, and I don't know if you have tried it when you have visited MN at Christmas time. I always make it for family gatherings are Christmas. I first got the recipe from a friend in December 1966. I met Judy at the Law Wives Club when my first husband (Keith) was in law school. This was a group of women which was formed to support all of us while our husbands were working full time and going to law school at night. Judy was from the far north in MN - International Falls - and, like me, did not have any friends in St. Paul. She had a son the same age as your Aunt Angie, and we would get together so the children could play together. Around Christmas of that year, she invited our little family to join her and her law student husband for a holiday dinner, and she served Steamed Pudding, which I had never eaten before. It is a very old recipe that goes back to early America and beyond - back into Medieval Times in England. Back in the '60's and early '70's, it was a very labor intensive dessert to make because after you made the batter, you would put it into a 3 lb coffee tin (no longer made) and put it on a rack in a big kettle and "steam" in for 3 hours. Thus, the name - Steamed Pudding. The rolling boil of the water produced the very hot steam that "baked" the pudding in the kettle. Then, miracle of miracles - the microwave oven was invented. When we got our first one, I wondered if I could convert the tedious method of making Steamed Pudding and "steam" it in the microwave instead of for hours in a kettle on the top of the stove. My experiment worked perfectly. I make it every year for Christmas, and always give any leftovers to your Uncle Matt who could eat an entire pudding by himself, if allowed to do so! I absolutely love it, and I have been making it every Christmas now since 1966!

I grew up eating these at all family gatherings, parties, holidays, and special events. I fell in love with them the first time I ate them at his mother's house way back when. After Mickey and I were married, we bought our own heart-shaped waffle iron so we could make them too. We have always used my mother's recipe. It is an old and very popular Norwegian treat. They are available all summer long all over Norway from outdoor kiosks where they will make them to order. Every time we have taken a ferry in Norway (they are part of the vast Norwegian transportation system), we always head to the cafe as soon as we park the car down below in the hold, and we have a treat of coffee and freshly made waffles. Norwegians travel on waffles and coffee! After my wife died in 1989, to help him get through the first Christmas without her, I decided to host a small party in honor of the Winter Solstice and served all of my favorite traditional Norwegian foods. After we were married, I also became a part of this tradition, and because Mickey knew absolutely nothing about Norwegian history, culture, and cuisine, she learned quickly. Once when we lived in Idaho and once after we had moved to Iowa. We would always have about 60 people and it was a huge fun party. We continued to host it every year until 2010. We still miss giving it, but I had hosted it for 21 years, and all good things eventually have to come to an end. Even if the party no longer exists, we still make the waffles year-round for special occasions.