Tuning in with pineapple.

Good old Tuna Casserole, much celebrated in 1970s US sitcoms as a housewife’s favourite.

Tuna Noodle Casserole.

440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, ½ kilo egg noodles, 2 tblspns butter, 2 tblspns plain flour, 385ml can undiluted evaporated milk, ¼ cup chopped chives, ¼ tspn celery salt, dash pepper, 185g can tuna fish, ½ cup sluice stuffed olives, ½ tspn paprika.

Drain pineapple. Cook noodles according to directions. Drain, but do not rinse. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk and cook over low heat, stirring until thickened. Add chives, celery salt, pepper, tuna and olives. Combine with cooked noodles. Turn into buttered casserole, top with pineapple and sprinkle with paprika. At serving time, heat well in moderate oven (180°C).

Salud . . . pineapple drinks 2

“Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo” means “health and love and time to enjoy it” in South American-Spanish.

Ruby includes quite a selection of refreshing “fruity fun starters” in her “Pineapple party time” section. Her “Pot O’ Gold” really was delicious and can be simply prepared with Golden Circle Pure Pineapple Juice with grated orange rind and a tsp honey. Ruby suggests dipping the edge of your glass in egg white and then jelly crystals. I couldn't face the jelly crystals so I tried caster sugar - yum, Anne.

Flickr is a great source of images of all imaginable subjects. These generous photographers have allowed us to include their pictures of pineapple drinks around the world.

kalihikahuna74 at a cafe in Hawaii   

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35532641@N04/3767722249/

BananaBuzzbomb      

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidandheidi/2098313070/

nicknormal  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicknormal/3514251714/

fried toast  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/friedtoast/3569827327/

clickcraftsman in Phuket 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clickcraftsman/4488739695/

and bluebeckie who took this photo at the Nago Pineapple Park in Okinawa, Japan (more about that wonderful place later)!                                                      

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebeckie/4368389582/

Cheers!

Sláinte ... pineapple drinks 1

Even though Ruby doesn’t include any alcohol in the “Pineapple Party Time” chapter of the “Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book” I thought it was time to taste a Pina Colada.  I am ashamed to say it was a new experience for me.

They are potentially great but I must admit I don’t think I did such a good job as a cocktail waitress.  I need some advice from the other Pineapple Princess, Ann, who I’m sure could make a beauty due to her youthful experience as a barmaid!

My daughter, Ella, found me a recipe in her cocktail book and then she and her friend, Inu, joined us for a tasting. They were very polite! Ella suggested trying coconut milk instead of coconut cream.

Pina Colada.

1 part white rum, 1 part coconut cream, 2 parts pineapple juice, a slice of pineapple, a cocktail cherry and crushed ice.

Place 3 tblspns of crushed ice in a cocktail shaker, add the rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice and shake well. Strain into a highball glass and decorate with the fruit.

“Sláinte” is Gaelic for “Cheers!”,  “Pro” or “Tos” is Indonesian, “Gesondheid” is Afrikaans, “Gan bei” is Mandarin, “Na Zdravi” is Czechoslovakian and “Kassutta” is Greenlandic. I love the Internet – I’m an instant (amateur) linguist! Anne

Anyone for a "Pineapple Lump"?

Blogger, Kylie of “Lucy Violet Vintage” fame, recently sent us a surprise package of pineapple treats – the fabulous wooden bowls pictured below and these tasty (original) “Pineapple Lumps” a chocolate coated product of New Zealand! Apparently they originated in 1935! Thanks Kylie!

 

By strange coincidence I came across these “Pineapple Things”, also a product of New Zealand, in a general store I was recently visiting. They both proclaim to contain about 4% pineapple juice concentrate. Our verdict = both tasted quite like bubble gum!

Pick the difference?

I will give a prize to anyone who can come up with a more enticing name for a lump/thing of pineapple candy coated in milk chocolate! Anne.

Cooking for beach boys!

How many beach boys you know love Brussels sprouts? Not many I’ll bet! How did Ruby come up with the name for this recipe ?

Beach Boy Lunch.

For each serving you’ll need 2 tblspns Golden Circle Sweet-Sour Sauce, 1 tblspn butter, 1 thick slice cooked ham, boiled bacon or canned luncheon meat, 1 serving cooked buttered Brussels sprouts, 1 cup cooked rice and drained Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces for garnish.

Melt butter in frypan and lightly brown the slice of ham or luncheon meat. Spread with the Sweet-Sour Sauce and add pineapple pieces. When bubbling hot serve with a hot buttered green vegetable and hot fluffy rice.

“A new look for . . . leftovers”.

Shepherd’s Pie.

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 1 ½ cups seasoned cooked vegetables, 1 ½ cups diced cold meat, seasonings to taste, 1 cup stock or gravy, 2 cups hot mashed potatoes.

Drain pineapple slices, chop one slice finely and add to vegetables (use carrots, celery, peas or beans, cabbage or cauliflower) place in buttered dish. Combine cooked meat, gravy and seasonings, spoon over vegetables. Cover with layer of mashed potatoes, sprinkle with melted butter. Bake in hot oven 230°C  about 20 minutes, or until potato topping and pineapple are lightly browned.

“Pineapple adds vitamin goodness to meat meals.”

Tropic Isle Lamb Sunny Island Roast is obviously a fancy name for meatloaf!!! Anne.

Tropic Isle Lamb. Correction! Sunny Island Roast is its real name!

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 900 gms finely minced beef steak, 450 gms minced fresh pork, 1 tspn gravy flour, 1 tspn salt, ¼ tspn pepper, 1 tspn mixed mustard, capsicums, cooked seasoned rice, white onions.

Blend steak and pork together. Add browned gravy flour, salt, pepper, and mixed mustard. Pack into foil-lined 18 cm pan, sprinkle with melted butter and bake in moderate oven (180°C) about 1 hour. Arrange for serving on warmed platter with capsicum halves (filled with cooked seasoned rice) and drained pineapple pieces. Top the roast with creamed white onions.

Over the hill? Over the moon? Over the rainbow!

Ruby advised “Plan your salads with colour in mind”.

Rainbow Salad.

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 440g can Golden Circle Sliced Beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, shredded carrot.

Rice-cheese mould: 1 cup cooked rice, ½ cup grated tasty cheese, 2 chopped hard-cooked eggs, 1 tblspn prepared mayonnaise, 1 tspn gelatine, 1 tblspn boiling water. Salt.

Blend together rice, cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, gelatine dissolved in boiling water and salt to taste. Pack into wet mould. Chill until firm.

Cut celery into short pieces, slit lengthwise and place in iced water to curl. Shred carrot. Slice cucumber. Cut tomato in wedge shapes. Arrange sliced beetroot, tomato, carrot, pineapple pieces, celery and cucumber in neat rings around chilled mould and serve.

The New Pineapple Princesses Diet!

As I was flipping through an old women’s magazine in a doctor’s waiting room recently I discovered a couple in Queensland who live primarily on a diet of bananas. Sometimes the guy eats a major 70 bananas per day!

 

How inspirational! This could be the making of our fame and fortune – The Pineapple Princesses Diet!

As we have found by cooking through Ruby Borrowdale’s “Golden Circle Tropical Recipe” book there are numerous culinary methods to prepare pineapple. So there would be none of that diet boredom! There is a drawback, however, a man did die from eating too much pineapple in the 18th century due to the enzyme called bromalyne which is “flesh eating”.

I wonder if Josephine Baker would have worn a pineapple costume?  Probably not, Anne.

Prawns Tropicana.

I made these last night, they were quite acceptable.  I used less milk in the sauce as it would have been too thin if I used the full quantity. Cooked Crystal Bay prawns worked well, just heated them through in the sauce before serving. The pineapple served the same purpose as the apple or sultanas that our mothers used in their “curries”, it added an acidic touch that was welcome, Ann.

Prawns Tropicana.

440g can of Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 1 sliced onion, 2 crushed cloves garlic, 2 tblspns butter, 2 tblspns plain flour, 1 tblspn curry powder, 2 cups milk, 450 kilos shelled prawns, cooked rice.

Drain syrup from pineapple pieces. Fry sliced onion, garlic and 2 tblspns pineapple pieces in butter till golden. Remove from stove and blend in flour and curry powder. Gradually add milk, blending until smooth. Return to stove and cook, stirring until sauce is smooth. Add prawns. Place the curried prawns in the centre of a heated dish and surround with cooked rice garnished with the remaining pineapple pieces.

It’s a Retro Cookoff ! Desserts.

Apricot Nectar is the dessert that my mother Moira loved to create when entertaining guests in the '60s and '70s, complete with the Crème de Menthe cream. So last night we relived the old days and made it once again. Unfortunately we couldn’t buy any Crème de Menthe (which I think deserves a comeback). We made do with a tad of food colouring! (A little food colouring goes a long way!) I have included a photo of Mum’s recipe as it tells its own story! We enjoyed the memories together, Anne.

Moira’s Apricot Nectar

Apricot Nectar:

1 tin evaporated milk, 3 level dstspns gelatine, 2 tblspns hot water, 3 tblspns lemon juice, 1 ¼ cups apricot nectar, 2 rounded tblspns sugar.

Method: Put evaporated milk in fridge and freeze until beginning to set. Dissolve gelatine in hot water, add lemon juice. Empty evaporated milk into large bowl. Beat while gradually adding gelatine mixture, add apricot nectar and sugar. Beat until thick and doubled in volume. Empty into wet mould chill in fridge until quite set. Turn out mould or spoon into mould on plate. Decorate with prepared cream and extra mint leaves and apricot halves.

Minted Cream:

½ pint cream, little sugar to taste, Crème de Menthe, 2 large mint stalks, extra mint leaves, apricot halves.

Method: Empty cream into bowl. Wash and pat mint dry. Crush in hands, breaking leaves, add to cream, mix in. Cover and refrigerate all day. When required remove mint, lightly scraping cream from leaves with fingers (Don’t lick!) Add a dstspn Crème de Menthe to cream, little sugar if liked. Beat until thick.

These next two desserts are from Ruby Borrowdale’s “Golden Circle Tropical Recipe” book which I choose for their sheer decorative potential and hey, how pretty are these! Anne.

Whispering Shells.

Spoon Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple into a shallow round dish. Place a large strawberry ice cream scoop in centre and surround with button meringues to resemble shells. Dust over with green tinted coconut and top the ice cream with a cherry.                                                                                               

Meringues: 2 egg whites and ½ cup sugar makes approx. 24 meringues.

Pineapple Paradise.
440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 1 layer 20cm sponge cake (with the brown crust removed to ensure an even colour to the finished dish), 1 level tblsp gelatine, 1/3 cup cold water, ½ cup desiccated coconut, ½ packet chopped white marshmallows. NOTE: if your family or guests like a really sweet dish, you can also add ¼ cup sugar and 2 ripe passionfruit.
Soak gelatine in water. Bring contents Golden Circle can to boil, sweetened if desired. Remove from stove. Immediately add soaked gelatine, stirring till dissolved. Break cake in pieces into large mixing bowl. Stir in marshmallows, coconut (and passionfruit). Add cooked pineapple mixture and blend. Spoon into mould and chill till firm.

Ann's Aunty Flora’s Chocolate Pudding.

·         Sift 1 cup SR flour, pinch salt, ¾ cup sugar and 1 Tablespoon cocoa.

·         Add ½ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 Tablespoons melted butter.

·         Mix until smooth and pour into greased dish.

·         For topping, mix together 3 Tablespoons sugar and 1 Tablespoon cocoa, sprinkle on top of mixture in dish.

·         Pour over all 2 cups hot water, completely covering the whole pudding.

·         Bake in moderate oven about 50 minutes.

Click  here                                                                                                        

http://lucyvioletvintage.blogspot.com.au/      

for links to some more wonderful Retro Recipes!