The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and Cooking through My Grief

Taking it one recipe at a time. 2013 will be mainly focused on "The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook," by Dinah Bucholz, and how doing what I love, cooking, being with my family and reading Harry Potter will help me process my grief associated with loosing my 3 week old daughter, Ruby, on November 18th, 2011.
Join me for a "culinary magical masterpiece" throughout 2013!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Petunia's Pudding (English Strawberry Trifle)

Lets start with desert today:) We had the Missionaries from our church over for our Valentine's dinner (lets face it, they need love too. They get a whole lot of doors slammed in their faces!) They are holding the beautiful pudding creation! This recipe comes from Harry Potter and The chamber of Secrets, Ch. 1. You know this story i'm sure...its when Dobby shows up and destroys it by dropping it on the floor all in the hopes of keeping Harry from going back to Hogwarts. It of course did not keep Harry out of Hogwarts, but got him locked in his room with food slipped under the door to him, until the Weasley's showed up to rescue Harry. I love Trifles and was so excited to make this. It is also a very elegant looking desert. I love that you put it in a glass bowl so that everyone can see the layers. This whole desert was made from scratch! I made the yellow loaf cake (very yummy) then the custard. I was very nervous about the custard as the last time I attempted custard making I ended with scrambled eggs in cream, very nasty, but fortunately the cupid's arrow of good fortune hit me and the custard turned out very beautifully! You put strawberry jam on the slices of the yellow cake then cube it. Then put the custard over the top, and the strawberry's on top of that. I also added a think layer of chocolate, because lets be honest, you can have valentines celebrations without just a little bit of chocolate. Then the whipped cream went on top. This desert is supposed to sit over night to let the flavors all meld together, but this desert only got a few hours because I did not plan ahead. It was yummy, but truly was better the next day! I give this recipe a 5 and look forward to making it again!
English History: "English trifle started out as a simple custard made of cream and egg yolks, sweetened, and then flavored with ginger and rosewater. It grew into its more elegant form in the 1800's: cake layered with fruit and custard in a clear glass dish and topped with whipped cream" Bucholz, "The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook," pg. 12.
Grief and Healing: I am realizing more and more how every person's grief is dealt with differently. Every grieving person writes their own book on how life goes on. The wonderful thing about those books is they all are correct. One person may heal a little quicker or sooner than the next, but everyone learns that they have to be patient with themselves and listen to what their heart needs. I sometimes wish that I could just be healed and get on with life, the way it was before Ruby touched my heart, but that is not the way grief works. Working through my grief I am learning that I don't need everything I thought I needed before. Life can be much, much less complicated. I realize know that I had way too much on my to do list and way too much perfection to reach. Today I am just me, and I am okay with that. I love a poem I heard once written by an unknown author. It reads "I walked a mile with pleasure, she chatted all the way, but left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with sorrow and ne'er a word said she, but oh the things I learned from her when sorrow walked with me.

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