More on Christmas Pudding

Hello you wonderful people!  This is Prisha's son, Jason Amos.  I post my mother's stories for her and just love doing that!  It's like opening a box of Cracker Jacks and getting that secret toy surprise!  This is January 9, 2022 but you'll notice she has another Christmas post.  

Sometimes I'll go visit my family in the heat of summer and in the middle of their playlist that is most always playing in the background) a Christmas song will pop up.  It's pretty much Christmas all year long at my parents house.  It definitely always has that cozy, welcoming, "I'm home now" feel to it - with or without the decorations.  

I've always been jealous of Catholics because, in my opinion, they celebrate Christmas a bit better than Protestants do.  They actually celebrate the famous song, "12 Days of Christmas" and dwell on the birth until January 6 (Three Kings Day).  Then they come back to it on February 2 (The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord).  I know the commercialism can be overbearing, but I just can't get enough of the season and do my best to acknowledge these post-Christmas Day events.

That was a ridiculously long setup for today's post.  I tend to do that.  It was simply to say that it's okay if she keeps posting Christmas stories on here!  The season never ends at the Oaks household!

Today presents another guest blogger!  Prisha's cousin had her own thoughts and experience with the famed Christmas Pudding that was featured a few posts back.  Here is Judy's story:


I was reading your Blog and I just had to send you this: 

Your Mom’s Christmas Pudding……
I have a little story to tell you about your Mom’s Christmas pudding. (I don’t think I have told you this before).
Several years ago, you told me about this cocoanut pudding that you make every Christmas. I always admired your mom’s cooking, so I couldn’t wait to try her recipe. Bill and I were visiting Barb and Joe in Kingsport after Christmas and I decided to make this for dessert. One little problem with the recipe, however, was that the copy you gave me did not mention that you used already prepared, shredded coconut. Remembering that your mom always used the freshest ingredients, I purchased a whole cocoanut at the grocery along with other ingredients and began preparing the cocoanut for the pudding. I used a hammer to crack it open and drain the coconut milk and tried unsuccessfully to use a kitchen knife to pry the coconut meat from the inside of the shell. I resorted to using a screwdriver to finally release the cocoanut from the shell. Then I, very carefully, used the knife to trim away the hard dark lining that came off with the meat. Next, I shredded the cocoanut by hand. About three hours later, I began to assemble the pudding, and the cooking and assembly required about another hour. Finally, late in the afternoon the pudding was ready to serve for supper dessert. Everyone admired the  beautiful creation and began to eat. Tactfully, no one mentioned that it was a bit difficult to chew. However, everyone diplomatically ate their share since I had worked most of the day on its preparation.
I would like to mention, however, a couple of cautionary suggestions, or maybe these would be useful comments in some circumstances. First, if you are having digestive issues after all the heavy eating of the holiday, you will not need to purchase Dulcolax or Exlax for some time, and second, I do not recommend that you leave the house for a day or so after eating.  Other than that, it was delicious!
(Disclaimer – the exact times mentioned in this message may not be precisely accurate.)