Post-Christmas Tea & Plum Pudding

On our dining room table this afternoon were three separate plum puddings: one made by my husband, one made by a British woman named H that my husband met at the Farmers' Market, and one brought back from India, where H and her husband K traveled for the wedding of a friend.

My husband met H at the Farmers' Market a while back.... she sells homemade soups there, and she caught his attention because of her British accent, and she also reminded my husband of our dear friend Frankie. My husband and H got to talking about plum pudding..... he told her about his recipe, she told him about hers, and my husband convinced her that baking a pudding was the thing she needed to do for the holidays.

H told me that my husband wouldn't take no for an answer, even though she and her husband were set to fly to India for the wedding. The result-- H did indeed make the pudding before they left, then gave it to a friend of hers with strict instructions for adding spoonfuls of cognac to the pudding every day for a certain number of days. When they returned from India, the pudding was cognac-soaked and ready for tasting. (My husband's recipe omits the liquour and the suet.)

The plum pudding taste-testing was today, both H's recipe and my husband's, along with the boxed plum pudding from India (a throw-back recipe left over from British rule in that country, H said). Of course, the India plum pudding couldn't hold a candle to the other two, and of course I think my husband's plum pudding was the best of the three. (It's those fresh plums from our trees (that I froze in the Spring) that made all the difference with this year's pudding.)

I have to agree with my husband... H does indeed remind me of our friend Frankie. H's husband K is Texas-born and bred, and they were both a pleasure to meet. A simple tea turned into a two-and-a-half-hour conversation, talking about everything from plum pudding to British authors, from growing flowers to the re-building of London after WWII. As they were getting ready to leave this afternoon, H told me that she was so happy that my husband "picked her up at the Farmers' Market."

We will definitely invite them back... for lunch or dinner, and of course for tea. My husband talked about having a Valentine's Dinner with H and K, and also inviting our friends/neighbors J & J.... we think they will enjoy H & K's company also.

For today's visit, I dressed up the dining room table as if the Queen were coming for tea, making sure that everything was more than 'just right,' being that H is British where Tea is The Thing and serving tea must be done just so. As I was setting the table, I was thinking about all the books I have on English tea-times.

Wonderful afternoon with new friends. Tea may be The Thing in England, but my husband's plum pudding is The Thing in this house, especially at Christmas.