Devil's on Horseback

Here's a recipe my mother would make for parties. It's quick and delicious finger food. Children love everything about it - especially participating in the making of them! 

Ingredients 

The same number of prunes or dates and almonds and half the number of rashers of bacon!

 

Roast whole peeled almonds dry in the oven for 15 minutes at about 325 - until golden brown.
Stir or shake them from time to time so they brown all over.
Remove from oven and cool.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.
Pit the prunes or dates - if they are dry soak them in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes first.

Stuff each prune or date with an almond.

Wrap tightly with half a rasher of bacon so the fat is showing. *

Secure with a tooth pick.
Pack into a foil lined tray.

Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy

 

* Strong bacon is better - Canadian or English style. Some recipes stuff the prunes with mango chutney - i have never done that and don't like the idea of it!

Lemonade!

This is the easiest, most delicious and refreshing of all home-made drinks. Ring the changes and you will never tire of it. It's also good for you. About a million times gooder than any store bought soda which has 10-11 teaspoons of sugar per can.

Basic Syrup

• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

Heat the water, dissolve the sugar in it and let it cool.
Add the lemon juice. Couldn't be easier!
Store in the fridge and add water (still or sparkling) and ice to taste.
Remember – all the ones and double up for larger quantities.

Now let’s make it more delicious.

Use soft brown sugar instead of white for a wonderful flavor or half brown/half white.

Cut strips of rind off one lemon (no white pith – just thin strips of rind) and add to the syrup hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify. Or take out after a day or two once it's just right for you - it can get a little bitter if left in for too long.

Make it with Limes or Meyers’ Lemons for a differently delicious limey or lemony flavor.

Mint Lemonade—Bright & Fresh
Add a handful of mint leaves to the hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify over time or take out when it's minty enough for you.

Strawberry Lemonade—Pretty in Pink
Take a pound of fresh strawberries, wash and hull them. Chop them roughly and simmer them in a cup of water for a few minutes.
Blend or mash (a potato masher works great)
Cool and sieve (you don’t want any seeds or pulp).
Let the juice sit for an hour so any pulp can sink to the bottom. You can add it all to the lemon syrup but it will make it cloudy.
Add a cup of clear strawberry juice for each cup of lemon juice.

Prickly Pear Lemonade—Psychedelic Purple
The taste of the prickly pear is more subtle—the color is absolutely spectacular, it's hard to believe it comes from nature. You can grow prickly pears yourself or buy them in Publix, your local wholefood or latin american food store.
Cut 4 or 5 prickly pears in half and scoop their innards out into a pan.
Add a cup or so of water and simmer until the fruit softens and breaks up.
Smash with a potato masher.
Sieve to get the juice but not the seeds.
Add a cup of prickly pear juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly pear 'limeade' is not such a nice color. Green + purple = a muddy purple!
Prickly Pear Limeade is not such a nice color - the green turns it a muddy purple.