What We Ate Wednesday--Mr Carl's (adapted) Meatloaf

Hello lovelies! I know I normally use the MAGICAL LOAF STUDIO to make a main dish, but I was intrigued by my step-dad's meatloaf recipe. My mum told me about it and said it reminded her of one of my vegan ones due to the oats and the tangy BBQ sauce. Carl said everything was vegan except the ground meat and the egg and I was like, "Have no fear, veganiser is here!" because making things vegan is my superpower.

The recipe called for a pound of ground meat. I had to consult google as to how much that actually entailed after cooking. Reading the descriptions of cooking meat (blech...) reminded me of the fact that even when I ate it (and boy, did I eat it!) I didn't like to cook it. Memories of ground meat swimming (drowning?) in grease and having to be drained on layers and layers of paper towels made me so glad that I choose a healthier life now.

Anyway, a pound of cooked ground meat is about 2 cups. Easy peasy. My savoury lentil recipe makes a perfect substitute for ground meat. I cooked mine a day ahead because it makes about 2 and a forth cups and I used the extra as a pizza topping (it made a lovely "hamburger" pizza with some cheese sauce left over from my recent recipe for roasted red pepper cheese.)

Savoury Lentils 
To cook the lentils:
1 cup puy lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones
2.5 cups strong broth (I used 3 tsp broth powder and 1 tsp marmite)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp liquid smoke
3-4 cloves or crushed garlic

Boil then simmer until most or all of the liquid is absorbed. About 30 minutes. 

That sorted the ground meat then, but what about the egg? The recipe called for one beaten egg for binding. I decided on a chia egg. Could have been a flax egg, I just didn't have flax meal. Are you thinking a what kind of egg? You mean chia as in ch-ch-chia? Yup. The very same. Chia (and flax for that matter)seeds are a powerhouse of nutrients and will go all gooey like egg whites if you add water.

The rest was the same. 

Mr Carl's (adapted) Meatloaf

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F

2 cups cooked lentils, slightly mashed

1 chia or flax egg (1 TB chia or flax seeds mixed with 3 TB water and left to gel)
1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard
2 tablespoons dried onions
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (we like Heinz as it doesn't have HFCS in it) 

1 cup (GF) oats
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar  (optional)

1. Make your egg first to give it time to set while your oven preheats. 

2. Mix everything together and spoon into a greased loaf pan (Or lined with parchment paper)

3. Bake for 45 minutes and let it cool for at least 10-15 before you attempt to slice it. 

Ours was a wee bit delicate as I sliced it, but my mum says that Carl's is too, so it works just like the "real deal." And it made a big enough loaf to have over two meals. The first night we had it with potatoes, peas and gravy and the next night with brown rice, roasted broccoli, leftover potatoes that I roasted along side the potatoes with more gravy. It was much firmer the next day after a night in the fridge. 

It made a nice change from ones we normally eat. The BBQ sauce was tangy and the oats gave it a chewy interior, slightly crispy exterior. Thanks Carl! 

Fairy Tale Friday--Rushen Coatie (English version of Scottish tale, 1894)

Hello and welcome to Fairy Tale Friday. Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then I’ll begin.

Two weeks ago we looked at a story called The Cinder Maid that was collected by Joseph Jacobs. This version of the Scottish tale of Rushen Coatie was found in his book More English Fairy Tales in 1894.

In other versions our mistreated heroine is forced to wear rags, but in this version her fine clothes are replaced with rushes giving her the name Rushen Coatie.

This is similar to last week’s version where the magical helper is an animal. Last week was a sheep, this week it is a little red calf. Both animals provide food for our heroine. Last week it was not explained except that the sheep brought meat to our protagonist, but this time she pulls bread and cheese out of the ears of the red calf (which is as gross as it sounds.) We also have her meeting the Prince at church like we did in The Sharp Grey Sheep. 

As far as footwear goes we have the re-emergence of the glass slipper like in the French version by Perrault. We also feel the influence of Perrault in that our protagonist sits and cries and waits for her magical helper. Rushen Coatie is tasked with making a meal while her family goes to church, but the little red calf not only provides her with fine clothes and the aforementioned glass slippers but also a magic spell to get the food on the table quickly. 

We see the influence of the Grimms in that one of the stepsisters has her toes and heel "hacked off" and a raven (usually a dove or just generic bird) lets the Prince know this is not the true bride. 

Rushen Coatie source

THERE was once a king and a queen, as many a one has been; few have we seen, and as few may we see. But the queen died, leaving only one bonny girl, and she told her on her death-bed: "My dear, after I am gone, there will come to you a little red calf, and whenever you want anything, speak to it, and it will give it you."

Now, after a while, the king married again an ill-natured wife, with three ugly daughters of her own. And they hated the king's daughter because she was so bonny. So they took all her fine clothes away from her and gave her only a coat made of rushes. So they called her Rushen Coatie, and made her sit in the kitchen nook, amid the ashes. And when dinner-time came, the nasty stepmother sent her out a thimbleful of broth, a grain of barley, a thread of meat, and a crumb of bread. But when she had eaten all this, she was just as hungry as before, so she said to herself: "Oh! how I wish I had something to eat." Just then, who should come in but a little red calf, and said to her: "Put your finger into my left ear." She did so and found some nice bread. Then the calf told her to put her finger into its right ear, and she found there some cheese, and made a right good meal off the bread and cheese. And so it went on from day to day.

Now the king's wife thought Rushen Coatie would soon die from the scanty food she got, and she was surprised to see her as lively and healthy as ever. So she set one of her ugly daughters on the watch at meal times to find out how Rushen Coatie got enough to live on. 

The daughter soon found out that the red calf gave food to Rushen Coatie and told her mother. So her mother went to the king and told him she was longing to have a sweetbread from a red calf. Then the king sent for his butcher, and had the little red calf killed. And when Rushen Coatie heard of it, she sate down and wept by its side, but the dead calf said:

"Take me up, bone by bone,

And put me beneath yon grey stone;

When there is aught you want

Tell it me, and that I'll grant."

So she did so but could not find the shank-bone of the calf.

Now the very next Sunday was Yuletide, and all the folk were going to church in their best clothes, so Rushen Coatie said: "Oh! I should like to go to church too," but the three ugly sisters said: "What would you do at the church, you nasty thing? You must bide at home and make the dinner." And the king's wife said: "And this is what you must make the soup of, a thimbleful of water, a grain of barley, and a crumb of bread."

When they all went to church, Rushen Coatie sat down and wept, but looking up, who should she see coming in limping, lamping, with a shank wanting, but the dear red calf? And the red calf said to her: "Do not sit there weeping, but go, put on these clothes, and above all, put on this pair of glass slippers, and go your way to church."

"But what will become of the dinner?" said Rushen Coatie.

"Oh, do not fash about that," said the red calf, "all you have to do is to say to the fire:

"Every peat make t'other burn,

Every spit make t'other turn,

Every pot make t'other play,

Till I come from church this good Yuleday,"

and be off to church with you. But mind you come home first."

So Rushen Coatie said this, and went off to church, and she was the grandest and finest lady there. There happened to be a young prince there, and he fell at once in love with her. But she came away before service was over, and was home before the rest, and had off her fine clothes and on with her rushen coatie, and she found the calf had covered the table, and the dinner was ready, and everything was in good order when the rest came home. The three sisters said to Rushen Coatie: "Eh, lassie, if you had seen the bonny fine lady in church today, that the young prince fell in love with!" Then she said: "Oh! I wish you would let me go with you to the church to-morrow," for they used to go three days together to church at Yuletide.

But they said: "What should the like of you do at church, nasty thing? The kitchen nook is good enough for you."

So the next day they all went to church, and Rushen Coatie was left behind, to make dinner out of a thimbleful of water, a grain of barley, a crumb of bread, and a thread of meat. But the red calf came to her help again, gave her finer clothes than before, and she went to church, where all the world was looking at her, and wondering where such a grand lady came from, and the prince fell more in love with her than ever, and tried to find out where she went to. But she was too quick for him, and got home long before the rest, and the red calf had the dinner all ready.

The next day the calf dressed her in even grander clothes than before, and she went to the church. And the young prince was there again, and this time he put a guard at the door to keep her, but she took a hop and a run and jumped over their heads, and as she did so, down fell one of her glass slippers. She didn't wait to pick it up, you may be sure, but off she ran home, as fast as she could go, on with the rushen coatie, and the calf had all things ready.

Then the young prince put out a proclamation that whoever could put on the glass slipper should be his bride. All the ladies of his court went and tried to put on the slipper. And they tried and tried and tried, but it was too small for them all. Then he ordered one of his ambassadors to mount a fleet horse and ride through the kingdom and find an owner for the glass shoe. He rode and he rode to town and castle, and made all the ladies try to put on the shoe. Many a one tried to get it on that she might be the prince's bride. But no, it wouldn't do, and many a one wept, I warrant, because she couldn't get on the bonny glass shoe. The ambassador rode on and on till he came at the very last to the house where there were the three ugly sisters. The first two tried it and it wouldn't do, and the queen, mad with spite, hacked off the toes and heels of the third sister, and she could then put the slipper on, and the prince was brought to marry her, for he had to keep his promise. The ugly sister was dressed all in her best and was put up behind the prince on horseback, and off they rode in great gallantry. But ye all know, pride must have a fall, for as they rode along a raven sang out of a bush—

"Hackèd Heels and Pinchèd Toes

Behind the young prince rides,

But Pretty Feet and Little Feet

Behind the cauldron bides."

"What's that the birdie sings?" said the young prince.

"Nasty lying thing," said the step-sister, "never mind what it says."

But the prince looked down and saw the slipper dripping with blood, so he rode back and put her down. Then he said, " There must be someone that the slipper has not been tried on."

"Oh, no," said they, "there's none but a dirty thing that sits in the kitchen nook and wears a rushen coatie."

But the prince was determined to try it on Rushen Coatie, but she ran away to the grey stone, where the red calf dressed her in her bravest dress, and she went to the prince and the slipper jumped out of his pocket on to her foot, fitting her without any chipping or paring. So the prince married her that very day, and they lived happy ever after.

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a retelling of Rushen Coatie but with more Scots Gaelic.

What We Ate Wednesday--Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Hello lovelies! Last week I made a cheese sauce that was rich and tangy made with a roasted red pepper. As I was eating my dinner I thought that it would make a delicious Broccoli and Cheese Soup.  I became obsessed (obsessed I tell you!) with the thoughts of broccoli and cheese.

Now you would think this had been my favourite childhood soup and I was longing for a veganised version.

Nope.

Because (sad to say) I didn't like broccoli until I was a grown up. It was many years into my adulthood when I discovered how good it tastes roasted and fell in love with cruciferous vegetables.

This was pretty quick and easy. And tasted just like I hoped it would. That is to say delicious.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

First make your sauce.
The sauce:
1 white onion, sliced into rainbows
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tin white beans 
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 roasted red pepper from a jar
! TB lemon juice (bottled is fine)
1 cup non dairy milk
1.5 TB starch (I used tapioca, but cornstarch/cornflour would work)
1/2 tsp each smoked paprika and turmeric for colour

1. Cook your onion and garlic in the 1 cup of broth. Boil until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed.
2. Add the garlicky onion to a blender with everything else and blend until smooth. Then wait.

The soup:
3 cups finely chopped broccoli, stalks and all
2 cups vegetable broth

1. Vigorously simmer the broccoli in the broth until tender--about 5 minutes or so.
2. Add the cheese sauce from the blender and heat until bubbling and thickened.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste

That's it.

Broccoli and cheese soup of my dreams. I bet if you had time and roasted the broccoli in the oven at 200C/400F before adding it to the cheesy broth it would be even more fabulous, but this was quick and delicious.

Fairy Tale Friday--The Sharp Grey Sheep (Scotland, 1860)

Hello and welcome to Fairy Tale Friday. Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then I’ll begin.

This week we move outwards towards the Highlands to look at a tale from Scotland entitled The Sharp Grey Sheep. It was collected by JF Campbell from a labourer named John Dewar from Glendaruail [Glendaruel], Cowal and published in Popular tales of the West Highlands: Orally collected, vol 2 in 1860.

This story is the first of ones we will look at where the Prince and the ill-treated maiden meet at church and not at a ball. This is also a version where the magical helper is not human. In Ye Shen, it was a golden fish. In this tale, because it is set in Scotland, it is a sheep. I find it most interesting that this tale does not have a reference to our heroine in the title, but instead refers to her magical helper.

 Most stories emphasise the dirty quality of our protagonist (Cinder Maid, Ash Girl etc) but this one specifically talks about denying her food. The stepmother purposely does not give her enough to eat and forces her out in all weathers like a common labourer to tend the sheep in the field. In this tale the new Queen conspires with the henwife and her daughter whose name translates as Bald Scabby Thing to spy on the young girl to find out how she is getting food.

The starving girl is brought meat by a sharp (horned) grey sheep. It is not clear where the meat comes from and it seems slightly perverse for a sheep to bring meat which most likely is lamb. Perhaps the word meat merely means food like the King James Version translation of Genesis 1:29 where it says:

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

As in Ye Shen, our magical animal is slain by the evil stepmother, but the bones continue to work magic in the girl’s life due to her kind nature.

The idea of a henwife is interesting to me. I looked it up and the literal definition was “A woman who keeps poultry,” but there is so much more to it than that. The henwife was often the wise woman of the village, a seer or herbalist. You can read a really interesting article about the role of the henwife {HERE}.

Last week’s version of the Cinder Maid was very clear that our protagonist has a chance with the Prince despite being dirty due to her noble birth. In this tale, the Prince sees her tending the sheep and is entranced by her beauty. Clearly, there are less class issues in Scotland. After the Queen sends her own daughter out in the field as a shepherdess to be noticed by the Prince, our heroine (who is never named simply called “the daughter of the first Queen”) is made to take on the traditional role of cooking and cleaning. The Prince sees her and again is entranced and wants to meet her a church—a place where decent folk may socialise. Three times she attends church and catches his eye but rushes away before her stepmother and stepsister come home. 

As you would expect she loses a shoe. The henwife advises the new Queen to “cut the points” from her daughter’s toes to make the shoe fit. This version gets all the way to the wedding day before a bird says that this is the false bride with a shoe full of blood and the true bride is home by the fire. It is also the ONLY version I have read that deals with something that has bothered me all my life. No other version seems to mention cleaning the blood out of the shoe, but would you not find it repulsive to try on a shoe filled with someone else’s blood? Thankfully, this version does deal with that saying:

  They cleaned the blood out of the other shoe, and they tried it on her, and the shoe fitted her.

The Sharp Grey Sheep source

There was a king and a queen, and they had a daughter, and the queen found death, and the king married another. And the last queen was bad to the daughter of the first queen, and she used to beat her and put her out of the door. She sent her to herd the sheep and was not giving her what should suffice her. And there was a sharp (horned) grey sheep in the flock that was coming with meat to her.

The queen was taking wonder that she was keeping alive and that she was not getting meat enough from herself, and she told it to the henwife. The henwife thought that she would send her own daughter to watch how she was getting meat, and Ni Mhaol Charach [Bald Scabby Thing], the henwife's daughter, went to herd the sheep with the queen's daughter. The sheep would not come to her so long as Ni Mhaol Charach was there, and Ni Mhaol Charach was staying all the day with her.

The queen's daughter was longing for her meat, and she said, "Set thy head on my knee, and I will dress thy hair."

And Ni Mhaol Charach set her head on the knee of the queen's daughter, and she slept.

The sheep came with meat to the queen's daughter, but the eye that was in the back of the head of the bald black-skinned girl, the henwife's daughter, was open, and she saw all that went on, and when she awoke she went home and told it to her mother, and the henwife told it to the queen, and when the queen understood how the girl was getting meat, nothing at all would serve her but that the sheep should be killed.

The sheep came to the queen's daughter and said to her, "They are going to kill me, but steal thou my skin and gather my bones and roll them in my skin, and I will come alive again, and I will come to thee again."

The sheep was killed, and the queen's daughter stole her skin, and she gathered her bones and her hoofs, and she rolled them in the skin; but she forgot the little hoofs. The sheep came alive again, but she was lame.

She came to the king's daughter with a halting step, and she said, "Thou didst as I desired thee, but thou hast forgotten the little hoofs."

And she was keeping her in meat after that.

There was a young prince who was hunting and coming often past her, and he saw how pretty she was, and he asked, "Who's she?"

And they told him, and he took love for her, and he was often coming the way; but the bald black-skinned girl, the henwife's daughter, took notice of him, and she told it to her mother, and the henwife told it to the queen.

The queen was wishful to get knowledge what man it was, and the henwife sought till she found out whom he (was), and she told the queen. When the queen heard who it was, she was wishful to send her own daughter in his way, and she brought in the first queen's daughter, and she set her own daughter to herd in her place, and she was making the daughter of the first queen do the cooking and every service about the house.

The first queen's daughter was out a turn, and the prince met her, and he gave her a pair of golden shoes. And he was wishful to see her at the sermon, but her muime [stepmother] would not let her go there.

But when the rest would go, she would make ready, and she would go after them, and she would sit where he might see her, but she would rise and go before the people would scatter, and she would be at the house and everything in order before her muime would come. But the third time she was there the prince was wishful to go with her, and he sat near to the door, and when she went, he was keeping an eye on her, and he rose and went after her. She was running home, and she lost one of her shoes in the mud; and he got the shoe, and because he could not see her, he said that the one who had the foot that would fit the shoe was the wife that would be his.

The queen was wishful that the shoe should fit her own daughter, and she put the daughter of the first queen in hiding, so that she should not be seen till she should try if the shoe should fit her own daughter.

When the prince come to try the shoe on her, her foot was too big, but she was very anxious that the shoe should fit her, and she spoke to the henwife about it. The henwife cut the points of her toes off that the shoe might fit her, and the shoe went on her when the points of the toes were cut.

When the wedding day came the daughter of the first queen was set in hiding in a nook that was behind the fire.

When the people were all gathered together, a bird came to the window, and he cried, "The blood 's in the shoe, and the pretty foot's in the nook at the back of the fire."

One of them said, "What is that creature saying?"

And the queen said, "It's no matter what that creature is saying; it is but a nasty, beaky, lying creature."

The bird came again to the window; and the third time he came, the prince said, "We will go and see what he is saying."

And he rose, and he went out, and the bird cried, "The blood's in the shoe, and the pretty foot's in the nook that is at the back of the fire."

He returned in, and he ordered the nook at the back of the fire to be searched. And they searched it, and they found the first queen's daughter there, and the golden shoe on the one foot. They cleaned the blood out of the other shoe, and they tried it on her, and the shoe fitted her, and it’s like was on the other foot. The prince left the daughter of the last queen, and he married the daughter of the first queen, and he took her from them with him, and she was rich and lucky after that.

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for an English retelling of another Scottish tale. 

What We Ate Wednesday--Roasted Red Pepper Cheesy Sauce Pasta with Roasted Broccoli

Hello lovelies! Recently, I was craving a bowl of ooey-gooey vegan cheesy noodles (as you do.) I don't know where this craving came from. I probably saw something out of the corner of my eye that worked its way into my subconscious and would not let go.

I am *very* suggestible when it comes to food.

I had planned to do a stir fry with broccoli over rice noodles for a quick Boxing Day lunch, but could not stop poking my head in the fridge and looking at the jar of roasted red peppers and sighing loudly. Finally Spiderman said,

Go on. You don't have to twist my arm to eat cheesy noodles. 

I decided to adapt a cheese sauce based on my high protein WHITE BEAN ALFREDO SAUCE and use a roasted red pepper from a jar to give it a a more punchy cheese flavour. I also topped it with sun dried tomatoes and roasted broccoli to make it more of a meal.

This was *definitely* a good idea.

I used the long brown rice noodle nests I would have used in a stir fry. It gave them real slurpability (is this a word? well it should be.)

It was a really quick meal that tasted amazing.

Roasted Red Pepper Cheesy Sauce Pasta with Roasted Broccoli

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.

Slice up as much broccoli as you want, lay in in a big roasting pan and drizzle with a bit of oil. Generously add salt, pepper and a dash of garlic powder if you wish. Roast for 20 minutes or until florets go brown and slightly crispy.

Meanwhile make the sauce and cook the pasta.

The sauce:
1 white onion, sliced into rainbows
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tin white beans (I used butter beans as it was all i had on hand...next time will probably use cannellini) 
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
Up to 1 tsp salt
1 roasted red pepper from a jar
! TB lemon juice (bottled is fine)
1 cup non dairy milk
1.5 TB starch (I used tapioca, but cornstarch/cornflour would work)
1/2 tsp each smoked paprika and turmeric for colour

Optional topping:
 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, snipped into bite size

1. Cook your noodles according to package directions.
2. Cook your onion and garlic in the 1 cup of broth. Boil until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed.
3. Add the garlicky onion to a blender with everything else and blend until smooth.
4.  Return to the pan and heat until bubbling and thickened. Add the cooked noodles and stir to coat.
5. Add your optional sun dried tomatoes and top with roasted broccoli.

YUM! Seriously, YUM.

Which gives me an idea on how to use this sauce to make a broccoli cheese soup.

Hmmm...I see another food obsession has begun......

Fairy Tale Friday--The Cinder Maid (European, 1916)

Hello and welcome to Fairy Tale Friday. Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then I'll begin. 

Last week we looked at the story Aschenputtel by the Brothers Grimm collected in 1812 and this week we look at a similar version written by Joseph Jacobs in his book Europa’s Fairy Book published in 1916.

Joseph Jacobs was Australian by birth and immigrated in 1872 to England where he graduated from Cambridge University, and became one of the best known folklorists of his era. In 1900 he immigrated to the United States, where he died sixteen years later.

This version entitled The Cinder Maid was constructed based on his analysis of the common features of hundreds of European versions that he collected. It has a wonderful opening line that draws you in. I also find it interesting as every other version I can think of starts with our female protagonist, her suffering and desire to go to the ball and to win her a husband to improve her social standing but this version starts with the king who wants to marry off his son.

Her father, as in other versions, is under his new wife’s thumb. In some versions he can be as mean as the new wife and his stepdaughters. In this version he tries to stand up for his daughter and suggests that she too should have a dress and go to the ball but is quickly shut down and decides to say nothing more to keep the peace.

As in Aschenputtel, she goes out to the Hazel tree planted on her mother’s grave to ask for help. Interestingly in this version a bird throws down a hazelnut (sometimes called a filbert) and when the Cinder Maid cracks it a beautiful dress and shoes fall out. Then the Hazel tree splits open and a coach and horses emerges that coordinate with her ensemble. This happens on three separate nights—each time her dress and shoes getting more and more beautiful. They range from a dress “as blue as heaven” embroidered with stars and copper shoes to “golden brown like the earth” and embroidered with flowers and silver shoes to “green as the sea with waves upon it” and shoes made of gold. I find this really fascinating because have you seen the size of a hazelnut? They are quite small. To have a voluminous silk dress and matching shoes come out of a nut is magical indeed.

The Cinder Maid also seems to possess a magic of her own. Each night as she escapes with her midnight curfew (harking back to Perrault’s tale) she calls up a mist from the ether to shroud her and aid her escape. How does she do it? I do not know.

In this version, after the first ball when the prince gets wise to her runaway antics, he smears honey on the steps for the second night, but she cleverly leaps from “stair to stair to stair” and doesn’t get caught. The last night he smears tar and it is this which catches her golden shoe.

One thing that annoyed me about the Grimm’s version was the fact that the prince was there when the slipper was tried on, failed to look at the FACE of the person trying on the shoe and was twice deceived by the stepsisters cutting off parts of their feet to fit into the shoe. This story eliminates that issue by having the herald travel far and wide to try the slipper on eligible women and by eligible, I mean of “noble birth.” If she had been a true Cinder Maid and not a noble woman forced into lowly circumstances, she would have had no chance at becoming queen. Poor women can only raise themselves so high. When the first stepsister mutilates her feet to fit in the shoe, the prince is notified that they have found the one and he comes running only to exclaim, “but this is not the lady!” He rejects her only to be told that he has to marry her because he said he would only wed the one who fit the shoe, not the one who fit the shoe and was the right person. The moral? Be more specific. Luckily both sisters who tried this trick were bleeding profusely, so he didn’t have to honour his rash promise.

It ends as you would expect it to end. Her father stands up and declares he does have another daughter which nets Cinder Maid a chance since she is still of noble birth despite the ashes and soot. The prince looks at her face and declares this is his lady love and they live happily ever after.

The Cinder Maid source

Once upon a time, though it was not in my time or in your time, or in anybody else's time, there was a great king who had an only son, the prince and heir who was about to come of age. So the king sent round a herald who should blow his trumpet at every four corners where two roads met. And when the people came together he would call out, "O yes, O yes, O yes, know ye that his grace the king will give on Monday sennight" -- that meant seven nights or a week after -- "a royal ball to which all maidens of noble birth are hereby summoned; and be it furthermore known unto you that at this ball his highness the prince will select unto himself a lady that shall be his bride and our future queen. God save the king."

Now there was among the nobles of the king's court one who had married twice, and by the first marriage he had but one daughter, and as she was growing up her father thought that she ought to have someone to look after her. So he married again, a lady with two daughters, and his new wife, instead of caring for his daughter, thought only of her own and favoured them in every way. She would give them beautiful dresses but none to her stepdaughter who had only to wear the castoff clothes of the other two. The noble's daughter was set to do all the drudgery of the house, to attend the kitchen fire, and had naught to sleep on but the heap of cinder raked out in the scullery; and that is why they called her Cinder Maid. And no one took pity on her and she would go and weep at her mother's grave where she had planted a hazel tree, under which she sat.

You can imagine how excited they all were when they heard the king's proclamation called out by the herald. "What shall we wear, mother; what shall we wear?" cried out the two daughters, and they all began talking about which dress should suit the one and what dress should suit the other, but when the father suggested that Cinder Maid should also have a dress, they all cried out, "What, Cinder Maid going to the king's ball? Why, look at her, she would only disgrace us all." And so her father held his peace.

Now when the night came for the royal ball Cinder Maid had to help the two sisters to dress in their fine dresses and saw them drive off in the carriage with her father and their mother. But she went to her own mother's grave and sat beneath the hazel tree and wept and cried out:

Tree o' mine, O tree o' me,

With my tears I've watered thee;

Make me a lady fair to see,

Dress me as splendid as can be.

And with that the little bird on the tree called out to her:

Cinder Maid, Cinder Maid, shake the tree,

Open the first nut that you see.

So Cinder Maid shook the tree and the first nut that fell she took up and opened, and what do you think she saw? -- a beautiful silk dress blue as the heavens, all embroidered with stars, and two little lovely shoon [shoes] made of shining copper. And when she had dressed herself the hazel tree opened and from it came a coach all made of copper with four milk-white horses, with coachman and footmen all complete. And as she drove away the little bird called out to her:

Be home, be home ere mid-o'-night

Or else again you'll be a fright.

When Cinder Maid entered the ballroom, she was the loveliest of all the ladies, and the prince, who had been dancing with her stepsisters, would only dance with her. But as it came towards midnight Cinder Maid remembered what the little bird had told her and slipped away to her carriage. And when the prince missed her, he went to the guards at the palace door and told them to follow the carriage. But Cinder Maid when she saw this, called out:

Mist behind and light before,

Guide me to my father's door.

And when the prince's soldiers tried to follow her there came such a mist that they couldn't see their hands before their faces. So they couldn't find which way Cinder Maid went.

When her father and stepmother and two sisters came home after the ball, they could talk of nothing but the lovely lady: "Ah, would not you have like to have been there?" said the sisters to Cinder Maid as she helped them to take off their fine dresses. "The was a most lovely lady with a dress like the heavens and shoes of bright copper, and the prince would dance with none but her; and when midnight came, she disappeared, and the prince could not find her. 

He is going to give a second ball in the hope that she will come again. Perhaps she will not, and then we will have our chance."

When the time of the second royal ball came round, the same thing happened as before; the sisters teased Cinder Maid, saying "Wouldn't you like to come with us?" and drove off again as before.

And Cinder Maid went again to the hazel tree over her mother's grave and cried:

Tree o' mine, O tree o' me,

Shiver and shake, dear little tree;

Make me a lady fair to see,

Dress me as splendid as can be.

And then the little bird on the tree called out:

Cinder Maid, Cinder Maid, shake the tree,

Open the first nut that you see.

But this time she found a dress all golden brown like the earth embroidered with flowers, and her shoon were made of silver; and when the carriage came from the tree, lo and behold, that was made of silver too, drawn by black horses with trappings all of silver, and the lace on the coachman's and footmen's liveries was also of silver; and when Cinder Maid went to the ball the prince would dance with none but her; and when midnight cam round she fled as before. But the prince, hoping to prevent her running away, had ordered the soldiers at the foot of the staircase to pour out honey on the stairs so that her shoes would stick in it. But Cinder Maid leaped from stair to stair and got away just in time, calling out as the soldiers tried to follow her:

Mist behind and light before,

Guide me to my father's door.

And when her sisters got home, they told her once more of the beautiful lady that had come in a silver coach and silver shoon and in a dress all embroidered with flowers: "Ah, wouldn't you have like to have been there?" said they.

Once again, the prince gave a great ball in the hope that his unknown beauty would come to it. All happened as before; as soon as the sisters had gone Cinder Maid went to the hazel tree over her mother's grave and called out:

Tree o' mine, O tree o' me,

Shiver and shake, dear little tree;

Make me a lady fair to see,

Dress me as splendid as can be.

And then the little bird appeared and said:

Cinder Maid, Cinder Maid, shake the tree,

Open the first nut that you see.

And when she opened the nut in it was a dress of silk green as the sea with waves upon it, and her shoes this time were made of gold; and when the coach came out of the tree it was also made of gold, with gold trappings for the horses and for the retainers. And as she drove off the little bird from the tree called out:

Be home, be home ere mid-o'-night

Or else again you'll be a fright.

Now this time, when Cinder Maid came to the ball, she was a desirous to dance only with the prince as he with her, and so, when midnight came round, she had forgotten to leave till the clock began to strike, one -- two -- three -- four -- five -- six, -- and then she began to run away down the stairs as the clock struck eight -- nine -- ten. But the prince had told his soldier to put tar upon the lower steps of the stairs; and as the clock struck eleven her shoes stuck in the tar, and when she jumped to the foot of the stairs one of her golden shoes was left behind, and just then the clock struck TWELVE, and the golden coach with its horses and footmen, disappeared, and the beautiful dress of Cinder Maid changed again into her ragged clothes and she had to run home with only one golden shoe.

You can imagine how excited the sister were when they came home and told Cinder Maid all about it, how that the beautiful lady had come in a golden coach in a dress like the sea, with golden shoes, and how all had disappeared at midnight except the golden shoe. "Ah, wouldn't you have liked to have been there?" said they.

Now when the prince found out that he could not keep his lady-love nor trace where she had gone, he spoke to his father and showed him the golden shoe and told him that he would never marry anyone but the maiden who could wear that shoe. So the king, his father, ordered the herald to take round the golden shoe upon a velvet cushion and to go to every four corners where two streets met and sound the trumpet and call out, "O yes, O yes, O yes, be it known unto you all that whatsoever lady of noble birth can fit this shoe upon her foot shall become the bride of his highness the prince and our future queen. God save the king."

And when the herald came to the house of Cinder Maid's father the eldest of her two stepsisters tried on the golden shoe, But it was much too small for her, as it was for every other lady that had tried it up to that time; but she went up into her room and with a sharp knife cut off one of her toes and part of her heel, and then fitted her foot into the shoe, and when she came down she showed it to the herald, who sent a message to the palace saying that the lady had been found who could wear the golden shoe.

Thereupon the prince jumped at once upon his horse and rode to the house of Cinder Maid's father. But when he saw the stepsister with the golden shoe, "Ah," he said, "but this is not the lady."

"But," she said, "you promised to marry the one that could wear the golden shoe," And the prince could say nothing, but offered to take her on his horse to his father's palace, for in those days, ladies used to ride on a pillion at the back of the gentleman riding on horseback.

Now as they were riding towards the palace her foot began to drip with blood, and the little bird from the hazel tree that had followed them called out:

Turn and peep, turn and peep,

There's blood within the shoe;

A bit is cut from off the heel

And a bit from off the toe.

And the prince looked down and saw the blood streaming from her shoe and then he knew that this was not his true bride, and he rode back to the house of Cinder Maid's father; and then the second sister tried her chance; but when she found that her foot wouldn't fit the shoe, she did the same as her sister, but all happed as before. The little bird called out:

Turn and peep, turn and peep,

There's blood within the shoe;

A bit is cut from off the heel

And a bit from off the toe.

And the prince took her back to her mother's house, and then he asked, "Have you no other daughter?" and the sisters cried out, "No, sir."

But the father said, "Yes, I have another daughter.

And the sisters cried out, "Cinder Maid, Cinder Maid, she could not wear that shoe."

But the prince said, "As she is of noble birth, she has a right to try the shoe." So the herald went down to the kitchen and found Cinder Maid; and when she saw her golden shoe, she took it from him and put it on her foot, which it fitted exactly; and then she took the other golden shoe from underneath the cinders where she had hidden it and put that on too.

Then the herald knew that she was the true bride of his master; and her took her upstairs to where the prince was; when he saw her face, he knew that she was the lady of his love. So he took her behind him upon his horse; and as they rode to the palace the little bird from the hazel tree cried out:

Some cut their heel, and some cut their toe,

But she sat by the fire who could wear the shoe.

And so they were married and lived happy ever afterwards.

That’s all for this week, stay tuned next week for a tale from Scotland.

What We Ate Wednesday--Magical Loaf Studio

Hello lovelies! Christmas is coming and you might still be thinking about what to make for your holiday meal if you are wanting to avoid eating a turkey.

You might be:

• new to being vegetarian or vegan
• new to being gluten free
• having a vegan or gluten free guest coming over that you don't know how to cater for
• wanting to eat more healthily
• have recently seen reports about the fact that reducing your meat and dairy consumption is the best way to reduce your carbon footprint and save the planet from extinction

Whatever your reason I wanted to offer you some choices before the big day. This recipe generator is the best thing since sliced (gluten free) bread. It's called the Magical Loaf Studio and you can mix and match with things you have in your store cupboard to make an endless variety of meals. 

Need it vegan? They are all vegan! 

Need it gluten free? Choose the gluten free carbohydrate/ binding options. 

Need it healthy? They are all based around whole foods like beans and nuts and whole grains.

But aren't nuts expensive? I need it to be cheap. Don't worry...there is only half a cup of nuts in it making it very affordable. 

Here is a link to the MAGICAL LOAF STUDIO.  It does use American measuring cups, so if you are in the UK pop over to Poundland and buy you a set. They really do make cooking so much easier. No more maths! 

Christmas dinner from years past

Here is a sample recipe based on the one I made for us last Christmas.

Magical Loaf

1/2 cup walnuts

2 TB water or broth for steam-frying

One onion, diced

One large garlic clove, minced

One large carrot, peeled and grated

One cup mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

2 cups cooked black beans

1 cup uncooked quick oatmeal or oat bran

1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed

3 TB tapioca flour

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried sage

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

2 TB nutritional yeast flakes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 TB tamari/soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350ºF Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8x8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the walnuts into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté any vegetables you've chosen in the water or broth for steam-frying until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Note from me: I tend to cook mine in my muffin tin at 200C/400F for 30 to 40 minutes to make cute little portions. 

I hope you have a cruelty free Christmas because Compassion Tastes Good.