Modern version of boiling in the can

A lot of recipes (not just the incredible ones here!) include the step of boiling sweetened condensed milk in the can as a way to caramelize it. I think that people assume the only danger is in the can exploding if you don't keep it covered with boiling water.

There's actually another concern that is more serious. Although lead solder is (legally) no longer allowed in making cans, there is still always some sort of sealant closing the seams of the can. Heating this sealant to the boiling point can cause the chemicals to leach into the liquid.

So instead, heat the SCM in a double-boiler for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Still gets the job done (even slightly quicker!) and you don't have to worry about what's leaching into the caramel.


Edited for Angelique: Either way, covered or not. It can be easier to remember to stir if it's uncovered, but it also needs to be stirred more when it's uncovered (the surface gets dry and tough otherwise). The important detail to remember is to check on the water in the bottom part to make sure THAT doesn't go dry.

Danger pudding pie

I'd been making this pie for almost 40 years when I read the Sweet Potato Queen's first book and found that she included a variation of the recipe. I got it from a cousin in Arkansas. I always just called it banana pie, but the SPQ called it "Danger Pudding."

You'll need a can of Eagle Brand, unsweetened whipped cream, a graham-cracker or vanilla wafer crust, and fresh bananas. You could also use strawberries or any other kind of fruit.

In a large, deep pan, like a Dutch oven, boil the Eagle Brand can, unopened, label removed, keeping it covered with water, for about 2 hours. Don't, don't, don't...........a thousand times "don't" do this if you can't plan to be right there watching it for the two hours, so that you can add water when it boils down. Use as low a heat as you can to keep it boiling. I usually boil two cans at once and then keep one in the fridge to have on hand.

After the two hours is up, let the can cool down and then put in the fridge or freezer until it's completely cooled down.



Open both ends of the can and you'll have a big round block of caramel. Slice and layer it in the crust with the whipped cream and fruit. Top with whipped cream. You'll see why you don't need to sweeten the whipped cream.

If you don't like really sweet stuff, don't make this pie. It's SWEET!

I learned the hard way about leaving the cans unattended. I forgot I had two cans on the stove (it was my stupid-head ex-husband's fault!) and went to bed. Next morning, one of the cans had opened and burned up in the pan. The other had exploded and slung sticky stuff all across the kitchen ceiling into the living room. The kitty was sick from eating it, and the cabinet next the stove had a coating of caramel underneath. We had to repaint the kitchen.

The Eagle Brand can does have a warning about heating an unopened can, but as long as you watch it, keep it covered with water, and only boil on low heat for 2 hours, it should be fine.

The SPQ book suggests that you just eat it out of the can, but it's pretty rich.

Creamy chocolate pie

Or you can call it decadent or obscene.....either way, it's a once a year treat for us (well, maybe twice.)

Creamy Chocolate Pie

1 9-inch baked pastry shell
3 1-oz. sqs. unsweetened chocolate
1 14-oz. can Eagle Brand Milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped
Extra sweetenedwhipped cream for topping

Over medium heat, melt chocolate in saucepan with Eagle Brand and salt. Cook and stir until thick and fudgy, about 5-8 minutes. Add water, cook and stir until it thickens and boils. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cool 15 minutes. Chill 20-30 minutes, stir. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into shell. Chill 3 hours. Top with extra whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Don't substitute Cool Whip for the real whipped cream, or it just won't be as good. I usually cover the whole pie and then add the chocolate curls, but you could get creative and pipe the whipped cream around the edges or create designs--depends on how much you like whipped cream. Don't sweeten the cream that's going into the pie.

Flight Over Africa

A friend sent me this Youtube clip of the flight over Africa from the movie "Out of Africa." It's almost four minutes long, but really an amazing video of a very beautiful country.

Anyway, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHjwq3e7lHw

Autumn Evening

Thank you for the beautiful images, Angelique! I couldn't resist adding one more...

The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps- does anybody know where it was borne? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born . . . .

- Rabindranath Tagore

comment for post below

I love Mary Oliver! Thanks for the perfect Sunday post, Bella.

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting---

over and over again announcing your place

in the family of things.

from Dream Works by Mary Oliver

Published by the Atlantic Monthly Press