Potatoes for Dessert

Earlier this year, on my way home from cycling Atlantic Canada, I had the great fortune of visiting with my (other) Grandma at her home in Ontario. Sitting around the dinner table with a group of senior citizens is always a good time; the conversation is nothing short of hilarious and the food is always abundant. Seconds? Kid, you know we got lots and lots. 

Spending time with family sure makes you count your blessings, and nothing is more sacred than one of Grandma's secret recipes. How secret is this secret recipe you ask? Secret enough for me to share with a bunch of strangers on the internet. Yeah, you're welcome.

The differences between growing up as a young girl in Hungary during the 1940's and growing up in Canada today are many. Leftovers, as an example, were taken much more seriously back then. Waste not, want not, you spoiled Canadians.

Today I'll be sharing a recipe for the least sexy leftover you could imagine: plain old mashed potatoes. Get ready to loosen your belt.

Grandma's Plum Dumplings:

- 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg
- sweet plums
- salt
- white sugar
- breadcrumbs

First, get a pot of water on the stove. While you're waiting for the water to boil, mix together the potatoes, flour and egg in a medium sized bowl. You should end up with a dough that can be worked with your hands. Roll the dough into a roll about 1" thick, and then separate it into sections about 1" wide.

For the plums, I know my Grandma uses uncooked sweet plums. I mixed this up a bit this time though and cooked mine for a bit beforehand. I cut my plums up, removed the pits, and added cinnamon and cloves to the pot, letting them heat up for a while on the stove. This added step concerned my Grandma when we discussed the recipe on the phone, but I promise it ended well.

Once your dough is rolled out and your plums are ready, it's time to make the dumplings. Flatten a piece of the dough into your palm and place a plum in the middle. Close the dough around the plum, making sure it's entirely covered, and then pop it into the boiling water. The dumpling is ready once it floats to the top; about 10-15 min if you're using uncooked plums.

Set your dumplings aside and brown up some breadcrumbs in a bit of oil. After you've boiled your dumplings, you're going to roll them in breadcrumbs and then again in white sugar. As if the plums didn't make this recipe delicious enough!

In the end, you'll be left with about a half a dozen plum dumplings, which are a heck of a lot more exciting than cold mashed potatoes. Forget rice pudding!

There's something really satisfying about pulling off one of your family's treasured recipes. I was so pleased with myself that I actually took a photo of the end product, uploaded it to Facebook and tagged my entire family in it. My uncle was seriously salivating down in California, and my Dad added to the conversation by sharing his experience in making plum jam this fall, from his home in the Okanagan. The days when we were all able to sit around the dinner table together enjoying Grandma's plum dumplings for dessert may be over, but the feeling of togetherness lives on in our hearts, and our stomachs. From my family to yours, enjoy!