Harvest time

This evening, we will be holding our Harvest Thanksgiving service. I made the harvest loaf last year and I was asked to do it again so I spent yesterday morning happily rolling and pulling dough to produce this:

I will have a basket of homegrown goodies to take, too, unlike last year when I had to buy everything from the greengrocer. I have  a good crop of potatoes, tomatoes, aubergine and sweetcorn to take and there may even be a few raspberries left if the birds don't beat me to them. I love this opportunity to bring the summer to a fitting close.

! ! Harvest Festival

When on a glorious day – one such as this –
you’re overcome with awe and wonder, praise,
and part-formed gratitude… which seeks some one
to thank for this, by laying at their feet
all that the world has brought us unannounced
as seedcorn turned to golden harvest wheat –

then who would hesitate, to draw in light
a greater One as whom to kneel before,
to make of our humility, a ‘One’
as if we were some grateful ‘other’; we,
less worthy, painting pure duality..

..don’t hesitate: praise is beyond a ‘two’;
what now we praise, becomes our very self;
in praise, name radiates as kingdom, come;
and kingdom hallows all, as all its own;
so, glory in that sound of praise so fine;
for when you shine with praise – then all things shine.

Michael Shepherd

 

 

Special jam tarts

I'm sure that everyone has a recipe for jam tarts but none can be as simple or as special as mine! I was baking with 4 year-old granddaughter Millie when she asked why I was using a recipe from a little notebook rather than one of the many cookery books I have on the shelf. I explained that I write up really special recipes in my notebook, which is well-thumbed and stained from years of use. She thought about this for a while and then asked if I would write her special recipe for jam tarts in my book and here it is, just as she dictated:

Millie's jam tarts

You need some pastry and some jam

Roll out the pastry
Cut out circles with a cutter
Put them in a special jam tart tray
Put some jam in each tart
Cook them
Take them out of the oven and let them cool
Eat them.

Simple, isn't it? Of course, this has pride of place in my notebook.

Using up the mincemeat

I was reading my son's Diary entry on The Dabbler and saw that he was wondering what to do with the leftover Christmas mincemeat.  National concern has been raised about the amount of good food that is wasted because people buy too much and don't know how to use leftovers.

Much could be said about the supermarkets encouraging people to over buy with giant-sized packages and 2for1 offers, the absence of home economy and cooking lessons in the school curriculum and the failure of my generation to pass on skills to the next but I will refrain from that and offer my recipe for mincemeat cake instead!

For my son and anyone else who bought the giant size tub of mincemeat, here is how I use mine:

Mincemeat Cake

Ingredients

125g/4oz butter

125g/4oz soft brown sugar

3 large eggs

325g/12oz mincemeat

190g/7oz self-raising flour (white or wholemeal or a mixture of both)

Milk if necessary

Metho

1. Grease and line a 7inch (18cm) cake tin
2. Cream the butter and sugar
3. Beat in the eggs, adding a little flour if the mixture curdles
4. Stir in the mincemeat and flour
5. The mixture should be quite moist. You may need to add some milk if the mincemeat is dry.
6. Bake in a moderate oven, Gas 3/325F/160C for ten minutes thenreduce heat to Gas 2 300F/150C for about 90 minutes, until cake is firm on top and shrinking from sides of tin.
7. Allow to cool a little before turning onto a baking rack.

 This cake keeps well and is delicious with a piece of strong cheddar - a nice alternative to a sandwich in the lunch box.

Stir up Monday

I didn't have time to make my Christmas puddings on Sunday, the traditional stir up day,  but I'm sure they will taste just as good. I make quite a large batch for family and friends. Not a lover of puddings myself, I am always surprised that they go on asking for them year after year and I have to keep my enthusiasm going by trying out different recipes. This year I based my mixture on a Tamsin Day-Lewis recipe but without the nuts and cider brandy; I never add nuts when I can't be sure of who will eat my products and I wasn't able to find cider brandy in the local shops. If you want the original recipe you can find it here. 

The first thing I do before making Christmas cakes, mincemeat and puddings is to throw away all my old spices and buy fresh. It really does make a difference! There are a lot of ingredients in the pudding mix and it is easy to miss one (or more!) so I prepare them first and line them up in order on the counter.  When the ingredients have been prepared it is simply a matter of putting them all into the largest mixing bowl you have and stirring! I cook mine overnight in the simmering oven of the Aga so my house is not filled with the lovely spicy smell of Christmas - the chimney takes all the cooking smells outside so I have to stand in the yard to enjoy them!

In goes all the beautiful fruit

Time for the great stir up

I got two large and three small puddings from the mixture

Puddings in the oven, now to put my feet up .... oh, I forgot about this!

If you didn't make your pudding on Stir-up Sunday, don't worry. I have been known to make them two weeks later and no-one has noticed the difference. And then there is always Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury and Tesco!

Apple cake

This is a cake that doubles as a pudding. I like to serve it fresh from the oven with cream or custard; the rest of the cake makes a tasty lunch, served with a mature cheddar cheese. Of course, it can also be eaten simply as a cake with a nice cup of tea!

What you need:
3oz/75g butter
6oz/175g caster sugar
Grated rind of 1 orange
8oz/225g self-raising flour
1lb/450g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
1oz/25g candied peel, chopped
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F, 180C or Gas 4. 
2. Grease and flour a 9 inch/23 cm spring form cake tin
3. Mix one tablespoon of the flour with the apples in a dish
4.  Cream butter, sugar and orange rind until light and fluffy
5. Stir beaten eggs and milk into creamed butter mixture
6. Add remaining flour and apples to mixture, blending well with a metal spoon
7. Turn mixture into prepared tin and sprinkle with granulated sugar
8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown
9. Enjoy!

Elephant ears

Another of my simple recipes, this time for palmiers, or elephant ears, has been posted on The Dabbler.

I am relieved to say that the tuna quiche that I made for my daughter met with her approval. She said it tasted just as good as she remembered from her childhood and now Millie and Ben will have to get used to it!

Tuna quiche - or is it?

On a recent visit home, my daughter asked for the recipe for the tuna quiche that I used to make years ago.  She said she always loved it and had a longing to eat it again.  For the life of me, I couldn't remember how I made it!  Back in the 80s, quiche was a very popular dish and I made my share but my son and daughter didn't like the egg based filling in most quiches, so I came up with one using condensed soup. I've been experimenting with fillings and I think I have achieved something like the one I used to make. I'll find out when I  take this sample to my daughter's house tomorrow!

It is so many years since I made a quiche that I had to empty the kitchen cupboards to search for the flan tin. Then I discovered that the Campbell's condensed mushroom soup that I used is no longer available. I found some Batchelors soup which is quite a different colour but I'm hoping the flavour will be the same.

Ingredients
6oz/ 198g shortcrust pastry (home made or ready made)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
4oz/120g can sweetcorn, drained
2 x 4oz/120g cans tuna in brine, drained
Dash Worcestershire sauce
2oz/60g cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5
2. Grease  9 inch/22cm loose bottomed flan tin
3. Line the flan tin with the pastry, place a sheet of baking parchment in the base and fill with dried beans and bake 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes
4. Mix the rest of the ingredients, except the grated cheese, in a bowl and fill the pastry case with the mixture
5. Sprinkle the cheese over the flan and cook for about 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling

I'll let you know if it matches my daughter's childhood memory. If it doesn't I'm back to the drawing board!

Cucumber pickle

At this time of year, I always have a jar of cucumber pickle in the fridge. It adds a little je ne sais quoi to salads and sandwiches. There are lots of ways of making it but my recipe for a gingery version has been published on The Dabbler today.

I am a little disappointed about the picture that has been used on The Dabbler, though. Those thick chunks of cucumber would not be as tasty as the thin slices recommended in the recipe. I shall have to have a word with the Editor!

A gingerbread themed day

We kept Millie and Ben busy and entertained on a wet and windy day last week by having a themed day. First we had the story of the Gingerbread Man

Then we made some gingerbread people of our own:

And put them in the oven to cook. Please note the pinafore that Millie is wearing, a lovely gift from Jodi of Curious Acorn:

When they were cooked, there was the difficult decision about whether or not to eat them:

But when you are three there is no time for misplaced sympathy for a cookie's feelings!

And Ben joined in too:

Here is the recipe for the gingerbread dough:
Ingredients
4 oz/8tbsp soft brown sugar
4oz/half cup soft butter
6oz/one and a half cups flour
few drops vanilla extract
2 tspn ground ginger
a little milk

Mix all ingredients except the milk (I used a hand held electric mixer but you could use a wooden spoon and the creaming method if you have stronger wrists!). Add sufficient milk to bind the mixture into a soft dough.
Roll out the dough and cut out shapes.
We used chopped raisins for eyes and buttons.

Place cookies on a baking tray and cook in a medium oven (190C/375F/Gas 5) for 10 to 15 minutes.
Leave to cool on a wire rack and gobble up before they run away.

After the clearing up, we played this game:

 

And Millie had great fun with the little jigsaw fugures

Wind and rain provide great opportunities for staying indoors and having fun!

Apple In and Out .... and gone

My mother-in-law, Dorothy, has been living with us for almost two years. She will be 94  at the end of November and is physically quite well, if not very mobile but her memory is poor. At first it was just her short-term memory and we have learned to live with the fact that she does not retain information for more than a minute. Her long-term memory, though, was pretty sharp until a few months ago. She loved to talk about her childhood in Devon, her experiences in the second world war and her years in Zimbabwe (then called Rhodesia) with her young family.

The memories began to be muddled, so I made albums of her photographs, letters and newspaper clippings with clear labels of the names of people and places but I saw recently that she has crossed out some of my labels and written new, incorrect ones.  I find it rather sad to think that such a long life can be fading into an inaccurate blur but she seems to be quite happy with her misremembered stories.

Dorothy was never a good cook but she had a passion for traditional Devonshire food as made by her grandmother and great aunt. She learned how to make Devonshire clotted cream so that she could have a regular supply in Africa with her other culinary success, Devonshire Apple In and Out.  She would never give anyone the recipe for this and now she has forgotten it but I found it in a book of traditional Devonshire recipes and decided to make some to stir her fading memories.

It is a very simple pudding, originally made with suet and steamed for an hour or more but I adapted it to bake as a sponge pudding and it worked very well.

Devonshire Apple In and Out
6oz flour
4oz fat
4oz sugar
1 egg
1lb apples

Rub the fat into the flour then add the sugar and beat in the egg. Peel  the apples and slice them directly into the mixture in a buttered pudding dish.

Bake at 350F/180C for about 30 minutes.
 (If using suet, steam in a greased basin for 1hr 15mins.)

I used butter and brown sugar in mine and this is how it turned out:

My husband prepared his mother for an exciting surprise and I brought in a portion of the pudding, served with vanilla ice-cream. Dorothy's reaction? "Oh, how lovely. Ice-cream!"

In, out, gone.

Summer in a jar

Having heard Ghillie James on Woman's Hour recently, I couldn't wait to buy her book, Jam, Jelly and Relish. It is full of simple to follow instructions and fuss-free recipes.

I went to the pannier market in Barnstaple early yesterday morning to stock up on strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, cherries and apricots and spent a great day in the kitchen. I just had to try Muddled Berry Jam with a colourful mixture of strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants

Then I prepared the apricots which looked so wonderfully golden and luscious that I had to force myself to tip them into the preserving pan

Then I used the rest of the strawberries and raspberries with the cherries to make  Cherry Berry Jam, which Ghillie James describes as the tastiest of all the jams in her book. By teatime I had a box full of glistening jars to store until winter, when some will be given pretty tops and labels to give as presents and the rest will bring a bit of summer to our tea table.

Alongside the recipes for the preserves there are lots of ideas for making use of them. The book is full of lovely photographs of irresistible dishes, so one jar of Muddled Berry Jam has been set aside to make ice cream for granddaughter Charlotte's first birthday party next month.

from Page 64

The preserving mood was upon me and I spent the afternoon bunching lavender and drying bay leaves, all of which will eventually be made into more gifts.

It was a very satisfying way to spend a wet and windy summer's day.

Household gadgets

Jodi, of Curious Acorn, has a most fascinating job as a living historian and today she has posted about the cookery demonstrations she gives in the kitchen of 1790. There are photos of the simple utensils that were used and lots of information about how people lived then. I love to visit this kind of museum and always head for the kitchen because it gives a clear insight into the daily lives of people of all classes.

In the days before mechanical and electronic labour-saving devices were available, the kitchens of rich and poor were probably similarly equipped, differing only in the size of room, the quantity of spoons, bowls and pots and, more significantly, the distribution of labour! The farm labourer's wife with a brood of 8 children to feed and clothe would have spent all of her waking hours in the kitchen, while the farmer's wife would have had a couple of girls to help her and the squire's wife probably had a housekeeper, cook and a host of servants.

How different today's kitchens:  light, airy and clean and crammed with utensils, gadgets and machines. My cottage is about 350 years old and I've been looking around the kitchen to see what would have to go if I were to try to live like the original inhabitant. Goodbye Aga and gas hob; farewell washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher; out with the steam iron, food processor, Kenwood Chef, microwave oven, centrifugal juicer, citrus juicer, electric toaster; then we have the cupboards and drawers filled with smaller gadgets: whisks, apple corers, peelers, presses and all manner of handy little tools that would have mystified my grandmother.

These are some of the things I found in a drawer. They have probably been there for years, I can't remember how they got there. Can you guess what they are?  One is a Tea Drip Catcher, one a SqueezeEase 'ideal for most types of tube' and I had to open the other item to discover its purpose:

Well, who doesn't need a set of labels for their cheese board?

I can remember the day that my mother got her first washing machine and later on a vacuum cleaner and what a difference they made to her life. I would hate to be without those items and I have serious withdrawal symptoms when I'm away from the Aga:

But I could probably get by without most of things I currently think of as essential. How about you? What is your most treasured or essential gadget and what is the most useless or trivial thing in your kitchen?

Boxty

Boxty on the griddle,

Boxty in the pan.

If you can't make boxty,

You'll never get a man.

I'm not actually looking for a new man in my life but I decided to make some boxty at the weekend anyway. There are many different recipes for this traditional Irish potato pancake and I suppose everyone's grandmother's was the best. I sort of made this one up from a mixture of childhood memory and guesswork:

Ingredients

8oz raw potato, grated

8oz mashed potato

4oz plain flour (US all-purpose)

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon chopped wild garlic stems or spring onions (scallions)

Milk or buttermilk to mix

Method

Mix the grated and mashed potato together. Stir in the flour and garlic/onion and season with salt and pepper. Add the beaten egg and enough milk to make a batter that will drop from the spoon. Cook on a griddle or shallow fry for about 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve with bacon and eggs.

The best place to eat boxty and other traditional Irish dishes is at Gallagher's Boxty House in Dublin. Mine didn't match their high standard but we all enjoyed it. If you have a different recipe for boxty, I'd love to hear it.

Fiery fusion

I planned to cook a quick stir fry lunch today. I had plenty of vegetables and noodles to hand but the local grocer only had plain tofu - not very exciting -  so I decided to marinate it. This bottle of sauce has been waiting for just such an opportunity ever since my son brought it back from the Caribbean two years ago.

 After an hour of marinading, I added the tofu to the stir-fried vegetables, added some hoisin sauce and noodles and sat down to enjoy my "fusion" of Chinese and Caribbean flavours.

Lips fused to teeth, tongue to the roof of the mouth, throat constricted, eyes watered! The MM bravely finished his bowl with nothing more than a glass of water to help. (He hasn't spoken to me since leaving the table but I think that is because he can't!) I struggled to the fridge for the Greek yoghurt and a spoonful eased the painful mouth. Then I spotted some Italian tomato and olive sauce; I added this to my bowl and was able to eat the rest of the meal.

My fusion dish turned into a confusion of Chinese, Caribbean, Greek and Italian; not my greatest culinary triumph I must admit but my sinuses have never felt so clear, so I should be in good voice for tonight's Easter vigil.

Don't try this at home.

C is for cooking

I realised there was a theme developing in the kitchen on Saturday when I had combined chicken, corn and carrots to make a delicious soup from Jodi's recipe:

and went on to make coffee cake and chocolate chip cookies.

Coincidence?

Corn cakes

We are getting lots of luscious cobs of sweetcorn in the veg boxes at present, so I have been searching out new recipes to use them. I found this in my Two Fat Ladies cookery book and cooked some for Saturday lunch:



Corn Griddle Cakes

Ingredients

8oz (225g) plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

>¼ tsp paprika

>½ tsp salt

6oz (175g) fresh sweetcorn kernels

1 egg, beaten

4fl oz (125ml) milk

2 tbsp melted butter

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Combine the sweetcorn, egg and milk, add to flour mixture and mix well. Then add the melted butter. Spoon onto a hot griddle, using 2 or 3 tbsp of mixture for each cake. Cook until bubbles show on the surface, then turn cakes over and cook until golden brown.

They were delicious and I will be adding them to my quick and easy standby meals.

Today, I made Nigel Slater's Smoked haddock chowder with leeks and sweetcorn, but I used smoked cod. What next? There are more corn cobs in the latest veg box so recipe suggestions gratefully accepted.

Mushroom tart

I had to make lunch in a hurry today so I sent the MM off to the shop to buy some ready rolled shortcrust pastry (well, if Delia can!). I adapted a recipe from one of my favourite books, The New Cranks Recipe Book, which isn't so new any more as I've had it for at least ten years.

This is my version of Mushroom Lattice Tart

Ingredients
1 pack ready rolled shortcrust pastry
1oz (25g) butter
1lb (500g) chestnut mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
large bunch fresh thyme
a dash of brandy (or vegetable stock)
salt and pepper
egg to glaze

For the sauce
1oz (25g) butter
1oz (25g) flour
6fl oz (150ml) milk

Method
Use half the pastry to line a pie dish and blind-bake for 5 or 6 minutes.
Slice the mushrooms and sauté in the butter with the crushed garlic, thyme and seasoning. After about 5 minutes, add the brandy or stock and continue to cook for a few minutes. Strain and reserve the liquid.

Sauce
Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk and bring slowly to boiling point, stirring all the time. Add the reserved juices from the mushrooms then add the mushrooms.

Pour the mushroom mixture into the pastry case. Use the other half of the pastry to make a lattice topping. Brush with beaten egg and cook in a hot oven (Aga roasting oven or Gas 7/ 425F/220C) for 30 minutes.

We ate ours with lots of spinach as I love the combination of mushrooms and spinach. It was a simpler (and cheaper) version of the original but delicious all the same and there was very little left after three of us had our fill.

Windfall crumble

Autumn is here. The Aga has been turned up from its summer setting and on Sunday we had our first pudding of the season. The blustery winds of the past week brought down lots of apples, although there is still a bumper crop waiting to be picked. I made a crumble with some of the windfalls and the last of the raspberries. Comfort food at its best.

Nan has asked for my crumble recipe. As it is a very homely pudding, the quantities and ingredients are not exact. I use about 2 pounds (900g) of whatever fruit I have available: apples or apples mixed with blackberries or blackcurrants; peaches, gooseberries, rhubarb; even bottled or frozen fruit will do.
Prepare the fruit and put in a pudding dish with sugar to taste and about 4 tablespoons water or lemon juice.

For the crumble topping:
8oz (225g) flour
4oz (100g) butter
2oz (50g) demerara sugar

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit. For extra crunch, I sprinkle more sugar on the top. I also butter the dish so that the mixture doesn't stick - that makes washing up easy and also means that none of the delicious crumble is wasted.

Cook in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes, until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit is tender. Serve with Devonshire clotted cream, custard or ice-cream.

Lavender champagne

I started off some lavender champagne today. I haven't tried it before so I'll have to let you know how it tastes in two weeks time when it should be ready to drink.

Ingredients
about 50 lavender flowers
4 pints cold water
12 oz (350 grams) sugar
4oz (110 grams) sultanas, finely chopped
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
juice of one lemon

Stir all dry ingredients in a large glass or porcelain bowl
Pour on water, vinegar and lemon juice
Stir well together

Cover with cling wrap and leave for 7 days

After 7 days, strain and pour into sterilized bottles. Seal and leave for another 7 days before drinking.

Simnel cake

I consider myself very fortunate in always having my children home for the holidays. I know that will change as they are now married, so I intend to make the coming Easter weekend as special as I can. And that inevitably means some hours in the kitchen beforehand.

Today I made my simnel cake. I don't know if this is just an English tradition, I would love to know how other people celebrate Easter. When I was growing up, I always thought of it as a Lambert Simnel cake and wondered why Perkin Warbeck wasn't similarly commemorated but now I know that this lovely almond cake has nothing to do with rebellions and pretenders to the throne. In the days when girls were put into service, they were allowed to make a special cake to take home on Mothering Sunday; the name simnel comes from the Latin simila meaning fine flour, as used in the cake. That doesn't sound nearly so interesting, does it?

I start by making an almond paste. Mix together equal quantities (about 6 ounces/175g) of caster sugar and ground almonds. Add 1 teaspoon almond extract and enough beaten egg to give a soft consistency. Knead the mixture until it forms a pliable paste.

The cake is a simple, all-in-one light fruit mixture.

Blend together:
6oz (175g) softened butter
6oz (175g) light muscovado sugar
3 eggs
6oz self-raising flour (I add a teaspoon baking powder)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
10oz (275g) mixed vine fruits (I use sultanas, currants, raisins and cherries or cranberries for colour)
1 oz (25g) ground almonds

Spoon half the batter into a prepared 8 inch (20cm) cake tin. Roll out one third of the almond paste into a circle the size of the tin and place on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining mixture. Cook in a cool oven (I use my Aga cake baker) for about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Let the cake cool on a wire rack then spread the top with a little apricot jam. Take another third of the almond paste and roll it into a circle to cover the top of the cake, crimp the edge. Make small balls with the remaining paste and arrange around the edge of the cake. Brush the top with egg white and place the cake in a hot oven for about 3 minutes until the almond paste is lightly browned.
When cool, decorate the top with glace icing and small foil-wrapped eggs or candied flowers.

Now if anyone has a recipe for Perkin Warbeck cake, I would love to hear. I used to love saying those names when I was small, in fact I still do.