More Raspberry and Blackcurrant Fare

The soft fruit harvest continues; so much this year that I foresee lots of jam making, freezing and possibly an attempt at bottling looming.

So far I have gathered ten pounds of raspberries and just over four pounds of blackcurrants. The redcurrants should be ready around the end of July; sadly the whitecurrants have been taken by the birds, but I can't really complain as they seem to have left the raspberries and other currants alone (for the moment!).

So more baking and preserving; this time a raspberry and blackcurrant jam. I used the same method as the Almost Seedless Raspberry jam with two pounds of raspberries and one and a quarter pounds of blackcurrants. This produced a slightly tart jam, just the way we like it.

I found a recipe on another blog for a cake using raspberry and blackcurrant jams with chocolate, so using Holly Grove R&B jam I got out the baking tin and tried out the recipe for Chocolate, Raspberry and Blackcurrant Cake. The result is a rich and dense cake, not too pretty to look at, to accompany the cake I made a raspberry couli and the Handyman added a little cream drizzled over the coulis. The resulting dessert tasted delicious - not sure the photo does it justice.


Raspberry Couli
Makes about quarter of a pint
Ingredients
8ozs raspberries, rinsed
1.5ozs castor sugar

Method
Place the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar. Cover and leave for 30 minutes. Then place the contents of the bowl in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if required and blend again for a few seconds. Strain the liquid through a fine nylon sieve to remove the seeds. Put into a container, cover and store in the fridge until needed.

The coulis can be stored for several days and used over cakes, icecream, pancakes etc.

Note: if you don't want to get the blender out you could just press the fruit and sugar mix through a sieve, a bit more work but the same result.

Scones and Jam

Holly Grove kitchen garden has been swinging into full production; amongst the produce have been raspberries and blackcurrants...lots of the little blighters! Yesterday, though the garden was tempting me out, I remained resolute and stayed in the kitchen for a bit of baking and preserving.

Starting with the raspberries, I made a very simple fruit yoghurt - basically greek yoghurt layered with raspberries. I used the ripest berries for this, leaving it overnight for the juices to run into the yoghurt and ready for my breakfast this morning. One and a half pounds of raspberries I used to make raspberry jam, only a small quantity, but full of fruit. The remainder of the raspberries together with some of the blackcurrants were used to make another Berry Crumble cake.

Then on to the blackberries; aside from the small quantity in the cake, one pound of fruit was used to make Blackberry jam and the rest, about two pounds, was juiced.

With the jam gleaming at me through the glass jars I felt that I really ought to make some scones - you can't spend time making jam and not have scones to eat it on.

So a productive day in the kitchen and here are the recipes for scones and jam...

Almost Seedless Raspberry Jam
Makes about 1lb
Ingredients
1.5lbs raspberries
1tsp lemon juice
12ozs granulated sugar

Method
Put the raspberries in a heavy-based pan and bring slowly to the boil, mashing the fruit with a wooden spoon to release the juices. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the fruit is very soft and lots of juices have been released.

Press the fruit pulp and juice through a fine sieve into a bowl, this may take a while and you may end up with a few pips in the pulp if, like me, you press too hard to release the pulp for jam. Discard the raspberry pips left in the sieve and measure the pulp in a measuring jug - I had about three quarters of a pint.

Return the pulp to the clean pan and add the lemon juice together with the sugar - 1lb of sugar for every pint of pulp and juice. Bring slowly to the boil stirring to ensure that the sugar has dissolved. Boil rapidly until a set is achieved. Remove from the heat and stir in a knob of butter, this will help to clear the jam. The pour into prepared jam jars and seal and label.

Plain Scones
Makes about 8
Ingredients
8ozs self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2ozs butter
1oz castor sugar
a little milk

Method
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a food processor. Add the butter and blitz to fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and pulse to mix through the crumb mixture. With the processor running, slowly add a small amount of milk until the mix comes together forming a soft dough. Be careful not to over process or you'll end up with dry scones.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board and bring together into a ball. Gently press the dough out into a round about two inches deep and cut out scones with a two inch cutter. Place the scones close together (but not touching) on a baking sheet and brush the tops with a little milk.

Place in the preheated oven at 230C for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a clean cloth on a cooling rack and cover with the cloth. This will ensure that your scones stay soft, that's if you can resist eating them almost immediately with that delicious raspberry jam that you've just jarred up!

Note: You can, of course, make the scones without a food processor. Simply create the crumb mix by rubbing in the butter with your fingers to make the fine breadcrumbs. Then add the sugar and stir in. Finally bring the dough together by hand using a little milk.

Travellers from the North

My cousin, E, and her husband, S, live way up in the north east of Scotland so we don't see them very often; in fact only about 3 or 4 times in the last 20 years! So when they stopped over with us on their way to Spain it was reason enough to search out a dessert recipe for a celebration.


After much searching through my cookery books and favourite websites and perusing what might be available from Holly Grove's kitchen garden, I found Rachel Allen's Cherry Crumble Cake and modified it to use the berries available from the garden supplemented with some market produce.

The cake was served warm with softly whipped double cream. I'm already thinking about a rhubarb and/or apple version of this cake or what about plums?


Berry Crumble Cake
(Serves 6)
Ingredients
350g (12oz) ripe fresh berries (I used HG blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries)
150g (5oz) self-raising flour
pinch of ground cinnamon
50g (2oz) caster sugar
1 egg
30ml (1fl oz) milk
100g (4oz) butter, melted
Icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

For the crumble topping
25g (1oz) plain flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
25g (1oz) caster sugar
25g (1oz) butter, cubed
20cm (8in) diameter spring-form/loose bottomed tin

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Butter the sides of the cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.

Prepare the fruit removing the stalks etc. Keep the fruit whole unless the strawberries are particularly large then half or quarter them. Set the fruit aside.

Sift the flour and cinnamon into a large bowl, add the sugar, mix together and make a well in the centre. Then whisk the egg, milk and melted butter together in another bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together to make a thick, smooth mixture, then spoon into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Scatter the berries over the mixture and gently press them in.

To make the crumble, put all the ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter to make a crumb-like mixture and scatter the topping over the berries.

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave in the tin for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle, then run a knife around the edge and remove the cake from the tin. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Lightly dust with icing sugar and serve with softly whipped double cream or creme fraiche.

After a Day in the Garden...

As we spend more and more time in the garden through the spring and summer the challenge to produce tasty but quickly-made food ensues. A favourite standby is any variety of tortilla, this is the Spanish version of omelette, but much easier to produce.

Basically anything available in the fridge or kitchen garden can be used to create Spanish tortilla. Last night we used some bacon, mushrooms, herbs and cheese; and the whole process, including a green salad, took just 20 minutes.


Fridge and Plot Tortilla
Serves 2
Ingredients
a glug of light olive oil
1 thick (or 2 thin) rasher of bacon, diced
5 large chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced
4 eggs, beaten with a little cream or milk and salt and pepper
2 ozs strong Cheddar, grated
a few chives, chopped

Method
Heat a small, heavy bottomed frying pan (about 6"-8" diameter) add the oil and the bacon. After a few minutes add the mushrooms and continue frying until the bacon is cooked. Meanwhile make the green salad and heat the grill to maximum temperature.

When the bacon and mushroom mix is cooked, add the eggs and mix gently. Leave to cook until the eggs are set around the edges, this should take only a few minutes as the pan is hot.

Spinkle the chives and grated cheese over the tortilla and then place under the hot grill. The tortilla will rise like a souffle and when the eggs are set and the cheese is golden remove from the grill and serve with the green salad and a good bottle of wine.

Note: The filling for the tortilla can be varied according to what you have available and vegetarian versions are simple. Other fillings we've tried include combinations of: spinach, red and green peppers, onion, chunks of cooked ham, leftover chicken; topped with almost any cheese you can think of!

Food with Family

Two of my nieces, G&V, came to stay for a few days last week. They are city girls so a few days in the countryside proved a novel experience. The weather was very kind to us and we made the most of it with garden games, a BBQ, a picnic and a trip to our county town for some retail therapy.

Then on Sunday we were joined by their Mum and Dad - J&J - and their sister, O. This called for some lunch for the family. My sister and her family are vegetarian so I decided to try a new tart recipe - Kale, Olive and Gruyere tart. However I had no kale and no gruyere, so a variation was concocted - Spinach, Olive and Mozzarella Tart. The spinach, chard, sage and garlic used in the recipe came from HG kitchen garden and the tart was served with a green salad of lettuce, rocket, chives and sorrel from the HG herb beds.

Dessert was a classic Eton Mess (with a few raspberries added to the usual strawberries) from Delia's Puddings cookbook.

It must have been okay as we had no leftovers!

Before Baking

Spinach, Olive and Mozzarella Tart
Serves 4
Ingredients
8" tart case made with shortcrust pastry (I cheated and bought mine from Morrisons for 87p)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
200g spinach and chard, washed and coarsely chopped
2 or 3 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg, beaten
half a dozen olives, quartered
150g grated mozzarella (or 100g mozzarella and 50g soft blue cheese cut into small cubes)
grated parmesan to finish

Method
Put the onion in a large,deep frying pan with a good knob of butter and cook gently until softened. Add the garlic, sage and spinach and cook for a few minutes until the spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Add the cheeses (not the parmesan), olives and the egg and mix well. Put the mixture into the pastry case and sprinkle over the parmesan. Put on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven at 190C for 20-25 minutes.

Out of the Oven

Serve warm or cold with a green salad and some simply boiled new potatoes.

Another Cold and More Soup

My second cold of this winter and I'm feeling bleary eyed and in need of comforting. In the vegetable rack is a small cauliflower and some broccoli, the ubiquitous onion and potatoes - thinking of a cauliflower soup...


Cauliflower (and Broccoli) Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
I medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
! medium potato, peeled and diced
450g cauliflower and broccoli florets
900 ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp double cream (or yoghurt)

Method
Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the onion, gently cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the potato and cumin seeds and cook gently for a further 6-8 minutes. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and vegetable stock. Simmer until cauliflower is softened. Remove from heat and blend using a hand-blender. Stir in the cream and serve in warmed bowls.

Delicious!

Traditional Pud with a Twist

Conscious of the amount of food wasted in this country I try wherever possible to use up all of our leftovers and mostly do this quite successfully. However the one area where I struggle to avoid waste is with the common loaf.

A standard loaf of bread proves to much for the two of us and, more often than not, is stale before we're half way through it. Freeze it in two halves I hear you cry, but I have a small freezer and to fill it with bread would be wasteful. So with my conscience pricking me I have made a bread and butter pudding for our meal tonight...a pudding with a twist...

Boozy Bread and Butter Pudding
Serves 4
Ingredients
butter, for greasing
castor sugar
4 thick slices of stale bread, cubed
3 tbsp apricot preserve, heated to make a glaze
a good handful of sultanas, soaked in 3 tbsp Port for at least 2 hours

Creme Anglaise
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp castor sugar
16 fl ozs milk
1 tbsp Port

Method
Butter the inside of the dish you will be using to bake the pudding and then dust with castor sugar. I used my favourite 6" pie dish.

Make the creme anglaise by beating the egg yolks and sugar together in a large measuring jug. Heat the milk until almost boiling and then add to the egg mixture beating all the time. Return the egg mixture to the pan and heat gently until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Note: the custard will be quite liquid at this point, do not allow the custard to boil or the eggs will scramble. Leave to cool and when cool stir in the tbsp of Port. Set aside.

Spoon the apricot preserve into the bottom of the dish. Then add the cubed bread, sultanas and custard in layers until you have used up all the ingredients. Leave the mixture to settle.

Heat the oven to 180C. Put the dish in a roasting tin and fill the tin 3/4 full with boiling water (a bain marie). Sprinkle a little demerara sugar over the pudding and bake in the oven for 10 mins then turn the heat down to 160C and continue to bake for another 15-20 mins. Remove from the oven, the pudding will continue to cook in the bain marie. Wait 5 mins and then serve with single cream or creme fraiche.

More Chocolate Consolation

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything..so much to do, so little time.

Anyway whilst sorting through my emails I came upon this recipe from my elder son G - he's turning into quite a baker! I haven't managed to try it out yet but am planning on making it for a weekend away with my special girlfriends in March - probably should have a test run before then...

In the meantime here's G's recipe and his photo of the result...


Chocolate Goo Cake
Ingredients
oil for greasing
300g dark chocolate, broken in pieces
150g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
6 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Grease the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin and line with greaseproof paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
3. Whisk the yolks with two tablespoons of the sugar until pale and light. Stir in cooled melted chocolate.
4. Whip the whites until they resemble soft peaks and gradually whisk in the remaining sugar.
5. Gently stir one-third of the whites into the chocolate mixture followed by the remainder. Transfer the cake mixture into the tin.
6. Bake for 20 minutes in the middle of the oven, until just firm to the touch. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and transferring to a wire rack.
(It states 20 minutes but I ended up cooking mine for around 30 minutes until firm to touch)
7. Leave to cool.

I found leaving it over night allowed it to set properly, although you can eat it once cooled that day it tends to crumble quite a bit.

For the chocolate coating
200ml double cream
200g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
25g butter

Method
To make the chocolate coating, bring the double cream to the boil in a pan. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until melted then pour in the heated double cream, mixing together well.

You then have a couple of choices to choose from to serve the cake.
1. Serve cake with the warm chocolate sauce to be poured over the cake with a little double cream.
2. Spread the chocolate coating over the cooled cake using a palette knife or spoon. Allow to cool and set, then serve.

Offline for a Time

Just to let you know that I've been off-line for a while now...will be returning soon...

Baking Day

Aah, the appeal of a warm kitchen, Rayburn running and the prospect of homemade biscuits and cakes - a real tonic on a Winter Sunday!

I don't often use the oil-fired Rayburn in our kitchen but with snow outside and time to spend a day in the kitchen I thought the prospect of baking in a warm kitchen was irresistable, so I fired up the Rayburn, put a pot of soup on the hotplate and a gammon joint in the oven and headed for the baking tins.

Ginger Choc-Chip Cookies
Ingredients
8 ozs butter, softened
3 ozs light soft brown sugar
9 ozs SR flour
2 tbsps golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ozs dark chocolate drops
2 ozs preserved ginger, roughtly chopped

Method
Butter 2 large baking sheets and cover with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Stir in the remaining ingredients to make a soft dough. Roll the dough into walnut-sized pieces and space out generously on the baking sheets. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Bake the cookies for 12-15 mins, until light gold in colour -they will still feel quite soft in the middle. Leave on the baking tray for about 5 mins then transfer with a palette knife to a wire rack to cool completely.

January Cottage Pie

Yesterday recovering from my cold I ventured out to do some much needed fresh food shopping. The crisp snow on the ground and the sub-zero temperatures called once again for some heart-warming fayre, so how about a traditional cottage pie? I have most of the ingredients in the store cupboard, so just some good fresh beef mince and vegetables to accompany the pie were required.

I used the remainder of the celeriac mash from another meal mixed with additional potatoes to cover the pie. A very rustic and tasty meal if not quite fine dining!

Holly Grove Cottage Pie
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the filling
1 lb steak mince
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stick celery, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
8 fl ozs beef stock
2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste

For the topping
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4-6 ozs strong Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup creme fraiche

Method
Brown the mince in a large pan. Remove the mince with a slotted spoon and place in a dish. Drain off the fat from the pan and add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until the onion is softened. Add the carrots and celery and heat through. Return the mince to the pan and add the tomatoes, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring gently to a simmer. Cover and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. About 15 minutes before the sauce is ready add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree to thicken the sauce. Season to taste.

Meanwhile put the potatoes in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes and push them through a potato ricer into a bowl. Add the creme fraiche and beat until smooth. Add about 2-3 ozs of the cheese and mix through the potatoes.

Take a pie dish and 2/3rds fill with the minced beef mixture. Top this with the creamed potato and then cover with the remaining cheese. place the dish on an oven tray and bake at 190C for 25-30 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden.

Serve with green vegetables.

Bangers and Mash

Comfort food comes in no better form than a well cooked sausage, or so it seems to me as I gaze out on a snow covered garden and watch the sheep snuggled in their woolly coats in the adjoining field. But what to add to the deep and succulent flavour of our butcher's best sausages - how about celeriac that the Handyman has pulled from the kitchen garden?

Sausages with Celeriac and Peppercorn Mash
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 large onions peeled
2 tbsp olive oil
8-12 butcher's best sausages
1 HG celeriac, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 lb HG potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
2 tbsp green peppercorns in brine
100 ml creme fraiche

Method
Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Cut the onions into wedges and place in a roasting tin. Drizzle with the oil and cook until beginning to colour (about 15 mins). Add the sausages to the tin and cook for a further 30 mins until golden and cooked through and the onions are beginning to caramelise.

Meanwhile place the celeriac and potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 mins, or until tender. Drain well, return to the pan and mash until smooth.

Lightly crush the peppercorns using a pestle and mortar and add to the mash along with the creme fraiche. Stir lightly to combine and season to taste. Spoon the mash onto warmed plates and top with sausages and onion.

Variation

I added a couple of handfuls of frozen peas to the sausages and onions for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking in the oven;
other vegetables could be added to be roasted alongside the onions.

I didn't have any green peppercorns so I substituted with a few chopped capers.

Winter Chills

I'm sitting in front of the fire wrapped in blankets with a nasty cold feeling very sorry for myself. The fields outside the window are covered in a heavy frost and a smattering of snow, perfect weather for a mug of hot chocolate, some Christmas biscuits and a favourite film on the DVD - I'm beginning to feel a bit better already.


More recipes to follow when I've stopped sneezing and sniffling!

Hogmanay Pie

Wishing you all health, contentment and happiness in 2010!

The Handyman and I had a lovely New Year's Eve (known to all Scots as Hogmanay), just the two of us in our cottage home. Traditionally we have a beef and ale pie for our evening meal on Hogmanay and this year was no exception. The filling for the pie was slowly cooked for around 5 hours in a very low oven and then placed in a pie dish covered with puff pastry and returned to the oven. Served with mixed winter vegetables (carrots, parsnips and brussel sprouts) and creamed HG potatoes - delicious when complimented by a glass or two of St Emilion! A lovely meal to end the old year.

Hogmanay Pie
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 packet ready made puff pastry
1 lb stewing steak
6-10 shallots, peeled and left whole
2 parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
chestnut mushrooms
3/4 pt beef stock
1/2 pt Guinness
pl flour mixed with 1 tsp mustard powder to coat the beef
1 tsp dried sage

Method
Heat some oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add the shallots, carrots and parsnips and fry gently until the onions have browned slightly. Remove from pan and place in a large casserole dish.

Heat some more oil and add the beef coated in flour in small batches, browing all over, then remove and place in the casserole dish. Repeat until all the beef has been browned.

Pour off the excess oil and add the stock and Guiness to the pan. Bring to the boil and then add the dried sage. Pour enough of the liquid over the beef and vegetables to cover and stir to combine. Cover the beef mixture with a circle of greaseproof paper and place the casserole lid on top. Put the casserole in the oven at 120C - 140C for at least 4 hours. Check the liquid level from time to time adding more if required. After about 3 hours add the mushrooms, stir to combine and return to the oven.

When the beef is cooked spoon the mixture into a pie dish and cover with the puff pastry. Place the pie dish in the oven at 200C for aproximately 25 minutes until the pastry has risen and is golden. Serve with creamed potatoes and vegetables of your choice.

The Great Day Dawns!

By the time you read this, dear readers, the wedding cake will have arrived at its destination and the wedding celebrations will have begun.

It's been a real challenge to produce a cake good enough for my son's wedding, I hope that I've managed to make the best cake that my skills will allow. The hardest part of all, of course, is the icing as its on show, and this was also the most traumatic part of the preparations. All the cake lacks in these photos is the Bride and Groom topper that my niece, O has made and will be bringing along on the great day - more photos to follow.


So raise a glass of your favourite tipple (mine's champagne) and wish G & K a joyful and fulfilling life together - good health and happiness!

Christmas Cheer!

The Handyman and I have had a lovely Christmas with our family - we hope that each and everyone of you has had an equally enjoyable festive season. So lovely to spend time together, chatting, feasting and playing. Here's to a successful and joyful 2010!

No recipes today, just a few Christmas images...




Twinkling Christmas cake!



Deck the halls and the tree of course!



A family feast...

Wedding Cake Trimmings

When marzipaning the wedding cake I had to level the tops of each tier and consequently ended up with a box of rich trimmings.














This was my first chance to taste the cake and the Handyman hastily volunteered to become taster-in-chief, and the result...

a delicious, rich, moist, fruity, boozy...10/10!

I managed to stop him eating his way through the boxful in time to make a very festive version of a bread and butter pudding...any rich fruit cake will provide the base for this most delicious pudding, so Christmas cake leftovers, even slices of Christmas pudding would fit the bill.














Festive Cake Pudding
Serves 4
Ingredients
Enough wedding cake pieces to two thirds fill a deep 7" pie dish
6 fl ozs doouble cream
6 fl ozs milk
2 large eggs
1 tblsp golden castor sugar
few drops vanilla essence
1 dessertspoon golden granulated sugar

Method
Put the wedding cake pieces into the pie dish. Then put the milk and cream into a small saucepan and heat gently.

Meanwhile using a fork gently beat the eggs, castor sugar and vanilla essence together in a bowl. When the milk is hot, but not boiling, remove it from the heat and add to the egg mixture stirring to combine.

Place the pie dish on a baking tray and pour the milk and egg mixture (the custard) over the cake - the mixture will be very liquid and will fill the pie dish. Leave to stand for 10 mins to allow the cake to absorb some of the custard mixture.

Sprinkle the golden granulated sugar over the top of the pudding and carefully place in the preheated oven at 180C for 30 minutes. The pudding should be golden on top and just set. Serve whilst still warm with double cream poured over the top - yummee!

Happy Birthday Dear GW

Happy birthday to my elder son, GW! A bit awkward to have a birthday in December, it can be in danger of being overshadowed by the Christmas celebrations. However we ensure that no sign of Christmas is visible in or around the house until after the 8th of December, so no tree, no lights and definately no birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper! This has been the rule since GW was born thirty-one years ago - where has the time gone!

GW doesn't live locally so a birthday cake for him is out of the question and he doesn't have that much of a sweet tooth, so I'll be making his favourite dessert when he visits us over the Christmas period - apple pie. Here's a favourite recipe...

Festive Apple Pie

Ingredients
For the Pastry
4 ozs butter, cold and diced
7 ozs plain flour
1 tblsp icing sugar
zest of 1 orange
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tblsp orange juice and 1 tblsp very cold water

For the Filling
4 large HG cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 HG eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tblsp cornflour
1 tblsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
grating of nutmeg

Method
Place all the ingredients for the pastry, except the egg yolk mixture, in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together. Remove from the processor and form into a ball, cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 30 mins but no longer then a couple of hours.

Meanwhile prepare the apples and place in a bowl of water with a good squeeze of lemon juice to keep them from going brown.

Then roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of clingfilm so that it is large enough to line a deep 7" pie dish and fold over the top of the apple filling. Place the pastry in the lightly greased pie dish with the excess overlapping the sides of the dish.

Drain the apples and place them in the pie dish in layers, sprinkling some of the cornflour, sugar and spices between each layer of fruit. Finally pull the pastry over the top of the apples so that they are covered leaving a gap in the middle for the steam to escape. Don't worry if the finished result looks a little untidy, it will look scrumptious when it is baked.

Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg or milk and place in the oven at 190C for about 30-40 mins until the pastry is golden. Serve warm with custard or, as it's Christmas, cider cream.

Warming Winter Casserole

Returning from the kitchen garden this morning with cold hands and a selection of root vegetables my thoughts turned to the lovely stewing beef I had in the 'fridge. Beautiful beef marbled with just enough fat to make it tasty and moist from our very local butcher, fresh as the morning root vegetables, and the prospect of a chilly Winter's evening can mean only one thing - a heart-warming beef casserole served with creamed celeriac and potatoes and buttered cabbage.

As this recipe is slow cooked over many hours you can (and should) use cheaper cuts of meat - ask your butcher for some recommendations.














Winter Beef Casserole
Serves 4
Ingredients
1lb stewing beef
2 ozs plain flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 HG garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 HG leek, washed and sliced
6 small HG turnips, washed, peeled and cut into chunks (or left whole if very small)
About a quarter of a large HG celeriac, diced (the remainder of the celeriac will be used along with some potatoes to make a creamed celeriac and potato side dish)
15 fl ozs beef stock
5 fl ozs red wine
1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce

Method
Heat some rapeseed oil in a large frying pan add the onions, leek and garlic and fry gently until softened, not browned. Add the turnips and celeriac and heat through.

Meanwhile mix the flour, mustard powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the chunks of beef and cover in the flour, stack on a plate ready to cook.

Remove the vegetables from the pan and place in the slow cooker pot. Add more oil to the frying pan and brown the meat in batches, adding the beef to the slow cooker as each batch is browned.

When all the beef has been browned add the red wine to the frying pan and bring to the boil. Boil vigorously until the alcohol has boiled off (you can tell by the smell of the boiling liquid). Add the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce to the wine and bring back to the boil.

Add the liquid and 3 bay leaves to the slow cooker ensuring that the beef and vegetables are covered by the stock, if necessary adding some water.

Cook in the slow cooker on a medium setting for about 6-8 hours. Alternatively you can cook in a conventional oven on a low setting 140C for about 3 hours. Check the level of the liquid in the dish throughout the cooking time.

Wedding Cake Marzipan

It's almost time to tackle the next stage of the wedding cake challenge - marzipan.

I've opted for a white marzipan rather than the usual golden colour and I am reading through the application techniques on various websites - can you tell I'm a bit nervous about this? After all it's only my elder son's and future DIL's wedding cake - arrgh! Wonder how they would feel about standing in front of it and obscuring it from view for the cutting the cake photos?

I may or may not post a photograph when I've finished the marzipaning - let's see how traumatised I am by the time I've completed this stage. Heaven knows how I'll get through the icing challenge - more on that in December.