For Helen

I am a fan of The Archers -- that "everyday story of countryfolk" on Radio 4.
But it has been hard listening at times over the last couple of years whilst Rob Titchenor exerts his abusive control on his poor wife Helen nee Archer. She finally snapped and stabbed him. Her trial for attempted murder started in tonight's episode -- and will continue all week.
So in solidarity (or #solidaritea) with Helen, for tonight's tea I served the last meal she made for Rob -- the meal that was the catalyst to the stabbing -- Tuna Pasta Bake (he had previously claimed to hate tuna, yet declared this dish "delicious"), apple pie & custard (tho I served "shop bought muck" custard, not Rob's preferred home-made version).

But on a more serious note -- please donate to Archers fan Paul Trueman's Justgiving page with all proceeds going to Refuge to help all the real-life Helens out there

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/helentitchener

Potassium Pie!

My Mum has recently been advised that her potassium levels are low and so to try to eat as many potassium rich foods as she can -- the doctor specifically recommended bananas, strawberries, dates & nuts.

The original name of this recipe was a rather boring "Raw fruit tart", but  as it contains a lot of potassium rich foods, I think Potassium Pie more appropriate :)  Its very quick & easy-peasy to make -- and tastes delish too! And even better, its completely gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly.

recipe adapted from "Vegan & Gluten-free baking" published by Parragon Books

Potassium Pie with Cashew Nut Cream
makes a 6" tart - 4 good portions

Base:
3 oz walnuts
2 oz dates
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
Selection of fresh fruit (I used bananas, grapes & strawberries)
juice 1/2 lemon

Cashew Nut Cream:
4 oz cashew nuts, ideally soaked overnight in a bowl of water
1 dessertspoon maple syrup
3 fl oz water
1 dessertspoon lemon juice

Put all the base ingredients into a food processor and process until the nuts are chopped finely and the mixture starts to clump together. you might need to scrape the bowl sides down once or twice.
Press the mixture into a 6" foil pie dish and use the back of a spoon to compress the mixture to give a firm base.

Prepare the fruit and toss in the lemon juice. Arrange the fruit over the base (
or just pile it in anyhow!)

To make the cream, drain the cashew nuts and place in a food processor with the maple syrup and lemon juice. Process until well blended, adding water until it reaches the desired consistency.

Serve with the tart.



I found the cashew nut cream a little bland -- next time, I will try adding some cinnamon to give a bit of flavour. The original recipe used agave syrup rather than maple syrup -- should think honey would also work (for non-vegans)

You can vary the fruits you use in the tart -- even using tinned fruit in a pinch

Lardy cake

Recently a friend asked me to let her know if I ever made a Lardy Cake.
I knew it was a speciality of the southwest as I had seen it in the shops when I spent a year in Gloucester back in the 70's.  I had never tried it - back then they looked greasy and unappetising.
But, I am always up for a challenge so I started looking for recipes.
Like any traditional dish, there seemed to be as many variations as there are cooks who make it.  No doubt the exact ingredients would vary according to the situation. When times were hard, very little fruit would be used but in easier times the fruity filling more generous. Some recipes mixed the fruit in the dough, others scattered it on the dough before folding. Some even dispensed with the one ingredient that I would think essential -- lard -- and replaced it with beef dripping -- or in modern versions with butter! And although always called a cake, it is actually more of a spiced bread as it is made with a yeast dough.
So, after comparing several recipes, I decided to base my first attempt on a recipe in a book I have had on my shelf for many years: Farmhouse Cookery published by Readers Digest in 1980.

Ingredients:

1 lb strong white flour

1 tsp salt

1 oz lard

2 oz sugar

1 pkt dried yeast

1/2 pint warm milk

12 oz mixed fruit

Filling:

4 oz lard

4 oz light muscavado sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

Rub the lard into the flour and mix in the salt, sugar and yeast. Mix in the milk to form a dough. Turn out and knead well. Put back in bowl and set in a warm place for about half an hour to rise.

Mix in the dried fruit and let rise for another 10 minutes before rolling out into a rectangle.

Mix all the filling ingredients together, then spread half of it onto 2/3 of your rectangle.

Fold the unspread third over.

Fold the remaining third over, and roll out into a large rectangle again.

Repeat the spreading and folding with the rest of the filling.

At this point, my recipe gave two choices. Either roll it out into a rectangle again and then roll up like a swiss roll. Cut the resulting roll in half and put each in a well greased 6" round cake tin, cut side uppermost.

I decided to go with the second option -- rolling it out to fit a small roasting tin.

Leave to rise for another 40 minutes before baking at 190 deg C for 30 - 35 minutes.

The resulting "cake" looked nothing like I remembered, but certainly tasted good! A bit hot-cross-bunnish and not greasy at all :)

I don't know how authentic it is -- I am still waiting for a report back from my friend who took half of it away with her to try!

Next time I will try the "swiss roll" method as I think that is more like I remember from years ago.

Redcurrants

I love the bright jewel-like redness of redcurrants.

And this year, by dint of covering the bushes with old net curtains we were able to keep the birds from devouring the crop  :)   Not the most ornamental garden decoration - but effective! The result -- 8 lbs of luscious redness -- with more to come when the stragglers ripen.

Stringing them was a tedious job -- but eventually they were all done and into the jam pan they went with some water to simmer for a while. Then into the fruit press to extract as much juice as possible.
This went back into the pan with some sugar (a pound of sugar for every pint of juice) and boiled till setting point was reached. Redcurrants being so full of pectin, this did not take too long.
I now have 22 jars of redcurrant jelly all ready for my eager customers!
And although it is more traditionally served with lamb, it certainly went down well with the pork sausages we had for tea!

And to end -- a close-up that makes them look like a box of beads!

Hello!

It is over 6 years since I last blogged, and so rather than continue with my old, out dated blog I decided to start a new one.
So here it is -- a shiny new spot for occasional ramblings about my life. I hope you find something of interest here!

Introduction -- who am I ?
I'm a 60-something living in the Peak District of Derbyshire.
I have a husband.
I have two grown-up children -- both currently living abroad -- a son in Switzerland and a daughter in Australia.
I have a 91 year old Mother who lives nearby and is currently needing help with her shopping and suchlike tasks

What do I do?
Most of my time is taken up by baking cakes and making preserves for sale.
I sell at various Farmers Markets -- Buxton, Bakewell & Heaton Moor, on-line -- through Etsy and my own website and  I also supply  some shops and guesthouses.
My hobbies include crochet (I have a huge stash of yarn to work through!) and I also dabble in various other crafts -- card-making, glass-painting,  photography -- examples of these appear in my Etsy craft shop.

I am also keen on genealogy -- and have a website for my family history.