East Yorkshire Pudding

Recipe For a Happy Home

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Image taken from www.pinterest.com

Exactly!

Lady Marmalade

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Another Photographic Essay:
Making Pam Corbin's Whole Fruit Marmalade

Links/Sources

Pam Corbin's 'Preserves'

YouTube here and here

My Darling Clementine

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

A Ray of Spanish Winter Sun: A Photographic Essay

Links/Sources

Wikipedia

YouTube

Banana Boat

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Scottish Sayings, Britain Goes Bananas, Prozac and Ecstasy, and a Recipe for Banana Flapjack

A Boat made out of a Banana:
Imagine coming down the Clyde in that!
Image: www.odditycentral.com

"Do I look like I've come down the Clyde in a Banana Boat?",or, phonetically, and correct me if I am wrong here, "Dae I luik like I've come doon the Clyde in a Banana Boat?", is a Scottish saying meaning "Do I look stupid?". I would imagine it would be said by an adult when listening to a child tell a tall story, to get him/herself out of trouble. There is another version of this, about going down the River "Dee on a Digestive."

Digestive Biscuits:
Not a suitable vessel for going down the River Dee.
Image: www.allhealthyrecipes.net

In Britain, apart from Lottery tickets and petrol, bananas are what we spend the most on in supermarkets. That lovely, yellow,curvy piece of the tropics have made us smile since Fyffe & Hudson went into partner ship and started bringing us shipments from the Canary Islands in 1878. As you can imagine, refrigeration wasn't used then, so most of the cargo arrived rotten; that arrived in the early 1900's. Though, the first evidence of banana's in Britain has been found in an archaeological dig, and has been dated back to the sixteenth century.

Exotic: Carmen Miranda
Image: www.brightlightsfilm.com

As you may already know, shipments of the yellow 'fingers', as 'banan' is Arabic for those hand digits, stopped during the First and Second World Wars, with a popular Music Hall song, "Yes, We Have No Banana's! written in 1923, being used as a slogan in the window's of greengrocer shops during the latter.

The Next Best Thing to Bananas
An Advert from the 'The Sunday Pictorial,' 11th March 1945
www.quillcards.com

Nutrition wise, the banana has a lot going for it. Not only does it come in it's own handy package, it is low in calories and contains potassium, fibre and vitamins; it also, for you science fans, contains chemicals that stimulate the production of certain brain reactions that Prozac and Ecstasy also trigger.

This banana flapjack makes a welcome change from the rich foods of the festive season, as it has plenty of fruit and fibre in it, ideal for 'breakfast on the go', or an accompaniment to tea or coffee. The amounts may seem rather large, but I have cut this up into twenty four pieces, to feed a crowd of fellow historians, whom are always hungry; and also, I have made this and eaten this by myself, over a period of a week. It's not that I don't like sharing, it's that everyone else in my house doesn't like it. Honestly!

You will need:
200g/8ozs Butter, with extra for greasing your baking tray
160g/6ozs Soft Brown Sugar, though I prefer the taste of dark brown sugar
Three and a half Tablespoons of Clear Honey
Three ripe (but not black, please) bananas.
350g/12ozs Rolled Oats. The type you make 'proper' porridge with!
100g/4ozs 'Grape Nuts'. This is neither made of grapes or nuts! It's a malty breakfast cereal.This gives it a slightly malty crunchy flavour, but leave them out if you wish, and make up the difference with the oats.

Neither grapes nor nuts! Clever eh?!

First pre heat your oven at Gas 4/180 C/350 F. You could, if wish, grease your baking tin now, though if you are like me, you leave right until need to use it! Seriously, you will have time. Trust Me.

Now, put the butter, sugar and honey in a pan and heat gently until the butter is melted and gently combine.

My shiny pan:
An ideal vessel for melting stuff

While the butter, sugar and honey is melting, you don't really have time for a 'Tea 'n' Twitter' break, but that will come soon, I promise!

Now you have to grease your baking tray, mash your bananas and weigh out your dry ingredients and mix them.

One banana, two banana, three banana:
All mashed.

Dry Stuff in a plastic bowl, mixed together

By the time you have reached this stage, the contents of your pan should look like this:

If you look close enough, you can see the beginnings of a
new life form in there...

Take off the heat and add the melted mixture to the dry ingredients:

Gooey

Mix well, making sure all the dry mixture is coated in the butter, sugar and honey mixture. Then add the mashed banana to the mixture, again mixing well.

Banana Gooey

This is were I grease my baking tray, but yours is all ready to for you to spoon your oaty banana mixture into. Make sure you pat it down nicely, so it is all even.

Ready to cook

This will take about twenty minutes to bake, though I do leave mine in the oven 'in the heat', that still in the oven, with the door closed and the heat switched off, for five to ten minutes. You know when it is done, as the edges are a slightly darker brown the the rest of the flapjack.

While it is baking, and are lucky enough to own a dishwasher, load it up and now you can have your 'Tea(or Coffee) 'n' Twitter' break; just remember to set the timer! If you don't own a dishwasher, trust me, the washing won't do itself. I've tried many times! Set the timer and have that break.

Any bowl lickers out there?!

When you are happy that the flapjack is baked to your satisfaction, place the baking tray on a wire rack and cool for around fifteen minutes, to which you can cut it up into pieces of the size you desire, but make sure I have the bigger ones.

This will store in the usual manner, in an tin, rather than a plastic container, as plastic seems to make it 'sweat'. Also, this flapjack will stay soft, because of the high banana content. I hate rock hard flapjack; it should break away nicely when you bite it, leaving a few crumbs for the dog to lick up.

Memories of Christmas Banana Flapjack Past

Going, Going...Gone!

Sources/Links

rampantscotland.com.

observer.guardian.co.uk

Wikipedia here and here
'Sing Us One of the Old Songs: A Guide to Popular Song, 1860-1920' by Michael Kilgarriff

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Here's to the Best Year Ever!

Christmas Greetings

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Have a...

Tear-rific...

Christmas!

Sup

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Lexicology, Stephen Fry, the OED, My Grandad and our Microscopic Microbrewery cum Bathroom

Lexicology is the study of words, their meaning, their relation to other words (semantical relations) and sounding like Stephen Fry on Radio Four. Except the last one is a lie, though somebody ought to invent a word for the latter, which will get the lexiographer's at the OED very excited.

Ten QI points if you can re-arrange into a sentence:
Journey. Taxi. Stephen Fry.
Image: www.bbc.co.uk

The OED. That British Institution, like Mr Fry, that is the Oxford English Dictionary. There is nothing like going to Hull Central Library's Reference Library (First Floor, if you must have a peek) and seeing shelves full of thesauri, dictionaries, with the OED taking a fair bit of that space up. Lifetimes of study of our Mother Tongue(a term which makes language quite cosy, don't you think?)within their thin tissue paper like pages make me glad I speak it, and sad, as it is disappearing slowly to what I can only describe a 'gangster slang.'

So why is the OED on a food blog? This is where my Grandad comes in. He would say 'sup', referring to the action of drinking, especially that of an alcoholic beverage, served in a pint glass, though also that of having a large mug of tea. For regular readers of Regency, Victorian and Edwardian literature, you will find the term 'supped', meaning 'dined'. This is what the OED has to say about it all {quote}:

Pronunciation: /sʌp/

Forms: α. 15– sup, 15–16 suppe, 16 supp. β. 16 soope, 16–17 (18 dial.) soop, soup, (17 Sc. soupe, 18 dial. sowp,zoop).(Show Less)

Etymology: < sup v.¹

There is no evidence of continuity with Old English súpa (compare Middle Low German sûpe , early modern Dutch zuipe , Dutchzuip , Old Norse súpa ).

a. A small quantity of liquid such as can be taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful; a sip. (Also in fig. context).

b. Phr. (a) bit (later bite ) and (a) sup , a little food and drink. So bit or sup,neither bit nor sup.

c. transf. Drink. dial.

d. a good sup : a fair amount, a considerable quantity (of liquid). dial.

Of course, that is just an edited version of the definition, just like the edited version of Mr Thomas and his home brew that I am now going to record. I have promised him since starting this blog, that I would record his next brewing adventure.

Since he has only started brewing, he has only made one previous batch from what I would call a 'ready to brew' mix; that is, you pour the treacle like substance into a fermenting bucket, add water, yeast and brewing sugar. I missed that bit, as he did it very early one morning, about 1:30 am!

So lived a barrel of fermenting stout under our kitchen table for a week. After sterilizing forty eight bottles and caps, it was a trip up the stairs. It was decided by myself and Mr Thomas that this would be easier, as last time the kitchen floor and my feet were covered in cider. At least, any mess would be confined to the bath and easily cleaned up.

As both pairs of hands were needed, I couldn't take any pictures, but for the record, we bottled forty four and a half bottles. What I can record is the sight I woke up to the next day, when I walked into the bathroom:

Stig and his stout.

A bath full of bottles

The ones that got away empty

Boxed up, it was back to live under the kitchen table to live for a week, before they were ready to 'sup'. Personally, I have started to use it to to make stout and fruit cake, for Christmas gifting, which always goes down well, as well as it's liquid form...

Cheers...!

Sources
The Oxford English Dictionary online at oed.co.uk. In the UK, you can access this by using the number on your library card, or using the computers at your library. For outside the UK, check here.

Anything You Can Do...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

A Christmas Culinary Surprise From Miss Thomas

SUUUR-PRISE!

It was a surprise! Coming home from school a few days ago, with her bags and coat flapping in the cold wind, she was also carrying a mysterious package wrapped in an orange cellophane.

Inside was a mini Christmas cake.

I thought baking at school went out with sewing, but I am obviously wrong; it is alive and kicking a little bit.

I was, and still am very impressed. Her Dad more so, as he likes Christmas cake; I find to too rich, just like Christmas pudding.

Another small, but significant triumph for bringing back traditional skills.

Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

A Red Plastic Tomato Shaped Sauce Bottle That Now Lives In My House

"Mum?"
"Yeeesss?"
"Can we have a new tomato sauce bottle?"
"Why? What's wrong with the bottle the sauce comes in?"
"I want one of those you get in cafe's."
Mum raises her eyebrows.
"Can we? You know, the red ones they have on the tables. In cafe's."
"I don't know."
"Why not?"
Mum looks at the enquirer.
"Can we? Pleeeaaase. Oh pleeeaaase!"
"We'll see."

Repeat above conversation on and off for two months.

Walk into a shop in mid-December and see a red plastic tomato shaped sauce bottle. Browse at other things, trying to forget the red plastic tomato shaped sauce bottle, but at the back of your mind, you know very well it has won. The voice over the tannoy informs the two other shoppers and yourself that you should take any purchases to the till, as the shop is closing soon. You can hear it in the voice that the staff want to go to 'Iceland', before they close, for a frozen ready meal. You make a dash to the shelf, were the red plastic tomato shaped sauce bottle hides behind the revolving ashtrays, grab it, almost throwing the pound coin to the cashier and run out the shop.

It's over.

One happy child, who has a grin from ear to ear greets you when you come home.

Never mind the ninety pound 'Kindle', it's the sauce bottle she wants.

May the sauce be with you.

Or something to that effect.

Jolly Old Elf

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

My Favourite Culinary Books For Christmas

"His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,"

The Man in the Red Suit
Image: www.fotolibra.org

Christmas isn't Christmas without Clement Clarke Moore's poem, 'The Night Before Christmas' (full version here, with links to view the actual manuscript), all full with anticipation with what St. Nicholas/Father Christmas/Santa will bring.

He will be sliding down chimneys, or in our household, using a magic key to get in and leaving presents for those (fairly!)good boys and girls.

This is the real Father Christmas!
Image: www.bbc.co.uk

So what is on your wishlist? Here are a few foodie book ideas for you, from my favourites in my collection. Some of them I have already mentioned, but are worth telling you about them again.

First on the list is:

The Silver Spoon, published by Phaidon is my first recommendation. If I remember correctly, it was Jamie Oliver whom brought our attention to it; well, he certainly brought mine to it. This is Italy's most influential and successful cookery book, it is the back bone of Italian cooking. The new edition has more colour photos than previous editions.

My copy of this book was published in the 1960's, but this edition came out this year. A 'back bone' of my collection, this is indispensble, a modern 'Mrs Beeton'. Try and get one of the earlier editions for that real retro cookery read.

If I was to pick one cookery book as my favourite, this would be it. Basic and straight to the point, there are no glossy styled photos, but that isn't a problem to me. It is meant to be used on the kitchen table, not stuck on the coffee table. The current edition includes an informative section on the history of the book and the 'Dough School'. There is a matching apron, which I would like!

A nice book from Nigel Slater, which is both humourous and informative. If anyone can have recipes for bacon sandwiches in a book, Nigel is one of the few people that can!

I do love the witty way Miss Hope and her favourite husband, Mr Greenwood have written this book. If you want to make sweeties, this is the place to start.

This is my joint second favourite cookery book, the bible of baking. What else can I say? Well, I can say that you will be amazed at the sugar sculpting section at the latter part of the book. Also,

This is the other half of my joint second. Everything you need to know about making the best pastry ever from The Master Himself.

Another excellent technical book on pastry making. For the Serious Pastry Maker.

Aimed at the baking industry, this is the only book of it's kind to have a recipe for dog biscuits in it! Why? The answer is that the author has two dogs of his own.

Two books from Pam Corbin, River Cottage's Preserving Queen. Her preserving book is well used in our house, as is her baking book, which also has a dog biscuit recipe in!

Still on the preserving theme, this is a lovely colourful book on making jams and pickles. Unfortunately, this is only available used.

As mentioned in the previous post, this is another good book from the River Cottage series. Dan has a laid back way of explaining the fundamentals of bread making.

My copy is a previous edition, so if that is anything to go by, it is a great book. As the advert says, "It does what it says on the tin"!

This the book that accompanied the TV series "Farmhouse Kitchen", presented by Dorothy Sleightholme and Grace Mulligan. These are mostly recipes that viewers have sent in, and are a testament to English Cooking.

Another classic for the kitchen, this is a treasure trove of information.

Now only available second hand, this is the first cook book Mr Thomas and I bought as a couple. It is a very good cook book, it follows the same lines as her other books on frugal cookery.

This book by Oded Schwartz is incredibly hard to find, and very expensive to buy. The only copy I have seen, is the one from the local library, were I had it out on what seemed to be, semi-permanent loan. An incredible book, with amazing pictures.

Set out in alphabetical form, this is another well used book in the Thomas household. No lavish photo shots, just basic instructions on preserving, but the range of what you can do is very wide.

An absolutely beautiful book, which every kitchen should have. Gorgeous to look at(who doesn't like the mauve edged pages?) and a delight to read. Set out like a traditional thesaurus, it is easy to find your way around. There are a few recipes, but this is more of a reference book. Definitely in my top five favourite culinary books.

A lovely pretty book on tea time treats. I have an older version, which isn't a nice to look at, but as far as I know, have the same recipes. Jane Pettigrew has collected recipes from various parts of the country connected with National Trust properties.

The Very Bad Boy of the Cupcake world, which I love! Bright, bold and brash, this grabs your attention right away. The recipes are for mostly risqué topped cakes and slices, though some wouldn't look out of place at a genteel afternoon tea.

A foodie fiction choice here. Lucy Cornwallis is the confectioner to Henry VIII, who unknowingly gets involved with the downfall of his second queen, Anne Boleyn. Great descriptions of the confectioner's technique, with an insight how the royal kitchens worked in Tudor times.

I am going to stay impartial here and not recommend a certain book seller, but I can give you a book comparison site, so that you can decide what is the best deal for you. BookButler.com is the place to go.

Big Cook, Little Cook

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

A Photographic Journal of How to Make Bread.

All pictures taken by Miss Thomas, aged nearly 9, August 2011

The beginning of December means that I need to tie up 'loose ends' before the I throw myself tentatively into getting ready for Christmas, i.e. braving crowded shops and writing a few hundred cards.

The first job is sorting out clothes, books and toys that are finished with and ready to be donated to charity, to make room for the new things that are hoped for on Christmas Day;Miss Thomas has never been disappointed yet!

Well, that job I have done, so on to the next one. Even though I save my photo's to my laptop and USB Flash Drive, which is known in our house as the 'Stick Thingy' on a weekly basis, they sit in the camera's chip for about six months, so Christmas is one of the times I dare to press the 'Delete' button on my camera, ready for the few hundred I take over the festive period. While I was doing this, I found some photos that were taken mid summer holidays, of me baking bread, for a blog post that never was, until now.

There is no actual recipe, as the bread never turned out as expected, but I want to post it, as it is one of the few times Miss Thomas and I bake together, as she has a lot of activities of her own that don't need her Mum!

Gather all your ingredients together: bread flour, dried yeast, liquid(in this case, tea), olive oil and salt. Mix the flour, dried yeast and liquid. When it starts to come together, add the oil and salt.

Mix thoroughly.

Which involves getting your fingers sticky. Really, really sticky!

Put your own finger in the shot, for a special effect!

Flour the already crowded work surface with flour and tip the dough out on to it.

Knead for at least twenty minutes.

This involves a lot of pulling and stretching.

Don't forget the action shot!

Oil a bowl and place the bread dough in it. Add some blurring to bring in the artistic look.

Wrap in a plastic bag and place somewhere warm for one hour to let the bread rise.

Wander off and take pictures of small, hairy dogs.

More artistic blurring to hide your Mum's bad hair day.

Prepare your baking pots, lined with greased paper.

After an hour, tip your dough back on to a floured surface, and deflate it using your fingertips. Knead for ten minutes. Forget to tell your Mum that she has forgotten to take her watch off.

Cut into four equal pieces and put in the pots.

Place the pots on a tray. Cover with a plastic bag and let them rise for thirty minutes.

In the mean time, pour freshly boiled water into a tray. This will create the right conditions in your oven for the final rising.

Put the tray of boiling water into the bottom of the oven, which is on maximum heat. This is why the picture is blurred; the heat came rushing out and you stood back in surprise.

Put the bread in the oven. Keep on maximum heat for ten minutes, after which check the bread and adjust the heat accordingly to how well the bread has cooked.

When the bread has browned on top, take them out of the oven.

Tap the bottom of the loaf, and if it sounds hollow, it has cooked.

Cool on a wire rack. It is tempting to eat it straight away, but resist temptation; hot bread is a cause of indigestion.

If the bread tastes awful, feed to the ducks.

I Can Make Bread Properly!

Honestly, I can make bread. Pictured below is what I usually bake. Bread cakes are better for packed lunches, as the bread keeps better than a loaf.

My (Bread) Buns!

Once you learn what is called the 'Baker's Percentage', you are halfway there.

For example, a one kilo batch consists of:*

Bread Flour - 100% (1000g)

Tepid Water - 60% (600ml)

Dried Yeast - 1% (10g or roughly two teaspoons)

(Fresh Yeast - 2% (20g))

Salt - 2% (20g or roughly two teaspoons)

Fat - 2% (20g)

Of course, as you start making bread on a regular basis, you will slightly adjust the measurements to suit your taste. Here is what I use for a one kilo batch:

Bread - 100% (1000g)

Water - 55% (550ml)

Dried Yeast - 1% (10g or two teaspoons)

Salt - 1.5% (15g or roughly one and a half teaspoons)

Fat (Olive Oil) - 2% (20mls)

When you do come to bake it, you do put your oven on absolutely maximum, and set you timer for ten minutes. After the ten minutes, take a look at the bread and lower the temperature to:*

200 C/400 F/Gas 6 - if the crust is still very pale

180 C/350 F/Gas 4 - if the crust is noticeably browning

170 C/325 F/Gas 3 if the crust seems to be browning quickly

These temperatures apply to fan ovens, so non-fan ovens need to be 15 C/25 F/1 Gas Mark hotter.

Also, here is a guide to timings, though these are not set in stone. Use your judgement to gauge the cooking of your bread.*

Twelve rolls will need 10-20 minutes
Three small loaves will need 30-40 minutes
Two large loaves will need 40-50 minutes

What will never change is the satisfaction of baking your own bread by hand and the smell of it baking wafting through the house!

*denotes information taken from 'Bread:River Cottage Handbook 3' by Daniel Stevens. American version at Amazon.com

Further Reading
'Crust' by Richard Bertinet
'Dough' by Richard Bertinet

Pudding's Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:45:00 +0000

I have started a companion blog, Pudding's Pictures (www.puddingspictures.blogspot.com), for all the photographs and pictures that don't really fit on here, or there are too many to show.

Here is a taster:

Kingston Square, Hull
Taken early December 2010

There is not much to look at at the moment, but I hope it will build into something interesting to view.

Parental Indulgence

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:30:00 +0000

My Baby

I hope you will allow a little bit of self indulgence once in while, and let me write something about my family or one of my interests.

You will notice that I have added a 'Birthday Ticker' to my blog, for my daughter. This will serve two purposes-

Firstly, to remind myself how quickly she is growing up. She is nearly as tall as me, and wearing some of my tops. Gone are the days of cute frilly dresses and hair bows; she now is her own stylist.

Secondly, I must start saving up for new designer fashions and gadgets. 'Blackberry's' and 'i-Phones' are not cheap. There was once a time when she was happy playing with cardboard boxes, which moved to 'Bratz' and 'Barbie' dolls. Now it is make-up(which is only allowed to be worn in the house), bags, shoes, and designer stationary sets.

The saying, 'Out of the Mouths of Babes', is true. She is honest in her opinion of what I cook and bake, but at only nine years old, her taste in food has yet to develop beyond pasta, chocolate, pickled onion flavour 'Monster Munch' corn snacks and rice cakes, though I have to give her credit that she will eat fruit; it's the vegetables she doesn't like, apart from her Grandma's roast potato's.

I only hope that she will appreciate good, home cooked food when she is older and feed her family the good things I have tried to.

As the caption says on the photo below, she could well be a Masterchef of the future...just let's hope they aren't re-decorating as well!

Masterchef -in-waiting

Glass Onion

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:00:00 +0000

The Beatles, Pyjamas, How to Pickle Onions and a Strange Photograph

The Beatles 1968
Image: http://music-only.net

To me, the best album The Beatles ever made, was the one they called, 'The Beatles', more commonly known as 'The White Album', because of its plain white cover. Released in 1968, it combined the eccentricity of the previous two albums, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and 'Yellow Submarine', with the brilliant song writing of 'Rubber Soul' and 'Revolver'. Among the songs of note, are 'Dear Prudence' (written for Prudence Farrow, sister to the actress Mia. The group Siouxsie and the Banshees covered it in 1983), 'Sexy Sadie' (it is said that this song was about the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi), 'Martha My Dear' (supposedly about Paul McCartney's Old English Sheepdog, Martha), and 'Glass Onion' (John Lennon poking fun at those trying to find subliminal messages in the groups songs).

Still available in the shops...
Image: www.thebeatleswhitealbum.org

Every time I see pickled onions, I think of the song 'Glass Onion'. My first memories of them is going to the fish fryer's near my Grandma's house. I wasn't tall enough to look over the counter, so when we got to the front of the queue, I looked up and saw the giant jar of onions floating in the clear vinegar. They reminded me (and still do) of jellyfish bobbing in the ocean, wearing gossamer crinoline gowns. Laden with parcels of yesterday's newspaper, we hurried back to my Grandma's and shared the bounty out, and adding the condiments of our choice, which included pickled onions. The vinegar my Grandma used, was the vinegar from the previous jar of onions; nothing much was wasted in my Grandparent's house!

1930's sewing pattern for Evening Lounge Pyjamas
Image:www.bonanza.com

This is where the pyjamas come in. I stayed often at my Grandparent's house, where it got the point that sometimes I didn't want to come home! Since my uncles still lived at home, I slept in my Grandparent's room, under the dresser on a creaky camping bed. I have memories of being taken to the fish fryer's in my pyjama's, for the last frying, as you got more for your money and a pile of 'scraps', which are bits of fried batter that have fallen off the fish.

Food always seems to taste better in pyjama's, possibly because you are relaxed and able to savour it more. My days are far too busy to be in the kitchen and find myself baking in the evening, pottering about in my pyjama's. Of Course!

How To Pickle Onions in Your Pyjamas
This method of pickling onions is a combination of recipes from the Glasgow Cookery Book and 'Let's Preserve It' by Beryl Wood. Hopefully, the double sided sticky tape has worked and it is seamfree!

You will need
A bucket
Pickling Onions
Water
Salt - any type will do
Jar(s)
Mustard Seeds (optional)
Pickling Vinegar

Day One
Peel the onions. This is not one of my favourite jobs; in fact, if there is one job I hate the most, it is peeling onions. That is why I get somebody else to do it. His reward? The least I can do is make him a cup of tea. If I have any chocolate in my secret stash (a must if you have children!), I share it with him. On this occasion, as you can see, everyone, two and four legged joined in. Yes, I did peel some onions!

Can I play with or eat it?

I have an onion in my hand, therefore I am working...

Mr T peelin' away

Me. In pyjamas.

Once you have your peeled onions in your bucket, now you add your salt and water. Unless you are pickling on a scale to rival 'Haywards' you will need 1lb 2oz/500g of salt and 7 pints (approx.)/4 litres of water in your bucket.

Salty

Dead Sea Soak for Onions

Give them a good stir and leave for 24 hours. They require no further attention until then.

Day Two
You are halfway there, but don't get the buns and bunting out yet, as you have work to do. Tip the salty water out. This is where having a mop bucket comes in handy, as all you do is tip the water out and the mop rest acts as a colander, though you must tip it that way as onions will be everywhere. Rinse, getting as much as the salt out as possible. Then add the same salt/water ratio as above and leave for another 24 hours.

Modern Art: a Bucket full of onions, a carrier bag and my feet in loud socks.
Watch out Damien Hirst!

Day Three
This is the Big Day! Your onions will become Pickled Onions! Before that, you need to sterilize your jar(s). If you don't know how to do this, go to my first post (click here). The only difference is that you must let the jar cool down before filling the jar up, as hot jars and cold food, or vice versa, don't work, and I tell you from experience. Tip out the salty water and rinse well.

Onions after their bath

Now is the time to put your onions in the jar. When you are certain that your jar is cool enough and won't crack, put the onions in, leaving at least a couple of inches for the pickling vinegar. I had a few left over, so I am guilty of squeezing them in. If desired, put no more than 6 mustard seeds in, which add to the flavour. Pour the vinegar in to the bottom of the neck of the jar. Pop the lid on and label. This is important. Though you can see they are Pickled Onions, I can guarantee you that you will forget when you put them in there. The month and year is sufficient, but I put the exact date, as it will be Valentine's Day when they are ready to eat.

Glass Onions

In three months time, they will be loved with a cheese sandwich or some chips (fries), in which I must mention, the vinegar is very good on the chips.

The Strange Photograph
I am amazed by the quality of the photography of some of the food blogs I follow, so I thought I would try and follow suit. I wanted something quirky and amusing, and believe me, this looked really good in my head. Unfortunately, the reality was different.

"...I told you about the Fool on the Hill..."
'Glass Onion' The Beatles 1968

So please don't have nightmares!

Sources
thebeatleswhitealbum.org
YouTube has a great selection of songs from 'The White Album'. Here are a few places to discover (or re-discover) them-
'Glass Onion'
'Rocky Racoon'
'Dear Prudence'

In Search of Imperfection...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

No, this isn't another cookery contest or reality show, this is a serious question.

Alright. It's semi serious.

Throughout Nigel Slater's book, 'Eating for England:The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table' he describes various types of cooks - men who cook, the frugal cook and so forth. Myself? I would like to describe as a 'home cook'.

I arrived at this decision while sitting in the coffee shop in my local 'Waterstone's' bookshop. I go there every Saturday while Miss Thomas is at her theatre class, where gives me chance to browse through the latest cookery books. There's Nigella, Nigel, Delia, Marguerite, Valentine, Jamie, Mary, Edd, Elizabeth, Raymond, James, and a few Gino's. Then there is Heston.

'Our Hest'
Image: Amazon.co.uk

Ah. Mr Blumenthal. This man has a fridge the size of a West Country fishing village on the front of his new book. He is the King of what I call 'KerPlunk' cookery; that is, he likes to stack his food food up, that if breathed on, it would fall down. Maybe it's me that doesn't get the point of his approach to food, but every time I look at his books in 'Waterstones', I deflate. I know I am never going to reproduce his recipes. Some of the ingredients Asda/Tesco/Aldi don't sell; can you redeem Working Tax Credits at 'Molecular Cooking R Us'? Even if I could reproduce some of the recipes with the correct ingredients, my family would pull faces and point in disgust at the food. Mr Thomas would then do egg 'n' chips(fries), complete with imperfections.

If your chips are a bit burnt, just shove a bit more tomato sauce on. Some gravy left over? Get a slice of bread and wipe it up off the plate. What I am trying to say is, my way of cooking and baking is out of love and affection for my family. Precise presentation is not important as sitting down at the table with them and enjoying the imperfections of life together.

I am sure Heston is very nice, as he is very clever. It's just that he and I are on different culinary planets; we look at food differently. That brings me back to Nigel Slater. We all fit into different culinary outlooks, but that is what makes cooking move forward, because we all would be still eating 'Angel Delight' if we all did the same...

...and I hate 'Angel Delight'!

Remembrance...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Armistice Day
Friday 11th November 2011

Never Forget

Royal British Legion
Help for Heros

It's Been A While...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Excuses for Not Blogging and an Easy Recipe for Comfort Food

These two, they say, you shouldn't work with...!

They say that you should never work with animals and children.

I have one of each, and I love them both dearly.

Since I last posted, I have lived through a scandal at my daughter's school, which has made the national news media, here in the UK. At the same time, Miss Thomas was busy preparing for her Grade 2 ballet exam, which meant taking her to extra practise.

These ballet shoes danced...

Then, she had her actual exam. Another day gone...

Thankfully, her half-term holiday came and the scandal died down, but I had a week of entertaining her and visiting her Grandparents, all the while Autumn creeping up upon us. The clocks went back and to tell you the truth, this puts me out a little; it's the early dark nights.

Which is just perfect for Halloween. The Fair came to town again, albeit a small one. It was great to see so many dressed up and enjoying themselves. Halloween was never like this when I was a child. A scooped out turnip and a cardboard witch's hat was all we got. We looked forward to Bonfire Night more.

BOO...!

Fair we go again!

November the fifth now was nothing like it was. To have a bonfire now, you need a special licence. Ourselves? Shunning the mega boxes of rockets, we are comforting our wee Westie, whom is terrified of the noise.

Bobby, Frightened

So it brings me almost full circle. I have nearly finished this post, but not the post I wanted to do. Life, it seems has other plans for me at the moment, I just have to learn that you have to take it as it comes; you will get where you want to go in the end. Even if I could, I wouldn't want to post everyday. My life needs variety. I have even have indulged in some cross stitch embroidery.

'X' marks the spot

I have done some baking, but it is just not recorded here. The bread, Chelsea Buns, biscuits, cookies and pickled beetroot and onions are stored in my personal computer; it is just that they need to be prised out of there, when they are ready to come out. When? Who knows...

The Recipe?

Mr Thomas introduced me to this, in the days he was living on his own, in a tiny flat, not far from where we live now. I have been fed this when in times I had needed comfort; in fact, I've had it tonight. The primeval instinct of a basic need, the others being shelter and warmth. Basically it is a toasted cheese sandwich, but since Mrs Beeton mentions it in her 'Household Management', entry 1641, I will bring it to your attention. Check it out here. Seriously. Some of the best food is the simplest, and maybe we are forgetting them.

You will need:
Bread, two slices of. Anything you fancy. My personal choice is a panini roll.
Butter or margarine
Cherry tomatoes (optional, but it will make it taste so much nicer)

Spread the bread with the butter or margarine, topping with the cheese and placing the bread together.
Wrap in foil and put in the oven. These are best cooked on the second shelf, when you are cooking those cupcakes on the top shelf. You know the cakes taste better with the decoration on.

The sandwiches will only take 10 - 15 minutes, then you can remember how good hot butter and cheese taste.

Oh, by the way...

Your cupcakes are burning...!

All the Food of Hull Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Yes, and I have missed you too! I do apologize for not posting for a few weeks, but circumstances have prevented me from writing anything, and I am going to write about one of them now.

Hull Fair. Chances are you have never heard of it, which is a shame, as it is one of the largest travelling fun fairs in Europe. Eight nights of quickly emptying your purse on rides such as the 'Waltzers', 'Dogdem Cars', the roller coaster and if you are brave enough, rides that fling you into the air and back, while twirling you around and around at high speed all at the same time! Here are some photo's I took:

Approaching Hull Fair from the back of the KC Stadium

A quick up side down twirl!

Hook A Duck: Ducks for you to hook!

People I know riding on the Dodgems!

For your Visual Delight, I will give you a brief history of the fair, with some useful 'Further Reading' which I hope you will take a look at...

In the Beginning...
There wasn't electric light, but there was a market! As far as I know, Hull Fair goes back to 1278, when it was granted its first Charter as a fair, to be held in March. In 1293, Edward I, granted the town six weeks between May and June for the fair to be held. An additional Charter was given by Charles II to make it a 16 day fair, starting on the 20th September.

Whoops...!
According to local tradition, a change in the calendar in 1751 made the locals believe their fair would be no more, due to the loss of eleven days. An rightly outraged mob called for eleven days of their festivities back, thus giving us the date which the current Hull Fair runs to, which is the 11th October, or the nearest Friday to.

"...The Faster We Go!"

Asplands Gondola's 1900 Image: www.hullcc.gov.uk

No fair would be complete without any entertainment. In the early days, you would have had juggler's, theatrical booths, puppetry, and displays of 'exotic' animals and what I can only describe as human 'curiosities'. Slowly as the industrial age progressed, the feats of engineering seeped out into what we now call the 'leisure' industry. By the end of the 1890's, the fair resembled something we know today. Steam powered rides competed with the more traditional side shows, including a boxing booth. This I have seen evidence of the the local newspapers of the time, and was revived a few years ago, thought closed down through health and safety concerns. You paid to fight the resident boxer, lured by the return of your fee, plus a cash prize. The Edwardian age brought electric light and moving pictures, which must have brought wonderment to an age still living by steam, horse power and gas lighting. Subjects shown at the 'moving picture shows' were Royalty, enactments of battles and popular stories. A trick that the cameramen (a well known pair were Mitchell and Kenyon (here at Victorian-Ceinema.net))used, was to take footage earlier that day of a local street scene and lure those caught on camera to pay to see themselves.

'Right Here, Right Now'

One of the 'Galloper' rides

The one of the remaining remnant of the Victorian/Edwardian fair to survive is the 'Gallopers', the gaudy painted horses that go up and down.This year there was at least three that I saw, all nicely preserved. Another enduring ride, though I know it was there in the 1950's, is the 'Waltzers'. You are basically sat in half of a giant can on coasters, on a moving wooden track. Be aware that the ride attendants pick on the ladies and spin them fast around! As technology has advanced, the rides have become more daring. The latest supposedly imitates free falling (click here). Bungee jumps, log flumes, roller coaster ghost trains and gravity defying rides all add to the attraction of a fair that started out as a humble market.

The 'Waltzers'

'Hopping Frog' ride

Walton Street Food Festival

No visit to Hull Fair would be complete without a visit to Walton Street. Lured by the smell of frying onions, chips and burgers, you follow the smell tinged with cooking sugar. It is a sensory overload; a feast for the eyes, as well as the mouth and stomach! No matter were you come off the fairground, you have to start at the beginning of Walton Street, which to me, is always the Spring Bank West end. This is the start of the Food Festival.

Do you eat your sweets first?

As you push through the crowds, or the crowd pushes you forward, there are stalls lit up with electric lights, almost begging you to purchase something. But what? Stallholders are shouting for your attention, "Look at my sugary delights! See how they sparkle under the electric lights!". Some even call you 'Missus' and tell you must take some "goodies 'erm for the bairns!". As much as you want to buy something now, you know the best prices are further along the street. Also you want something warm inside you, as it is typical Hull Fair weather: it's raining with the wind whipping it up.

What do you fancy?

Liquid Refreshment Hull Fair Style

'Healthy' is not a word you use down Walton Street. The nearest you get is a fruit kebab dipped into chocolate fountain, coconuts to smashed open at home, or pomegranates, the seeds to be eaten one by one, with a pin. Pushed along further by the crowds, your chances are slipping away. Bob Carvers, the infamous Hull fish fryer, comes slowly into view.

The One and Only Bob Carvers

Waiting in line...

You remember many years ago, the tent they had when Hull had an outdoor market. The floor was covered in sawdust, in which you made patterns in with your sandals. No time for the past now, because at the present, you have been swept past by the crowd. Children sitting on their father's shoulders are dropping chips on your head, so you spot a gap in the crowd and make for dash for it. You find yourself ordering a 'Hot Dog' with fried onions and tomato sauce. Miss Thomas gets a tray of chips. Mr Thomas waits for the sweets. It is an art to walk along Walton Street, without spilling or dropping any of your food, which takes many years of practice; that is why you are constantly side-stepping the food on the floor, dropped by those who have yet to master the art.

Next on the Food Festival list is purchasing sweets and novelties for other people and yourself to have on the bus home.

Candyfloss anyone?

Sugar Addicts Delight

You can have what you want, as long as it is full of sugar. Toffee and Chocolate Apples, candyfloss, sugar dummies, cookies, muffins, doughnuts, cinder toffee(with or without chocolate) waffles, bags of jellies, toffee, liquorice whips, bars of nougat, every variety of fudge and of course, the Hull Fair favourite, 'Wright's' Brandy Snap. Tubes fashioned into plastic candy canes are filled with sugar coated chocolate buttons, tiny hard gums and jellies. Almost anything made in the sweet line, you can buy here. Seasoned fair goers never forget to bring their 'Pak-a-Bag' or a few strong carrier bags, as you are always overloaded with food, and there is nothing worse than trying to carry it in the flimsy bags you are given.

Top and Bottom: Bag A Bargain!

Coming into sight is the Anlaby Road end of Walton Street. The Community Police on their podiums, the signal that this year's trip is nearly over. A few last purchases to go. No trip is complete without buying your 'Hull Fair' hat. You can go practical and something warm and woolly, or silly, with a pink stetson, trimmed with white feathers and a silver plastic tiara. If it lights up, all the better! No one minds; everyone is on a high with excitement and adrenaline. For the young (or the young at heart!), there are plastic swords, cowboy sets, light sabre's, masks, baby dolls, fashion dolls, fairy dolls, velvet art, balloon's, inflatable hammers, and flashing fairy wands.

Toys to take home!

This is the end of Walton Street the palm readers occupy. There are not as many as there were, but the few still hanging on, are displaying boards of photographs with their famous clientele - soap opera and variety stars, some gone to the Stage in the Sky. Father Christmas makes his first appearance at the fair. Tucked away in the corner, he sits with two sacks in front of him -one for the Boys, the other for Girls.

Another shove from the crowd behind you, and you are thrown on to the pavement of Anlaby Road. Fairgoers that are just arriving, eye your bounty, perhaps planning what they are going to purchase later on. Outside the main gates to West Park, your bus is filling up with people, some struggling with buggies, over-excited children who are crying or not doing as they are told, and giant teddies, almost as big as their parents. Sat upstairs, the windows are condensing up, but you still can hear the fair. Packets of sweets are opened and swapped around, as you dig deep into your bag; half of it you don't remember buying, as you shovelled piles of it in when you were down Walton Street.

The bus moves off, taking you closer to home and away from Hull Fair. One last look as you go over the flyover...

...Bye bye, Hull Fair! Until next year...!

Haute Couture

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:25:00 +0000

Image from: Digs Frocks and Books.blogspot.com

Even though my Fashionista days are well and truly over, I still covet everything that Chanel and Dior* did in the late 1940's, the 1950's, up until the mid/late 1960's. I long to wear dresses like in the picture above, with matching hats and gloves, which the only person that does that now, is the Queen. Glamour, in my mind, has well gone, lost forever in the late 1960's and 1970's. The 'Power Suit' in the 1980's, with those Evil Shoulder Pads, that made you look like a cross between a 'Michelin Man' (and I am not talking about those shiny stars you get for cooking a microscopic meal, it's the tyres you pop on your car wheels.) and a 'Power Ranger' (oh, for goodness sake, just click on this 'Wikipedia' to find out. The library will be shut by now.), was a no-no. From there, we slobbed our way into the twenty first century. I'm sorry, Ugg boots do not go with skimpy dresses and shorts, whilst worn in summer. Where are your kitten heels?

Below are my jars of various types Tomato Jam/Jelly** that I made last month, All Dressed Up and Going to be Gifted, in their Autumn/Fall attire.

Please note how, in their swirly full circle skirts, which are of respectable length, delicately stands out thanks to a layer of golden dotted tulle. Their waists are clinched with a ribbon of yellow-y gold.

Now I shall show you how to achieve this look.

You will need:
Material - for the top, anything that takes your fancy, though bear in mind that:
- Large patterns won't show up. Choose a small pattern or leave it
plain.
-Think about the person you are giving it to, the occasion (Is it a gift for Christmas, Easter, a birthday, or just friendship? Alright, you can have Hallow'een, if you must.)
-The colour of the preserve, as you don't want colours to clash, do you? Though some people just don't care...
The material underneath doesn't have to be netting. I just like it because it makes the top 'flounce'.
Since a lot of fabric shops and fabric departments have disappeared over the years, there are other ways to get fabric. Some curtaining shops sell off their sample books, or off-cuts in the 'Remnant Box'. Look for interesting fabrics on clothing, bedding and curtaining in Charity Shops; it's amazing what people give away, though do remember to give it a wash or good steam first.
Scissors. If you can, invest in a good pair of scissors, that you only use for material cutting. Using it for cutting paper, plastic, etc, will only blunt it quicker. Craft shops like Hobbycraft sell all kinds of fancy edged scissors (and everything else you didn't know you wanted!), though I prefer my 'pinkers', that is Pinking Scissors.
Elastic Bands.
Ribbon. You can use satin, cotton or curling ribbon.

Method

You can, if you want to show off, use a paper pattern, pin it, then cut the material. It is easier to chalk around a plate, especially if it is the last one of your engagement set. The half square 'thing' in the photo is proper tailors chalk. Normal chalk in different colours is fine.

Beware of Small Dogs Sitting on your Material, Looking Cute and Posing for the Camera.

You should have two circles cut out. Place them so the 'wrong sides', ie, the sides that are the dullest together. Then put them on top of jar. Put small and thin elastic band around the fabric and the jar. This will hold the fabric as you centre it and hold better than a ribbon on its own, which you can put on now. Tie the ribbon of your choice on top of the elastic band and tie nicely in a bow, or get the curly effect with scissors.

Since I did these in haste, as I really wanted to show you this, I didn't make any pretty, stylish or chic labels, but you, I'm sure will do this. Also, stick a label on the jar with what preserve is in there, as once the wrapping gets taken off and saved for a Rainy Day, your recipient will forgot what the heck is in there, let it grow a green fur coat and throw it away.

Trust Madame on this!

* If my memory serves me correct, Christian Dior had a wee dog called Bobby. In every one of his collections, there was a red dress called 'Bobby'. If I am wrong, please correct me.

**Yes, yes, I know you don't have the recipe for my Tomato Jams/Jellys. I am working on it. Honest. I'm just a bit busy at the moment.

Bobby's Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:06:00 +0000

This is a photo of my West Highland White Terrier, Bobby, who, at the time of writing, is nearly 14 months old. He came to us, at four months old, in mid December, 2010, having spent a couple of weeks in the care of Hull Animal Welfare Trust, based at South Cave, here in East Yorkshire. Previous to that, he was bought for an elderly couple, whom I gather, didn't treat him particularly well. He was described as 'boisterous' when I adopted him, and well, what do you expect from a young Terrier?!

A Wee Babbie Bobby!

He has truly got his 'paws under the table'! Look at the photographs and who can resist those eyes? His loves, apart from walks, chewing everything in sight, digging holes to Australia in our garden, recreational barking and being stroked, he does like his cheesy oatcakes as a treat!

Which leads me happily to...come closer, as you can't see from there...my recipe for what has become known as 'Bobby's Biscuits'. It is adapted from the back of a packet of Oat Bran made by Hamlyns. I do like recipes on backs of packets, as before the invention of the internet, (yes, there was a time!) that is where you got your baking ideas from. Of course, you owned at least one Marguerite Patten cookery book, Isabella Beeton's weighty tome, and if you were lucky Eliza Acton and Constance Spry. Back to the recipe!

You will need:
200g (8oz) Oatmeal
Half teaspoon of salt
90g (3oz) mature cheese, grated
30g (1oz) butter
140 mls (5 fl ozs) water (approx.)

Mix the oatmeal, salt and cheese in a bowl.

Put the water and butter in a saucepan and heat gently, until the butter has melted and the water has started to blow teeny bubbles on the surface.

Add the liquid to the bowl and mix throughly. This may involve putting your nicely washed hands into the mixture to bring it together. It may not. My eyes in the back of my head may see wallpaper pulling-off and food stuffs rubbed into my carpet, but they don't work that far away.

Sprinkle (which doesn't mean most of the packet) some oatmeal on your work surface, in which I hope you have cleared away the stuck-on cornflakes up from breakfast, unless you really do want cornflakes in them. Some people have some strange tastes these days. Trust me.

Tip, or gently place your oatmeal mixture into the work surface and cover it with the oatmeal you placed there only a minute ago, unless you have gone for a wander down to shops or having a cup of tea.

Pat down the mixture until it is about 5mm thick. You may, with my permission, have it a few more millimetres thicker, but not too thick, as it won't cook through. You may also use a rolling pin, dusted with a wee bit of flour and oatmeal, but these are supposed to look rustic and patting the mixture (just like 'Playdoh') is more fun.

Cutters. From experience, it is best to use small round, heart, square or bone shaped ones. Anything big or with lots of detail, forget it. Why? Firstly, the detail will be lost and large shapes will fall apart; secondly, your pampered pooch won't take any notice of the shape, as all they are interested in is eating it.

Pictures of my lovely wipe-clean table cloth. Very handy when you have children, and making a mess when stamping out dog biscuits.

Place the biscuits on greased baking trays, or some super non-stick liners, like the ones I have...

Cook your biscuits on Gas 5/190 C/375 F, for 20-25 minutes until brown. Don't tip them on a cooling rack like I did, arrange them nicely and an interior magazine may come and photograph it as their centrefold.

These biscuits won't go hard like shop bought ones, but will retain a softness to them. Store them in a tin, as plastic containers make them go even softer. They should last a week, but mine never do, as they get eaten.

Please, please, pretty please, remember that these are treats only for dogs. Make sure they have proper food and plenty of fresh water! You can stuff as many as you like into your mouth. I may be old enough, but I am not your mother.

Dog Bone Cutter Sources
Pressies 4 Dogs
Amazon.co.uk
Cakes, Cookies and Crafts Shop

Other
Hull Animal Welfare Trust

Did You 'Share the Love'? A Photo Diary Thingy

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Well, did you? Did you make an extra crumble or two? In the style of 'Jackie' or 'My Guy' magazine, minus the speech bubbles, and wooden 'acting' (I use the latter word very loosely, that you may trip over your laces), here's mine:

As you can see, I cooked an orchard of fruit. These included brambles, pomegranates, pears and apples.

I really wish you could have smelt the cooked fruit! If there is any smell I could bottle, this would be one of them. The smell of home and comfort.

I managed five trays full, which surprised even me. Doing it this way makes it easier for the recipient to cook or store the crumble.

These are the crumbles before they went in to the oven. I made double the amount of crumble mix, as I like to taste the crumble. I hate mean and stingy crumble toppings, as I hate nouvelle cuisine. I like a full plate of food, as I am a greedy girl.

Red hot from the oven, and smelling wonderful! All I have to do now is let them cool down before popping the lids on (foil side down, as you will have to write what is in the container and re-heating instructions on. You can show off and earn extra brownie/scout points by writing them on a label you have made yourself). Wrap ribbon around it and 'Share the Love'.

The final step?

Repeat at least once a month and bake extra to give to somebody, as money can't buy that warm, fuzzy feeling.

That Awkward Second Post...

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:12:00 +0000

Summer isn't summer without bramble/blackberry picking (it's a I say 'po-tay-to', you say 'po-ta-to' kind of thing. To me, they are brambles. So there.). There is nothing like putting your zip-up cardigan on, wellies and carrying an empty carton, with a faded label that states that chocolate ice cream once lived there. You skip happily to the bramble bushes on the waste land not very far from your house, which is tastefully decorated with abandoned shopping trolleys, pizza boxes and beer cans. Of course you have to get stung by nettles, get your cardigan snagged and your fingers covered in juice. It wouldn't be the same if that didn't happen.To celebrate your bounty, you crack open a packet of 'Parma Violets', which taste even better with the bramble juice from your fingers, which make you think of writing to Mr Parma Violets and urging him to make a variety coated in bramble juice and chocolate....and before you write in saying about not washing my hands, I will say a few germs won't kill you. Yes, please wash your hands before preparing and cooking food. That is a must. Why? Because I said so.

There are thousand and one ways to cook, bake and preserve brambles, though I don't know them all. Yet. I do know that bramble jam is the best way to use them. Standing there, in the dark days of mid-winter, in your coat, pinny, woolly hat, stirring the bubbling brambles, with the steam making your face rosy-red hot. You smile as you remember those happy, semi-warm days you picked the little ladies, dancing in the pan, in their deep purple ball gowns. They side-step into the warm jars, which you put in your coat pockets to keep your hands warm for a while, as yet another year passes in freezing kitchen.

I am not going to give a recipe for bramble jam, nor the second best recipe, Appple and Bramble Pie. You will have to make do with third best. Which is? My, you are sooo impatient! Didn't your Mother teach you anything?

Please note that any weights are given in 'old money', ie imperial. Metric is still new-fangled and I will plead stupidity if Trading Standards ask me, though I trust you not to tell.

The Fruit

Apples, brambles, pears, plums, and any other 'gammy' (Yorkshire speak for 'past it's best') fruit you think may be good in a crumble. I have never weighed fruit, so I won't start now, but a good rule of thumb is-

2-4 Bramley apples, depending on size (are they big or little?)
Handful or three or brambles. How many do you get in a handful? Mr Thomas has big hands, so he can get lots in his; I have tiny hands and there is a joke relating to Mozart's opera, 'Don Giovanni', and it needs a blog of its own to explain it....

Now you have your fruit all washed, peeled and cored, pop it all in a big pan, cover with water. Splosh lemon juice over it. I put it on a low heat, as it gives me time to have a cuppa, some biscuits, check musings on Twitter and make the crumble.

The Crumble

This was what my Grandma gave to me, as my Mum uses crumble mix out of a packet. It makes a lot, but I do three crumbles at a time, in those long foil containers. One to eat now, one for the freezer and I give one to my elderly neighbours. In fact, this is a good place to promote 'Share the Love', run by delicious magazine.

You will need:

Flour, plain, 6oz of. You can use white, wholemeal, or a mix of both. I'm not eating it, you are, so do as you wish.

Butter, 3oz of. Softened. If it runny melty, get some more butter and don't leave it too long!

Sugar, 3oz of. Again, I will leave it up to you as to what type you use. My Grandma had one type, which I suspected was granulated, which was kept in a tin. I prefer light brown. Have a mixture of all varieties, as I am sure it will taste, well, interesting.

Cinnamon, pinch of. I like more than a pinch; a squeeze more like. If you have lots of money to spend on vanilla pods, add them. Ginger is quite nice too.

Now, scrub under your nails with a brush, and wash your hands thoroughly.

Pop the flour into a bowl, but a large pan will do if you can't be bothered to go raking at the back of the cupboard. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub in with your fingertips.

Mix in the sugar (or is it sugars?) and the spice of choice. Now smell your fingers. Never mind celebrity perfumes and aftershaves, this may attract the person of your dreams. It smells of home and good cooking; deep down, that is what we all want, isn't?

Put that to one side, as by this time your fruit should be nice and soft. Drain the fruit and divide up into your containers. Then put your crumble mix on top.

Only now can you put the crumbles in the oven.

Cook at Gas 5/190 C/375 F for about 30 minutes, until you can smell it from the kitchen door and when you look at it, it has browned and blowing tiny fruity bubbles.

Serve with custard, yoghurt or cream.

If freezing one of the crumbles, make sure it cools down. As for the one you baked to give away and 'Share the Love', put the lid on and and wrap ribbon around it, as that will make it so much nicer. There will be smiles all round!

I confess that I do like this crumble cold as well. I eat it 'Nigella' style; grabbing a spoon and shovelling some in my mouth before bed. I don't have a silky dressing gown. I favour Winceyette pyjamas. So, so more more sensible!

The First Nibble

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs Thomas) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:11:00 +0000

This is inspired by the 'Compost Heap Jelly' by Pam Corbin, in her River Cottage Preserve Book. She uses apple peelings and cores as well, but since we prefer citrus fruits in our house, well, citrus fruit it is.

1 kilo of orange peel and bits of discarded orange flesh (I also had a few strawberries that I threw in as well) cut into rough 1cm shreds.

Four or five Star Anise pods

About 1-1and a half litres of hot water discarded from stewing apples, as I just happened to have just stewed some apples.

Method

I soaked the above for about an hour, basically as I had to make, eat and clear away our evening meal. Children won't wait while you phaff with fruit boiling.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring and crushing the fruit. Think of something that really annoys you, then stir and crush away your annoyance.

Remember to sterilize your jelly/muslin bag in a pan of boiling water while you multi task with your fruit.

Strain until the fruit until it stops dripping. The longest I have watched it drip is an hour. Good excuse for a few cups of tea.

Mine took 24 hours, which by then I got fed up with the wafting the flies from it. I also had to stop child from squeezing the bag.

Measure the juice. In fact, let the juice drip into a large measure jug. Then you can take bets as to how far the juice will go. Who needs TV?

Return to the pan.

Then added a good splosh of pure orange juice. Pour yourself a glass with alcohol of your choice.

Bring to the boil.

Add sugar (For every 600ml juice add 450g of granulated sugar).

Stir the sugar until dissolved, then boil rapidly, without stirring, until setting point has reached, around 104.5 degrees C. Pam says about 10 minutes or so, but I'm sure mine took longer than that. How you decide this is your choice: Thermometer, cold saucer, finger, though I don't recommend the latter.

Take off the heat, stirring in the same direction until the surface bubbles disappear, but I'm guilty of doing neither. I'm not going to be a tell-tale if you stir in both directions and think the bubbles pretty.

Pour into prepared jars* and tap the side to remove any remaining bubbles. I'm guilty of not doing that!

Use within 12 months. I hope you will eat it before it grows a un-fashionable green-y fur coat.

Mine doesn't set what I call 'rigid'; it 'plops' out nicely on to toast etc. If you like, in true Nigella fashion, it sexily wiggles out of the jar and lays in a provocative fashion on your hot buttered crumpet.

This makes a nice layer between the apples and crumble mix, that you stewed the apples for. Or did you do pie? Can I have a piece? Would also make nice tarts, as strawberry jam I find a bit, erm, tarty. The food equivalent of a lady just wearing a long white fake fur coat, bright red lipstick and red stilettos.

*Jam jars. Did you wash and sterilise them? Yes, you can buy new, but I feel better re-using them. To scrape off the labels, put them in a pan of cold water, with the water just covering them. Bring to the boil slowly. It is recommend that you take them out when the water has bubbled a bit and scrape the labels off when you can pick them up without burning yourself. Of course, to show off, I get some metal tongs and grab the jar with one hand and scrape the labels off with silicone spatula with the other hand, while they are happily dancing in the pan! Also check for chips and cracks, which germs can hide in. Sterilise them buy washing and rinsing well, unless you want 'Fairy Liquid' jelly. Place the jars and lids upside down on a metal baking tray and 'bake' on Gas 1/140 C/275 F for 10-15 minutes. If you want to live dangerously, by all means have them in longer. I am not responsible for the outcome. You should have your jars ready for putting the jelly in; as much I hate getting in a cold bed, the jelly hates cold jars, with the possibility of the glass cracking. You can also do them in a dishwasher, but I don't have one of them. Husband has me instead, and I am cheaper to run. Apparently.

Pam's Book at Book Depository

Jam Jars at Lakeland. They sell other jam making knick knacks as well.

The jam strainer I use at Amazon.co.uk. They have other jammy goodies to spend your money on.