I was trying out a recipe from one of my Richard Bertinet's books today and found, after I'd got everything ready to go, that I didn't actually have enough of the right ingredients so I just 'adjusted' the recipe to accomodate what I did have. This is normally an OK thing to do except when trying a new recipe. It all went a bit pear-shaped and oozed over the worktop. So the top tip is, don't tweak unless you know the recipe. I'm sure the end result will be quite tasty but will not be the bread I started out to make. Ach well, live and learn; I'll go to the shops first next time.
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Today's sunshine fairly lifted the spirits. I actually got two washings dried outside as well as fitting in a wee (Government sponsored) bus trip but I don't expect you want to hear about that. I am going to tell you about the sunshine in my conservatory. I have in there, courtesy of my sister and brother-in-law, an orange and a lemon tree. 'Tree' perhaps gives you the wrong idea about the size of my conservatory. Rest assured the 'trees' are barely knee-high and the conservatory not much bigger! The orange tree, I decided, needed to be harvested. The resulting crop was hardly enough to make a teaspoon of marmalade so I threw the lot into the food processor, mushed it up and spread it onto to a sweet dough which I rolled up and baked in a loaf tin. Smells very orangey. I'm looking forward to trying it toasted for breakfast. Toast and marmalade without the stickiness? I expect you'll remember I celebrated a birthday the other week which was one of those significant ones. It came complete with bus pass; freedom to roam, indeed. The bright sunshine encouraged me to try it out today. Takes a while to get where you're going but I suppose those of us lucky enough to be retired have the time to get there! Made some pancakes when I got back to celebrate the adventure. And some fun ones for the occasional rabbit. I expect his Mum will eat them! Pancakes
2 eggs 200 ml milk 75 ml water 110g plain flour walnut sized piece of butter, melted Whisk together the eggs and liquids then mix in the flour to a smooth batter. Heat a frying pan or girdle/griddle (depends where you come from) until it's really hot. Mix the melted butter into the batter and put a ladleful at a time onto your hotplate. Spread the mixture out using the back of the ladle or spoon until it's as thin as you'd like. Leave to cook until brown underneath, about a minute or so, then flip over and cook the other side for about half a minute. Put the cooked pancake onto a clean tea towel and cover with another to keep the pancakes soft while you cook the rest. I served these with a chorizo, bean and tomato stew but you can serve them with whatever you want. Be warned 'though; these are thin, crêpe- like pancakes, not the ones you eat for afternoon tea with butter and jam. That's quite a different thing and something I've yet to master. It was British Pie Week at the beginning of the month and I missed it. Probably too busy getting old. I decided to mark the occasion belatedly by baking a Leftover Pie. Chucked a load of cooked veg into a pie dish, mixed through some white sauce and sprinkled over grated cheddar. Then I covered the lot with a piece of rolled out puff pastry and stuck it in the oven for half an hour. Et voilà! A very tasty pie which we ate with some green salad and crusty bread. Must make pies more often. I don't expect they are the healthiest of dishes but they are a very comforting food and that must be allowed now and again. Moving at the speed of lightning, I was able to capture a cookie picture before the descent of the one who eats them all up! These ones have walnuts in them but otherwise the recipe's the same as the one for Oat and Raisin cookies which I posted a week or so ago.
I reached a milestone birthday at the weekend and, according to a book my mum and dad gifted me, that makes me someone family and friends will look to as a source of wisdom and experience. Hmm... I wonder how long I can maintain that illusion? The sun is shining today, the bulbs are blooming nicely, all's well in my world, at least until someone actually comes looking for the wise words! Tonight is Belly Dancing Night. I'm breaking out of the mould in retirement, and, no, that's not me in the picture. I aspire to this, however, there's a long way to go! Will eat after the class, can't dance on a full stomach, so I'm leaving pizza tonight for Jim to deal with. it's easy and fun and much more tasty than any you can buy in the shops. Pizza 250 g strong white flour 1 sachet of dried yeast or 5g instant 2g salt 165 g lukewarm water 10 g olive oil Heat your oven to 250C so it’s ready when the dough is. Mix flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Add water and olive oil mix until it all comes together. Turn onto a work surface and knead for about 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes it will be quite smooth and pliable. If it’s not just stretch and roll for another 5 minutes. Shape it into a ball and put back in your bowl which you’ve sprinkled with flour. Leave in a warmish place for about an hour when it should have doubled in size. Turn the ball of dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten it out gently then shape by rolling gently into circle(s) of desired size or pressing into a tray (28cm x 18cm) Cover with cling film and leave in the warm for about 10 minutes. You can bake at this stage to give you pizza bases for freezing or add toppings (spoonful of passatta, cheese, pepperoni, olives, onion, whatever and sprinkle with olive oil) Turn oven down to 230C. Put pizzas into oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. A few posts ago I mentioned using up my egg yolk to make cookies and I thought it might be an idea to share that recipe with you. It would also be quite good to share a photo. Unfortunately they always disappear off the cooling rack before I can get my camera out. I never realised that cookies could be camera shy. Never mind, here instead is a picture of Bran who's back with us for the weekend and more entertaining than cookies. Oat and Raisin Cookies
225g soft butter 300g soft brown sugar 1 egg yolk 2 tsp vanilla extract 225g plain flour 55g porridge oats pinch salt 75g raisins chopped and soaked for 10 minutes in orange juice Cream sugar and butter until pale. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla extract then mix in flour, salt, oats and drained raisins. Drop tablespoonsful of mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slgihtly with back of a spoon. Bake in oven at 160C until golden brown, 10 -12 minutes. Cool on tray for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack. Stand clear while they vanish before your eyes! |
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Hello, I'm Marianne. I live in Central Scotland with my husband, Jim, and an occasional rabbit. Glad you could join me :) Archives
November 2017
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