New challenges.

Mum did so incredibly well while Dad was ill and after he died. In fact, almost too well. But I guess it took it's toll on her in other ways. I can't remember when exactly, but we started to worry about her memory a while ago. She'd struggle to find words, too, and get really frustrated while we played the guessing game to work out what the song was, who the actor was, what the tv programme was, etc..

I think it was early 2013 that I tried to have "the conversation" with her about maybe seeing a doctor. Her mood was low and we wondered if it was depression, or early signs of cognitive change. I made a complete mess of our chat and mum at one point looked as if she was going to burst into tears so I just backed off and left it.  I think shortly after this Lorraine engineered a GP visit during which they did the MMSE, and mum did quite well. In fact she was keen on letting us all know afterwards that the doctor told her she was a "very intelligent woman, and there was nothing wrong with her". Still something didn't feel right.

To cut a long story short, in September 2013, mum had a fall and ended up in hospital. She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and spent nearly 3 weeks in there, having various tests for various things. She was never the same again. In hospital she was withdrawn and miserable and very vocal about not wanting to be there. She stopped eating. She was saying things to people that hadn't happened. All very odd. When she was discharged we had a support package put in place and a referral to the memory clinic, and that was the start of our dementia journey proper.

So fast forward to May 2016. Mum has been a resident in Widnes Hall (WH) care home since March. She became unable to stay in her apartment as she had started wandering out of her home at night and had even got outside a couple of times. That, combined with other things, led us to reaching the difficult decision to look for a care placement.  Initially, mum was in the residential unit at Widnes Hall, as she is still a very pleasant lady and quite easy to look after in many respects. Last week, they decided (with our consent) to move mum to the dementia unit as they felt she'd mix better there. Wow. What a different place that is.

Roy and I went for the first time on Saturday, and again on Sunday, and came out quite affected by what we'd seen. Dealing with mum and her dementia has been relatively easy (if I don't think too deeply about it) because a) it's my mum and b) she's changed gradually and so I have just become used to it all over time. But being in a room with a dozen (mainly) women with moderate dementia - it really, really brings home how awful this condition is.

All the doors are keypad coded at Widnes Hall - when we arrived on Saturday, and pushed open the door in mum's unit, a smart lady in an outdoor coat waved frantically at us from halfway down the corridor. A sort of "hold that door" type of wave. We carried on in and spotted mum, so I was busy saying hello to her so stopped really taking any notice of the lady. 

As we headed down the corridor to mum's room to get her things for going out, a thin lady with lanky hair and very few teeth came towards us. Mum immediately looked unhappy and started heading back to the dining room. I told her "This way mum, back to your room." "I can't" she said, indicating this lady. She clearly didn't want to pass her, but as we had to, she just said to the lady "Go away and don't come back" as we walked by. I have to say that the woman was invading mum's personal space! But I chided her for being unkind. As we got into mum's room I was looking for her stuff and as I turned round, there was the lady - she'd followed us into mum's room. I don't know her name yet but for now will call her "the Shadow" because she just seemed to be there by us all the time, silently appearing out of nowhere. I asked Roy to take her out as mum hadn't noticed and I didn't want to upset her.

We headed back down to the dining room to find Diana, the carer who was going to give me mum's meds for the night (she was staying over with us). The lady with the coat - Margaret - was still in the corridor and trying all the doors that vaguely looked like exits. "These are all locked" she told me, "and I need to get out. I've got to get back and feed my 2 kids".  Ah! I'd heard about Margaret from my sister. She tries all day to leave as she thinks she has children to take care of. I told her that I was sure somebody would be looking after the kids and she said, yes probably their father. We passed on by.

As I went down to the meds room with Diana, Margaret told us that "this door was locked and that door was locked" and she needed to get out.  Diana did an incredible job of chatting to her without making her feel silly or without making her any more agitated. As I waited and watched as Diana sorted out the meds, Margaret came back in. "I'm going to put my head in a bowl of cyanide" she announced. "Oh, I wouldn't do that" I counselled. Diana told her it probably wouldn't taste very nice.
She thought about it, then changed tack. "Well I'll go to prison. I'll to prison and I'll have the time of my life!" she said, defiantly. "I won't care because I'll be having the time of my life and I don't give a shit!". At this point I wasn't really sure how you answer that! So I just nodded and smiled and agreed that if it was what she wanted well, why not.

Back to the dining room to get mum. Margaret was still tugging at door handles of locked doors and the Shadow had made a reappearance. They'd had Eccles cakes after lunch and the dining room floor was layered in flaky pastry bits. Mum was sitting with Roy, waiting patiently for us.

Let's get out of here, I thought. As we were leaving, Diana did a masterful job of distracting Margaret and leading her in the opposite direction so that she couldn't see us. She'd have undoubtedly made a break for it had she seen that door open. It had already happened earlier in the day, apparently - a chap visiting had held the door open for her - thinking (as I had earlier) that she was leaving after visiting somebody else.

On Saturday night mum was with us. We took her to the theatre in Leeds to see Vincent & Flavia in the Last Tango. Great show and I think she liked it, but for any future shows, I think matinees are best as mum is better during the day than at night. Her attention span isn't what it used to be and she doesn't get rapt in a performance like she once did.

Sunday morning we set off back across the Pennines. We decided not to keep mum at ours too long as it seemed to unsettle her last time and she was quite out of sorts for a few days back at WH. Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to have a walk around the gardens at Dunham Massey Before taking mum back. Gorgeous grounds and the bluebells were out in force. We had cake and scones in the café. I took mum a packed lunch of some smoked salmon blinis - about the only thing she ate properly this weekend. This is a lovely photo of mum but she was actually telling me she was bored and wanted to go!

We arrived back at WH at about 3. Margaret was nowhere to be seen but the small lounge adjacent to the dining area was busy. Two people dozed on one sofa, 2 ladies looked like they were having a chat on another and a lady was in visiting her dad. A tiny lady with whiskers was sitting up in a dining chair in the lounge. The dining tables also had a few people on, we took one and made a cuppa. The next table had a new lady, Ivy, sitting on it with her son. Ivy didn't look too well and nor could she hear a thing anybody said with her. After much fiddling with her hearing aid and yelling "Can you hear me, mother" (which did make me chuckle), he gave up. Ivy sat with her head down, coughing and spluttering from time to time.  Can you hear me mother?

I'd brought some CDs back to leave in the lounge and as I took them over to the cabinet with the player on, one of the chatting ladies asked me what was I doing - in more of a nosy way than a challenging way. I explained I was putting some new CDs there She asked me what they were for - for you to all play and listen to, I replied. "Oh that should be ok then" she said. Ah, I think she may be in charge here. So I thanked her and put them on a small pile. Diana came over and started to play one.

After a while I decided that we should move mum to one of the sofas which was empty. We were going to be leaving just before 4 so I decided to settle mum there before we did. She sat down and Roy took the place next to her. Which was just as well as the Shadow appeared and I thought the last thing mum would want was for her to sit next to her. I gave mum her doll (the reason she has a doll is another story), and very soon the "baby" was attracting attention. Despite the fact that the doll was wearing a pink hat and dress, the lady opposite assumed it was a baby boy and asked for his name. Mum had also corrected me a few weeks earlier and said "it's a he" when I'd asked how she was. Anyway, mum said she didn't know the baby's name and a carer suggested Jessica would be nice. Which would have been great if mum was able to say the name.... although its academic as she'll forget anyway.

Bossy lady asked to have a hold of the baby. Mum had been nursing the baby on her shoulder but not really paying him (!) much attention, so she said that would be ok and passed him over. The lady took him with great care (unlike mum who had him by the scruff of the neck) and immediately started to coo and chat to him and tickle his face and under his chin. I can see why doll therapy is so popular in care homes for dementia residents.

Although bossy lady's chatting companion looked bemused and seemed to me to be quietly laughing at the others, as if SHE knew it wasn't a real baby even if they didn't.

The Shadow made another appearance. Mum started saying "No thank you" as soon as she got close. She glided off and ended up practically sitting on bossy lady's knee, which didn't seem to phase either of them.  We decided to leave. I was slightly nervous that the Shadow would move in on Roy's empty seat by mum, but mum would either have got up and moved or ignored her so what could we do?

Mum put on a brave face as we left, I tell her now that I have to go to work and she understands that. I found out the next day that the Shadow was walking around with one of mum's necklaces on, and mum's jewelry box was missing (although was later found under mum's pillow). No wonder mum isn't keen on her. I think she's tried to take the doll on a few occasions, too.

I don't remember the last time I had a normal conversation with my mum. I used to sometimes be driving her to stay with us and thinking "oh I wish you'd just shut up for a minute, mum" as she would talk and talk and talk all the way. Now I would give anything to hear that again. Be careful what you wish for.............

Cameras, chips and cheesecake

Have I really not blogged since 2011? That's crazy.....
Well here's one. And it's about cameras, chips and cheesecake.
I bought a new camera late last year.  A Canon 650D.  Since then, I've done 3 starter courses with Mike Lester and learned about the various settings, and how to use my camera in low light.  The final course was all about studio lighting, a bit above my current aspirations but interesting nonetheless. 
I really need to get out and practice now, so this afternoon I was cooking and tried to take some nice shots of the food.
I was making steak and chips, followed by white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. A sort of belated Valentines meal, even though we don't "do" Valentines as such.
After much googling, I decided on trying Heston's Triple Cooked Chips.  At first I was thinking that I didn't know what all the fuss was about - my nana and my mum used to blanch their chips and for me, home made chips were done in the same way.  I've made chips maybe 5 or 6 times in my life, by the way! But the traditions in our family for both chips and roast potatoes have always produced great result.
So on with the Heston version.
In Stage 1 you chop and boil the chips in salted water until they're almost breaking apart.  Actually I bottled it at this stage and boiled them for slightly less.... didn't want a pile of mush on the tray.  Drain them and place on a rack to cool. Once they've stopped steaming, place in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. 

Stage 2 is to blanch them in oil at about 130 degrees.  I don't trust either of my thermometers so I guessed and went by how they looked in the pan.  After about 5 minutes or so they were looking as I thought they should so they went on to kitchen paper and straight into the freezer for an hour.

Stage 3, into very hot oil (180) for 10 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and salt.

Oh they were good. Very good. Roy was ecstatic! I served them with fillet steak and pink peppercorn sauce.  Stunning!

 

The cheesecake was a simple base of digestive/butter topped with a mix of melted white chocolate, cream, sugar and soft cheese. Raspberrys were dotted into the mix as it was spooned into the dishes.  Very rich - very yummy. Roy scored tonight's dinner 9 out of 10 but upgraded it to 10 when challenged about what the deduction had been for.

 

Cranberry & Almond Granola

Cranberry & Almond Granola

225g jumbo porridge oats
60g sunflower seeds
60g sesame seeds
60g flaxseeds (linseeds)
60g pumpkin seeds
100g whole almonds (blanched or natural)
150g dried cranberries (or 100g dried cranberries plus 50g dried cherries)
40g dessicated coconut (optional)
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of ground nutmeg or allspice (optional)
1 tsp salt
Zest and juice of a large orange
2 tbsps sunflower oil (or rapeseed - any bland oil will do)
2 tbsps runny honey
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Mix all the dry ingredients (expect almonds, cranberries and coconut) in a large bowl. Add the orange zest.
In a jug, mix the orange juice, vanilla, oil and honey and mix well. Add to the dry ingredients and stir well with a large spoon until all combined.

Spread the mix onto a large baking sheet with deep sides (or two smaller baking trays/dishes)

Bake at about 150 for 30 minutes. Every 10 minutes, turn the mix over with a spoon so that it browns evenly and nothing burns. If your oven (like mine) is really hot, try this at 130 instead. After 20 minutes (i.e. on the second "stir") add the almonds and coconut).

Once the mix is dry and feels crunchy, remove from oven and cool completely. Mix through the cranberries (and cherries if using) and store in an airtight container.

Lovely for breakfast on top of with natural yoghurt - add an extra drizzle of honey if you like it sweeter. If you have any fruit compote then add this as a layer at the bottom of the yogurt. On the photo, I've served mine with the Plum compote from Nigella Kitchen (but I used vanilla instead of cinnamon as my flavouring).

The curse of the bain marie strikes again.

Remember the year when the shops ran out of cranberries because Delia used them in a recipe on her Christmas programme? Well I don't know if Nigella had quite the same effect, but I was one of the idiots who decided that my life would be complete if only I had a bottle of Pedro Ximenez sherry to use in Nigella Christmas recipes. I think it was Christmas 2008 but I can't be certain.

So, delighted to find said sherry in Sainsburys, I bought a bottle home and, as suggested by Nigella, soaked my fruit in it for the Christmas cake. I tasted a small glass and hated it - it was way too syrupy for sherry, almost cough mixture like. So I shoved it into the back of the cupboard and thought what a waste of money that had been.

This Easter, we were travelling through Andalusia, on our way to Murcia. We'd stopped at this lovely b&b for the night, to break up a long drive.
http://www.elciruelo.net

Because it's away from any villages, we decided to eat in that evening as Gillian was offering a set menu, three courses for 18 euro. Her food was superb - smoked salmon parcels to start, stuffed pork fillet with dauphinnoise for main and a delicious Pedro Ximenez cheesecake to finish - served with a shot of PX on the side. It was so good then we I got home I googled for a recipe and found this one.

Pedro Ximenez Cheesecake:
170 g (6 ounces) digestive biscuit crumbs
40 g (1 1/2 ounces) skinned, roasted and crushed hazelnuts
40 g (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
grated zest of 1/2 lemon

For the filling
1.5 kg (3 1/2 pounds) cream cheese
225 g (8 ounces) icing (confectioners') sugar, sieved
3 medium eggs
2 vanilla pods, cut in half and the seeds scraped out
10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract (not vanilla essence)
100 ml (3 1/2 fluid ounces) Pedro Ximénez sherry
finely grated zest of 2 lemons

To serve
Shelled and skinned whole hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
To make the base, combine all the ingredients. Press the mixture into a 22.5 x 6.25 cm (9 x 2 1/2 inch) springform tin that has been lined with greased parchment paper. Chill. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 335°F / gas mark 3 1/2.
To make the filling, put the cream cheese in a blender and blend until smooth. Add all the other ingredients except the lemon zest and blend well. Then add the lemon zest — do not be tempted to add it earlier or the mixture will split. Pour the filling on to the chilled base and bake for 45 minutes. Only the outside 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the cake will appear to be cooked; the middle should be wobbly. Cool completely and then chill for 2 hours, or until set. Serve at room temperature. Place a slice on a plate and scatter on the toasted hazelnuts. Serve with large glasses of chilled Pedro Ximénez sherry.

I decided to try making it today. I substitued almonds for the hazelnuts as I had some in, and also have some nice toasted almond flakes to decorate. I halved the quantity of ingredients shown above and still have a large cheesecake that would easily feed 6 for dessert. I've been fairly unsuccessful at making baked cheesecakes before. I tried Nigella's chocolate lime one a while ago and despite wrapping the springform tin in plenty of foil, as instructed, water seemed to get in from the bain marie and made the base soggy. I also have a tendency to overcook them, panicking if the middle looks uncooked.

This time, I thought I'd found the solution. Whilst the recipe didn't call for a water bath to be used, I decided to do it anyway because I thought it would protect the cheesecake from over cooking or burning. I also decided to use a silicon baking tin rather than springform. That'll stop water leaking in, I thought. I've just had a peek now and the base of the cheesecake still looks soggy! Don't know how? Unless there is a tiny nick in the base of the silicon that's let water in? I haven't plated it yet as I'm waiting for it to finish cooling, and then we'll see......

From my sample tasting it seems good though. Not sure it needs the lemon zest..........

Lemon Tiramisu

Been wanting to try this for a while............. and seeing that it's now summer, I thought I would! It was fabulous and everybody who tried it thought so too! Got the recipe online but added a few of my own embellishments (the lemon curd, white chocolate, almonds and the cream).

Lemon Tiramisu.

Ingredients
3 large lemons (unwaxed)
Half a cup of caster sugar (or 75g if you're a weigher)
1 cup (250ml) of Limoncello
4 large eggs
2 tubs (250g each) of marscapone
3 tablespoons of good lemon curd (I recommend Sainsbury Taste the Difference)
About 40 lady finger biscuits
100g bar of good quality white chocolate (put half of it in the freezer, leave half out)
Small packet of toasted almond flakes.
600ml tub of double cream (optional)
Bottle of Limoncello or Crema de Limoncello to serve with.

Zest and juice the lemons and set zest aside. Add the limoncello to the lemon juice. Set aside.

Separate the eggs, keeping one egg white only. You don't need the rest but can freeze them to make meringue some other time!

Using a hand whisk, whisk egg yolk and sugar until they become pale and thick. Add the marscapone, mix well and then briefly whisk.

Melt half of the white chocolate in a small bowl over boiling water and leave to cool slightly. when cooled, add the chocolate and the lemon curd to the marscapone mix.

In a new bowl, whisk the egg white until it is quite firm. Fold gently into the marscapone mix, along with the lemon zest.

Next, take the lady fingers and dip each one briefy (dip both sides but don't soak them!) in the limoncello/lemon juice mix and make a layer of them in a large dish about 2 - 3 inches deep. Once the bottom layer is complete, spoon and smooth a layer of marscapone mix on top. Add a second later of biscuits. If you have any liquid left, drizzle it onto the top layer of lady fingers but don't add too much. Smooth over another layer of marscapone mix.

If you feel it is needed, whip the double cream and smooth it over the top. I used this because I only had a very thin layer of marscapone cream on the top - I think I used a dish that was too large and I ran out of mix. The end result was good, though, I think the cream finished things off very nicely!

Cover loosely with foil and leave in the fridge to set for about 4 hours. Grate the rest of the white choc (or blitz it in a mini-processer) and sprinkle over the top. Also sprinkle over a handful of toasted almonds.

Serve, with shot of Limoncello or Cream of Limoncello on the side. Serves between 10 - 16 people depending on how greedy they are.

When you wish upon a star.............

I've never eaten in a Michelin starred restaurant before, so imagine how excited I was to be going here:

http://www.pipeandglass.co.uk/home.php

In fact, not just going to eat, but staying here for 2 nights. It was our 5th Wedding Anniversary on July 1st, so we decided to treat ourselves with a weekend away at the Pipe and Glass. Just over an hour's drive from home, meaning that we could spend most of Friday and Sunday there, too - rather than most of the day driving.

We arrived around 1pm on Friday. Our room (Thyme) was ready so we checked in and got unpacked. Gorgeous room - very stylish, and the finish/quality was superb. We were booked for lunch at 1.30pm so went more or less straight round after we'd unpacked. The weather was gorgeous but we ate inside - starting with a cold beer at the bar. We also ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to drink with lunch. The plan had been to save some for later on that day but that didn't quite happen! We shared a starter of "A little jar of ‘Gloucester Old Spot' potted pork, sticky apple and crackling salad, warm spelt toast". Very good. The sticky apple was really good. Then I had a salad of 3 tomato, lovage pesto, mozzarella, avocado salad. The cheese was beautiful. Actually, all of it was. Roy had a roasted beetroot, goats cheese and leek tart, with roasted beetroot and pearl onions. We shared the main courses, along with a seasonal salad sprinkled with sweet potato crisps. It was all so good! Then we finished by sharing a bakewell tart with spiced fruit compote and raspberry ripple ice cream - such a generous portion we were glad we hadn't ordered a pudding each!

Back in our room, and unused to lunchtime drinking, we dozed for an hour! Got up at about 4 and had a coffee and sat on the lovely patio before getting ready for an evening at Beverley Races.
http://www.beverley-racecourse.co.uk/

We'd booked a taxi to take us and pick us up. What a stunning evening it was - so hot and sunny. Perfect. We didn't win money, but we didn't lose either so that was good! Back at the Pipe & Glass by about 10, we ordered a cheese plate to share, with a large glass of red wine each. That was also very good. I'm surprised we didn't have nightmares all evening after all that cheese! But we slept well, in a huge, comfy, super king sized sleigh bed. I want one!

Ice Cream update

Since buying le Glacier at New Year I've had two subsequent ice cream making attempts. After the success of the Margarita Ice Cream I decided to try plain Vanilla.

Worked a treat, got rave reviews from Roy, Mum, Mum and Dad-in-Law. As is my usual method, instead of just going to one of the many cookbooks in the kitchen, picking a recipe and using it, I spent ages trawling the net for Vanilla ice cream recipes. I printed three and then picked one to use (Mark Hix, I think). Anyway, it worked, tasted great. Served it with Nigella's chocolate brownies. Big hit.

Next time out (last weekend) I tried a coffee ice cream, also to serve with brownies - this time, flourless milk and dark choc brownies. I was trying to recreate the fabulous Honeybuns milk choc brownie and had looked at the ingredients then found the closest recipe I could get online.
http://www.honeybuns.co.uk/
These honeybuns are my absolute favourite brownies - next to Millie's Muffins, the best naughty treat one can buy for a long train journey!

The ice cream (picked the best of three recipes I printed) was excellent. Actually, I could have just eaten the warm and then cold custard mix, it was gorgeous! The brownies were ok - but I went a bit off track by making them early and then re-heating them later. The texture seemed to change - I think the almonds gave up more oil and the overall effect for me was to take away the "lightness" they had when first out of the oven, and replace it with a slightly stodgy greasy feel. Guests (BIL and SIL) seemed to enjoy them though. And the freezer is now full of leftovers....................

It's Margarita Time.............

We're having a mexican themed evening at my brother in law's house tonight. This prompted me to volunteer to make Margarita Ice Cream, which I'd seen Nigella do on Nigella Express, and thought it looked good. On reading the recipe in her book, I noticed that it was a "no-churn" version of an ice cream recipe in Forever Summer. I've never made ice cream (churned or not) and having read both recipes, decided that I would splash out on an ice cream maker and have a go at the real thing.

I bought this Magimix, because:
a) it was the least expensive I could find and
b) it got pretty good reviews at Amazon and Argos

I'd always thought that one day I'd buy an expensive (£200+) ice cream maker, as I thought that the "freeze the bowl" versions weren't so good. Time to give it a try.

Making the custard for the ice cream was ok, Nigella gives very clear advice about that, and I do confess I had to plunge the pan in to the sink full of cold water once, to stop the custard splitting!
I made this at about 9am, and left it in the fridge to properly chill for the rest of the day. The bowl for the ice cream maker had been in the freezer overnight. The instruction book was full of warnings about the consequences of the bowl /custard not being properly chilled. No room for error here, this is being served up tonight!

Setting the ice cream maker up was a bit tricky - for some reason, the paddle would only churn when the lid was not on top of the bowl. I'm not sure why. I managed to keep it going by just placing the lid on the bowl, and not properly clipping it on. I'll try again, and if it still doesn't work, may take it back for replacement.

After that, all you do is pour in the custard, and wait 20 minutes. Well, I waited 30 because I wanted to be sure that the mix was as well churned as it could be. It was pretty soft, but after a night in the deep freeze in a plastic tub, it has set a treat. And tastes wonderful! More like Key Lime Pie than Margarita, but that'll do for me. The leftover Tequila and Cointreau will be put to good use in proper Margaritas this evening. We're also having nachos, enchiladas and tacos. And my sister in law has made a Key Lime Pie to accompany the ice cream.

I've also made a version of Nigella's choc chip chilli for tonight. But have just realised that I forgot to put the chocolate in! Doh! It will need warming up so I'll add it later........
Nigella's recipe uses chorizo sausage, but I skipped that, and to get the smokiness into it I used smoked paprika, and some of the Chipotle Chilli powder that I bought back from Florida. And a squirt of Heinz BBQ sauce!

There was custard mix left over, as the Glacier will only take just over a pint of liquid, so I had a go at baking it in some pre-bought M&S small pastry cases. My idea was to have like a lemon tart type of thing, but with lime. Didn't REALLY work. Both the custard and the tart base burnt on half of them, and those that survived were a bit messy looking, and the lime custard:pastry ratio was wrong. Most of them ended up in the bin.

And finally, I had to find some use for the leftover egg whites, and the raspberries/limoncello syrup from the other day. Mini-pavlova, anyone?

Trying something new.

I love pannacotta, so I had a go at making it for the first time this week. I had a load of leftover cream in the fridge from Christmas and I used a Jamie Oliver recipe, as I just happened to be flicking through his Happy Days book looking for a chilli recipe, and stumbled upon the pannacotta recipe. (Hmmm, I'm not quite sure why I was in the back of the book looking at desserts when I was supposed to be looking for Chilli ideas.)

Anyway, it turned out to be a lot easier than I'd imagined. Just a bit of heating, mixing and pouring, really. The recipe uses 2 vanilla pods and serves 4 people... I think in future I'd just use one pod, as there were loads of seeds (not that I mind, I love them, but one would have been more than enough). Also, I missed out the step of whipping some of the cream with the icing sugar as I'd already heated the lot up together by the time I noticed it! End result did not seem to suffer, though. This was really good. I didn't have rhubarb, and as the pannacotta was infused with lemon zest, which gave it a slight tang, I decided to make up some Limoncello syrup (boiled Limoncello, lemon juice and icing sugar for a few minutes then left to cool) and serve it with that and some raspberries.

Next time, I want to try a quite complicated coffee pannacotta with fleur de sel caramel recipe that I found recently...............

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/pannacotta-with-roasted-rhubarb

The quest for perfect mash....

I love mashed potato. Absolutely love it. To the point where I get quite upset if it is not done properly. We had two quite contrary experiences in Florida recently - one where I served the best mashed potato I've ever had in a restaurant, and the second where I was bitterly disappointed that the chef sent out lumpy mash. And this in what was supposedly Florida's highest rated restaurant - and one of the best in America. How hard is it to get your mash right?

Well, up until recently I'd relied on well boiled spuds, and a good potato masher plus a load of hard work to get mine right. And, they were pretty good. But I'd long wanted a potato ricer, and finally got round to buying one this year. I was impressed with the difference it made (and the mess I managed to make with it).

Back to those Florida restaurants. Cafe Lurcat in Naples sent out the most perfect mash - listed on the menu as potato puree. It was silky smooth and highly seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Perfect. Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island sent out what they called a "side of chefs mashed". It had squash or something like that in it - plus the lumps I mentioned earlier. And was luke warm. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to mash, I'm not really into all those "flavoured" mashes, although I have been known to eat a bowl of it with tomato ketchup splodged on top on rare occasions. I prefer to let the sauces with my food add any extra flavour. In the mash itself I only ever add: butter (or olive oil), cream (or milk), nutmeg, salt and pepper. Usually white pepper.

After the Lurcat mash, I was pondering on what was the extra something that made it better than mine. Especially now that I have a ricer - my mash should be perfect! Then it stuck me that they were calling it puree... so that was the difference. I mentioned to Roy that they must have passed it through a sieve to get it so smooth. Little did he know that a few weeks later, he'd be acting as my commis chef and doing likewise.

So that's what I tried tonight. I made up the mash as usual and then passed it to Roy with a sieve, bowl and silicone spatula. 20 minutes or so later, he'd passed the lot through the sieve and I warmed it up in a pan (having seen this done on tv cooking shows). It was excellent. Although I'm not sure I'd bother with the sieve-ing part every time I make it. That's it in the photograph. Served with pork chop in mushroom sauce and brussel sprouts. Delicious.

Chilli Jam and Chutney

I wanted to make Nigella's Chilli Jam last Christmas but ran out of time. Having bought the sugar jam and the cider vinegar, all I needed were some chillis and red peppers, and I was ready to go. I've been collecting empty glass jars all year in anticipation...........

I also had the ingredients to make Nigella's Christmas Chutney (apples & cranberries).

But first, chilli jam:
150gms/5oz long fresh red chillies de seeded and cut into four pieces each.
150gms/5oz sweet red peppers cored de seeded and cut into chunks
1kg/2.2lbs Jam sugar
600mls cider vinegar

6x250 ml/40z sterilized sealable jars with vinegar proof lids (or, if you're like me - a variety of empty jam/chutney jars of mixed sizes)

Put the cut up chillies into the food processsor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chunks of sweet pepper and pulse again.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring. (apparently this keeps the jelly clear)

Scrape the pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes. Now, from reading other blogs, I discovered that some people have boiled for longer. In total, I think I boiled my mix for about 30 minutes and it still set very soft. I tried testing with a cold saucer (a la Delia) and seemed to get some kind of set, so I got fed up boiling it and took it off the heat. Also, halfway through cooking, I managed to turn my attention to other things and the pan overboiled. Made a HUGE mess on my hob.

Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly like as it cools. This is the theory - mine just stayed soft. It's more like a chilli sauce than a chilli jam - although it does taste great. I wonder if this is because I made a double batch in one pan? Maybe I should have boiled even longer.........

After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly distributed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the bits of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating in it), ladle it into your jars. If you want to stir it gently at this stage it will do no harm. Then seal tightly. Now I didn't stir at this point, and the chilli/pepper flakes all stayed at the top of the jam jars!

Make the jam up to one month before using or giving.
Store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
Once opened store in the fridge and use within a month

My favourite ways to eat this are:
- on brie cheese (or any bland, soft cheese) with crackers
- with lentils, sausages and feta cheese, and a side serving of rocket.

Christmas Chutney:
1 pound 8 1/2 ounces (750 grams) Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
9 ounces (250 ounces) dried cranberries
1 onion, finely chopped
12 fluid ounces (350 ml) apple cider vinegar
7 ounces (200 grams) of sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons of salt

Slice the apples into halves. Slice the halves lengthways into smaller pieces, roughly 1/4-inch width. Place the apple pieces and finely chopped onion into a saucepan with all the other ingredients. Heat the mixture until it is simmering quickly. Cook the mixture for 45 minutes, or until the chutney has thickened slightly and the fruit has become soft.

Spoon the mixture into sterilized jars and screw the lids onto the jars tightly. Allow to cool before storing in a cool, dark place. This is so easy, and tastes great with cheddar, or any other hard cheese. I only made 3 jars of this - one for us, one for my in-laws and the lucky recipient of jar 3 was Fred, our lovely neighbour next door.

Recipes from Nigella Christmas-Nigella Lawson

I still haven't sorted his bench out....

It is coming up to two years since Dad died. I promised him a bench, looking out to somewhere nice, and I still haven't sorted it out. I've made some half hearted attempts to find out how one goes about organising these things, but there isn't much info out there.

A month or so ago, I had another google and I think that you just buy the bench and memorial plaque and then check with the local authority that it is ok to place it somewhere. There are some rules about how it must be fixed. So I think the start point is to choose a place, get permission and go ahead.

So I was just reading back on the blog of Dad's last days.... bit stupid really as I got myself a bit upset. Anyway I realised that I forgot to mention how, on the Wednesday that he died, Mum came in to his room at about 6am and he looked at her and mouthed "Good Morning". That was pretty much the last time he communicated with anybody.

Mum is in hospital at the moment. She fell and cracked a bone in her pelvis whilst crossing the road last Wednesday. For somebody whose mobility is already limited by her osteoarthritis, this is the last thing she needs. She's now in a rehab unit learning to walk and transfer from bed to chair and back. Not good. But she's battling on and I hope that she gets full mobility and independence back. Knowing mum, she'll be worried that she doesn't. Oh, and she HATES the hospital food.

Sri Lanka Blog

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jan-and-Roy/

Our trip to Sri Lanka is posted on travelblog.......

Sri Lanka Blog

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jan-and-Roy/

Our trip to Sri Lanka is posted on travelblog.......

Back to the '80's

Quick update - we decided not to do Yala park. Didn't want to take the chance on not having insurance cover.... having had to use insurance in the past!

Check out Duran Duran's Save a Prayer video. Not only is it a damn good song, but the video was filmed on Sri Lanka. See that big rock? I'll be walking up there a week tomorrow. Yup, all 700 steps. Wish me luck.............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCD4rtcOgHE

Post cognitive dissonance

As ever, immediately after booking a trip, I've become fraught with anxiety about whether I've put the perfect itinerary together. Have I made ALL the right decisions?

Here's the dilemma this time:
We were offered a two night stay in Yala National Park, camping - albeit in a "luxury" tent.
http://www.srilankaecotourism.com/camping_Leopard_Safari_in_Yala.htm
At first we were all for it, and then I got some advice on Tripadvisor from a guy who told me that the Foreign Office have advised against all travel to Yala. This in itself did not put me off - I think there were isolated incidents on the eastern fringe of the (huge) park some years ago - however, while that advice is on the FO website, we will not be covered by our travel insurance if we go in to the Park.

British travel companies have taken Yala out of their brochures for now, but Red Dot continue to offer the camping trip as an option. I asked Ayanthi at Red Dot to take this section of the trip out and put us an extra two nights on the beach.

Now I am tormented - was this the right decision? Yes - absolutely in terms of following advice and keeping insurance cover. No - not if we want to chance to stay in a beautiful setting and see leopard. We've never seen leopard in our safaris in Africa.

Now, IF I can convince Roy to lose two nights of the beach stay, then we could always ask Ayanthi to put Yala back in. Just mentioned it to him but he doesn't seem fussed.... hmmmm... not even the lure of leopard has him this time. Strangely, when we were first looking at the trip he wanted to leave Yala in, it was me who was being cautious........

At last! March trip is booked....

Zanzibar and Ceylon were two places that conjured up exotic and exciting images whenever I read or heard about them as a child. I never actually believed that one day I'd see either of them - the furthest I travelled as a kid was inside the UK.

Zanzibar was one of our honeymoon destinations and we loved every second of it.
We knew that we wanted to visit Sri Lanka and this year seemed like the perfect time to do so - outside of the euro zone, not US dollars - in light of our weakening pound, we've had our eyes on Asia or South Africa for our travels in 2009. We've planned to travel in March and November. I've been procrastinating over our March trip for months now. Once I started to research Sri Lanka it became apparent that this was a big island and with a lot to see and do. It seemed unrealistic to try to "do it all" in one trip and that's where the real research kicked in - where to go, where to stay, who to travel with... etc. etc. There are SEVEN Unesco World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka! I've planned that we'll get to see 5 (maybe 6) of them.

We finally decided on Red Dot Tours, a UK owned Colombo based agent. I also had quotes from Kuoni, but I have to say that the travel consultant there could not have seemed less interested about our trip if he tried! Prices were about the same for the itinerary we eventually decided on. Kuoni were trying to flog me a "standard" tour which on the face of it looked fine and was certainly great value. But when I phoned to ask about a private tour and particular hotels I was met with a grudging acceptance that yes, they could tailor make our trip. The guy tried to fob me off with "We don't do that hotel" for a couple of my choices, but when I pushed back on this he finally managed to come up with a new quote. Maybe I pushed him over the edge yesterday when asking for my tenth (and final) price for our tweaked itinerary. I just wanted to sense check the price that Red Dot had given....

So, here is the outline of our trip:

We fly Emirates out of Manchester on Friday 13th (yes, I know!) March. We arrive in Colombo at 8.30am the following day and will be picked up by our driver/guide and taken to:
http://www.reddottours.com/Accommodation/Hotel/hotel.php?code=CulturalTriangle-VilUyana

After four nights here we travel to Kandy, to stay overnight at:
http://www.thekandyhouse.com/

And then we move on to the Hill Country, to stay for three nights in:
http://www.teatrails.com/
This one looks special - it is our extravagance for the trip!

On to the coast, we're staying in two beach hotels - the first on the South Coast, for five nights:
http://www.thefortress.lk/

And then two nights further up the West Coast, and getting us a bit nearer to the airport (2 hours drive!):
http://www.samanvilla.com/

And then we fly home on 29th March. Arriving back at 7pm.....

The research to find the hotels was extensive! Tripadvisor, Fodors, Red Dot's website (which is very good), and various travel blogs that I stumbled across. Oh and the Rough Guide to Sri Lanka book.

https://www.reddottours.com

We've an outline for the things that we want to see - some of them are built in to the itinerary that Red Dot have put together. But next I need to finish my research and have a plan for the other things we can do whilst in Sri Lanka. If it were up to Roy we'd just go and take it all as it comes and decide what to do once there, but in my opinion, that isn't the best way to take a trip.....

If only....

If only I'd known that Your Greatest Guide to Calories, 1990 edition, was now worth £10!

If only I'd kept all my old diet books.

If only I had time to faff around trying to sell old crap on ebay.

I was googling around today for a calorie counter book - I can't believe that after a lifetime of trying to control my weight I actually do not possess one of these! I thought that my old favourite - Greatest Guide to Calories - might still be in publication (although I failed to find one in Tesco yesterday) and when I googled found only "antique" versions of it for sale on ebay and elsewhere. Interestingly the 2006 version is only worth £1.99.

So I'm currently considering the latest versions of calorie books and deciding which one to order. Why? I'll tell that story some other time. I have to laugh when I look at the various guides from years gone by - they started out life as Calorie Counters, then Fat started to become important and they began to include this info, too. Now it's Calories, Fat and Carbs. Tells a good story of diet history. Today's version is, by the way, called the Calories, Carb and Fat Bible. I have to laugh at the Bible bit.... dieting is the new religion??? Well maybe not so new, I guess...

I'm a walking case story of diet history. It all started back in the 70's when I left school. My first day at work, the department Manager, Tony Greenhalgh, took me to one side for a chat. Amongst the general "welcome to Royal Insurance" blurble, he mentioned that I was a nice slim young girl and that I'd probably been involved in sports at school. He was right, I'd played netball for the school and generally didn't mind getting stuck in to all the PE sessions we did. Hockey being my least favourite (a winter sport) and Netball and Athletics being the ones I really liked. He commented that making the transition from active schoolgirl to sitting at a desk all day was quite a big one and he recommended that I join a sports group at work. We had a staff sports facility (and bar) and in his opinion, it would be good to get involved in things like that. Otherwise, I might start to put weight on. He'd seen it happen before. I remember mentally rolling my eyes at this - Tony Greenhalgh was a big fat, ever so slightly sleazy looking guy in his 40's. What would he know about it?

So, I dismissed his advice and the nearest I ever got to the staff sports hall in the 15 years I worked at Royal was the bar. Now that I did like!

Slowly but surely I started to gain weight. By the time that I was 18 I was starting to feel fat, although I'm sure I wasn't really. So I looked at the diets in the Vogue Body & Beauty Book (also on sale from ebay for about a fiver) and the Cosmopolitan Health and Beauty Guide. I'd orginally bought these books because I was interested in make up and hair and skincare and stuff, but they had very interesting diet sections.

My diet of choice was the Helena Rubinstein "crash off 10lbs in one week" diet. Originally devised by Madame Rubinstein in 1938. The menu was more or less similar each day and was:
Breakfast - half a grapefruit and black coffee
Lunch - 1 egg, 1 slice melba toast, 1 orange
Dinner - grilled steak, lettuce, tomato, half a grapefruit

Occasionally, dinner would be eggs instead of steak.

I still have my copy of the book - pencilled in next to the daily menus, you can see my scribbles where I've "cheated". Stick of chewing gum, mushrooms and onion with the steak, ryvita instead of melba toast (which was quite a hard to find exotic food stuff back in those days in the UK!). Oh and I also had some Fresca (diet drinks had launched in the mid-70's) and a splodge of salad cream one day.

I can't remember the results I got after that week, but I can remember how bloody hungry I was all the time and how I got sick of steak. And it was the beginning of my descent into diet hell and a lifelong battle with my weight. How wise Tony Greenhalgh turned out to be - I should have just joined that staff sports club instead.

If only......

Another year over, a new one just begun.....

Quick update on Christmas. Well, we had a nice time. Nice as in nice, not as in boring.


My roast beef Christmas lunch went very well. At the very last minute I found a meat thermometer for sale in Sainsburys so was feeling pretty confident of success with my first ever attempt at roasting a joint of meat. However, in retrospect, I feel that what I should have purchased is an oven thermometer! That damn oven of mine is SO hot! At about 45 minutes before the recommended cooking time for "medium" beef, I stuck the thermometer in to see how it was doing. "That looks done" Roy announced as he passed through the kitchen for another bottle of wine. I shushed him and told him to wait to see what the thermometer said. I was quite alarmed to see the temperature reading going up and up and up.... yes, it was done. Well done - not medium. Luckily I was able to whip it out of the oven then, while it was done but perfectly moist and not over cooked. I'll know better next time. Before and after pics are here...







Spuds with semolina? Yeah they were good. But I think they'd have been good in any case - no real need for the semolina, I don't think. That said, given that I have a huge tub of semolina (Had to buy a 3kg bag last summer just to get one tablespoon out for a crabcake recipe!) then I might as well find ways of using it up.....


New Years Eve was ok. We stayed in, ate party food and drank lots of fizz at Gary and Renee's place. Emma and Jan were there too. Roy and I left shortly after 1am - we phoned a cab thinking it would be ages before it turned up and it arrived within 10 minutes!


So here I am sitting here pondering the year ahead and feeling quite overwhelmed at the things I need to do (or want to do) and haven't yet started on. Which, of course, is the perfect excuse to procrastinate on them and not get on with it.


We're going out somewhere tomorrow. Don't know where. But just out.

What would Auntie Alice think?

My Christmas lunch menu this year is:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smoked Salmon Mousse, Smoked Salmon, Soda Bread, Salad

Roast rib of Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Stilton & Port Gravy
Roast Potatoes, Sprouts with Pancetta & Chestnuts, Mustard & Maple Roast Parsnips, Carrot & Swede Mash, Horseradish Sauce

Christmas Pudding & Cream or Brandy Sauce

Coffee, Liquers & Chocolates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We decided to have a change from Turkey and all the trimmings. I have to confess to several things. First, I've never cooked a joint of beef before. And the one I bought is HUGE. 8lbs or more. Might not seem big to some, but for me, it's approximately 16 times bigger than the only beef I've ever cooked (steak). So, I'm seriously thinking of investing in a meat thermometer. Otherwise I'll just ruin the thing by constantly opening the oven and poking it with a huge knife.
According to Nigella (and indeed, St Delia) this size joint is going to take about 3 hours to cook, for medium. I can't cook it rare, as the in laws won't like that.

Actually, now I think of it, I've never cooked Yorkshire Puddings either, but I'll have two Mum's on hand to assist with that. Although you couldn't get two more different Yorkshire Puds than mine and Roy's mums. My mum's is cooked in a roasting pan, huge and shall we say solid in the middle. The edges rise up the pan and become light and crispy - but the centre section is like a stodgy, centimetre thick pancake (possibly like a Toad in the Hole without the Toad). Roy's mums are cooked in a bun tray, and light as a feather. I like both types - I was brought up on the stodgy version but have to admire the skill of my mother in law in making hers so light. Apparently, the secret was to let my father in law and all of their 4 sons have a good old whisk of the batter!

Second confession - many of the items on the menu will be shop bought. The smoked salmon mousse, soda bread, Carrot & Swede mash, oh - and the Christmas pudding will all be courtesy of Messrs Marks & Spencer, or Tesco.

And third, and possibly most sinful decision for this Christmas is that I am going to try sprinkling my roast potatoes with Semolina for added crunch. Now this, I have resisted for years - ever since I came across Nigella's recommendation of this method. I've transitioned from lard to olive oil to vegetable oil to goose fat over the years. In fact, I've even made no-fat roasties - that would be 1995-1997 when I was fanatical about eating less than 30% of my calorie intake as fat. But, it has to be said, the knack making of perfect roasties is a family thing that I like to think I inherited! It was taught to me by my mum, long before I ever heard of Delia or Nigella, and passed on to her by her Auntie Alice. Auntie Al was my Great Uncle Joe's wife, who sadly died very young (in her early 50's) when I was maybe 5 or 6. I remember her - but vaguely. I recall being fascinated by her as she had a jewelry collection (unusual in my family) and I think she was offering me to choose a ring - just to try on. Must ask Mum about that.

To digress from the roast potato, when she died, Uncle Joe (who my mum was really close to) gave Mum one of Alice's rings - a heavy gold Mizpah ring. I used to wear it when I was in my 20's and took it on holiday to Spain once. I managed to lose it - it came off my finger whilst I was playing in crashing waves...... Mum was not too pleased but I don't think she ever told Uncle Joe.

Anyway, back to potatoes. Mum had learned this method from her Auntie Alice and while I was growing up I knew that wherever I ate roast dinner, the spuds were NEVER as good as my Mum's. Never. So, once I moved out of home I asked her to show me how to make them (you can tell I never helped much in the kitchen when I was at home) and she did. Telling me how she'd got the method not from her Mum but from Auntie Alice. I mean, it's no big secret, and I've since read Delia who advocates pretty much the same method, but there is a lot to be said about the end result when you make your roasties this way.

Boil the potatoes (you should cut some of them lengthways if possible so that you get some nice flat sides and not just all round potatoes) in salted water.
At the same time (or preferably before) you should get your fat heating in a hot oven.

After a while, when a sharp knife just eases in to the top centimetre of the potato, drain them and stick a lid on the pan. Take a tea towel and hold the lid onto the pan and shake it vigourously, in various directions, so as to bash and roughen the edges of the potatoes - this is what gives you the crunchy exterior.

Take the fat out of the oven and tip in the potatoes from the pan, taking care to stand back and avoid splashes! Take a big spoon and baste each spud with fat. Stick them back in to the oven (on about 200) and leave them until the bottoms have gone gold-brown. Turn them, baste again and leave again. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, tip out most of the fat - again this helps with crunchiness. I can't give precise times, the trick is to know when they are brown enough. I usually allow about 40 minutes in the oven.

So - if my potatoes are perfect - why the semolina? Well, for years I pooh poohed the goose fat trend, and then when I finally tried it, was impressed with the difference. So, having scorned the semolina idea - in my view you should not need it for crunch, if you make the potatoes properly - I do want to experiment with it.... just to prove myself right, I guess. And if I was wrong all along, well - to improve on perfection will be no big heartache for me.

As a caution, I think I'll make two trays of potatoes - one with and one without semolina. Although with a HUGE joint that is going to take hours to roast, I may not have space in the oven for all these things! Wish me luck. I will report my findings.....

Food Blog fan #1

I've been collecting food blog links for a little while now (I guess they replaced my Cancer Website collection last year). I LOVE to read people's descriptions of the food that they cook, eat or grow... and even more so when food porn photos are involved. There are some stunning food blogs out there - in fact, they have competitions and all sorts of things that I don't really understand, but they get mentioned occasionally.

One thing I've noticed is that whenever a food blogger (and most of the sites I've seen are by women) posts a photograph of themselves up, they are invariably very slim. How?? Maybe they never eat the stuff they cook? Maybe they have incredible will power and self control. I don't know, but it fascinates me. Maybe one day I'll learn the secret.................

Evil Green & Blacks.....

I mentioned my new G&B chocolate cookbook recently. Kate - who is Joe the lodger's girlfriend - was here last night and mentioned that she loves flapjacks. She also likes chocolate (strange is the woman who doesn't!). So I grabbed the book off the shelf and pointed at the picture above the Chocolate Flapjack recipe. "You'd like them, then" I said (trying to contain my excitement for I knew I had all the ingredients in stock). "Ooh yes they look all squidgy and yummy" says Kate (or words to that effect).

So, tonight, after dinner (Kate was here again, more on that another time, she is now our second lodger) I wandered into the kitchen to clear up. And make flapjacks. Now, I've only ever made "healthy low fat flapjacks" before and to be honest they're a waste of time - they pretty much crumbled as soon as they came out of the tray. So this time, I meant business - I mean, 350g of butter?? This is most definitely NOT a healthy recipe. But it is so easy.

Melt 350g of butter with 6oz muscovado sugar and 60z soft brown sugar in a pan along with 3 tbsps of golden syrup. (Actually I only had 150g of butter and so made up the balance with Flora Buttery - my nod to healthy eating). Once they are all melted and combined, throw in 450g of oats (I used 200g of extra special large oats, that I buy in to make Granola and 250g of regular Scotts porridge oats) and 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Green & Blacks, naturally. Mix it all well and then pour into a baking tray - I lined mine with greaseproof paper to avoid knife marks when cutting. Bake at 140 for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Cut into about 20 squares. Wait until completely cold until removing from tray. This last bit is difficult... you just want to dive in and eat them, but they fall to pieces until completely cooled. I put mine into the garage to speed up the cooling process...... There is, I have discovered, no instant gratification to be had when making flapjacks. Not even a trace of cake batter to feast on whilst waiting for the finished baked item.

A modification suggested in the book is to add dessicated coconut and I'd have loved to, but Joe the lodger is allergic to coconut and so I decided it would be mean to make a tray of flapjacks that he couldn't eat. This boy, on arriving here in October, told me he didn't really have a sweet tooth - interesting then that he has wolfed down every sugar laden treat I've cooked up since then!!!

So, we finally got to taste these flapjacks at about 9pm. Roy declared them to be "Stunning, better than the muffins". Kate said "oh yes they were all soft inside" (she must like this in a flapjack. I liked them too. Oh Evil Green & Blacks, what have you done to me!

I said to my sister by text tonight that since Joe arrived I'm turning into Aunt Flipping Bessie! She replied that I love it really. And I think I do!

Oh, I will try to put up a pic of the flapjacks tomorrow....

The wonders of baking

One of my favourite things in the whole world (well the world of food) is a Millie's Muffin.
http://www.milliescookies.com/products/muffins.php
The Chocolate Chunk version, to be precise. I've occasionally strayed and bought Cappucino, but the Chocolate Chunk remains my preference. It has become a tradition, when travelling, for Roy and I to celebrate the start of our holiday with a Millie's Muffin and coffee at the airport. They're £1.89 each now. I can remember the time (around 5 years ago) when you could get a Muffin and a coffee for £1.10 as a special promotion. Actually when trawling that website for information, I noticed that the calorie content of these muffins is HORRENDOUS! No wonder I never want to eat anything else all day when I've had one. They come in at around 760 calories! I am pleased to say that the Chocolate Chunk is not quite the highest calorie version - that honour goes to the Double Chocolate at a whopping 780 calories. I wish I'd never looked....

After dinner this evening, I mentioned to Roy that I had an urge to make White Chocolate & Blueberry muffins. This is a recipe I tested, and loved, when my niece Emily was staying with us last summer. In fact, it's about the closest in texture to a Millie's muffin that I've ever baked. It's that fantastic combination of crusty top and soft interior that I like. Of course, my baking urge was in part due to the niggling in my brain telling me "you still have one more bar of Green & Blacks in the fridge". Needless to say, the two bars of Butterscotch had well disappeared, but the white chocolate was sitting there, waiting to be used. I'd originally earmarked it for a duo of chocolate pots (recipe from the G&B book) but then the muffin idea took hold.

It is amazing how quickly you can conjure up a batch of 14 muffins! I got the urge just after 7pm and before 8, there they were - ready to eat, still slightly warm from the oven. And they were as good as I remembered. The only problem is that the top goes soft over night - you just can't retain that fresh from the oven crust. But still pretty good the next day. And the day after that......

Baking is magical.. I know it's a science and so on, but it never ceases to amaze me how people figured it all out... how the combination of some wet and dry stuff can produce instant comfort on a plate.

Sunday 9th November

No idea what to call this blog, so have just dated it.

It is a miserable, cold, windy and rainy day - so the walk to Temple Newsam did not happen. Instead I pottered around at home. My one achievement? Making dumplings for the first time ever! I did a beef stew and dumplings for dinner. Thanks to Jamie Oliver - I followed (more or less) the recipe from Ministry of Food. I actually have purchased this book as one of Roy's Christmas presents but on leafing through it realised that in all my 40-odd years, I have never made dumplings and the recipe was there, so....

They were pretty easy actually and turned out well. As did the stew.

I also found a huge butternut squash in the garage and because I could not recall exactly how long it had been there (it looked ok) I decided to roast it and then I stood pondering over over to do with the pulp. Eventually I plumped for a butternut squash soup, with a base of onion, garlic and veg stock and spiced up with cayenne pepper and ginger. It is pretty good actually. I'll freeze some and use the rest tomorrow evening.

Still on the topic of food, in Tesco yesterday they were offering a "free" Green & Blacks chocolate recipe book when you purchased three bars of G&B chocolate. I needed no encouragement. I left with 2 bars of butterscotch choc and a bar of white choc (having stocked up on 70% dark choc last week) and my lovely new recipe book. And it is very lovely - there are some fabulous recipes and ideas in there. I can't wait to try some.

I just realised that I haven't yet updated about my lodger! Since early October, we've had my nephew Joe living with us. He's studying at Leeds Uni until the end of this year, and with it only being a sort term placement there, there wasn't much point in him finding accomodation elsewhere. We've enjoyed having him here - his girlfriend Kate is also in Leeds (but living in a shared student flat) and she is here quite a lot too. It's been fun playing surrogate parents! And probably one of the things that prompted back in to the kitchen and my recipe books...

Autumn is well and truly here

So now it is dark by 5pm and the trees are absolutely stunning this year. I don't know if it is because we had such a wet summer but the colours are incredible and the leaves seem to be sticking on the trees for a long time. The reds, golds, ambers, russets and browns are beautiful. I might venture down to Temple Newsam tomorrow to see what kind of display the trees there are putting on.

Mum has finally had her nose job. She had a basal cell carcinoma (which sounds more alarming than it apparently is) which was mis-diagnosed for many years and therefore being wrongly treated with creams and antibiotics. Finally, it was recognised as a rodent ulcer - the non technical name for it - and she was referred to a specialist. Removing these growth is supposed to be straightforward. You may recall that the removal was supposed to happen last June - on the day dad died - but was cancelled because mum's heart rate was erratic and because the numbing agent contains adrenaline they did not want to go ahead. So, after a long process of referral back to her heart specialist, waiting for cardioversion to correct the heart rate, and waiting again for skin specialist referral - she finally had the ulcer removed this week.

All went well - they did not use a general anaesthetic - but my god her face is a mess! She looks like she has been badly beaten up. This is due to the fact that at the same time as the ulcer is removed a skin graft is taken to cover over the area. The graft was taken from her cheek. It's all very clever, and I am sure it will look great when it has healed but for now it is pretty horrible. Underneath mum's eye is bruised and puffy and she has two big lines of stitches on her face. And through all this she's been terrific - in fact the only thing she's bothered about is having the stitches removed!

The recent cook fest went well. The mushroom risotto was excellent and I will definitely remake. The sticky stuff for the binfire party went down a treat - they'll be repeated too. Salmon fishcakes were also good - and I also made a Nigella chocolate cake which includes half a jar of marmelade - I'd forgotten all about this one, but found the recipe again when I was leafing through "Domestic Goddess". I LOVE the Nigella Christmas book - it's fabulous and there are lots of recipes in there that I intend to try. When I do I need to try to take some pictures - not that I'd ever compete with some of the fantastic food blogs out there.........