Becky Bakes…

There was very little in my diary when I checked last Sunday. That didn’t last long as we’d accumulated quite a number of items which needed to be delivered to one of our young friends – in Norwich. Always a treat to visit Norfolk and Monday turned out to be the day for a meander northward. Lunch was in a fascinating building which had been a bank in its’ previous life. The menu was quite small but we enjoyed a delicious lunch, strangely the real highlight came in the vault where we found a private dining room within an enormous safe door. The staircase walls were covered in hundreds of lovely pictures too, worth a visit for sure. Suddenly we needed to catch up with another of our young friends so Wednesday meant a trip to Harpenden for dinner which was quite an experience as we lived there many years ago. I kept expecting to see a familiar face but after thirty two years I’m not sure I would have recognised anyone 😉 A quiet weekend ahead? Who knows !

Obviously we’re all delighted to have seen some rain in our corner of East Anglia, but we need more please – the grass still looks like sand, just the weeds are green 😉 More worrying, though, has been the revelations about Salmonella in imported eggs – again. The eggs in our big supermarkets come from UK farmers whose flocks are certified as vaccinated and today I picked up a box with white shells which doesn’t bother me at all because, regardless of shell colour (brown, white, pink, blue, green etc) once cracked open the food value is the same. The eggs we import from Poland, Ukraine and elsewhere, which incredibly appear to be from hens which are not vaccinated, are used in mass catering environments. Which ones you might ask. Well, it’s schools, hospitals, prisons (and who knows where else), exactly the places where Salmonella is definitely not wanted. I once had a pupil whose chef-father made chocolate mousse with eggs from his own hens (unvaccinated) the old fashioned way – melted chocolate mixed with raw egg yolks then the whisked white folded in. She was very poorly and off school for several weeks, not ideal for anyone! Today we are being advised that lightly cooked eggs should be avoided when eating outside the home as the source of those eggs may be unknown. Stay safe ❤

Having had another week of high temperatures, it’s really difficult to think about cooking. Yesterday afternoon I needed to make cake for the Friday delivery to the beleagured shopkeepers, but it had to be something quick and easy, requiring very little thought. My immediate thought was Lemon Drizzle Cake as there would be enough for the ten recipients with just a slice left over for hubby, who sometimes misses out. We’re certainly eating plenty of salad in this extreme heat – the lettuce, rocket and pea shoots are all doing well. In the greenhouse the tomatoes, however, are a different story with some of them just not fruiting. The beef steak ones are fine, but it’s the ordinary ones – Moneymaker and Gardeners Delight – that are looking very sad. Even the peppers are struggling with no flowers yet. Never mind, I plan to do a rain dance this evening, so watch out 😉

Quite when we last had any rainfall, I’m not sure. We encountered a terrible thunder storm when we were in France seven weeks ago, but that didn’t fall on East Anglia. Happily we have three water butts/barrels and they still have water in them so I can keep some of the most needy plants watered, but the grass is absolutely yellow and like straw. It will regrow when we do get rain but at the moment there’s very little in the forecast. All this reminds me of the summer of 1976, when I was a student and my parents were living in Hollesley (pronounced Hosely 😉 ) We saved as much water as we could and I’ve been adopting the same methods – specifically letting any washing up water cool and then pouring it onto thirsty plants. I remember my father even scooping out the bath water and using it for his precious vegetables. Maybe the soap kept aphids at bay ? I’m even collecting from the hot tap while it comes out cold/tepid and before the hot water appears. Can anyone do a rain dance for us please !? x

It’s been a hectic week, with the Latitude Festival last weekend, regular commitments to be fulfilled and a birthday for one of our young friends which involved a zero at the end 😉 So we simply had to try their favourite gastro pub in Norfolk – the Gunton Arms which was a bit of a trek due to unexpected road closures. Never mind. The deer were hiding under the tree canopy, sensibly, but we could just see them. Entering the restaurant we were taken aback by the roaring fire in the corner, without realising that the steaks and sausages would all be cooked over it. We asked to have a table further away from the blaze as it was such a hot day and then enjoyed the breeze through the open window. The food was delicious, the atmosphere friendly and informal, we had a great time. Driving home though, we came across more road closures due to a nasty field fire within sight of the road. It had jumped across the lane and was in danger of growing out of control. Having said that, it was nowhere near the scale of the devastating blaze at Dunwich Heath. That area will take decades to recover. I sincerely hope everyone stays safe and we should be so grateful for all the support given to try and put out the fires.

Many years ago hubby took a job in Milan. We took a weeks’ language course, known as “total immersion”, Pickfords packed everything including the kitchen sink plug and we were off. The HR department had been really helpful, finding us a house to rent and organising the permesso di sogiorna and residenza even though the lady assigned to us spoke very little English. Well, all she could say and kept repeating was “Iss ‘ot!” So in times of extreme heat you’ll hear us exchanging knowing glances with the comment “iss ‘ot” ! Isn’t it!!? x

Whilst we prefer raspberries, the recipe for strawberry tarts is very popular here. At this point of the summer I find strawbs to be vey variable and using them in this way improves the flavour. It’s simply smallish circles of puff pastry with a disc of marzipan, then the halved fruits laid pointed end into the centre, a sprinkle of sugar round the edge and into the oven. Check out the recipe for all the details though. Strangely it’s not one of our most watched videos but I can seriously recommend it 😉 One sheet of puff pastry will make approximately seven discs and if you don’t want to make that many interleave the spare discs with greaseproof paper and freeze till you need them. Simples !

This is a headline I came across today and it’s true in more ways than one. It’s still very hot so we’re baking in our homes without a through flow of air – don’t mention air conditioning…! But even in all this heat I’ve been baking – cakes of course. Whilst each Friday I prepare something for the “Beleagured shopkeepers” who just need more people to shop in person rather than order online, this week I was also making treats for some of our favourite young people and their colleagues. So on several steamy days I’ve made cakes for the good people of Norwich Cathedral who are in the midst of their Organ Festival. Who said an army marches on it’s stomach….? A team needs sustenance 😉

Our short trip to France has reawakened my French vocabulary! Having tried to tidy my equipment cupboards and subsequently made the Sponge Flan video, I’ve been considering the pieces of “kit” that I could dispose of. Much more difficult than I thought, to be honest. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not going to stop using Le Creuset casseroles, they are very heavy but because of the well-fitting lids there’s very little evaporation . Brilliant. Then, this week in particular, the mesh food covers have been pressed into use. Some people have umbrella-style ones, but ours are rigid, circular and in various sizes which nest perfectly. Admittedly two are bright pink, but they create a bowl with a lid – ingenious. Then of course the flan tin…even though it’s been redundant for years it’s perfect for a light summer dessert, so that’s staying. What have I managed to get rid of? Nothing !! What can’t you bear to part with ? 😉

What a week this has been – we were hot in France last weekend but the heat here has become more intense as the days have gone by. There has been a slight breeze in the garden so it’s been pleasant to sit out under a garden umbrella, usually accompanied by the cat, who’s finding this very tough. What has been lovely though is hearing the laughter of the children on the beach, with just the occasional jet-ski passing by. Hot to cook, for sure, but this afternoon I made some Strawberry and Almond Tarts. I find that strawberries get a bit boring as the season goes on so using them in this way is just more interesting. They can sit on top of Little Lemon Cups too. There are more hot days to come, but no doubt we’ll get the rain that’s been forecast – let’s hope it happens at night 😉