Becky Bakes…

That’s a phrase I’ve often used when in the classroom, in the hope that it sticks in the minds of my young pupils. In the present day it seems that whilst many people are watching cooking videos on many platforms, I’m not sure that they are actually making any of the dishes themselves. Our viewing figures are rising steadily which is reassuring, with over 66,000 views of the 103 videos we have on YouTube. But why is it that we see so many deliveries of fast food every day, at all times of the day. Obesity is on the rise with many using varied methods of losing weight to compensate for their unhealthy diets. If we spent more time thinking, planning and actually cooking, I’m sure we’d be healthier. There’s a lot to be said in favour of the humble roast chicken which will result in leftovers to be used creatively over the next couple of days 😉

As we’ve got older our family has decided that we don’t need any more “stuff” for birthdays and Christmas. Instead they have been giving us “experiences” – lunch at The Ritz, afternoon tea at Marco Pierre White’s Hotel Coco and the trip we took yesterday on the Poppy Line in North Norfolk. We’ve been on that train journey many times in the past enjoying the beautiful scenery as well as the smell of the smoke from the a number of different steam engines. This time was different though as we had dinner on the way to Holt, where the little red tank engine, called “Newstead” was uncoupled and shunted to the other end of the carriages. We’d eaten sausages and mash with green vegetables and gravy by then (with a glass of wine), all cooked and served by the lovely volunteers. Dessert on the return leg was locally made ice cream – “always for me it is the strawberry” 😉

We’ve always had a soft spot for Italy, after living there for four years, many years ago. I’m still a fan of Italian design as well as the culture and food. Some years later, whilst enjoying a holiday near Parma, renowned for its’ cheese and ham, I booked an afternoon cooking with a lady called Giovanna, in her outdoor kitchen. We made tagliatelle and ravioli (delicious) as well as a type of gnocchi using stale breadcrumbs – they weren’t great so I haven’t made those again. The one recipe I’ve consistently recreated is her version of Ragu – a meat sauce usually known as Bolognaise sauce in this country although it has nothing to do with Bologna 😉 The recipe on my website uses minced beef and pork, Giovanna added minced veal too which I’ve left out. I have made a slight change recently by substituting sausages instead of the pork, snipping them into small pieces with scissors . They break down easily and add flavour to the sauce, especially if I choose one of our butchers specialities, like basil and sundried tomato or garlic and fennel…perfect to add depth of flavour to the Ragu!

The weather has been pretty good this week which means that the tomato plants are growing nicely in the greenhouse. We’ve got successional plantings of salad leaves too which are a bonus. I prefer not to buy bags of lettuce – the ones washed in spring water have to be used within just a couple of days and that’s not always convenient. So, even during the winter, we’ve had bowls of leaves growing – not always in the greenhouse but sometimes on a bathroom window sill. Not quite what guests expect, but when they enjoy homegrown salads they can see the sense. At this time of year I have been known to cook asparagus to chop up and add to the leafage too. Our favourite young people have all been busy too and were all in London on Wednesday, for different reasons. One was being interviewed about air travel, another was working at the Albert Hall and one was being entertained by the King at Buckingham Palace. I have to say that the food choices offered by the Palace kitchens looked very interesting, on rectangular plates with a recess for the cup. Perfectly sized so they had to limit how much would fit on the plate. Clever!

That certainly seems to be true about our latest video… we uploaded Rock Cakes on Monday with the associated paperwork. Perhaps I should clarify…it is hubby who does all the tech stuff from filming and editing to typing the recipes and updating the website, so I can’t claim any credit for all that. However, I had found my old recipe books from secondary school in Wellingborough and the centre page of one of the books fell out. It was the page with the Rock Cake recipe we’d used in September 1969. Serendipity perhaps? Anyway I decided to try it out again and felt it needed to have a couple of tweaks, like adding lemon zest to lift the flavour. We filmed it with the improved recipe and after a few days it went “live”. Some videos get small numbers of views, like the Stuffed Peppers and Mincemeat, but this one climbed rapidly from Monday and now has been watched nearly two hundred times. Not quite the giddy heights of Leek and Potato soup, mind you. I put the popularity of that one down to post-Christmas economic struggles and just the simplicity of it. So I’ve been going back to my trusty old exercise book to see what else might tickle your palates ! 😉 x

It’s been a glorious day here in our little seaside town today, just the sort of day to be out in the garden looking for weeds. I took it upon myself to do some judicious pruning of the Camellias which is a first since we’ve never lived anywhere long enough for them to need pruning before. I just hope I haven’t overdone it and caused them too much stress. Hubby was dealing with the vegetable side of things, getting the tomato plants out of the bathroom and potted up ready for the greenhouse. He’s got the cucumbers in there too. Last year we had enough to give away so I’m hoping for another good harvest. There are peppers to go out soon as well – this week I learned that the ones with four sections are female and therefore sweeter – who knew?! x

The morning began as it usually does with the radio springing to life just before seven o’clock and the weather report but then silence – no pips to mark the hour. That made me take notice. What had happened? Did Amol Rajan forget to press the button? Well, whatever, I was awake. A cup of tea, Wordle and later, Thought for the Day came from Martin Rowe. He began by telling us that one in four vegans had given up and started to eat meat again, largely due to anxiety about the lack of protein in their diet. Some now describe themselves as “flexitarian” – sometimes vegan/vegetarian and sometimes meat eaters. In my last school we had Matron, a qualified nurse, who kept an eye on the health of the children amongst her other tasks. She could always identify a child who was vegan (not advisable in that age group tbh) because their skin was often almost transparent, they were lethargic and had bluish rings around their eyes. Protein, needed for growth and repair at the very least, contains essential amino acids not found in vegetable food sources and so supplements need to be sourced from health food shops. Fine for adults, but not for children please ! x

Not very seasonal, but that’s the problem. Going back to last December, there was anxiety about Bird Flu which made me think there might have been a shortage of turkeys for Christmas. In my panic I bought a frozen one from our local supermarket “just in case”. A couple of weeks later I came across a fresh stuffed turkey breast, which is our bird of choice – meaning our frozen one was not needed. It’s been in the freezer since then – till I decided to use it on Easter Sunday. What a mistake. Easter means lamb not turkey. Did I enjoy it? Not a bit. It didn’t have much flavour and was quite tough, so I won’t do that again and need to be brave – just trust there will be a fresh one, even if we wait till the last minute to find one!

As a bit of a traditionalist, today is the day for Hot Cross Buns. Have you had one yet? Actually I haven’t, but intend to have one for breakfast tomorrow – toasted of course with plenty of butter. When shopping earlier this week I must admit I was not impressed with all the weird and wonderful flavour combinations on offer…chocolate and cherry, rhubarb and ginger, apple and cinnamon, orange marmalade, carrot cake to name just a few. I have to say why? The original ones are so delicious, why do we have to meddle and “improve” on something that’s so good? Oh well, suffice to say I just bought ones labelled as “extra fruity” and used some for the beleagured shopkeepers this morning. The shops which were closed will get a treat tomorrow – they’re having Easter Nests. I managed to find a Columba – the dove shaped cake similar to Panettone. That doesn’t seem to have been “improved” this year…let’s wait and see what happens next year! Enjoy the weekend, however you are spending it xx

It’s back – I hadn’t realised we’re getting to that time of year, so was thrilled when the “Hunter-gatherer” came home from the town with a beautiful bunch of the stuff locally grown. When we first moved into this house, fifteen years ago, I didn’t notice there was a crown of asparagus in the flower border. It was only in the summer, when it became lovely fern wafting in the breeze, that I knew it was there. So we added more and it did well for several years, but was in the way of the greenhouse so was moved. It didn’t like that and turned up its’ toes. When I use it I snap off the tough end then often boil it or steam it lightly but my favourite way to cook it is in a foil parcel with butter and seasoning, probably for about 20 minutes. Later in the season I might add some leftover (!) cooked spears to a green salad or to decorate a savoury flan. It won’t be with us for long, so I’m going to make the most of it ! x