Becky Bakes…

October half term is the perfect time to make mincemeat for Christmas as it needs several weeks to develop its flavour. I’m surprised so few people make their own, preferring to buy commercial jars. Recently I had a chat with a lady, whilst shopping in a local supermarket – she’d never made it and dislikes peel so I suggested she has a go and leaves out peel, maybe adding more cherries. (I’m not a fan of currants and add extra apricots instead. ) When it’s all mixed, half of it goes into the food processor to create a sticky matrix which is stirred through the rest of the fruits, with a little brandy. Clip top jars with a rubber seal are useful as the jars need to be turned from time to time so the juices can permeate through all the mixture. The jars look lovely and mark the beginning of planning for the festivities. It won’t be long before there are trays of mince pies in the freezer!

The last practical cookery room I worked in was tiny, so every inch of available space had to be utilised. It was designed to accommodate ten pupils and they worked happily cheek-by-jowl creating dishes to take home. Often the window sill became a useful storage area for their food to cool off before wrapping, so I had a roller bug screen fitted to the window which was brilliant for preventing any insects getting in. The microwave was a bit of a pest, taking up valuable work surface, rarely used, as it’s the one gadget most young people are familiar with. The top of it became a great place for a display entitled “QI” (Quite Interesting) which would change frequently. Sometimes there might be a persimmon, then maybe an apple segmenter or avocado slicer but one of my favourites to display was the medlar. Our tree produces a bucket of them each year and I’m happy to share them with anyone who wants to make jelly – already claimed this year! The pupils giggled at their French name “cul de chien” (dog’s bottom) and were happy to dip their teaspoons into the ripe flesh – stewed apple with a hint of cinnamon was the usual response. What a great way to learn!

Here in the east of England we’ve experienced an “Indian Summer” which I think might have now come to an end, but has really helped our growing efforts. The tomato plants went into the new greenhouse a little later than planned during a chilly spell so they were slow to get started. French beans took their time too, but as the summer progressed everything began to take off, including the peppers. So eventually we’ve been able to pick enough to share with friends and family. Not a fan of green tomato chutney I plan to put the unripe ones in a bowl with a banana to encourage ripening – something my parents always did. How long the peppers will take to turn red is anyone’s guess, we’ll see. This week the medlars were gathered and went to a good home….jelly making is an arduous process and after dealing with a glut of crabapples last year, not something I felt like undertaking!

Keeping secrets is always a challenge. The most difficult one for me was a long time ago, when a pupil aged 14 asked me if I could keep hers. When she told me her situation I had to explain that this was too big for the two of us to deal with and I’d have to share it. Less dramatically our family had been arranging a surprise birthday weekend for hubby so secrets were being shared and I was let in on some of the arrangements. As the day crept nearer I found myself telling half truths so he wouldn’t have any idea that all of our young people were going to arrive and he’d be going out for dinner. Balloons, champagne, cake and even a mass singalong in our favourite restaurant took him by surprise. So many porkies, but such fun !

None of us like to walk past rows of empty shops, but recently we visited a Cambridgeshire town with so many and I was so shocked. Our little seaside town has been doing well – as shops have become empty they have filled quickly. Even the old Marks & Spencer building now has a new tenant… it might not be everyone’s choice but certainly better than staying empty any longer. Such a big building isn’t easy to fill. Sadly though, one of our tiny independent shops closes today because of falling trade. It’s so easy to sit at the computer or scroll on the phone and CLICK – it’s done! Streams of Amazon vans leave their depot every day delivering anything and everything. If we choose not to go out and shop locally we stand to lose even more shops so please go into town, support the beleaguered shopkeepers, because if you don’t we’ll lose them all.

Recently I’ve sorted out my recipe books, twice. The results have been very noticeable as the shelves are no longer piled high with seldom used books. A large stack went to a charity shop last week, along with fabrics hoarded “just in case…” I’m not a fan of the radical de-cluttering proposed by celebrities but it’s very satisfying to be able to see an empty drawer or the back of a cupboard. My next goal is to reduce the bedding shelves, but that’s a challenge. Sitting at the bottom of the stack are two single duvet covers which I made whilst awaiting the arrival of our youngest child, so they are about twenty eight years old, never used for the last twelve years, but made from the softest cotton fabric using my mother’s old Singer hand machine. French seams and matched patterns, they took a while to complete. Can I part with them? We’ll see x

It’s that time of year – when our young people take the step and move on to further education. For most of them it’s the first time they’ve lived away from home and take on all those responsibilities which parents provide. This week I was delighted to meet an ex-pupil who was so excited to be taking this next step as he goes off to university. He still has the recipe books we created at school and regularly cooks at home. He’d been buying equipment for the shared kitchen and intends to cook and feed himself well. There’s so much for the young people to deal with and I hope they will be able to keep up with the laundry as well as everything else…. I remember putting a lambswool sweater in the washing machine, on a hot wash and finding it had shrunk to mini proportions. I quickly understood why handwashing had been the usual process. In the midst of the shared facilities I hope that the young people will have an understanding of food hygiene and safety, keeping the communal kitchen clean while they make their meals. No doubt washing up will be left till the saucepan is needed the next time!

We couldn’t have chosen a better week for our holiday – gorgeous misty dawns on the Great Ouse and long, hot late summer days. We rented New Moon from Cambridge Narrowboats – it’s the one Gyles Brandreth and Sheila Hancock had for their programme “Great Canal Journeys” and owner Gary explained how the film crew of eight had managed to stay out of sight and how he’d acted as a double for the drone shots, putting talc in his hair and wearing Gyles’ clothes. Since we’ve rented narrowboats many times in the past we were promptly sent on our way by the lovely Stacey and set off to find a suitable mooring for the first night. I’d always wanted to record a BeckyBakes video on a boat… and that’s what we did ! It will be uploaded as soon as we can get it edited etc. Needless to say we ate well throughout the week and also managed to meet up with some young friends for lunch at The Bridge in Waterbeach. We enjoyed a couple of days in Ely where we were entertained by a “trad-jazz” band in the park alongside our mooring and also had a day out in Cambridge before returning to the tranquility of the fenland countryside. We lost count of how many herons we saw but more than twenty kingfishers is a record! The seal, the otter and the great white egret were a real bonus. Lazy days, what better way to get away from it all? x

Earlier this year we built a green house which came in kit form, with instructions resembling a Swedish flat-pack piece of furniture! It took us a number of weeks to complete the job as a seriously flat base had to be laid before we could even think about how and where to build the jigsaw that became the smart green edged structure we now have. As someone who is risk-averse, handling so much glass was quite a challenge. With gloves on, of course, each piece was positioned with care. Just a couple of panes were broken when we opened the packs and I have to admit we broke a couple ourselves, but luckily our local hardware shop stocks standard replacements. Very quickly the space filled up with pots and growth was rapid. The ridge cucumbers have been delicious – we now have the longer Telegraph variety and have given several away. Tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, no doubt they’ll all be ready together. Peppers? Nothing to see yet, but it’s so satisfying. Just don’t mention my tub of freesias…

The Cake Friday brigade enjoyed a change this week. Since several of them are trying to lose weight I decided that I’d try to do my bit to help…. Usually I make a batch of brownie, that’s 24 pieces of cake, or lots of scones, lemon drizzle wedges or ginger cake. Four little boxes are delivered to some on the list then the rest goes to a group of three, sometimes four peeps in a bigger shop. That’s a lot of cake. So this week I changed the plan and made a batch of Fork biscuits, they’re always popular as they are buttery and crumbly, made with just three ingredients. Mike Liggins had a go at making them on BBC Look East, getting into a bit of a muddle because he hadn’t read the recipe properly and added water rather than squeezing the dough together. So it was a batch of sixteen that I produced again this week, but wrapped pairs of biscuits in silver foil. Two of the shopkeepers ate them immediately, enjoying them immensely and I found myself with one package to spare. Happily I was able to send it to my nonagenarian friend who I haven’t seen for a very long time – I hope she enjoyed them too!