Becky Bakes…

Lots of us get to this point in December with Christmas just around the corner and have a moment of panic. There feels like a mountain to climb with gifts still to buy and wrap, food shopping still to be completed and a degree of uncertainty as to who exactly will turn up and when! At least that’s the situation here today… But have you noticed that everything gets done in spite of our anxiety? I always used to feel overwhelmed by the number of school reports I had to write, but they were always done in time, just as there will always be enough food for whoever arrives on the doorstep. These days I try to take a more balanced view by doing what I can in advance and not putting off anything until tomorrow. Also, I’m a great list-writer, making notes and reminders then putting them in a safe place……… now where did I put that notepad..?

For our first Christmas living in Italy there would be eleven of us, including two excited nephews who had never flown before. Finding a turkey became quite a challenge until an ex-pat resident volunteered to order one for us, but it would have to be two smaller ones as Italians prefer salmon so don’t breed many big turkeys. I was shocked when they arrived… lots of black feathers left on their legs and vast bags of giblets stuffed inside. But that wasn’t the worst part – it was the cost! Over a hundred pounds and this was many years ago. Vegetables were different too, no sprouts or parsnips just carrots and savoy cabbage supplemented by plenty of potatoes and tins of sweetcorn. We were happy to leave Christmas pudding off the menu as we’ve never been fans but had discovered panettones on a trip to Saronno, where Amaretto is made. It was incredible to see them hanging upside down as they cooled suspended by two wooden stakes through their bases. Have you noticed the holes in the paper cases? Light and airey with much less fruit and a little peel, we were hooked. There were no wacky flavours in those days, just the Pandoro alternative to slice and create a tree shape. Any leftovers were made into delicious bread and butter pudding. Will you be buying one this year? I bought ours a couple of weeks ago in case they sell out !

This week we watched the final of The Great British Bakeoff. I’m always amazed that anyone should apply for the competition – working at great speed on recipes that are often unknown, under the gaze of Paul Hollywood – why? Personal satisfaction of course and a huge sense of achievement . Keeping the results a secret is tough too, but why do people feel it’s ok to question the judges decisions? Social media is to blame of course because anyone can voice their opinion anonymously, leading to the nastiest of comments and criticisms. We were brought up to understand that the judges decision is final. Whilst we might think we know the criteria, we aren’t in the tent with them. Let’s enjoy the programme and be happy for the winner of a cake stand and a bunch of flowers!

Our family have always enjoyed pasta – not least because of our time spent living in Italy. With great admiration I watched “balcony Bill’s” wife making it freshly each day for his lunch. We enjoyed taglioline al salmone and linguine alle scampi at La Scogliera, our favourite local restaurant, and I had lessons with Giovanna in her outdoor kitchen in the mountains above Parma. Lately I’ve bought the fresh stuff rather than making it myself, even though I have a fabulous Imperia pasta machine. Lazy and mistake are two words that spring to mind. Some of the fresh pasta on offer in our local supermarkets is, honestly, just dreadful. It looks as though I might be dusting off the Imperia soon and as you might have guessed, it’s blue!

When the departmental computer was wheeled into my FT room in Hemel Hempstead, my heart sank. It was on a trolley and was parked in front of the washing machine and tumble drier – most inconveniently. I was less than impressed as this heralded the introduction of a new curriculum where practical cookery took second place to, in my opinion, a contrived use of technology. Our own home computer was a hefty thing, not of much relevance to me at that time. Isn’t it amazing how times have changed! This week we were without both our landline phone and our broadband, making communication more difficult but my little cellphone saved the day. Compared with the cream phone with it’s curly wire sitting on the hall table, our tiny gadgets working over suprfast fibre optics have revolutionised our lives. Thankfully we’re getting back to normal, but none of this will help me make the next batch of Brownie!

It’s been quite a week! In amongst all our normal commitments we had a lovely day in Norwich, doing a bit of Christmas shopping and having lunch with our daughter. “Bread Source” make delicious focaccias and I chose a quinoa salad to go with mine and to share with Helen. I’d forgotten how tasty it can be, livened up with red and green peppers, onion, corn and red kidney beans – a rainbow in a bowl! A couple of days selling antiques flew by and then on to our tagine… we’ve filmed it at last. It’s a fairly labour intensive dish, but so worth the effort. We’ll get it edited as soon as we can and I recommend you give it a try on a filthy day when you can’t go out to play 😉 x

Earlier this week I read an excellent article by Tom Parker-Bowles about casseroles. He described the satisfaction of preparing all the ingredients, coating the meat before frying each piece to create a toasty crust and the long, slow cooking with wonderful smells permeating the house. I’d planned to tell you about my tagine, but the events of this week made me decide to put that on pause. The week began with a function where so many more people arrived than had been expected – would the refreshments be sufficient? Yes they were. The vicious storm which came later put us into another “lock-down” and that was the day we had to make a mercy dash to the vet with Tim…and very sadly we didn’t bring him home. Cake Friday went ahead as I’d already made the cake, but I forgot to post the photos on my Facebook page. I’ll tell you about my tagine next week x

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!