Becky Bakes…

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!

This week I’ve noticed one or two minor errors on a couple of the recipes on my website. Usually I proof read them before they are uploaded but you know how it is – often you see what your brain expects to be there, whether it is or not. So over the next few days and weeks we’ll make the adjustments. Also I’ve “tweeked” a couple of recipes to improve the flavours, so they will be changed too. Would you like me to let you know which ones have been modified when we’ve finished? Many of you have printed what amounts to a folder full of pages and you might choose to reprint some of these. I’ll keep you posted 😉

It seems summer has returned to our little seaside town. It’s lovely to watch families walking through town, towards the beach. The children are often clutching buckets and spades and grandpa brings up the rear with a huge cool bag, stuffed with picnic needs. Many people look forward to a traditional treat of fish and chips and this year they’re probably going to try out the new Ferris wheel. Several years ago we returned to Italy for our holiday and I took the opportunity to cook with Giovanna in her outdoor kitchen. We made beef ragu, fresh pasta and gnocchi-type things with stale breadcrumbs. Like you, we’ve eaten some interesting dishes all over the world, enjoying grits, collard greens and spider crabs in South Carolina, pigs trotters in Bavaria, Pont L’Eveque cheese in Normandy, patatas poverinas in Seville and boar sausages, cloud berries and lingen berries in Estonia. This year our plans are somewhat local, in that we’ll be taking a narrow boat on the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire. I take several pieces of essential equipment every time we rent a boat even though they are well equipped, so sharp knives, a chopping board and scissors will be in the baggage. Our plan is to make a video whilst onboard – not easy with tourists, unpredictable weather, moorings with nosy cows, but we’ll have a go!

As someone who was never great at maths, I steer clear of puzzles with names sounding like Far eastern mountain ranges – you know the ones…sudoku, kakuro and futoshiki to name just a few! Give me a word puzzle and I’m happy – panagram, codeword and the plain old crossword are the puzzles that float my boat. Imagine my panic every Monday when the Tech Team present me with a sheet of Becky Bakes statistics. To be honest, they do make interesting reading. I can see which videos have been watched in the past weeks and which are the most, or least, popular. Fork biscuits are winning hands down with well over three thousand of the total almost 78000 views. Some don’t do as well as I expected, mincemeat for Christmas hasn’t really taken off but that’s understandable but I was surprised that the Orzo in tomato sauce didn’t hit the mark either, maybe because Orzo pasta isn’t a well known ingredient. Even the website continues to amaze me with views from all over the world – last month including Switzerland, Brazil, Poland and Australia. Incredible! Thanks to everyone, after two and a half years I’m learning to control my fear of stats! x