Becky Bakes…

Have you noticed that one of our UK supermarket chains has changed the packaging of their minced beef? It’s now vacuum packed into a brick-type shape and looks more like the ground beef found in the USA. Now, I have no problem with this and used some last week for my slow cooked bolognaise sauce – always handy when young friends are due to arrive at variable times. Admittedly the meat needed more prodding and stirring to break it up but it was so much more “meaty” than the worm-like strands we’d previously dealt with. The BBC homepage had reported on consumers opinions and stupidly I decided to add my two penn’orth. Within minutes there were responses from all sorts of people from all corners of the UK, but I stand by my findings. There is less packaging, the flavour is great and the texture is an improvement. Definitely a change for the better!

Wherever you are and whoever you are with, I’d like to wish everyone a very happy Easter x

Several years ago (certainly pre-pandemic) I was lucky enough to meet Prue Leith. She’d been speaking at the Felixstowe Book Festival and promoting her latest book. Afterwards there was an opportunity to buy the book and have it signed, with photos too. In the course of our surprisingly extended chat I briefly described my career in food education and my subsequent disappointment that I felt I’d failed to make an impact on the children I’d taught. Her response was “keep going”. It was this encouragement that spurred me on when our son needed to keep busy during the pandemic, leading to the launch of Becky Bakes. Just last weekend we saw her again, this time in a local theatre, again promoting her latest book. But what a woman! At 83, travelling widely and telling the tale of her career as a failed academic, successful business woman-turned cook who has advised numerous committees and companies, even the Royal Society. Their magazine was beautiful and so informative, all down to her I suspect. An icon? No doubt. Who else, I wonder?

Many years ago we lived in a house with an enormous apricot tree in the garden. It provided spectacular shade to some of the bedrooms but also bore the most delicious fruit. We enjoyed them fresh from the tree, gave lots away and made jam too. There was also a cherry tree, ignored by the birds – we were able to pick masses of them and used them in clafoutis and jam as well as just having a bowl on the table. Ever the optimist I thought we’d have the same here so ordered a number of trees… greengage and plum as well as apricot and cherry. We’ve managed a few cherries each year but the others have been a disaster, all bearing tiny plum-like fruits with soggy centres. So this week, with the impending greenhouse delivery, one of these sad trees has had a serious haircut. Inedible fruits aside, we needed to do this before the glass goes in and we need to be sure the thing won’t be in total shade. Do we ache? You bet! We’ll be calling for help from some of our young friends when it arrives! 😉

Our weather this week has ranged from balmy sunshine to rain, sleet, snow and ice, with the daffodils and camellias taking quite a battering. With the impending arrival of the greenhouse I felt compelled to seize the best day to clear the area where it’s going to sit. This has been a herb bed and an asparagus patch but all of these are now relocated – although the asparagus has done so badly over the last 3 years it might just be for the chop! There were two large rosemary bushes in the way so the first came out and straight into a pot for a young friend. The second turned out to be more difficult because it was actually two plants intertwined. Why do we have so much rosemary? I often cut tall stems of it to put in with flowers in a vase where it grows roots in no time , then gets shoved into the soil and thrives, although it’s great with lamb too. We have four other substantial bushes dotted around the garden! There’s also mint of all flavours – chocolate, apple, pineapple…..not much culinary use but they were a great teaching aid with year 5. Warned not to disturb the soil too much, I then had to do that silly walk to press the soil down again. I’d had enough by then so gave in to the offer of a cup of tea and perused the seed catalogues!

Isn’t that the tune played by ice-cream vans and maybe even the Pied Piper? It’s become something of an ear worm for me lately and sounds reasonable in the bathroom! Long suffering members of my family are often treated to my renditions of various favourite tunes, although my brother wasn’t so keen, I remember. This weeks’ wandering took us to Snape, famous for the acoustics in the concert hall. Originally a grain store and maltings it was transformed by the Gooderham family to create an interesting mix of shops with an art gallery amongst the delicatessen, clothes and homewares as well as dining opportunities. I used to drive by it many years ago when my mother was involved in the delivery of Meals-on-wheels and could never have imagined it’s potential. Now the home of Aldeburgh Festival it has become internationally famous yet still encourages schools to hold their concerts there. In spite of the weather this week there were young people rushing from practice rooms to the stage door, clutching their instruments, shrieking about the snow. We hurried too, but only after spending a leisurely morning wondering at the range of local produce available – jam, chutney, bread and cheeses – leaving with a box full of goodies. The staff couldn’t have been more helpful, happy to chat and wrapping breakables carefully. Lunch in the Plough and Sail pub was delicious, a great birthday treat!

This week was far too busy to go a-wandering on Wednesday. Instead I managed to catch up with the cleaning and ironing that was patiently waiting. There was also research to be done before recording a conversation with Rob on Felixstowe radio – this time it was about root vegetables. You might be wondering why that topic…. in fact one of our local MP’s, a government minister, had declared that in view of the current shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers etc., that we should eat turnips instead. Very Marie Antoinette! So I visited the local greengrocers and one shop in particular was extremely helpful, allowing me to take pictures for reference purposes, so much easier than paper and pen. All of this has lead us to buy a greenhouse. Not an enormous one, but big enough to ensure an early supply of tomatoes. I really enjoy all the different varieties and ours are usually late to ripen outside. I might even sneak in a pot of freesias, but don’t let on will you ?!

This Wednesday whilst my plan had been to visit Lavenham or Long Melford, I was instead drawn to a small village near Bury St.Edmunds. We came across an ancient thatched barn and several other buildings, most selling antiques and collectables, with one called “The Cosy Cabin” selling fabulous fabrics, thread etc. Alliterations aside, I was very impressed by the ambience and spent more than I should have on beautiful textiles. Lunch found us in a nearby pub where the accompanying salad defied all expectations – cucumber, tomatoes, celery, lettuce, radishes, peppers… you name it, it was there and set me thinking. We are currently experiencing shortages of many hot-house foods with some supermarkets rationing them. I’ve heard a number of reasons why, but they all come back to the increased costs of fuel. Growers in Kent have delayed planting crops as they can’t afford the massive cost of heating their green houses. As an example, whilst cucumbers are on sale at 75p they actually cost £1.50 to produce. That sounds much the same as the problems of producing eggs, milk and many other foodstuffs… we must be prepared to pay more for our food, maybe buying less and wasting less. We hear Spain and Morocco are experiencing extreme weather situations but surely we shouldn’t be relying on producers so far away? We need to support our local growers and eat what is in season. Asparagus from Peru, strawberries in February? I think not.

Now that Spring seems to have sprung I feel like tentatively coming out of hibernation. Lighter evenings are a joy, as are the irises, aconites and camellias blooming beautifully in the garden. Looking at my regular commitments it’s only Wednesday that has nothing written on my week-at-a-glance diary… no phone calendar for me! For the last couple of weeks we’ve managed to have lunch with two of our favourite young people and this week found a lovely pub in East Bergholt, after chatting with Rob Dunger for two hours on Felixstowe radio in Studio 4. Having talked about life and the universe, including the unpleasantness of some social media posts, I was ready to sit and unwind. Thirsty you might think – but no! Twice, while a pre-recorded segment was playing, we nipped into his fabulous kitchen to make cups of tea. I’d taken ginger cake, so we had a jolly old time. Thinking about next Wednesday’s wandering… Lavenham, Long Melford….who knows?

It was a very bleak Wednesday morning when we set off to visit a young friend who works at Norwich cathedral, armed with plenty of Brownie, just in case she overstayed her lunch hour. Lunch was lovely, a light brioche bun filled with smoked chicken from “Bread Source”, then a quick tour of the cathedral. A very keen and knowledgeable guide was happy to tell us about the huge copper font made from two enormous bowls. Although the information card said they’d been used for making chocolate, that wasn’t altogether correct. In fact Caley’s factory had used them to keep toffee soft before it went into the centre of Rolo’s – remember them? After our tour a little retail therapy was deemed necessary and Jarrold’s was top of the list. Pondering the Polish pottery, having chosen a small oval dish, a voice over my shoulder said “Go on, buy one of these, how can you resist them?” The smaller bowls are so pretty I agreed, looking hard at the face I thought I recognised from somewhere….. Julie Reinger, the weather lady from BBC Anglia. What a lovely lady, tiny, bright eyed – she was Christmas shopping! Our final stop was to buy fresh macarons in the Arcade, two pistacchios, one vanilla and a capucchino – delicious. A brilliant day out. Did I take enough Brownie though? I’m sure enough for my little friend to earn plenty of brownie points anyway!