Becky Bakes…

This week I ventured a little further afield to do some grocery shopping. Not because I’m unhappy with our local shops, but for a bit more variety and in the hope of a bargain! My list was short and vague, allowing for some impulse purchases – that’s never difficult. What I found strange and somewhat disconcerting was that several shelves were completely empty. So no granulated sugar, no Homepride flour (P&SR) and no greaseproof paper. There was no member of staff to ask, so I had a quick moan to another customer, but I suspect the blame would have be laid at the door of “supply chain problems” which probably covers all aspects of running a large store. Job vacancies are posted everywhere I look – I wonder how long it will take before we return to a normality? Ironically the sugar and flour I was looking for were both available in my little local shop. Was it worth the trip down the by-pass? Yes, in spite of my complaints… a change is as good as a rest 😉

We’re all familiar with pork pies from Melton Mowbray, pasties from Cornwall, cheese from Stilton and the famous puddings from Bakewell and Yorkshire. This week I was challenged by our local radio host to investigate the unfamiliar Felixstowe tart. Now, in the depths of my memory there was just a slight feeling that I’d heard of this and for some reason hadn’t researched it. So, taking up the challenge, I delved into its’ history and discovered that it was apparently popular from the 1890’s to the 1930’s. There are two versions of it – one is a pastry case filled with stewed fruit then topped with meringue. But it was the alternative version that peaked my interest – a sturdy cake base which had jam spread on the top and a sprinkling of almonds, then a cloud of billowing meringue with extra sugar and flaked almonds. It was delicious, rather too much for us to eat so we shared it with neighbours and friends. It was probably the invention of an enthusiastic cook who accompanied her employers for their summer-by-the-sea in Victorian times, when our town became the resort we now enjoy. Who knew it even existed? I can assure you it’s well worth a try and will feed 6 to 8 people…… the recipe is going to be on the website if you fancy making it. Maybe it will now enjoy a renaissance?

Here in our easterly part of Britain we haven’t had any significant rainfall for weeks. The grass looks like straw, plants are wilting and the rain barrels are emptying with that precious water only being used for the neediest plants. By the shed we have our tomato plants – quite a lot of them as we use a lot and enjoy the wonderful flavour of home-grown varieties. This week I saw a huge platter of heritage varieties grown by a friend and we marvelled at the range of colours, from purple to pink with incredible shapes too. Our beans are also deemed worthy of precious water and they are producing as many as we can eat, but no glut this year. Our young friend is gathering peas and freezing the excess for another day. Local farmers are now being warned to ration water which will inevitably have a direct impact on yields and prices of their harvest. We ‘re managing to keep our small crops going, but a jolly good shower wouldn’t half help.

If you’ve watched the video, you’ll hear me mention that I found this being made in the restaurant of a Swiss motorway service station. Now I’m not sure whether we’d find food being cooked freshly at a service station on a British motorway, so this has stayed in my mind as being quite a find! We were driving northwards from Milan towards the Channel Tunnel and making the journey more exciting by stopping off at some lovely places on the way…. Lucerne, Strasbourg and Luxemburg to name a few. Imagine our surprise to find a chef in his whites, standing in the middle of a circular work station with bowls of prepared pasta, meats, fish and vegetables from which we could choose whatever we fancied to build the dish. Delicious. With three children to please you can imagine their delight at having so many choices! So this is a dish that I’ve made frequently since then – now an old favourite in our house, emminently variable and economical too. I hope you might find combinations of flavours that work you x

Having grown up in a household where gardening was one of the most important pastimes I soon learned of the importance of watering tomatoes regularly and burying newspapers under the runner beans to hold moisture for the roots. Flower names became embedded in my brain and I’ve always had to have a camellia somewhere in the flower beds or borders. So when a young person develops an interest in anything garden-related I’m just delighted. This week we heard from a young friend who had applied for an allotment several years ago and now had received the news that one was available – such excitement! Having been to see it and send us photos it appears to be half a plot, so an “alittlement” perhaps? Still lots to do as it appears to have been left for a number of years. Tall grass masked the mature apple and pear trees and hid the raspberry canes so the first task was to clear some space. Since then an ingenious plan has emerged – to construct wooden frames to lay on the ground. Next put in a layer of cardboard to suppress the grass then a generous layer of compost on top. Almost a raised bed, just not very high. We are promised regular updates and look forward to the posts on Instagram as well as seeing the harvest. As those of us who are able to grow our own know, there’s nothing like home-grown produce, from plot to pot in minutes.

This week we picked the first of our homegrown tomatoes. It’s always a treat to be given the first one, straight from the plant, still warm with a flavour that can never be matched by one bought in a shop. We’ve been having pea shoots for several weeks along with the mixed leaves that grow in a sort of netted cage – an attempt to keep the caterpillars and bugs away which is quite successful, thankfully. Isn’t this a lovely time of year? I could live on salads of any type. Insalata Caprese is another favourite – interleaved slices of tomato and mozzarella cheese, basil leaves too, then a drizzle of pesto. So colourful – a reminder of the Italian flag. And Greek salad too, feta, olives, cucumber, red onion and thyme. All these are so much more interesting than salads of my childhood which were only livened with a splash of beetroot for colour and celery for flavour. To this day my brother won’t touch celery… the taste, the smell and worst of all, the crunch!!

If you follow my exploits on Facebook you’ll know that last week we had a very relaxing holiday on a narrow boat, slowly making our way from March to Ely. By car that journey would be completed in minutes, but by boat it’s more than a days’ sailing. Setting off on the river Nene, we crossed two tidal sluice gates, then chugged down the well-named Great Ouse seeing very few other boats on the way. I couldn’t get the “Slow boat to China” song out of my head and sat at the front singing at the top of my voice when nobody was around. We had a firm intention that we’d make a new video during our trip (think Rick Stein on a barge in France 😉 ) so took all the necessary kit, including my favourite pan and sharp knife as well as some specific ingredients. The boat was so well equipped with everything we could have needed, although not the Denby crockery that was on the boat which set off before us, we had Churchill utilitarian plates and dishes, but I wasn’t jealous… well, not much 😉 Anyway, our filming plans were thwarted by heat exhaustion on the first evening, by rain on the second, cows at the window on the third, tourists on the 4th and 5th and vehicle noise on the last evening. So no video last week but I’m determined we’ll do it this week, albeit from the usual place. Keep a look out – we haven’t stopped and will have a good one for you as soon as we can! x

It was interesting to parcel up boxes of cake to send around the country and as I expected, some arrived sooner than others. Because of the time they sat waiting in sorting offices, those with high sugar contents fared the best – chocolate brownie is the most reliable cake to send. Any box which went very nearby or very far away arrived the next day because it either didn’t have to go through London or it went by plane rather than train or road. The middle distance gifts took anything up to four days to arrive. Thankfully those were either shortbread or lemon drizzle as well as brownie. So my friends, there we have it. If you are sending cake be prepared for it to take a while depending on the destination – not a scientific survey by any means, but just useful to know!

For many years I’ve sent cake to friends all over Britain when I felt they needed it. It’s a bit like a hug in a box if they are having a tough time, maybe because of illness, or just because….. Now, I am very interested in the time it takes to arrive at it’s destination – sometimes very quickly and other times at a snails pace, irrespective of how far it has to go.That affects the type of cake I post, so usually it’s one with a high fat content, like Brownie, or Lemon drizzle… not scones of course 😉 I wondered if you might like to help my research by sending someone a box of cake? The sort of container needs to be one that you won’t miss, so a take-away box is good, or a margarine carton. Add a note to the recipient, then wrap in brown paper with lots of tape. You will be questioned about the contents -that usually starts a conversation and ends with a smile! Assuming we will all use a different post office and send to different places it would be interesting to know if the cake arrives the next day or takes 3 days to get there. Let me know how you get on and I’ll report back in two weeks time, have fun!

The unpredictable nature of our weather means that, having enjoyed several lovely days of warmth and sunshine, we awake to a blustery morning which feels decidedly cooler. On our travels yesterday we came across several street parties – how lucky those people have been. Anyone planning outdoor celebrations today and tomorrow will need umbrellas. In fact the official picnic in our little seaside town has been moved indoors. We plan to eat outside whenever possible during the summer months, enjoying the peace and colours of the garden, but so often find ourselves dashing inside as the showers take us by surprise! I hope you are enjoying this extended holiday weekend with friends and family and some home made treats. Have fun!