Becky Bakes…

This week most of us probably marked the end of Christmas by taking down the last of the decorations. Twelfth Night is known as the Feast of Epiphany. There is a very simple dessert called Epiphany Gateau, Gallette des Rois, which I like to make – and had the perfect opportunity this week when invited to share a meal with some special friends. The gateau is simply two layers of puff pastry with marzipan and cherries in between. I chose not to hide the traditional little ceramic figure (le feve) for fear of a broken tooth, but if I had, the finder would have worn a golden crown and been king/queen for the day. I’ve made this for many years as it’s a great way to use up the last of the marzipan and so is a favourite here. The cherries are said to signify the jewels in the crowns of the three Wise Men and whilst multi-coloured ones would be ideal, I can’t bring myself to use them !

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable and happy Christmas and that the new year will bring good health to you and your family. Many of our friends and neighbours have been affected by Covid recently and I sincerely hope that we can begin to enjoy a more normal way of life this year. We managed to see most of our family over the Christmas period, one of whom arrived as a complete surprise on Christmas day. All that cooking was well worthwhile, even the last minute chocolate log which disappeared in a trice. Sprouts, mince pies, citrus biscuits…you name it, I made it… all our family favourites were there. But it’s the conversations round the table and time together that are the best ingredients ❤

Over the last 20 months we’ve shared with you 69 videos, 78 recipes and countless gems of wisdom 😉 Now that my tech team have, thankfully, become much busier I have to tell you that for the time being we are having a break. What that means is fewer videos – just seasonal ones or recipes I feel you need in your portfolio. I’m not going anywhere so please continue to message me with questions and send pictures of your dishes. So from now on all the uploaded material will stay where it is, with seasonal and others added from time to time. Filming and editing all takes time and that’s something we’re all short of now. Life moves on for us all, thankfully we are adapting to life under the new constraints, but keep in touch my friend and thank you for your support. x

As yet there still no fewer recipe books on the shelves. I’ve looked at each one, with a view to removing it, but each one has given me a reason to stay. With the new TV series this week, where Magnificent Mary tells us of the recipes she loves, there is another that I feel needs to be added. I suspect that the only way to have a successful cull may be to offer free choice to friends – come and choose a book?….. hmm, maybe a step too far! Perhaps not such a good idea, and let’s face it, some people collect china dogs, or stamps. For me it’s clearly cookery books (and I’m working on one of my own at the moment too 😉 )

Earlier this week I had a conversation with a local radio host about recipe books. Why? I hear you ask. Well, a friend had asked me where I keep mine and this led me to take a look at my collection – not just where they sit but also how many I have. This was a bit of a surprise, to be honest. Whilst I see them sitting neatly on the bookcase, I hadn’t counted them or considered them for a while, they are just there. Let me tell you that I stopped counting at 56, in the knowledge that there are more in a cupboard… the ones that are more like textbooks. My biggest problem is not the space they take but how seldom I take one out to consult the pages. Each book contains one or two, sometimes three recipes that we like and there are one or two books which haven’t moved for a very long time. A cull is needed, but it’s so difficult to choose those I no longer want to keep. Where to start? Answers welcome!

As the clock/radio/alarm sprang into action this morning I caught the end of the Farming Programme and heard about the development of a new “app”. This is going to be used by suppliers to a large supermarket to measure expressions of positive emotions in livestock. Now this is something I find tricky to understand to be honest. How can you tell if all the herd of cattle are happy? Do they smile at the farmer? Do sheep grin? Probably we’ve all seen “Happy Eggs” for sale and are all aware that battery hens are now a thing of the past with free-range and deep litter environments preferred. So presumably the point of the app will be to improve the conditions the animals are kept in and prevent stress in the creatures. This is clearly a good thing and it will be interesting to see if the app is awarded a prize at the Food and Drink Awards this weekend. Best of luck!

It’s tomorrow, the last Sunday before Advent, when the Anglican Collect for that day starts with the words “Stir up we beseech you….” Since this is conveniently the right moment to mix up our Christmas puddings it served as a timely reminder. Christmas pud was introduced to Britain by Prince Albert when he married Queen Victoria, as well as the indoor Christmas tree, festooned with paper decorations. The five remaining weeks until Christmas allow time for the pudding to develop it’s flavour and certainly lets us have one job ticked off the list! I remember teaching a lovely group of girls in Barnet who preferred to stay inside at lunchtimes and spent may days mixing up puddings to sell to the eager customers amongst the staff. We probably made double quantities each day, so 6 at a time, which then went to the school canteen to be steamed during the afternoon, ready for delivery the next day. The recipe we used was a Good housekeeping one which I still have, but no longer make. With just two of us to eat it these days I buy a small on, ready made. It’s going to be one of the traditional variety, not one of the more unusual sticky toffee ones, or one with an orange in the centre….What will you be having for dessert on Christmas day?

It really does not feel like a whole week, seven days, since I sat with my keyboard to write last week’s blog. That’s quite alarming, although I can remember the significant moments of each day, making me thankful that I hadn’t slept through them!. The truth is, it has been quite busy. It started off with a group chat concerning aged aunt and her next moves, then a resolution for her situation. That’s such a relief. After that I’ve done the usual things like shopping, cleaning and cooking but managed to see two friends in person – something that felt a bit strange after obeying restrictions for so long. To actually meet and chat over a cup of tea has been so special, I hadn’t realised just how much I’d missed it. On the cooking side- this week has been of the “seasonal” variety – more mincemeat and then two trays of mince pies in the freezer, made with orange pastry. A bit early you might think…but I have a feeling that there may be a “blind-tasting” coming up using various brands, with mine slotted in to the mix. So, with weeks flying by, it seemed a good idea to get ahead. The diary is looking empty for next week, but I suspect there will be plenty to keep me busy. Next Saturday will be here in no time!

I was asked recently if it was too soon to start thinking about Christmas. The answer has to be a categorical “No!”. I’m one of those people who spot gifts and ideas throughout the year so that by early December most of the shopping is either done, or planned. Walking through our bustling little town this week I saw a beautiful display of Christmas things (can’t say what as the family will guess!) and was drawn into the shop. I couldn’t resist the velveteen chocolate log with feet and a face amongst other things… When the December issue of a favourite magazine dropped through the letterbox it made me realise that decorations this year will need to be cat-proof. No more dangling baubles from ethereal silver twigs perched precariously on the window sill. So I decided pine cones will be the answer – piled high in baskets and bowls, interspersed with orange pomanders. Oranges and cloves purchased I spent several hours prodding and pushing the things into tiny holes. very satisfying and smells wonderful resting in the airing cupboard. Orange slices needed the dehydrating machine I bought to make rose petal confetti for our daughter’s wedding, rather than having the oven occupied for 24 hours. So is it too early? Of course not. The mincemeat is made and some has been used already in a forthcoming video, I better make some more!

Maths has never been one of my strengths, other than weights and measures for practical purposes, but keeping an eye on the video viewing numbers has become very interesting and brought some surprises, not least a combined total of over 17,000 views on my Youtube channel. This month we’ve re-shared the four most popular and who expected Toad in the Hole to be up there with Fork Biscuits?! So it came as quite a revelation to get a message that the website has also been viewed over ten thousand times in the last 18 months. A breakdown of that figure showed me where in the world those people are too, with the majority in the UK, but the Americas, Asia, Australasia and Africa & the Middle East figure too. Thirty countries are on the list, with a couple I needed an Atlas to check! So many thanks to all those who have watched the videos and downloaded the recipes, read this blog, messaged me and joined in the adventure. There will be a new recipe coming on Wednesday with more to follow!