Becky Bakes…

We can’t all like the same things, whether it’s clothes, music, sport or, of course, food. As long as we respect each others’ choices and preferences, that’s fine. Social media attracts too much vitriole when opinions are expressed but that’s another matter. It’s been very interesting to keep an eye on the number of views each of our videos has had and I’m often surprised at which ones prove to be popular or not – with one or two even getting the “thumbs down” ! This month, having had a break from filming as there’s such a lot happening here, we’ve been sharing the top four recipes in reverse order each week. Whilst I always seem to be making Double Chocolate Brownie, it doesn’t make the cut, neither does the delicious Slow-Bolognaise. We’ve already seen Lemon Surprise pudding in 4th place, with Cheese and Onion Soda Bread in 3rd and Toad in the Hole second, so this week the top place will be going to…… can you guess? Bx

There’s no place like home…home sweet home…lots of phrases describe that feeling that whilst it’s lovely to go away, it’s also lovely to come home again. We’ve had a very quick trip to the far north of England to celebrate a long-delayed wedding of some young friends. They were caught up in the delays of the pandemic and this was the third date that they had set for the wedding. Third time lucky! Our hotel offered some new tastes for us in food as well as decor.. Ham hock terrine was served with pease pudding which was something I’d never tasted. It was delicious and described as being made from yellow split peas. Stotties were on the menu but not available that evening so I still needed to know what they were and the waitress described them as very flat bread rolls cooked on the base of the oven, for creating a very large sandwich, maybe looking a bit like a pitta bread ? It’s the first time I’d stayed in a purple room…carpet, walls, ceiling….you get the idea. I had to leave a light on overnight as it was so dark! Dimmer switches were unhelpful even in the daytime, but boutique-chic is probably the goal. Home again after a quick trip to the Scottish border for a photo in the extreme chill, this was only our second big journey since we went to South Carolina 2 years ago. Roll on normality x

Some weeks fly by with alarming speed, whilst others meander along gently. This one has raced along but feels like a whole month as so much has happened. It all began with a certain person nudging (possibly nagging) me to contact the local radio station who were asking for locals with specialist knowledge to become “correspondents”. That was Sunday morning. Later that day I acquiesced and sent a little e-mail to the presenter. Within minutes he responded and there followed a string of messages culminating in a phone interview which was recorded. It was quite a long call and I was sure he would edit it and have some useful information about food, particularly with Christmas in mind. We tuned the next day at the appointed time (me feeling very anxious and not a little sick with apprehension) and I was astonished that he used the whole lot! All 14 minutes! The week carried on with the usual commitments – helping out in the antique shop on two of the days, knitting and sewing with my Macmillan ladies on another and here we are again. Next week has plenty in the diary, not least a long-distance wedding to prepare for, with 2 hats to choose from, a visit from the lovely daughter, cakes to be made, mincemeat to “feed” and turn. I’m not sure if the team will feel like making two videos but I’ll be ready if they do – watch out when we resume uploading as I have some good ones up my sleeve! Have a good week x

It’s October again and like last year we’re taking a break from posting new videos for the month so that I can work on the recipes for the run up to Christmas.  Don’t be alarmed though, on each of the next four Wednesdays I’ll be counting down our most popular videos to date for you to try again – or even for the first time.  And I’ll still be blogging each Saturday and adding comments on my Facebook page whenever something newsworthy crops up (last night’s GBBO “Bread Week” got me going again!).  And you’ll be hearing from me on Felixstowe Radio too!

There has been quite a change in the weather here in sleepy Suffolk. We now have much cooler nights and dewy mornings, with a stiff breeze blowing off the sea straight up the main street. Add to this the ridiculous fuel shortages and the result is far fewer visitors to the town. They were coming from Lincolnshire, Shropshire and as far away as Newcastle. Speaking of which, we are going there for a wedding – finally! It’s been postponed several times but we’re all hoping it will go ahead now. October is looking very busy and we have decided to have a little break and not upload any new videos this month, like last year actually. We do have some ready and are starting to think “festive”. I’m going to be making my mincemeat soon and noticed empty shelves where the dried fruit should have been – heads up! Meanwhile over the next four Wednesdays we shall count down the top four recipes…you might be surprised!

By now we must all be aware of the panic-buying of fuel since we were warned of the closure of some petrol stations. It seems there’s no shortage of fuel, just the drivers who deliver it. Hopefully there will be a resolution quickly. Did you read, earlier this week, that the John Lewis Partnership is planning to lease ships to ensure delivery of all our Christmas essentials? This presents all sorts of questions – where from and where to spring to mind straight away. Essentials ? Are those all the shiny baubles that come from foreign lands? I don’t know about you, but there seem to be plenty of those in our loft, no need for more. Maybe it’s all the toys that children apparently need. Hmm, not sure about those either. Well we will see what is missing as the weeks roll by and Christmas approaches. One thing is for sure, Christmas will come whether we have baubles or not, so let’s make the best of it and remember what we are really celebrating.

Have you been anywhere nice lately? For the last 18 months we’ve stayed very close to home, only venturing to Norwich and the occasional trip to a National Trust property. We are very lucky to live on the Suffolk coast – we have plenty of fresh air for bracing walks and ships to watch, both large and small, as well as endless skies. But last week we took a quick trip northwards, clocking up 600 miles in just two days. It was an incredible trip culminating in beautiful views of the North York Moors and hills! We don’t really have any of those here and I’d forgotten how spectacular a hill can be. Our reason for travelling wasn’t the happiest but it was certainly worth it and it really whetted my appetite for planning another trip to the not-so-frozen north when we can do so. And now with the relaxation of travel restrictions there will no doubt be a “cork out of the bottle” reaction amongst some people with holidays planned far and wide. I can only hope this won’t lead to another “wave” in the winter. Fingers crossed!

Today cannot pass without being remembered as one of the most shocking for our family. We were living in Lexington, South Carolina. I’d taken our younger children to school and gone on to see an ex-pat friend who needed help with some sewing tasks. She was standing at the ironing board when her husband rang and screamed that she must turn on the tv. We watched in horror. Their son was flying in that day and the sound that came from her was nothing short of primeval. Immediately the schools went into lock-down and we were kept updated by the ticker running across the screen. She drove hundreds of miles to meet up with her son who’s plane was diverted to land faraway. I drove to school and witnessed every child being held by an adult – lunch ladies, janitors, librarians and teachers – all held on to as many children as they could. Every child was handed to their parent/carer that day. The atmosphere of shock was dreadful. So many families had someone directly affected by the horrors of that day. Tears are falling even now, as I remember that awful day twenty years later.

….not the movie you understand, but the lovely autumnal dish. It was whilst chatting recently with a friend who happens to live in the Frozen North… she put me on speaker phone in order that she could deal with a dish in the oven. Well, the Aga , to be precise. When I asked her what was going on it became clear she was making Ratatouille and the timer had gone off. Discussing her choice of ingredients it became clear that this is, truly ,a dish of infinite variety. For me it has to be the traditional autumnal vegetables – courgettes, aubergines, garlic, onions, tomatoes….you get the idea. But for my buddy who was about to go on holiday, it meant using up all the ingredients lurking in the fridge…so mushrooms and chorizo went in. It was more of a sauce to accompany pasta and jacket potatoes. What’s wrong with that? We all need ways of preventing waste and this provides the perfect opportunity in the cooler months. What’s going into yours? My recipe will follow as a bonus when the tech team has time ….. 😉

Have you noticed a chill in the morning air? Certainly it seems easier to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. With autumn approaching our tomatoes are ripening apace – something I anticipate with delight and can often be found eating straight from the plant. This year the plum tree has an incredible number of fruits, enjoyed by the squirrel who has nested at the top of it. She chooses the ripest and sits peeling off the skin, dropping all the fragments and the stones as she feasts. Many others fall and have a small peck out of each one, clearly not ready for the birds to enjoy. Taking a whole one from the branch I’ve found the flesh to be “woolly” whilst the skins are sour and tough – not very useful at all. We planted an apricot, a peach and a greengage may years ago but they have been less than fruitful, with only tiny fruits some years, so they are destined for the chop. At the same time we’re going to work out a way to discourage the squirrel from staying…any ideas ?