Becky Bakes…

There are certain tasks I simply don’t want to be involved in, they are the Blue Jobs. So into this category I put anything to do with cars, except driving them, lawn mowing, vegetable growing, wallpapering ( the only time I tried it the paper peeled right off straightaway) and cleaning toilets. You get the picture. I’m happy to have a go at other things like pressure washing the patio or a bit of painting, but of all the Pink Jobs my least favourite are ironing, cleaning windows and worst of all, cleaning the oven. That’s been on the “to do” list for longer than I dare admit, but this week I tackled it and I have to say it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. I used one of the products specifically designed for this purpose and the shelves really shine, as does the base of the oven. Now I just have to work out the best way to deal with the black trivets which I mistakenly put in the dishwasher when we had the old Rangemaster. One day I dream of paying someone to just come and deal with it for me…true confessions! (don’t tell anyone 😉 )

All credit to her, Mary Berry has been working in the food industry for the last seventy years. She never achieved any qualifications at school in Bath, where I trained, but she did get a City and Guilds in Food and became a Home Service Advisor for the Electricity Board. That had seemed like a good career for me too until the demise of both the Gas and Electricity Boards. The role had been to advise customers on how to get the best from their new cooker, but obviously that was a non-starter. So teaching it was, thank goodness! Mary has been a great influence on so many of us over the years, going right back to the Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook. I still have mine, do you?

Last weekend we bought a broadsheet newspaper as usual – we like the puzzles section as well as the glossy magazine etc. I came across an article which went into great detail about the standard of British food and cited Ebbw Vale, a town in Wales, as proof that “the British diet is killing us”. Whilst there are plenty of places to eat there, it’s all fast-food. It seems that we now need to be able to have coffee at all hours of the day and night, many people don’t want ( or don’t know how) to make a meal at home. Delivery is available for anything, even a cup of tea. Whatever has happened? “The teaching of Food in schools is of low priority to the Government” is quite an understatement and still a serious mis-step for society today. I have been made aware of young teachers who are given the responsibility for teaching whatever food lessons are on the timetable and have to practise with their parent/grandparent in order to give the lesson. Let’s hope that the new curriculum being devised by the Government which is going to include mortgages and savings will also include some proper food lessons, but without the specialist teachers, how is this ever going to be meaningful?

Yesterday afternoon I had a lovely chat with Sarah on her Suffolk Sound radio show. It was loosely based on preparations for Christmas, but as a novice, she was particularly intrigued by the process of making a Christmas cake. We talked it through, starting with soaking the fruit in brandy to plump up the raisins etc and ending with advice on decorating the finished result. She knew that the cake needed “feeding” so I explained what that meant – unwrapping the clingfilm on the baked cake and spooning a little brandy over it each week to keep it moist while the flavours develop. Rolling out marzipan on icing sugar and fondant icing on cornflour – marzipan as a layer to keep the icing white… you know the processes. But then she asked if cooking was art or science? That’s a question I’ve never been asked, but without hesitation I said science. Part of my training was the study of Organic Biochemistry. It’s a shame Domestic Science is so undervalued by schools when it uses Biology, Chemistry and Physics in equal measure. The clue is in the name!

Having prepared for a chat with our local radio host on Suffolk Sounds about preparations for the festive season, I thought I ought to set an example and do something! Usually I wait for half term but this year I’ve been amazed at all the Christmas decorations already in the shops which has spurred me on. So this afternoon I’ve made a double batch of Mincemeat ready for making Mince Pies in a couple of weeks time. I’ll freeze them, then thaw them when needed and cook them so they are as fresh as can be. There’s an enormous difference between commercial Mincemeat and the homemade variety. It has a much better flavour, in my opinion, as I vary the fruit leaving out currants and using cranberries instead with apricots too. Several friends have been getting ready to make their Christmas cakes – soaking the fruit in alcohol for several days before baking the cake, then “feeding” it over the next weeks. That’s as much as we can do at the moment, but planning and shopping ahead will spread the cost as there will be plenty on our shopping lists as the weeks pass by!

…. in the news again! As usual I bought a newspaper last weekend, it was the Daily Telegraph simply because we like the puzzle section and there’s lots to read over the weekend. Imagine my surprise and horror when, in the Weekend section, I found a large picture of a man holding a pan with the most disgusting mess stuck to the inside. He described how he’d fallen out of love with all his French pans and casseroles. It seems his wife decided to use one to make jam, which burnt. Now, whilst that’s a shame, forgive me for suggesting she probably should have used a preserving pan and a jam thermometer, then her jam would have been fine. He himself had tried to make a tomato sauce, turned on the heat and promptly forgot about , went shopping and came home to a dreadful mess. My humble opinion is that we should use the right pan for the right job. Don’t blame your casserole dishes – you messed up! Rant over 😉

About thirteen years ago I came across a Medlar tree in a garden centre just north of Woodbridge. It was too tall to fit in my car so I paid and Mr. G put a SOLD sign on it, then hubby had to go and collect it. At the time, my classroom had a “QI” corner and it seemed to me that many children would find it quite interesting, maybe having not seen one before and the first harvest proved me right. Over the years I’ve made Medlar Jelly but the family weren’t keen so I’ve donated the fruits to various people and groups. This year we picked about thirty pounds and they were collected by the lovely lady who had some last year. They are strange thing, Medlars, known in France as “dog’s bottoms” amongst other things and they need to “blet” or rot before they are ready to use. At that point the flesh is soft and tastes like stewed apple with cinnamon – interesting is probably the best way to describe them 😉 x

Had all gone according to plan, we’d be sitting in a restaurant in Northern France right now. Unfortunately the roof refurbishment took longer than expected, not least because the workmen disappeared for ten days to take on another job. Hopefully we’ll get away after all the scaffolding comes down and the massive clear-up is finished. There’s quite a mess. Our plan had been to drive down to Kent and take the car through the Channel Tunnel, then pootle, not far, to Amiens. Somehow I’d found out that this year marks the hundredth anniversary of the Le Creuset factory in Le Fresnoy, so of course that deserved a visit. I have four of their casseroles in varying shapes and sizes, but all in the striking royal blue. Yes, they are heavy, but so useful for large batches of soups and stews. They don’t go in the dishwasher so are quite stained, but that’s OK. We had planned to have a little retail therapy whilst away, with the festive season looming – there’s still time 😉 x

When it became apparent that no roofers would be here (again) we decided to go out to lunch. Our first choice was the Suffolk Foodhall at Wherstead, with its panoramic views of the river Orwell. Watching yachts and ships pass by is so relaxing and the chance to spot a heron is always a treat. Of course, the notorious bridge is in the view too – spectacular in spite of its’ shortcomings. But it wasn’t to be. No tables available, it was fully booked unfortunately, so our default was John Lewis. My choice of Welsh Rarebit with ham hock didn’t disappoint and hubby chose Quiche with coleslaw and green salad. I’m a great fan of a leafy salad and ours usually has homegrown rocket, pea shoots, chives, basil and flat leaved parsley as well as whichever lettuce is ready to harvest. A good vinaigrette is a must too – of course I make my own. As we left we spotted Christmas trees and decorations so I had to take a look. I must confess to buying just a couple of things…. I know – it’s still only September, sorry 😉

So the roof saga continues, but I won’t go into that. Looking back at some old notebooks, I came across a recipe from many years ago – now long neglected. So of course I felt it worthy of a retrial and, my goodness, it’s a good one. It involves peaches, perfect at this time of year and also Amaretti biscuits, so I think it goes back to our time in Italy. Definitely worthy of a video, so we tried this afternoon, but my tech expert forgot to press the right buttons…so no video yet, but look out, this will be our next one. Our lovely neighbours were guinea pigs and certainly approved 😉 (but don’t mention the roof…)