Becky Bakes…

My first experience of France was when I was 15. My parents agreed that I could take part in an exchange organised by my school and the Educational Interchange Council. The plan was that we would host a French girl for three weeks, then I’d go back with her and stay in her home for three weeks. Well… she was a chain smoker with a heaving bosom, aimed right at my brother. He swiftly went to stay with a friend 😉 We coped – she wasn’t impressed by London or Cambridge, or our caravan. So worried were my parents that, since we didn’t have a phone, an emergency recovery plan was set up where my father worked and someone would come and rescue me. Thankfully that wasn’t needed and I’ve lived to tell the tale! ‘O’levels, ‘A’ levels, College and marriage happened and the French Government Tourist Office published a little book of cottages to rent – “Gites”. So we took my parents and had our first holiday in Normandy, sampling bootleg Calvados while chatting about the Turin Shroud – me translating everyone’s comments. You couldn’t make it up, could you? Since then we’ve stayed in so many Gites that I’ve lost count. We love it and it’s the only country I’ve ever wanted to live in and still would, given the chance. So we’re just back from the Vendee in Western France, bringing more happy memories and several recipe ideas which you’ll see in the coming weeks. x

The revelations about pouched baby food astounded me this week. To be honest, I haven’t given it a lot of thought recently as we’re not in that territory ourselves, but to read that some pouches of the puree contain more sugar than a can of fizzy drink was shocking. The manufacturers claim there’s no added sugar so why not change the ingredients to low sugar foods? Not only that, the age recommendations aren’t correct. They are labelled as suitable for babies of four months plus, when actually babies should be having milk only, until they are six months old. There’s something unpleasant about watching “goo” being squirted into a baby’s mouth – it’s not far away from seeing cats being fed from tubes of food. I know parents are busy, but we were all busy and managed to feed our children with foods preferable to these. There. Rant over 😉

We drove past a local farm and spotted the spears gingerly showing themselves. Not many, but maybe they’d been picked early that day. It’s been in the shops for several weeks, but from far away places. It seems Suffolk farmers are famous for growing this crop which is traditionally only available for a few weeks. After that it’s left to produce enormous fronds of fern which look beautiful. When we moved into our house many years ago I found some growing amongst the shrubs, but only when the fern had reached above the other plants. We cleared that bed and planted more, but that’s now exhausted. There are a number of ways to use it – boiled briefly, steamed, griddled, roasted…it’s great cold as well as hot, mixing with leaves and herbs to create a rather more exotic salad. There’s a bunch in the fridge at the moment…maybe griddled tonight ? 😉

What a busy week that was! Of course food figured in all the activities and events, starting with somewhere in the region of fifty, yes fifty, Easter Nests last weekend. Then it was cake…lots of it for various lovely reasons. Some went to a family party and some was delivered to family in the Midlands. The beleagured shopkeepers had to have Hot Cross Buns of course, after I’d discussed them on Suffolk Sounds with Rob, as well as some nests in their boxes too, complete with fluffy chicks 😉 For Good Friday it has to be fish so we have Fish Parcels in the oven right now and Sunday will be slow cooked Lamb Necks with lemon and garlic. Young friends are joining us on Monday for a Chicken Crown from the local butcher…don’t tell them, will you ? Whatever you do and whoever you see, have a great weekend x

They’ve been in the news this week as a local museum has opened an exhibition devoted to jogging our memories of the food we were served at school from the 1940’s onward. My earliest memory is from junior school days when one of our three classrooms was hurriedly converted every day, so the vast metal containers could be unloaded onto trestle tables and served by the dinner ladies. That school didn’t have a kitchen so everything we needed was delivered in time for lunch. As a prefect I was given the honour of carrying all the waste (pig-swill) to the farm next door so nothing was wasted. A dubious honour… Later in secondary school we sat at tables of eight and had “family service” which meant collecting trays of food to be served to us by the senior pupil on our table. Whilst I don’t remember much about the food, tapioca (always called “bubble cars”) was a favourite. I loved milky puddings although the addition of “Jack’s Island” ruined it for me. Never keen on jam I used to eat around the puddle of red in the centre of my dish. Nobody could convince me to stir it in and turn my pudding pink!. Most of the food was edible and seemed home made, but the introduction of convenience items like turkey twizzlers really brought the standard down and Jamie Oliver worked hard to improve children’s diets. Our hunter/gatherer never stayed for school lunch so his only experience is of joining our family for lunch at school in Lexington where it was served on a divided plastic tray and was generally eaten without cutlery. I wonder what your memories are of school dinners?

Last Friday was unusual as there was no Cake Friday delivery. I’d warned the beleagured shopkeepers in case they wondered what was happening. We had to be in Watford by late morning for a sad reason – we were saying goodbye to an old friend, not old, only 66. I’d worked with her in Hemel Hempstead from 1987 for 7 years and we’d been mates ever since. She and her husband had visited us in Milan and Lexington, shared a narrowboat holiday with us and we’d exchanged cards and phone calls until she fell ill. Something that made her smile was that one of her recipes is included on our website with a video to go with it. We were teaching Home Ec. before the National Curriculum was introduced so could devise our own curriculum based on the needs of the children, so included studies of ingredients – blind tastings of milk, cheese and baked beans were enjoyed with home made baked beans unexpectedly part of the range. They were happy days and I was thrilled to meet up with ex-colleagues to reminisce about school trips/visits and the escapades of our pupils, sixth formers and their progress. I know Gill was respected by the children she taught and we’ll miss her. x

This week I was reminded that it’s five years since we set up our website. Looking back none of us could see how and when the pandemic would come to an end and what the new order would look like. But creating videos and a website certainly kept us busy with no idea of life beyond. Thankfully we have been able to pick up the threads of normal life albeit with slight changes. I’ve become reluctant to shake hands with anyone, or stand too close in a queue. If a lift is filling up with people then I will often wait for it to come back down so I can press the button and get it away before anyone else comes. Public toilets are a challenge aren’t they? It’s the door handle that bothers me, so like many I know, I carry hand sanitizer in my bag. But here we are, five years on, with a comprehensive website and 92 videos (and more up my sleeve) covering as many dishes as I can. Only today I met an old colleague who laughed when she discovered our curriculum was now on line and reaching people all over the world too! x

Many years ago we made the decision to buy a chest freezer – what a mistake. I’d watched my mother struggle to reach Tupperware boxes which had made their way to the bottom, as well as finding escaped frozen peas in all the folds of plastic bags complete with wire twist ties. So, thankfully, we have an upright freezer with drawers that slide out so I can see exactly what is in each one. They are usually full with everything labelled and arranged neatly according to its’ category – cakes, soups, beef, chicken, pork etc. Hidden amongst the cakes was a tray of mince pies. I always make plenty as two of our young people will only eat the ones I make with homemade mincemeat and orange dessert pastry…proper melt-in-the-mouth flavours. How could that tray still be there? I’m going to need the patty tin soon for multiple Easter Nests so the beleagured shopkeepers became the lucky recipients today for their Cake Friday treat! Did they mind mince pies in March? Not a bit!! 😉

Quite how long and why I started delivering cake every Friday, I just can’t remember, but I’ve been doing it for several years now. The beleagured shopkeepers certainly seem to appreciate a home made offering each week and I’ll continue as long as I can. The cakes go to a well-known outdoor shop, staffed by local people who I’ve known for many years as well as a fabulous indie bookseller who was a near-neighbour until recently and of course the friends who man the Emporium. They all have their favourites and I’m happy to accept requests, knowing that Lemon Drizzle will always be on the list as well as double chocolate brownie. Two previous recipients have moved on and been replaced by cafes, so I don’t think they would really appreciate more food, but who knows? Happy weekend 😉

We’ve seen some sunshine this week, at last. As the days get longer I’m spending more time in the garden, pruning, weeding (they’re still growing!) and checking the progress of all the bulbs I planted last autumn. In the midst of all this I noticed our rhubarb bravely pushing its’ way through to the light. Whilst I do have a bell jar to put over it to force growth, I tend not to use it as its’ become a haven for spiders. Just lifting the lid fills me with fear, so it’s more ornamental than functional. Early rhubarb is now available in the greengrocers shop and looks beautiful. Such a lovely shade of palest pink with yellow leaves, it’s so tender and has a delicate flavour. I learned today that it’s a favourite of my nonagenarian friend – she might enjoy Sugared Rhubarb Windows, the recipe is on the website. It came many years ago from a friend who is with us no longer. Her kitchen garden was a sight to behold, with fruit cages and raised beds, compost heaps in a row by the wall and potatoes clearly marked and labelled to be dug in succession. We tend to grow the things we really enjoy as space is tight, so loads of tomatoes, mange tout peas and French beans. Time to think about sowing? Maybe a little early yet ! x