Becky Bakes…

This week has been a week for using all sorts of food which had been consuming space in the freezer. For many years we had two, one very tall and the other half size, but a young friend was in need, so we gave the half-size version away. Not a problem until I want to find room for a turkey and several trays of uncooked mince pies. So we had a delicious slow-cooked leg of lamb last weekend, with enough left over to make shepherds pie the next day. I added a bag of chopped veggies to the slow cooker so that created a bit more space. Today the beleaguered shopkeepers enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake, although I’ve been reminded it wasn’t any old chocolate cake, but Granny Pat’s chocolate cake. The recipe is on the website, it’s technically known as Milk choc. cake and is a favourite of all our young peeps, including our nephews, so it was a big deal to use that today. But, guess what? It came out of the freezer too ! 😉

As the end of November approaches I start to plan all the shopping for Christmas, including food which will need to go in the freezer. I’ve made the mincemeat for the mince pies – it’s in the fridge being fed with brandy from time to time and the jar(s) turned upside down and downside up each week. So my next job is to make the dessert pastry and several trays of mince pies and freeze them till needed, then cook them freshly. The trouble is, the freezer is too full. So today I’ve made minestrone soup using a bag of soffrito which went in there a couple of months ago along with half a dozen others. The surplus soup is going to be frozen until collected by a young friend this weekend, along with the excess tomato soup that went in last week. Yesterday I found a small leg of lamb which is now defrosting in the fridge and tomorrow will be slow cooked with garlic and rosemary, plenty of red wine and some stock, then redcurrant jelly to flavour the gravy. Going slightly off-piste, it’s going to have yet another bag of frozen veggies in there too which I plan to, well, mash, to thicken the gravy. Now I’m going to resist buying bargain packs of anything just so space is conserved. You never know, there might be a pud from M&S which needs to go in too 😉 x

When our older son was born I made the choice to leave the classroom for a number of years. Eventually, missing contact with others, I took a part-time job in Waitrose, Harpenden just to have some more meaningful conversation… Initially I was supposed to restock shelves after the department manager had determined what was needed. In reality I struggled to manoeuvre the racks of cans out of the room-sized lift from the warehouse. But after a full day of till training in an outer London branch I was deemed suitable and ready to sit behind a cash register, punching in the prices of each persons shopping. Quickly I came to enjoy the interaction with customers and was promoted to be the person who “ran the front”. Each evening there were people who “faced-up” the shelves so it appeared that there were no spaces amongst the packets and cans. Did they check use-by dates? Probably not. But when buying a package of meat or bag of salad or veggies we instinctively look for the longest date, often not the pack nearest the back but frequently the one at the front of the shelf. That won’t do…restocking should happen from the back please. I could name and shame but we all see it I’m sure! (With regard to missing taramasalata mentioned last week, it seems the staff at the factory are on strike. Still no tabbouleh 😉 ) x

During the course of each week I compile the shopping list – it’s the usual stuff, broccoli, cheese, flour, caster sugar etc. Then on Fridays (usually) the hunter/gatherer, having boldly decided which supermarket to visit, takes on the task of the weekly shop. Certain things have to come from other places – we can’t neglect the brilliant butcher at the top of the road or the new baker in town. But over the last few weeks he’s come home without some of the items, curious omissions like tabbouleh, taramasalata and even unsalted butter. Only yesterday I was in the local Co-op where there happened to be plenty of u/s butter, so I bought some, but there wasn’t any milk. Just don’t mention large boxes of PG Tips, the small boxes aren’t any good to us, we drink lots of tea every day. What’s happening? Are you having problems too?

Do you remember the upside-down can theory I mentioned a couple of weeks ago? Well I promise you it works, for some foods. I decided to try storing tinned tomatoes, spaghetti and chickpeas the wrong way up to see if they came out more easily when the can was opened and they all faired well, even the tomatoes. Recently I’ve invested in a long handled silicone spoon to scoop out the reluctant bottom layer, but it’s not been needed. So a positive result with that one. Also I’m very pleased to read that a person has been arrested in connection with the theft of a lorry full of expensive cheese from Neal’s Yard. Apparently it was destined for Russia – let’s hope it’s found before it gets there. Finally I’ve had a lovely afternoon chatting with an old friend and reminiscing about pupils and colleagues from one of the schools we both worked in. After feeling so rough it’s great to be back in the loop! Stay well friends x

My interest is always piqued by news items concerning food and this week it seems that McDonalds have got a problem in the USA. There have been several people from many states in the western part of the country who have become ill and one person has died after eating their quarter pounder burgers. The meat patty’s are under suspicion , but they should be cooked at a temperature high enough to destroy e-coli, so it shouldn’t be the meat part. Another ingredient being looked into is the onions. Apparently all those used in the USA come from the same provider so that might imply a wider problem, so it’s curious and will take a while to get to the bottom of the source. Many years ago, when McDonalds was still fairly new to Britain, I took a “behind the scenes” tour and was shocked to find that all the lettuce used was vacuum packed and flown in from America. That must have changed as we’re quite good at lettuce here…Anyway, let’s see how this unfolds. X

Have you heard that we’re storing our cans the wrong way up? It seems someone has researched and experimented resulting in this surprising discovery. Now, forgive me, but if I store cans upside down on the shelves of the pantry, the labels will be tricky to read and I’m going to develop a stiff neck. Manufacturers put the ring-pull on the top with the label relating to its’ orientation. But actually have you noticed that chick peas, baked beans and even tinned spaghetti settle at the bottom of the tin and, when opened, we have juice at the top and thick sediment at the bottom, so it does make sense. Maybe labels could be put on upside down? Let’s watch this space 😉

This has been a strange year in our garden with many plants of all kinds lost to slugs and snails. We had an almost complete mange tout crop failure and the first French bean seedlings disappeared as they began to grow. The second seedlings were nursed as they appeared and although some of the base leaves were munched we managed to keep them going and enjoyed plenty of beans, with enough to share with our young friends. The plan had been to deliver tomato plants to their respective gardens but that didn’t happen, so we had more tomatoes, both in the greenhouse and outside, than we’ve ever had before! The results have been overwhelming…so bags of Gardeners Delight have been distributed, soup has been made and some have gone into the freezer for winter casseroles. Cucumbers have gone crazy and are still growing, as are the peppers. As for the slugs… they are still here and giving me grief, hiding in the compost heap and under any leaf I turn over. They are all shapes and sizes, there has to be a foolproof way of getting rid of them…don’t say throwing them over the fence though 😉

All this week I’ve been watching reels, videos and news footage about the devastation left by hurricane Helene. She barrelled up through Florida, Georgia, the Carolina’s and Tennessee leaving a trail of destruction and flooding like I’ve never seen before. People were and still are struggling to make sense of what has happened to their homes, with whole communities completely washed away. Scenes of vehicles and boats floating down rivers and over dams are terrifying. People are still missing, communication is patchy, supplies are being delivered where possible and repairs are starting to happen but power lines can’t be fixed until the trees are removed. What a catastrophe. How on earth are those places going to rebuild, I just don’t know, but we need to be grateful the floods in middle England weren’t as severe. Gradually a degree of normality will return, but I feel bad for all these poor people ❤

How can we have been home for a week already? There’s always lots to catch up with, like laundry and weeds, but this week has flown by and here we are expecting our flock to descend on us for a family celebration. As usual there’s cake to consider and a special request has resulted in two batches of Brownie – that’s 48 pieces – as well as banana loaf and lemon drizzle which conveniently fed the beleagured shopkeepers too. We have a new artisan bakery in town and having introduced myself I apologised and said that I wouldn’t add him to the Cake Friday list, he has plenty already. His name is Ali and he makes incredible croissants, some almond ones as well as plain, which were better than several we had in France last week. He only opened his shop on Wednesday but hopefully customers will find him and support the business. Everything is made on the premises so I took a sneaky peek at the kitchen which is immaculate – early days yes, but baking from 3a.m. takes effort and it’s great to see a tidy/clean workplace. Give him a wave if you’re in town – better still, pop in for a coffee or buy a loaf 😉 x