Waste Not Want Not

This year has seen extremes of weather throughout the world and this has resulted in a reduction of the wheat harvest; this fact, coupled with the demand for wheat from China, has resulted in a huge hike in the price of wheat and consequently the price of bread. No doubt there will be a price war amongst the supermarkets as to who can have the lowest priced white sliced cotton wool bale, but if you have paid around £1 for a tasty white loaf you might be loathed to throw the stale bits away or feed the pigeons. In my childhood when people looked after the pennies a regular on the menu was Bread Pudding. So I thought I would pass on the recipe, its a very robust tasty item and ideal for packed lunches.


8oz stale bread
3oz suet (vegetarian is fine)
3oz sugar
6oz dried fruit (any combination you have sultanas, raisins, currents, cranberries etc)
1oz chopped peel or grated orange rind
2 eggs
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a little pepper
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a little milk


Soak the bread in cold water, overnight if possible or for at least 4 hours. Drain in a colander and squeeze the excess water out. Crumble with a fork. Add the dry ingredients except the bicarb.

Mix the bicarb with the milk. Add the beaten eggs and mix all together either using a wooden spoon or your hands until a fairly soft consistency is reached. Put in a baking tin, 8ins round or a small roasting tin, rough up the surface with a fork and bake at 220°C for 4o minutes. Cool in the tin and cut into portions. Also nice when eaten warm with custard. Ooooooo lovely

Walnut, Date and Honey Cake.

While I'm at it, this is a popular request too:

Walnut, Date and Honey Cake:

8oz (225g) self raising flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6oz (175g) butter (softened)
4oz (100g) light muscovardo sugar
3 tbsp clear honey
2 eggs, beaten
2 medium, ripe bananas, about 9oz (250g) total weight in their skins
4oz (100g) stoned dates
2oz (50g) walnut pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 3/fan oven 140°C.

2. Line the base of a 2lb/1kg loaf tin.

3. Tip the flour, cinnemon, butter, sugar, 2 tbsp of the honey and the eggs into a large mixing bowl.

4. Mash the bananas and chop the dates (use scissors) and add to the bowl.

5. Beat the mixture for 2-3 mins using a wooden spoon or hand-held mixer until well blended

6. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth.

7. Scatter the walnut pieces over the top and bake for an hour, then lightly press the top - it should feel firm. If not bake for a further 10 minutes.

8. Cool foir 15 mins, then lift out of the tin. When cold, drizzle the remaining honey over. Cut into thick slices

Chocolate and Beetroot Cake Recipe

For some reason or other, I have had several requests for this recipe, because I don't think people really believe that it exists. So here it is:

Chocolate Beetroot Cake:
200ml corn or sunflower oil
75g cocoa powder
180g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
250g caster sugar
250g cooked beetroot
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Lightly grease a deep 20cm round cake tin. Sift the cocoa powder, flour, and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and set aside.

2.Puree the beetroot in another bowl (I use a hand-held stick blender, but the recipes says do it in a food processor but I have not got one). Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and oil and whizz until smooth. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the beetroot mixture and lightly mix. Pour into the tin and bake for about 50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the cake begins to darken to much cover loosely with foil.

3.Remove cake from oven and cool in tin for 15 mins. Remove cake from tin and cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

4. Enjoy, but don't use your best white linen napkins for this, it stains horribly

Stranger than Fiction

Recently saw the film "Stranger than Fiction". In summary, the plot concerns a revenue inspector, Harold Crick (played by Will Ferrell), the course of whose life is being dictated by author Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). The scene which took my fancy concerns Crick having to visit a baker, Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) over her failure to deal with her tax return. The scene goes as follows:

Ana takes a plate and goes to get Harold some cookies

Harold: When did you decide to become a baker?

Ana: Oh. In College

Harold: Oh. Like, "cooking college"

Ana: No I went to Havard Law

Harold: Oh. Oh Geez, I........ sorry, I just a............... Sorry

Ana: No. It's alright. I didn't finish. I uh....... uh.......

She brings a plate with more cookies to Harold.

Harold: Did something happen?

Ana: Not really. I was.... I was barely accepted. I mean, barely. The only reason they let me in was because of my essay. How I was going to make the world a better place with my degree. And I went there thinking.... well, I went there thinking that I might make a difference and uh ...... well ......... Harvard Law has the smartest people in the world, people who will one day shape the earth, and it's competitive and vicious and exhausting....... And I'd have to participate in these study sessions, classmates and I, all night long. Sometimes for a couple of days straight.

And so I would bake.... cookies usually....... so no one would go hungry while we worked. I'd bake all afternoon in the kitchen in the dorm before a big study session and write down what I was doing in one of those black Mead Journals they sell by the gross in the Campus Bookstore. And I'd bring my little treats to the study groups........ and people loved them. Oatmeal Cookies. Peanut Butter Bars. Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Wedges. And everyone would eat and stay happy and study harder and do better on the tests and more people would come to the study groups and the study groups got better and I would make more snacks and try to find better recipes and the results would get better and better and soon it was Cheese and Apricot Croissants and Mocha Bars with Almond Glaze and Lemon Chiffon Cakes with Zesty Peach Icing and our study groups were famous: not because we had the most copious notes or the smartest people, but because we had the best snacks........

And at the end of the spring term........ I had 27 study partners, eight black Mead journals filled with recipes and a D average. So I dropped out. I just figured, if I was gonna make the world a better place...........I'd do it with cookies.

I think this is a good philosophy for life and it's an engaging and enjoyable film.

Afternoon Tea, Hints and Tips (not necessarily PG)

1. Send out invitations, stating date, time and place. Obvious really. BUT, 2 people came up to me the week before and apologised for missing the event. I explained that it was the next week and they then came. 2 people arrived at 1.45pm apologising for being late because the invitation said 1 o'clock (it didn't, it said 3.30pm).

2. Initially I decided to hold the event outside in the garden but remember this is an English summer so don't ask more people than you can accommodate indoors. Hopefully they will all RSVP and by the day before the "Tea" you should have the number of people you are catering for.

3. Drinks. Have a selection of teas: one standard everyday blend, something a bit more unusual and a herbal/fruit type. I had an everyday Fairtrade mix, Lady Grey and peppermint. If the weather had been hot I had planned to do home-made lemonade and have done iced tea in the past. If possibly have more than one kettle for boiling water as invariably you get a rush for tea all at the same time. Even more importantly have a lovely daughter or friend who you are able to trust to be in charge of the tea making,

4. Food. Sandwiches and Rolls, a selection of about 5 types in various breads and rolls. See menu below. It's good to have a vegetarian selection and serve them off a separate plate. Estimate about 4/5 portions per person unless they are growing young people and maybe more like 6 per person. I think smoked salmon is essential as it's a touch of luxury and cucumber as it's traditional. Anything else as suits you and your guest. Cakes, the best bit! I served scones with clotted cream and a choice of two different jams. A selection of about 5 sorts. I suggest one fruit, cake, one Victoria sponge and then a selection of whatever takes your fancy. If possible include some cakes that can either be frozen or last well to save you having to make everything the day before

5. Lay the food out on a table covered with a nice cloth or clean sheet and arrange the food on a variety of plates and stands of various heights, sizes and shapes.

6. If you have some bunting handy, as I'm sure most of you do, use it to decorate your house or garden. Put some kind of sign up on your front door just to help people find your house.

7. Often people like to bring a small gift with them and it is quite commonly flowers, so it can be useful to have a bucket close to hand to put them in.

8. Enjoy!

---

Menu

A choice of teas:

Peppermint
Lady Grey
The House Blend
~
A selection of sandwiches in various breads and rolls:

Tomato
Cucumber
Cream Cheese
Egg and Watercress
Ham & Mustard
Smoked Salmon
Chicken
~
Devon scones with clotted cream and jam
~
Cakes:

Lemon Drizzle
Coffee Victoria Sandwich
Chocolate & Beetroot
Saffron Fruit Loaf
Banana & Chocolate
Bunty’s Biscuits

Fait Accompli

The day dawned warm and sunny for the school Summer Fayre. This year good weather is at a premium and everyone was relived and pleased to see such a fine day.

Netty and I, inevitably, were running the cake stall and we were being helped by Oat Cuisine, one of the foodie teachers.

Most of the small cakes and some larger ones had been made by the Year 10 GCSE Students and a very good job they had made of them. Larger items were supplied by us and some other home made donations had been received. First to find our pitch, which we knew was to be somewhere in the sixth form centre. Tables located and there they were, the compulsory mass produced cakes from the person who either can't make cakes or hasn't got the time but feels obliged to bring something along. But why do they have to buy the cheapest they can find? A dozen tin foiled apple pies for 99p, 20 iced fairy cakes for 60p. These are not exceedingly good cakes, I'm not sure they even qualify as cakes, 2 jam donoughts from the bakers would be better. The strange thing is no one ever owns up to bring these items, they just appear. Perhaps they just wander aimlessly through the universe looking for cake stalls.

Having located our pitch we set about unwrapping the goodies. I had the misfortune to be left with the job of unwrapping the madelines, as the cling film was removed all the cherries fell off. I spent the next 10 minutes re-cherrying the madelines, not an easy task and a somewhat sticky job but all was well in the end.

The Fayre started at 11.00am, and business was slow to start with and Oaty started fussing and mumbling about bad location and not enough advertising and constructing improvised signs from cardboard boxes. Netty and I were not so bothered, being old hands at such things. Then the customers started to come in and yes, the first customer did present us with a £20 note but with over £60 of change we thought, no problem. We were wrong, nearly every customer had high value notes and we were soon out of change.We over came this hurdle by much robbing of Peter and paying back Paul but all was well in the end.

Business came in fits and starts but by about 2.00pm all was sold and we could head for home. We made just short of £150 for the various school charities and departments. Netty and I were pleased with the day and might even be prepared to work with Oaty again. The PA and organisers seemed very happy with our efforts and I have a strong suspicion we might have to do it all again next year.

Note for future reference: If you want to take photos of the day, try and use a camera that isn't one of the earlier steam driven digital models and preferably not one that belongs to the school as they never seem to work well

Cake and Two Veg, Second Course

Further to the previous post, I have found the following;

Courgette, Orange and Date Slice,
Parsnip and Banana Slice,
Courgette and Caraway Muffins.

I have not tried any of these but they are all suitable for vegans. In addition Classical Jones informs me of a Chocolate and Vinegar Cake. When Googled there are hundreds of recipes for this, they are mainly American as the recipes are in "cups" and there is a microwave effort.

Sorry but the words baking and microwave do not really go together. Baking should be for enjoyment and relaxation not "I lead such a busy life, I can only make a cake in 7 mins at 800W". Better a simple rock cake from a conventional oven, eaten warm and crumbly with a nice cup of coffee. Forty minutes (max) from start to finish. Oooh Lovely!

Even more weirdness;
I've just remembered the following and I have located the recipes so it was not a dream (nightmare?) Chocolate Surprise Cake, the surprise is using a jar of mayonnaise. Not such a bad idea, after all mayonnaise is made from eggs and oil. And then from the depths of my mind I recalled a recipe and then thought "no it can't be" but yes I found a recipe for a cake using a tin of tomato soup! I think I will stop now but I've a horrible feeling that this is not the end of the matter.

Cake and Two Veg.

When I was young, the cakes in our local bakers were doughnuts, buns, macaroons, madelines, cream horns, vanilla slices, meringues and the like. When did the ubiquitous carrot cake arrive on the scene? When I say carrot cake I use the term loosely, as it can be used to cover a multitude of forms some of which I would not even think of giving to a rabbit. The only thing in common is they allegedly contain carrots. There are the very elaborate ones with a creamy cheese topping and marzipan carrots which are pretty hefty and pricey too, simpler arrangements with just icing, and plain ones. Every cafe and coffee bar seems to stock them. The ones to be avoided are the prepacked ones with a sell-by date of two month's hence; any cake (except rich fruit cake) with a sell-by date greater than a week should be avoided - it's hydrogenated fats that preserve them and gives the long shelf life.

The thought then struck me as to why only carrots should be used in cakes, what about other vegetables? After doing some research this is what I have found:

1. Parsnip. Think about it, parsnip is really only a blonde version of our ginger friend, nice and sweet and readily available. I have two recipes, one from Jane Grigson's "English Food". This is an absolute delight and well worth the effort to make when the early parsnips come in. Another recipe I have is for a Parsnip Cake with a Creamy Orange Icing. I strongly suspect that parsnips can be substituted for carrots in any existing recipe you might have.

2. Beetroot. Yes really, again a naturally sweet veg but somewhat messy. I have two recipes using beetroot, one from Riverford which is a light fruit cake using grated beetroot. NOTE: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TRY AND USE A FOOD PROCESSOR TO GRATE THE BEETROOT. For one thing beetroot is very hard and very red: you may well damage the processor and you also run the risk of turning the kitchen and the immediate vicinity into a recreation of the set of "Sweeny Todd". I don't have a food processor, Netty does, so you can see who discovered this. The second recipe is for a Chocolate and Beetroot Cake and is absolutely delicious, its very light and airy and not at all cloying like some chocolate cakes. Good to serve warm with mascarpone or ice cream.

3. Courgette/Zucchini. Mary Berry in her "Ultimate Cake Book" has a recipe for Courgette Loaf. It's ok and would be useful if you grow courgettes and have a glut to use up. Netty has made a Zucchini and Lime Cake, which is a nice madeira-type cake speckled through with green flecks. The lime makes it really refreshing. I also have a recipe for Harvest Cake which uses both carott and courgette. I have not made this yet but hope to do so in the near future.

4. Pumpkin/Squash. As you know these can be large items to deal with and if you are roasting some, do a bit extra, leave to cool an make a Pumpkin Loaf with an Orange Glaze. A nice and spicy crumbly cake.

5. Rhubarb. "But it's a fruit" I hear you cry. No. It's the stem of a large perennial plant thought to be native to Tibet and is technically a vegetable. There are many recipes for using Rhubarb in cakes usually with ginger and/or orange. Unfortunately I have not made any 'cos the rhubarb is always used in crumbles and compotes first, although today I made a Rhubarb Stresel Pie which looks good.

6. Others. Potatoes can be used in scones, usually cooked on a griddle. Have found a recipe for Bramley Apple and Olive Oil Cake, not sure about this.

Why go to all this bother? Well it cuts down on the amount of refined sugar used, it adds extra fibre and nutrition to cakes, it helps use up excess vegetables in time of glut, the keeping quality of the cakes is enhanced (no hydrogenated fats here) and also it's FUN! And makes a change from bloody carrot cake

Let the imagination go. Anyone for Swiss Chard Roll? Broccoli and Cauliflower Battenburg............

Bamboo Socks and Tofu

Yesterday, Saturday, was very wet and raining, over the previous two days terrorist bombs had been found in central London and it was the day of the Gay Pride march, so what do Netty and I decide to do? Why, go into central London on one of our jaunts. We were going to the "Incredible Veggie Show 07" at the Royal Horticultural Halls. The show was organised by Viva! who are Europe's leading vegetarian and vegan campaigning group.

The show had three areas of interest; animal welfare, lifestyle and food. We inevitably concentrated on the food displays but generally had a good nose around as there were lots of interesting things to see and sample.

The people were a fair old mixed bag and not all Hippies, and when it comes to free food being handed out they were just as greedy as the rest of us. The queues for the hot bowls of pasta, curry, snacks etc were considerable and it was not even 11 o'clock.

Highlights for me were:

1. The stall that sold Bamboo Clothing, that is, clothes made from fibre derived from bamboo. It was incredibly soft and I purchased a pair of socks to road test. You will be informed if Giant Pandas start showing an interest in the wearer.

2. Some of the organic chocolate was amazing and it was often Fairtrade too.

3. The cookery demonstration by Rose Elliot on Tofu. I've never really fancied having a go at cooking with this strange putty-looking substance but in the space of 35 minutes she had produced a pea and tofu curry, baked tofu and satay sauce and an apricot and orange fool. They tasted good and would be willing to give it a try and have even ordered some tofu from Riverford Organics for my veg box this week.

4. The book stall. It's always good to have a rummage among cook books and I purchased a vegan baking book so I can add a few recipes for the veggies I know.

Lows of the show

1. Hemp Seed. One of those things you chew on and it defies all natural laws as it increases in volume the more you chew. It did not have much taste either. So probably best to use hemp for making material.

2. The strange Oriental stall. Here they had produced a non-animal item of everything you would imagine in the way of food stuffs typically found in oriental cuisine such as prawns, squid, pork, beef, chicken etc. I can truly say these were the most disgusting things I have ever had.
I never realised how important to me texture in food was and this stuff is awful. If people want to be veggie, fine, but why they feel the need to ape meat products is beyond me. It makes as much sense as me carving a tomato from a pork chop. Don't do it! There are some wonderful vegetables and plant materials to use and enjoy.

3. The queue to hear Heather Mills speak on "Converting Carnivores". I will say no more.

All in all a good day for £3 and I would certainly go again, and can think of far worse things to do on a wet Saturday in London.

Another half baked idea

Maybe if graffiti artists had better hand writing, the world would be a nicer place

More Tea Vicar?

A few months ago it transpired that my friend, Antoinette, had been asked to provide a few sweetmeats to celebrate the induction of a new vicar at her church. Being an ex-Brownie and a fairy (cake) at that, I said I would lend a hand; also in the spirit of inter-faith goodwill I thought it would do no harm. Well, Netty had got a little carried away and must have been baking until the cows came home (for the milk and butter) and all her chickens came home to roost (for the eggs). I got the job of cutting two very large rich fruit cakes into about 72 pieces (crumbs!) and dividing many a sponge into portions - I'm not known as Mac the Knife for nothing. Well I will try and list all the cakes and I'm sure she will correct me if I'm omit anything but here goes:

• Fruit cake (dark and golden)
• Welsh Cakes (with and without gluten)
• Courgette and lime
• Toffee Coffee
• Lemon Drizzle
• Madelines
• Almond Muffins with Rose decorations
• Banana and Walnut
• Victoria Sandwich Cakes (Blackcurrant, Apricot and Chocolate)
• Other Gluten Free constructions

After all that cutting and plating, the sevice started with assorted bishops, deans, and mayors and lieutenants of the county. Being of the Roman persuasion I was surprised at this large civic presence and by the allegience to the Monarch etc but remembering the history I suppose I should have been prepared for that. No kneeling, no incense not many bells but all in all a touching service and the vicar - A LADY - seemed a good sort.

As with any denomination as soon as the last hymn starts those who are doing the refreshments dive for the door to get the food uncovered and the drinks poured before the usual merry making and all the socialising begins. After an hour or so its time to start the clearing up but had Netty taken notice of the previous entry, How to run a cake stall? She had not!! No rubbish bags! So poor old Louis had to go home to get some; the poor soul had been backwards and forwards so much that day that he nearly lost his head. Anyway, I have now reached the Higher Level band 2 for table clearing using only a black bin bag and a paper plate. Eventaually all was done and everybody agreed that it was a truly splendid occassion.

Note. Sandwiches by Kerry of Footscray, just in case you thought it was only cake.
I reached home, tired and with cake cutters back, to be greeted by her indoors:"What time do you call this? I've told you about staying up late on a school night!" Me 53, Her 24 (years old)
Thanks Netty, it was a lot of fun. What's next? We will have to see what fate has in store.

How to Run a Cake Stall

Obviously you need cakes but we will come to that another time , but here we go.

1. A nice big table

2. A nice big table cloth. Paper will do or even a plain coloured cotton sheet

3. Paper plates , bags, labels, tongs, rubbish bag, lots of small change, (Your first customer will buy one muffin for 30p and offer you £20 note, I think that they hope you will just give them the cake to go away), pot for money - the margarine container you emptied whilst making the cakes is good, the egg box less so. An apron to wear (optional) but make sure you have clean easily washable clothes on. Hair tidy and clean hands

4. Customers! Advertise your sale at least a week in advance. Posters, flyers notice in local newsletter, paper etc

5. Get as many people as you can to bake a cake(s) for you so that there is a wide selection. Try and get some idea of what the person will make. 300 choc chip muffins is not my idea of a selection and a selection is not burnt/undercooked some the dog chewed and some my brother poked with a pencil all different but not what I had in mind.

7. If you helped with a cake sale you will know what sells well so make a good choice and make a few of say 4 different kinds. Some cakes sell better at different times of year sponges in the summer and fruit cake in winter.

8. Pricing, always a thorny problem. From the practical point of view only price in round amounts eg. 20p, 40p, £1, £1.20 etc. Don't undersell yourself. Look at the item and think "would I pay 40p for that muffin? Yes. 60p? Yes. 70p? No", so 60p is probably right. For larger cakes I take a base line of a one pound sized loaf shaped plain cake such as a lemon drizzle or seek advice from someone you know who has done it before and has a practical grasp of the real world and you can always reduce the prices if thing don't sell.[ ;-) ]. Also if you have small cakes at say 30p put four on a plate and sell them for a £1, people like to feel they are getting a bargain and they were really only going to buy 3 and you have made them spend more already.

9. Ready? GO! You will be swamped with customers and everything will have gone in 30 mins, 40 max.

10. Beware of a) small children with sticky fingers who will paw everything and b) people who say "oooo that's dear I'll give you a £1 (for a £2.50 cake), you won't sell that at that price" be polite and say "Come back at the end and we'll see", they won't and you won't have any thing left anyway (they are probably the owners of the children with the sticky paws.

11. Go home and count the money, wash all clothes which will be sticky and stained with chocolate and have a nice cup of tea and a McVite's chocolate digestive or anything you have not made!