CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ~ IT'S TIME FOR MY MINCE PIE RECIPE

Good Morning to you,

'You might just as well say' 

added the dormouse,

who seemed to be talking in his sleep,

that 'I breathe when I sleep' 

is the same thing as

'I sleep when I breathe'

Alice in Wonderland

Now this is a strange beginning to our weekly chat isn't it.... me, mentioning a mouse

Well, if you had been in our house this week, you would have discovered that a mouse, has been an integral part of our week.

Let me tell you why.... but I would ask you to be patient, as this is a bit of a convoluted story.

As you know, last Saturday was the day we unpacked our Christmas decorations. Now last year, I had asked Natasha and Danielle if they would like to choose Christmas decorations from our tree, to add to their collection. They instantly smiled, and within seconds they were both standing at the tree.... no, not deciding which decorations to choose, but looking for a certain decoration, which they both loved. I knew which one they were looking for, because I had bought them in Germany and the girls always loved them.  It took a few minutes to locate the decoration, but they both chose the same one, along with a few others which they also loved.

So on Saturday, whilst I was unpacking our Christmas decorations, I remembered that we had only one, of a certain decoration left to hang on the tree.  I mentioned this to George. He looked at the decoration and told me, if I wanted him to, he could make a few more for me, as they were easy enough to put together.

I was thrilled, because it would be a role reversal. After many years of hanging decorations, which the girls had made, in future years, they would be hanging decorations, on their Christmas trees, which their dad had made. 

..... so, George set to. He was busy in the garage, on and off, for a couple of days, recreating these little decorations.  All that was needed, was for me to make the hat and scarf, which I felt was easy enough to do, even with my limited crochet skills.

On the third morning, George said the decorations were ready, so he went into the garage to collect the little lovelies.  He came back into the kitchen and said 'You'll never guess what, the heads are missing'. Of course the first thing I said, was 'Did you glue the heads on,'  He said, 'Of course I did, I definitely glued them on'. To which I said, 'Have they fallen off the workbench and rolled onto the ground'. His reply was 'Actually, that was the first thing I thought of, so I checked the floor, but no, not a head in sight.... they have completely disappeared' 

So a closer inspection was needed and that is when George discovered, we'd had a little visitor in the garage during the night.... a mouse... and what do mice love.... well, one of the things they love, is nuts.... and what were the heads made of.... yes you've guessed it, nuts.

You see, the original decorations had round wooden heads, but I did not have any round wooden balls to make the heads, so we decided to improvise and use a whole nutmeg for the head, which we thought looked pretty good..... but what we hadn't bargained on, was the little visitor in the garage. The nutmeg turned out to be a fabulously, scrumptious meal for the mouse.... Christmas had certainly come early for our little visitor.

So what did we do?

Well, we never use those horrid traps, which kill mice, we use humane mouse traps, as they catch the mice, without hurting them.  We then release the mice into a field.... but it has to be quite a distance from our home, because, mice are very territorial and they can make their way back home very easily.

So, the humane trap was set.... George had put a sprout leaf into the trap and do you know what, I have to tell you, we are dealing with a very clever mouse, because when George went into the garage, the next morning, the sprout leaf had disappeared, but the trap had not closed. Somehow our resident mouse had managed to take the food without getting trapped itself.  

So what did we do.... we  tried using cheese.... nope... the mouse did not even try and eat the cheese.... but I thought mice liked cheese, have their tastes changed over the years.  So what to do, the only thing we could, we turned to the Internet of course.... and what did we discover.

Well, believe it or not, it seems mice love peanut butter.... yes peanut butter.... who would have thought it.  I know it makes sense because the butter is made out of peanuts, so of course it would be a tempting feast for a mouse, but we would never have thought of this ourselves.

So, the upshot is, 

..... the peanut butter has been placed inside the humane trap

..... the decorations have been removed from the garage and have taken up residence in my sewing room.... waiting to be completed

..... I am trying my best to crochet the little hats and scarves.

..... oh yes, and I am going to do, what I should have done, in the first place ..... isn't hindsight a wonderful thing, I am going into town tomorrow to buy some wooden heads.

All being well, in the next few days,

.... the mouse will be deposited in its new home, where it will be able to hibernate before the weather turns. 

.... the decorations will be completed

.... so the said decorations will enjoy their new place on our Christmas tree.

.... phew what a pallarva over a few Christmas decorations.

So I think I had better change the subject, don't you, and get on with the Christmas baking.

The final thing I am going to share with you from our family Christmas two years ago is,

one of George's favourites, Christmas Mince Pies.... although to be honest, it is difficult to pin down George's favourite, because he loves Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mince pies.

The brilliant thing about mince pies, is that they can be frozen, either when baked or before baking. So when time is of the essence, I tend to make the mince pies as early in December as I can, but I don't bake them straight away, I tend to freeze them. 

I love it when I can place a red tick against my Family Christmas 'Things to Do' list.... it feels very satisfying.

.... and so to the Christmas music I am playing at the moment.

I thought it apt that I was playing this music, as Natasha and I went to see Kate Rusby sing live, at The Sage in Gateshead, a couple of Christmases ago and we loved every minute of her performance.  Kate has the most beautiful voice.

So enjoy Kate Rusby singing Diadem with a little bit of Yorkshire brass music thrown in for good measure.

Now this song isn't from the same album, but I love it all the same as Kate can do no wrong in my book.

Kate Rusby singing Here We Come A Wassailing

Oh and before I go, would you like to see what all the fuss and bother was about,

Now you see it

and

now you don't.

Take care and I will see you next week.

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ~ IT'S TIME FOR MY CHRISTMAS PUDDING RECIPE

Good Morning to you,

'Now bring us some figgy pudding

Now bring us some figgy pudding

Now bring us some figgy pudding

and a cup of good cheer

Glad tidings we bring

for you and your kin'

I just know, you will be singing the rest of the words to 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'.

.... and how do I know, because I am singing them as well.

It's almost here, just two more days before the great unwrapping of our Christmas decorations.... well it is supposed to be.

.... but I have to tell you, when George went for his swim, I could not help myself, I  decided to peek inside one of the boxes.... and there, wrapped very carefully, was my Christmas globe, which I have to tell you, I love.

I swear, each time I unwrap a Christmas decoration, I go backwards in time, my mind fills itself with the memories of Christmases past.... listen to me, I am beginning to sound like the 'Ghost from Christmas Past'.

.... so as my mind is drifting backwards, I thought I would stay with this theme and share with you a few of my childhood Christmas memories.

....so I must return to the Christmas globe as this is a special Christmas memory for me.

When I was a child, Phyllis had a Christmas globe which I loved. It was just large enough to fit inside my small hand. I vividly remember shaking the little globe up and down, and probably far too much, but the little globe fascinated me. I would watch the snow inside the globe, for what seemed like hours, but which of course was only seconds.  Do you know, as a child, I really thought, the snow was trapped inside the globe. After shaking the globe, I loved to sit and watch the snow gently drifting downwards, settling onto the roof of the little house and then the rest of the snow, falling gently onto the ground.

I also loved Christmas cards which were covered in silver glitter.  I loved it when Phyllis opened the Christmas cards, to find there was not a plain card, by which I mean, a card without glitter, but what I thought was a super dupa Christmas card, one which was sprinkled with glitter.... and didn't that glitter get everywhere.  

.... and our Christmas decorations, they were so very different to the ones we hang today.  We had concertina, paper decorations which were hung around the room, which funnily enough, I  discovered have become so very popular again. My contribution to the Christmas decorations came by way of my Junior school. It was always fun during the last week of the Christmas term, as we would make Christmas calendars, Christmas cards and paper chains to take home.  We were given brightly coloured paper which was pre-cut into the correct lengths. The first thing we did, was make the initial link.  This was done by licking the glued paper.... sorry about that, but that was how it was done.  The sticky paper was then held for a minute or two and so the first link was formed.  We then went on to make the second link, by popping a second piece of paper through the first link, then we repeated the licking of the paper and went on to add more and more links, until all the paper was used. We always hoped to make the chains long enough to hang from one corner of the ceiling to the ceiling light... and if we were lucky, we had two chains which went from corner to corner.

.... but we did not decorate as we do nowadays as our decorations did not go up until Christmas Eve and somehow this made Christmas even more exciting, because you knew, as a child, that once the tree and decorations were up, we did not have long to wait until it was time for Father Christmas to come down the chimney.... hopefully, that he would be able to climb down the chimney with his sack of presents. It was always a worry, because we had an open fire, and I worried that Father Christmas would get burnt, but Phyllis would reassure me, that the fire would be dampened down before she went to bed, so it would be safe for Father Christmas to climb down the chimney.

I remember, keeping this tradition alive for a long, long time myself.  We would buy our Christmas tree a few days before Christmas Eve, and then Natasha, Danielle and I would decorate the tree.  George would hand us the decorations to be placed on the tree and each of us would have free reign to place the decorations, where ever we wanted. There was no formality or design, as our Christmas decorations were a mix of ornaments, some which the girls had made, some which I had made and then some which we had bought on our travels. There was no theme to the Christmas tree, but this made it fun, because the tree never looked the same each year. It was much later that I fell in love with the way my German friends decorated their trees and so I adopted that style.

The dressing of the tree was always fun. George would have a glass of red wine, the girls would have a glass of milk  and I would have a sherry.... yes really, a glass of sherry.... I love Crofts Original sherry and do you know the only time I drink it, is during Christmas time. It really is part of my Christmas tradition.

It is interesting how Christmas has changed over the years because when I was a child, Christmas was enjoyed, but not with the same intensity as it is today.... but I can still remember that feeling of going to bed on Christmas Eve, so excited, thinking that if only I could stay awake, I would be able to meet Father Christmas, which of course I never managed to do, because I would always fall asleep, only to wake the next morning, disappointed that I had not met Father Christmas, but also filled with excited anticipation..... had I been good enough throughout the year, did Father Christmas think I deserved a Christmas present..... and when I went down stairs.... there they were.... my Christmas presents and the wonderful feeling I felt, because Father Christmas had thought I had been a good girl.

....isn't it funny the things we remember.

....and here's another maker of wonderful memories,

my Christmas pudding recipe. Which is a part of our family Christmas tradition.

When Natasha and Danielle were little girls, they always helped me make the Christmas pudding. They enjoyed the weighing of the ingredients and they certainly enjoyed stirring the Christmas pudding and making a Christmas wish.

Now, Phyllis and I made our Christmas puddings the same way, placed inside a bowl and steamed, but Ivy did not use a bowl, she used a square piece of muslin. She would place the finished mixture into the centre of a piece of muslin, pull the 4 corners together and tie them tightly with string. This way she would form the pudding into what looked like a cannon ball... probably the wrong description, because the resulting Christmas pudding, when steamed, was nothing like a cannon ball.  It was rich in flavour and delicious. The muslin would be tied again to create a loop for the wooden spoon to be placed through and then the whole pudding would be suspended over a pan of simmering water, making sure the pudding never touched the water.... thus allowing the pudding to steam.

Some people know this as a Plum pudding, others as a Christmas pudding, whichever one it is, when I was a child, they had one thing in common.

Buried, deep inside the homemade Christmas pudding, would be a silver sixpence.... and to the finder, it was considered a lucky silver sixpence. So of course as children, we always hoped that we would be the lucky recipient... and do you know, we usually were.... isn't that strange. 

.... these are just a few of my Christmas memories, I wonder, what are your favourite childhood memories. What was your favourite Christmas tradition? 

I'd love to know.

Oh yes, before I leave you, I wanted to say I am sorry I have not replied to last weeks comments, I have had one of those weeks I'm afraid.  I will certainly be catching up with you over the next few days.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday

and

Mindie for Simple Saturday Blog Hop

and

Joanita for Snickerdoodle Sunday

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ~ TIME FOR MY CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPE

Good Morning to you,

Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake

'There were plums and prunes and cherries,

There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too

There was nutmeg, cloves and berries

and a crust that was nailed on with glue.

There were caraway seeds in abundance

Such that work up a fine stomach ache

That could kill a man twice after eating a slice

of Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake.'

An Irish Christmas Song

Around this time of year, I can feel that little tingle.... the tingle, which heralds in, my favourite time of the year.... Christmas.

I start thinking about unpacking my Christmas decorations, and after a year of being stored in the loft,  it is always a joy to be re-acquainted with them

.... and then comes the fun part, the unwrapping of each Christmas decoration.  

The first thing we do, is check all the lights and I am always pleased when each string of lights, twinkle when plugged in. Although last year I had to say goodbye to a set of lights I have loved for a long time.  They were beautiful Christmas tree, candle lights, which I had bought in Germany. At a distance they were often mistaken for lighted wax candles. I have to say, they had been 'going home' for a while and although George had done his best to keep them going, in the end, we had to say farewell. Sadly, I have never found anything similar, but I am keeping my fingers crossed, that I might one day.

Now, as you know,  when our daughters come home for Christmas, I absolutely love making all our traditional Christmas foods.... but as they won't be with us this year, I will pare down my baking.  If I didn't, we would be eating Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and Mince pies, well into the New Year... and as much as I love a little indulgence over the Christmas, I really don't want to carry it through to the New Year.  

So although I will not be baking as much this year, I felt it would be nice to go back a couple of years, when we had the whole family for the Christmas festivities. To remember all the festive foods I enjoyed cooking for my family.... and you never know, you might find yourself incorporating one or two of the recipes into your Christmas celebrations.

The first thing on my list to make is always,

our Christmas Cake.  Now although I am not making a Christmas Cake for ourselves, I am baking a Christmas cake this weekend, to send to a friend who absolutely adores Christmas cake.  It is going to be delivered via the Royal Mail, so I am keeping my fingers crossed, that with a little padding, the Christmas cake will arrive in tact. 

       

If you click on the link, above, you will find the recipe and step by step instructions on how to make my Christmas cake.  

Once the cake has been baked, it is time for its weekly feed of brandy.  Then a few days before Christmas, it is time to

cover the Christmas Cake with marzipan.  I do love the flavour of almonds, so marzipan is certainly a hit with me, because there is always little bits and pieces left over for me to enjoy.

Once the marzipan had been left to dry for a couple of days,

it is time to move on to the icing and decoration of the Christmas Cake.  You can let your mind run free as far as decorating the Christmas cake is concerned, but, I bet your mind does not run as free as my father's did, one Christmas, many years ago.

Let me tell you a little story.... well it wouldn't be Ivy, Phyllis and Me! if I did not have a little story to tell.

When we lived in Cyprus, my mother, Phyllis, would always keep our English traditions alive. Like me, the first thing on her list of things to do, was to bake our Christmas cake. When baked it would be covered with marzipan, but the one thing she was never too keen to do, was the decorating of the Christmas cake. Phyllis always hoped that one year she would be able to pipe the words 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year' on the cake, but this never happened, so she would always resort to a snow scene.  This is where she used the flat of a knife to create little peaks of icing which looked like snow..... does this resonate with anyone?

My father, who was a very creative man, decided that it could not be that difficult to create the effect which Phyllis desired.  So that year, it was agreed that he would take over the icing of the cake.  The Christmas cake was baked by Phyllis, then she covered the cake with marzipan. The final thing on her list of things to do, before she handed over the reigns to my father, was to make the royal icing. A batch of royal icing to ice the cake, and another batch, of a much runnier consistency, to pipe the required words onto the Christmas cake.  

The cake was duly handed over to my father, for him to complete the Christmas cake.

He spread the cake with Royal icing, which was a success... it was smooth. Flushed with that success, instead of waiting for the icing to dry before he wrote the words Merry Christmas, he decided to write the words whilst the Royal icing was wet.  Now this would not have been a problem if the icing for the writing had been white, but no, he was adventurous and had decided to add cochineal to make the icing red.  His steady hand was poised and he was doing well, he started writing 'H-A-P-P-Y and proceeded to write 'C-H-R-I when there was a gasp, there was a red blob. Yes the 'S' had turned into a blob.  He tried to remove the red blob, but the blob would not be moved, it started bleeding into the white icing, turning the white icing pink. Phyllis tried to help by adding a little bit of white icing to the mix, but the icing just turned a lighter shade of pink.  Not at all the look Phyllis wanted.... as if the pink blob was not disastrous enough, much to Phyllis' amazement, my father, proceeded to squirt the rest of the red icing, on top of the white icing and mixed the two colours together, thus producing a pink Christmas cake. He then decided, if the Christmas cake was going to be pink.... it should be a bright pink and not a pale, insignificant pink.... which if I am honest Phyllis would have preferred. So more cochineal was added, how on earth he managed to mix the icing I do not know.  We were all trying not to laugh and he could see us smiling, but he just ignored us and carried on with the task in hand.  Phyllis was not smiling though, she was doubled up with laughter, but my father ignored Phyllis. He continued trying to mix the red and white icing, which if I am honest took on a marbled effect. He then patted the icing to create a snow scene..... yes a marbled, bright pink snow scene.... and yes the very same snow scene, which Phyllis, was hoping to avoid that year. She said she didn't mind a white snow scene, but she never envisaged bright pink snow on the Christmas cake. 

My father was not phased, he continued to ignore us all and placed the little Christmas decorations on top of the pink Christmas cake.  He turned to us and said, 'Yes it's a little different, but it won't make any difference to the taste of the cake'. 

Well, I have to tell you, this pink Christmas cake became famous, because Phyllis and my father had invited friends to spend Christmas with us. The Christmas cake, was and still is, the centrepiece of the Christmas tea.... so there it was, our bright pink Christmas cake, taking centre stage.  When our friends saw the cake, there were hoots of laughter and thinking back, I don't think our friends ever let my father live it down.

Can you imagine.... a bright pink Christmas cake.

.... and the reason he never lived it down. My father was was a Sign Writer, which took a very steady hand.

Now, as with all things, when they go wrong, the more you try to explain, the funnier  the story becomes.... and this story became funnier with each telling. 

.... and did my father ever decorate our Christmas cake again.... well the answer to that question is no. He did not offer and Phyllis did not ask... after the pink icing debacle, Phyllis returned to her usual snow scene.... also returning to her traditional white icing..... without the words 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'.

.... but as a family, we have lovely memories, of that very special pink Christmas cake.

....and isn't that one of the things we love about Christmas, the making of our family memories....like the time I served up cold carrots on Christmas Day.... but that's a whole other story.

Oh, just before I leave you, Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake sung by The Irish Rovers is an Irish Christmas song, which is very funny... you can join in with the chorus, as I have written the words at the beginning of my post.

.... and no my Christmas cake is not 'nailed on with glue'..... well no one has said anything..... mmm I think I'd better find out what everyone really thinks about my Christmas cake.... just as Miss Fogarty did, I hope I am not labouring under false illusions.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Mindie for the Simple Saturdays Blog Hop

and

Joanita for Snickerdoodle Sunday

and

Barbara for Share Your Style

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Good Morning to you,

For the past couple of years there has been a lot of discussion about how much food is wasted by the average family here in England.

How times have changed.

I remember as a child, my grandmother Ivy, and my mother Phyllis, did not waste a morsel of food. Any scraps of food which were left over, were always used the following day as part of another meal.

For instance, each Sunday, Phyllis would cook a roast dinner, which interestingly never included chicken, as chicken was far too expensive for the average family to buy. Any meat which was left over from the Sunday roast, was placed into the cold store to use the following day.  

I have vivid memories of Phyllis clamping her mincing machine, onto the kitchen table and then slowly, she would turn the handle, then feed the meat through the mincer. The resulting minced meat would then be added to a gravy. The potatoes were peeled, cooked and mashed to make a shepherds pie, other times the meat was added to vegetables and gravy to make a pastry pie.... nothing was ever wasted.  Her pantry was not laden with food, as ours is today, but she was, out of necessity, a very creative cook. Times were hard in the 1950's and remember the rationing of food, here in England, did not end until 1954. 

As children, we were never asked what we would like to eat, we were presented with food which Phyllis knew was good for us and what she could afford.  We were given three meals a day with no in between snacks. Back then it was breakfast, dinner and tea and once our tea had been eaten, that was it until the following day, when we had breakfast. 

It was a different story when we visited Nan Ivy and Gramps because I always had hot chocolate and a biscuit before I went to bed.... but my grandparents always spoilt us, as I'm sure you spoil your grand children.

So why do you think there is so much wasted food ?

Is it because, when shopping we shop with our eyes, which encourages us to  buy more food  than is really needed?

Is it the weekly shop itself, which is to blame, because again, we buy too much food, so when the end the week arrives, any food which is left in the fridge is thrown away.

Is it because, after a long day's work, mums and dads are so tired when they arrive home, that they are too tired to think about what to cook?

Now  please  don't  think  I am  being  judgemental, because I realise life is different today, but what concerns me is, I really  believe  that  there are many children, who are  growing  up, that will not know the pleasure of cooking, but  more importantly, they  will grow up thinking, it is normal to throw away unused food and that buying convenience food, is the only option open to them, and I, for one, feel that is such a shame.

So today, I thought, as I was talking about Phyllis, I would recreate a meal from my childhood which Phyllis used to make.  

.... and here it is, bubble and squeak.  Phyllis often made bubble and squeak with the left over Sunday vegetables. Now don't you just love that name.  I know most of you will know what bubble and squeak is, but just in case you have never heard of it, it was and still is, a way of using leftover food, to create another meal.  As a child I loved bubble and squeak. Phyllis told me that the name bubble and squeak came from the fact that the ingredients, when cooking, would bubble in the pan and make a squeaking sound. I know there are other explanations, but I love Phyllis' version.

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to today is,

the very lovely, Canadian, Michael Buble singing After All featuring his  fellow Canadian Bryan Adams. This song makes me dance around the kitchen... I can hear you saying there are a lot of songs which make Daphne dance or sing, but its true, if I hear a piece of music that I love, I really do dance and sing.... the added benefit is that its a couple of hundred steps towards my daily quota of 10,000 steps.

So while I am organising my ingredients.... when you know what they are you are going to smile, I am listening to.... and yes, I'm afraid I have to say it, singing along with Its a Beautiful Day.

INGREDIENTS 

YOU WILL

NEED

TO MAKE

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

12 sprouts ~ pre-cooked

6 large potatoes ~ pre-cooked and mashed

1 onion chopped

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of dried chillies (optional as

Phyllis would never have included chillies)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter

HOW 

TO MAKE

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Finely chop the onion.

Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil 

into a wide pan

and 

add the chilli flakes. Cook for a minute.

Add the onions and

cook until the onions are

golden in colour.

While the onions are cooking,

slice the cooked sprouts into

smaller slices.

Place your pre-cooked mashed potato

into a large bowl

and

add the cooked onions,

the sliced sprouts

salt

and

pepper

and

mix every thing together.

Form rounds as big or as little as you want. 

Press the rounds to flatten them.

Place the remaining olive oil

and

the butter into a wide pan

and melt the butter.

When the butter has melted, place the rounds into the pan and gently brown.

 When one side is brown, turn over very carefully and cook the other side until it is golden as well. If you are worried that the bubble and squeak might fall apart, don't worry, brush some of the olive oil and butter onto the top of the bubble and squeak and place under the grill.

I then place them into a 140C oven to keep them warm whilst I cook the rest.

.... and when they are all cooked and ready to eat, George likes his doubled up.  So I pop some feta cheese onto the first bubble and squeak and pop the second bubble and squeak on top.

Alternatively if I am making them for Sunday breakfast, I grill some bacon and pop a poached egg on the top..... which is always a hit with George.

Did you by any chance hear the sound of the bubble and the sound of the squeak?

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

 Sinea from Ducks 'N A Row

and

Joanita for Snickerdoodle Sunday

and

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday

APPLE PIE WITH CINNAMON, NUTMEG AND BROWN SUGAR

Good Morning to you,

How lucky am I?

I spent a fabulous 10 days with Danielle in early October and then went on to spend a wonderful 6 days with Natasha last week.

.... my only complaint is, why does the time go by so very quickly... it seemed no sooner had Natasha arrived, then it was time for her to leave.

... but we did have fun together. On Tuesday, I took Natasha along to my sewing group, but, oh dear, we arrived a little late.... and can you guess why? 

You have known me for quite a while now, so I won't be offended.

Go on, be brave, just say it.

Yes that's right, we were late, because we just kept on talking, or nattering as Phyllis would say.

We were curled up in our chairs and we were wearing our pyjamas, (does this sound familiar by any chance) drinking our morning coffee.  We agreed a time to shower and change, but that time past us by, so we set a new time, and can you believe it, we ignored the alarm... yes we even set an alarm, until we had no choice, but to fly around the house and get ourselves ready.  We both kissed George goodbye and we raced out of the door. I think George was a little bemused by us rushing around so much, because he is so organised, but he does know what we are like.... he just smiles and leaves us to it.

We had fun at the sewing group and afterwards we visited our local vintage book shops, where we  found some wonderful old books... well quite a few actually. During our time together, we went into town and stopped for the odd coffee or two.... oh yes and we enjoyed some wonderful Italian food at Carluccio's. The food was fabulous, but the desserts.... they are just a little bit special.  I had the lemon tart.... and it was so delicious. There is nothing like good food and good company.... a recipe for a lovely evening.

We rounded off the week by attending the Remembrance Service at Newcastle's War Memorial.

We sang hymns and said prayers in remembrance of the men and women who had fallen in past and present conflicts.

At 11 o'clock, we heard the sound of gunfire from the guns of the 101st Northumbrian Regiment, Royal Artillery.

We bowed our heads and we remembered.

At 2 minutes past eleven, we heard another round of gunfire to mark the end of the 2 minutes silence.

Shortly afterwards, these words, were spoken by a veteran soldier,

"They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old;

age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn":

A young cadet continued,

"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

we will remember them."

And we all joined in

with the words,

"We will remember them."

When the Bugler sounded 'Last Post', I could not hold back the tears any longer, they just flooded down my face.... both George and I remembered our dear friends.

After the service, we hugged each other, wiped our eyes and gathered ourselves together, as it was time to take Natasha to the train station, to begin her journey home.  It is always a hard thing for me to say goodbye to our daughters. The time I spend with both Natasha and Danielle, is wonderful, but it also reminds me of how much I miss them both.

.... but I gave myself a good talking to, and reminded myself, that when Natasha and Danielle were growing up, I would tell them, that there was a big wide world waiting for them to explore.

.... and they both took my advice.... they are like George, they are both adventurers.

After saying goodbye to Natasha, George and I returned home.  I know I have mentioned to you before, that the house always seems so very quiet when our daughters have returned to their homes. There are no sounds of 'busy', there are no sounds of chitter chatter from our girls.... just quiet. You see, we get used to a noisy house and we love it.

.... but the days have moved on and we are returning to the rhythm of our own lives again.

So, to help this settling down process, I really needed to bake something which would be comforting.... and I feel sure you will agree,

that Apple Pie is the perfect pick me up.  Now some of you will love ice cream with your apple pie and some will love double cream, but today, what I need to make my apple pie perfect.... is custard, yes custard.... and Barbara, I have to tell you, I timed it just perfectly,  the skin did not even have time to form on the custard.... and it was scrumptious.

We are not making custard today, I will leave that for another time, when I have another recipe up my sleeve.  So today we are making apple pie.

.... but first, it's 'on with the pinnie' and the music I am listening to is,

the beautiful voice of Madeleine Peyroux.  I have featured Madeleine before, but her voice is so beautiful I felt it was time to re-visit the album.

I just know my French friends will so enjoy, listening to,

La Javanaise

So while I gather my ingredients together I am listening to Summer Wind a song I love and I just can't help singing along to. Singing makes me feel so happy.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

APPLE PIE

FOR THE PASTRY

340g plain flour

85g unsalted butter
plus a little butter to butter the pie plate

85g shortening, I used Trex

pinch of salt

1-2 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons of caster sugar
plus 1 tablespoon to sprinkle on the pastry

1 egg yolk to glaze the apple pie

FOR THE FILLING

4-5 Bramley Apples

1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 teaspoons of cornflour

2 tablespoons Demerara sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Pre-heat the oven to 180C or 160C if fan assisted.

I usually put the oven on after I have made the pastry and when I start peeling the apples.

You will need a 10" round enamel plate.

HOW TO MAKE

AN

APPLE PIE

Sift the flour and

the salt into a large bowl.

Add the butter and the Trex to the bowl and gently rub with your finger tips until the mixture looks like bread crumbs.

Add the caster sugar.

Using 1-2 tablespoons of iced water, combine the ingredients together.  

Sometimes I find I need 1-2 tablespoons of water,

 sometimes I need a little more.

Cover the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge

 for half an hour.

Now it is time to organise the apple filling.

Peel and core the apples and cut into chunky pieces.

Place the apple pieces into a large bowl filled with water and lemon juice.  This prevents the apples from turning brown.

Set aside for the moment.

Grind the cinnamon... I have a coffee grinder which is perfect for the job.  The only thing is, please don't use the grinder for coffee, keep it to grind spices as you don't want your spices infused with coffee.

Grate the nutmeg.

Place the cinnamon, 

the nutmeg, the cornflour

and

the demerara sugar

into a bowl and mix together.

Set aside for the moment.

Butter the pie plate.

Remove the pastry from the fridge

and roll out.

Cut around the edges, but leave a bit of an over

hang.

Return the pastry to the fridge, to keep it cold.

Remove the apples from the water and place on a clean tea towel.  Working quickly, gently pat the excess water from the  apples.

Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cornflour and sugar mixture to the apples and toss together.

Remove the pastry shell from the fridge and fill with the apples. You will find the apples will be piled high.
Brush the ege of the pastry with water to seal the pastry lid.

Roll out the pastry lid, but as we have piled the apples high, you will find you will need to roll out a pastry lid which is much larger than the plate.

Cut away the excess pastry around the edges and cut 4 leaves from the left over pastry. 

Brush the pastry lid with egg wash and arrange the pastry leaves on the top of the pie... brush these

 with egg wash.

Sprinkle with caster sugar.

Place in the oven and cook for 40-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden.  Ovens do vary, so check after 40 minutes of cooking.

Remove the apple pie from the oven and if you can bear it, allow the apple pie to cool a little.... I know, it's hard, because the smell of a baked apple pie is just fabulous and so tempting, it makes you just want to dive straight in and eat it.

 I've just had a thought.  Rather than waiting for
the whole pie to cool,

cut a piece of apple pie, leave it to cool for a few minutes, serve with your cream of choice,

and

just

enjoy.

You may have noticed in this recipe that I have used half butter and half Trex. The reason for this is, years ago when I first started baking, I always used Trex, then it was recommended that we use half Trex and half butter. Then it became the fashion to use all butter and just egg, without water to combine. For some reason or another, this time, I decided to use, half and half... I'm not sure why, I think my mind must have been on other things, but if I am perfectly honest, I think I prefer using half butter and half Trex, there seems to be a nice crispness to the pastry. The trick is not to use too much water as this will make the pastry hard. I asked George to do a taste test and he agreed. He said he loved the pastry.

Actually what he said was 'the pastry is just like my dad used to make'.... now you don't hear that every day.

Oh and before I go, just incase you are wondering who on earth Barbara is, well Barbara is a blogging friend who lives in France.... and we have one thing, amongst many others, in common.  We both love custard.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Joanita for Snickerdoodle Sunday

and

Natasha in Oz for Sundays Down Under

and

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday