Excuse the delay, there
has been a bit going on here. I’ve been adding to this post in draft form on a daily basis for
just over a week, and I have had to edit it before posting as it all says “Today”
when clearly it’s not. I’m also having camera problems, my main camera is not
producing good close-ups and the camera on my phone is a waste of time for
anything that’s not outside in good sunlight and a few feet away.
After the visits of Amy
and Harry, closely following that of Naomi and Eamon, my larder was a bit
depleted, of all the food that I had made, well the two litres of Baileys has
about half a litre left, the two jars of Garlic pickle, Naomi and Eamon took
one home with them and we had most of the other with a ploughman’s on Monday
evening. Amy and Harry want me to POST them some in a plastic container as soon
as I make more. All the Ice-Cream has gone as well, and the saffron buns. It looks
like a trip to the shops is required to re-stock.
About a week ago I made
a wholemeal loaf, and some cheese and pickled onion rolls. The pickled onions I
found that were soft; I chopped them in the Kenwood, and added Black Treacle
and a bit of sugar, thickening into a paste on the hob. This I mixed with the
grated cheese for a filling for my rolls. It diluted the sharp taste a bit and
they came out really nice.
As usual I added semolina to the dough (20g to 500g
of flour) and modified the liquid (320ml water and 50ml Olive Oil) to give a softer
crumb, with a crunchier top.
I use Paul Hollywood’s wholemeal recipe but lard instead of butter.
I use Paul Hollywood’s wholemeal recipe but lard instead of butter.
I took the last of the
pasta sauce I made from my own tomatoes from the freezer for supper, I will fry
bacon with onion and peppers and mushrooms add the sauce and the pasta and cook
until the pasta is soft. Good tip from somewhere, Nigella I think, if your
sauce is a bit runny, cook the pasta in with it. It will reduce and thicken
nicely, and save you some washing up.
I got a large piece of
beef cheap, and it’s been sitting in the freezer for a while now. I will roast
it on Sunday, with all the usual trimmings, there will be enough left for many
meals, in fact after cooking and carving, I got enough for14 portions, all for
a cost of £11.
After all my angst
about Xmas and the rampant commercialism of it all, I did some thinking about
presents and settled on an idea for a new hobby.
I’m going to be a
Cheesemonger, or is that a cheese maker? I guess it depends on whether I make
it for myself, or sell it. I have wanted to do it for a time, but thought it
would be complex and expensive. After a bit of research, it doesn’t look as
hard as I thought, so I found a cheese making kit online and Yvonne said she
would get it for me for Xmas.
I had to check up on
the need for a press, I know that you don’t need one for soft cheese, and I had
the fruit press that I found in a charity shop, it all rested on the size of
the moulds, and fortunately they fit in it. So that’s one expense spared. Now I
have visions of producing all sorts of cheesy comestibles, no doubt the reality
will be somewhat different. Watch this space for news in the New Year. There is
such a good supply of top quality milk in Devon that I can’t wait.
As I said before, it
must be the area, because I was never this creative before coming here, apart
from the cross-stitch I did little in the way of hobbies, bread making was a
job, but now that I’m not doing it to sell, and I’ve been on the course I do it
so much better, I make wine and jam/pickles and write this blog. Also, I’m
writing short stories and am starting the cheese project.
We had a good day
shopping in Exeter yesterday, although my views on the commercialism of the
season will be well known to regular readers, see post ."Bah Humbug" I accept that there are still
things that have to be done. So I would rather get it over with. And now I
have.
Good news is that we
will be together at Xmas, we were just waiting on Amy’s shifts, I’m off and so is Naomi,
so we are all off to Amy’s. I am in the process of making Xmas food gifts,
so I can do a few extra bits to take. I’ve been saving points on
my fuel purchases this year and have a good amount for treats!
I tried using my oven
as a proofing cabinet for the sourdough I made today,
and it worked spectacularly.
I got 6 rolls, 2 loaves and 3 baguettes from the 3kg of dough which I made at
7.30. Thanks to the oven it rose much better than it does in the kitchen. I
formed it up at 11.30 and put it back into the prepared oven. I will bake it when
it has doubled again or at about 8pm.
Well in the end it was
baked before midnight, and one stuck, so did not make a pretty loaf. But it was
only for home consumption, and it will be eaten in chunks with soup so the
shape is immaterial.
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