Lovely to have children and grandchildren together at the ROTH in Bruton. A lovely setting with nice garden, superb shop and lovely restaurant, although to be honest I was not that impressed with the food. The company however was excellent. Erin and Adam are developing into witty nice adults, I mean nice in rthe nicest way – they interact fantastically with Corinne and Ottilie. These two are just a bundle of fun with smiles never far from their faces. So well behaved despite a long wait for lunch and also in the car on the hour long journey. Felix step son of sorts was also cahtty although I knew nothing about his immense knowledge of gaming and computers and cartoons/films.
The parents, my offspring were lovely as were their partners. It was lovely to see them all interacting so well together. No bitching or point scoring – just genuine friendship. Where to go next year? Or later this summer?
First day of real warmth at 9am. Tomatoes in greenhouse begining to flower, chillies looking good and red peppers are coming on. Basils are doing ok. Most mints have survived and some of the thyme I thought was dead is showing signs of life. Apricot and lemon and lime trees are all looking good. Wisteria and honeysuckle are again amazing – scent should be bottled! Last year on this date I picked elderflowers to make a cordial – it will be. few days yet this year.
Making ciabatta and some chocolate ginger cookies later.
Food inflation of 19% does not affect the rich. It is the poor who find that reserves of carefully maintained savings are eaten away, luxuries abstained, even small pleasures like a 6 monthly visit to a cinema or restaurant forsaken. And what does the government do – as usual absolutely nothing. It is obvious to all (apart from JR-M and co) that Brexit has broken the system. Other world events such as Ukraine and climate change have also had an impact. However the policy of blame does not solve the problem. A friend who supplies shops with crisps says that demand has soared recently, at the same time a local food bank refused to take potatoes as they would “go off”!
Mire expensive food drives the demand for quality down, and thus the cost to the NHS up. This is a full blown crisis that should reslut in a COBRA meeting to bring all relevant parties to sit around a table and thrash out a sustainable future.
My invite list would include NFU,organic farming reps, food manufacturers, Jamie Oliver, Marcus Rashford, McDonalds (or similar), NHS nutritionists and clinicians. I am sure there are others worthy of inclusion. Perhaps on the supply chain issues?
Just seen this in Food Weekly, Observer from The Pepperpot Diaries.
2 sprigs thyme,10g fresh bay leaves, small bunch parsley,small bunch coriander,4 spring onions, 10 cloves peeled garlic, green chilli to add heat, 6 mini sweet peppers, 1/2. white onion, 400ml cold pressed rape seed oil, s and p. Whizz and enjoy!
Warm wraps. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over chopped salad of lettuce/tomatoes/beetroot/cucumber. Marinate diced lamb overnight with olive oil/wine vinegar/garlic/mustard/chilli/coriander powder – dunk into fine breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil. Combine salad and lamb in warm wraps.
Meat can be replaced with cheese- baked camembert sounds good!
These classic old fashioned biscuits are called Easter biscuits because they were traditionally baked and given as gifts at Easter time. Lightly spiced and speckled with currants they are delicious and make a change from the usual chocolate confections.
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These days when it comes to Easter baking our thoughts often turn to chocolate (at least I know mine does) and hot cross buns. But these biscuits make a delicious change and of course, there is no reason why you can not bake them at any time of the year.
Making biscuits and cookies gives very quick rewards, especially with recipes that do not need chilling. So if you fancy a quick treat this is the recipe for you.
Easter Biscuits originated in West Country, some traditional recipes from the Somerset region used cinnamon flavoured cassia oil that was thought to had been used to embalm Christ’s body.
This recipe is adapted from an old WI recipe book of mine from the 1970’s and I have made them many times over the years.
You will like these biscuits because:
Quick and easy to make
Keep well – store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks
Spice – I’ve used ground cinnamon for the spice which has a similar flavour to cassia (Cassia is often misnamed and mistaken as cinnamon though these are two different spices.) but you can use nutmeg or mixed spice if preferred.
Currents – are the traditional dried fruit and I think they work best (but also works well with raisins or sultanas)
Mixed Peel – I like the mixed peel in these biscuits but many modern recipes use grated lemon zest or even orange zest and omit the peel.
Cookie Cutters – I’ve used a fluted cutter because they look pretty but you could, of course, use plain round cutters or if you don’t have any cookie cutters use an upturned cup or glass instead.
My take on this – double cinnamon and add ginger and mixed spice- leave out mixed peel (Katie) –
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 4.
Beat 75g (3oz) softened butter with 75g (3oz) caster sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in 1 egg yolk.
Add ¼tsp cinnamon, 50g (2oz) currants and 15g (½oz) mixed peel and mix to combine, then beat in 3tbsp milk.
Add 175g (6oz) plain flour and mix to a stiff dough. Roll out the dough to 6mm (¼in) thick then use a 7cm (3in) round cookie cutter cut out biscuits and transfer to a baking sheet. Gather up the trimmings, roll and repeat.
Lightly beat the egg white and brush the surface of the biscuits with the egg white, then sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
Long range forecast is looking a bit chilly so no rush to plant tomatoes, last year was 3 March but I think wait and see what the weather is like then. Just toms, cucumbers and chillies and maybe red peppers this year? I might move my avocado plants to the greenhouse once it gets warmer and see if we can get just one!
Cooking – I think a Cornish Saffron Cake and a Simnel Cake for Easter?
Before that is pancake day! Can I get beyond brown sugar and lemon juice – probably not, yet again I will not even try!
