Ginger and pears are a beautiful combination . . . the pears sweet and lucious, the ginger fiery and hot . . .



I found this scrummy old fashioned pudding recipe in one of my cookbooks the other day, Good Old Fashioned Puddings, by Sarah Paston Williams and published by the National Trust.



It is chock filled with beautiful old fashioned recipes for delicious desserts and teatime treats, guaranteed to please most people! This tasty gingerbread like pudding recipe called out to me from the start!



I am an old fashioned gal with an old fashioned husband, so you just know that this tasty delight went down a real treat with us.



So perfectly autumnal . . . with fresh pears and warm spices . . . toasty walnuts, cherries and sweet sugar and treacle . . . both kinds golden and dark . . . the end result more like a cake than a pudding, with a rich toffee topping pooled around the fruit and nuts . . . the cake all rich and gingerbready beneath that fruity decadence.



Lashings of custard or cream are a must! We chose to have extra thick double spooning cream with ours.



Oh my . . . but it was some good . . . three hours later, and I am finding the leftover's hard to resist . . . I keep going into the kitchen and cutting off tiny slivers . . .

Oh I am a glutton . . .



*Gingerbread and Pear Upside-down Pudding*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

I am told this was very popular in Victorian days. I don't know about that, but I can tell you that it's very, very good!

1 3/4 ounces of butter (scant 1/4 cup)
70g of soft light brown sugar (about 1/3 cup packed)
3 firm pears
6 glace cherries
walnut halves

For the cake:
4 ounces butter (1/2 cup)
70g of slft light brown sugar (about 1/3 cup packed)
4 ounces black treacle (1/2 cup)
4 ounces golden syrup (1/2 cup)
(You can use 1 cup of mild molasses)
225g of plain flour (a generous 2 cups)
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 level teaspoon of baking soda
150ml of warm full fat milk (scant 2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch round deep baking tin. Line the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper. Melt the butter for the topping in a saucepan along with the brown sugar and stir for a few minutes to dissolve. Pour into the bottom of the tin. Peel, halve and core the pears. Put a glace cherry in the middle of each and then place cut side down into the brown sugar mixture in the baking pan, with stalk ends facing the centre. Place walnut halves in between the pears.

Put the butter for the cake bit in a larger saucepan. Melt together with the brown sugar, treacle and syrup. Whisk in the salt, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and soda. Whisk in the eggs and milk and then the flour until you get a smooth batter. Pour this batter carefully over top of the pears in the tin. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to shrink a little before turning out onto a warm serving plate. Carefully remove the paper. Serve warm with custard, or cream.

Ten years ago when I moved over here to the UK, I brought with me on the airplane a huge 2 gallon drum of Maple Syrup . . . one of the things that I thought I would miss the most from home.



I had to change planes at Heathrow to catch one up to Manchester, and let me tell you . . . it was a very long walk through the airport to change terminals carrying those two gallons . . . thankfully a gentleman took pity on me about halfway there carried it for me the rest of the way . . .



Maple Syrup was a precious and expensive commodity over here back then, and very rare . . . It is a lot more common nowadays, if still expensive, but a little bit now and again is good for my Canadian soul . . . if you have never tried an egg poached in Maple Syrup . . . you just haven't lived! (tis not just for pancakes you know!)



Apples, Oats, Walnut and Maple Syrup . . . what a beautiful combination . . . a delicious combination that positively screams autumn to my heart!!!



Every bite brings the sweet/tart tang of meltingly soft apple, along with the whisper of maple and the buttery crunch the brown sugar topping.

Back home I would have had this with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream melting down into it's warmth . . . here I eat it with lashings of double cream . . .



It would seem that I am becoming more and more British as time goes by!

Try it, you'll love it!



*Apple Crumble with Maple, Oats and Walnuts*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

Maple, apples, walnuts and oats . . . not strictly British flavours, but oh so yummy.

8 tart/sweet apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
(Use a mixture. I like Granny Smith and Pippins)
2 ouces of Maple Syrup, preferably grade 2 amber (1.4 cup)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 ounces of walnuts, toast and coarsely chop (1/2 cup)
5 ounces soft dark brown sugar (about 2/3 cup)
2 1/2 ounces plain flour (1/2 cup all purpose)
1 1/4 ounce whole wheat flour (1/4 cup)
6 TBS unsalted butter, cut into bits
3.5 ounces of rolled oats (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Place the apple wedges into a large baking dish and toss together with the maple syrup, the nutmeg and half of the cinnamon. Scatter the walnuts over top.

Stir together the brown sugar, plain flour,whole wheat flour, remainder of the cinnamon and brown sugar. Mix well. Drop in the butter bits and then rub them into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the oats with your fingers. Scatter in clumps over top of the apples.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is nicely crisped. If it browns too quickly then you may loosely cover it with some foil, uncovering it for the last 5 minutes of baking time.

*Note to self - Strepsils cool and Apple Crumble are not flavours that go well together. Must make again when I don't have the flu . . .

I am in the throes of a terrible chest cold. I hate it when I get one of those. I don't get sick very often but when I do . . . it seems to make up for it. Cough, cough, cough . . . and I am so very tired. I have no energy for most things. The last time I felt like this, which was quite a number of years ago, it turned into pneumonia, so I am really hoping that is not the case this time around.



Todd is taking good care of me, to be sure. He is such a good husband. He is not much of a cook though . . .

Thankfully, I cooked up a pot of this lovely soup before I started to feel so badly . . . rich and thick, and bursting with the natural sweetness of autumn root vegetables and deliciously creamy and nourishing honey. Soup is so very comforting when you are feeling a bit under the weather . . .



Sage and garlic add some final flavours that make this a very delicious soup indeed. Oh, isn't cooking so very magical?



I mean . . . on their own, these things are so so so, plain and simple . . . but married together in unique combinations, they become something very special indeed.

Enjoy!!



*Root Vegetable Soup with Honey and Sage*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

This is a delicious soup. The honey helps to bring out the natural sweetness of the root vegetables. Very pretty with a garnish of drizzled cream and fresh sprigs of sage.

75g of unsalted butter (A generous 1/3 cup)
1 medium brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium parsnip, peeled and finely chopped
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 heaped Tablespoons of creamy honey
3 sprigs of sage, chopped, plus extra sprigs for serving
750ml of vegetable stock (3 cups) (I use Swiss Marigold powder diluted in boiling water)
75 ml of double cream, plus extra for drizzling (1/3 cup)
freshly squeezed lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the butter into a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, parsnip and garlic. Stir to coat the vegetables with the butter, cover and then sweat over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and add the cubed sweet potato, honey and sage, giving it all a good stir. Cover and continue to sweat for another 10 minutes or so. Add the boiling stock and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes until all the vegetables are very tender. Remove from the heat. Using a stick blender puree the soup until smooth. If it is too thick you may have to add more vegetable stock to thin it a bit. Bring the soup back to the boil and then stir in the cream. Heat through without boiling any further. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Ladle into heated soup bowls. Drizzle a bit of cream over each and garnish with more sage leaves if desired.

I make no secret of the fact that I love blueberries. I hold up my hand and confess . . . it's true, true, TRUE! I DO LOVE BLUEBERRIES!



When I first moved over here to the UK ten years ago, blueberries were really, really hard to find. I remember being out for a walk with Todd one day, and finding a bush covered with tons of what looked like dusky blue berries and thinking that they were real Blueberries! I was so excited about my find! Poor Todd I made him eat one so that he could taste what a blueberry tastes like before I realized that they weren't blueberries at all!



He must really, really, REALLY love me, eh?



Anyways, over the past few years blueberries have become increasingly easier to find and sometimes they are even quite affordable. When I find them on special, I buy up lots of them and freeze them so that I can have blueberries almost whenever I want them! They freeze really, really well.



I do miss the wild blueberries of back home, where they grew in abundance, but hey . . . when it comes right down to it, I'll take what I can get! Better these than none at all!



This delicious cake is one of my favourite ways to use them. (Next to blueberry pancakes, pie and muffins of course!)



Tender and fluffy, it literally melts in the mouth, and has a scrummy crunchy sugar topping. You don't need to make the Blueberry Cream to go with it . . . but really, it's not that hard and is so very delicious. They go perfectly together . . . jes like peaches and cream! Sho nuff!




*Melt-In-Your-Mouth Blueberry Cake, with a Lemon Cream*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Easy and delicious. The Lemon Cream makes this one extra special!

2 large free range eggs, separated
7 ounces granulated sugar, plus 1 dessertspoonful
8 TBS unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
210g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
80ml of milk (1/3 cup)
8 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries (about 1 1/2 cups)

For the Lemon Cream:
250ml of double cream
80ml of good quality or homemade lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ Gas mark 4. Butter a deep 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper. Butter again. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 2 ounces of the sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and 5 ounces of the sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Remove 2 TBS of flour and toss with the blueberries. Set aside. Whisk together the rest of the flour, salt and baking powder. Alternately mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture with the milk, beginning and ending with dry, blending in each addition well. Stir in 1/4 of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter and then genly fold in the remainder. Fold in the flour tossed blueberries. Turn into the prepared pan. Level off and then dust with the dessertspoonful of sugar.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and let cool completely before serving.

To make the Lemon Cream, whip the double cream together with the lemon curd until soft peaks form.

When ready to serve cut into squares and place on a plate. Top each with a dollop of Lemon Cream.

This time of year is a busy time of year in the garden . . . clearing out any debris from the summer, trimming back plants, putting in spring bulbs, etc.

And doing it all inbetween the nasty rainy weather we've been having just recently.



My rhubarb grew like mad this summer. I had oodles and oodles of it. Yum! Yum!

It's truly one of my favourite fruits.



We had ever so much of it still left in the garden, and I knew that if I didn't get it used up this week, it would go to waste.

But what do you do with rhubarb that is perhaps not at it's peak?



You make a delicious Rhubarb Compote, that's what!



Beautifully sweet and fruity. The vanilla paste and orange flavours bring out the absolute best flavours of older rhubarb and so does the Pernod. Trust me on this.



Heavenly, simply heavenly.



*Rhubarb Compote*
Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe

You may think this is an unusual combination of ingredients, but trust me when I tell you it is pure magic. Delicious!

200g of caster sugar (1 cup fine sugar) (or to taste, you
may need more or less depending on the tartness of your fruit)
25ml of water (about 1/8th cup)
the juice of one large orange
the zest of one large orange
8 to 10 sticks of rhubarb, washed, trimmed and cut
into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp vanilla paste

To finish:
1 TBS Pernod (optional)
Greek yoghurt to serve (optional)

Place the sugar and water into a large saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the rhubarb, orange juice, orange zest and the vanilla paste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the rhubarb is very soft and broken down somewhat. Remove from the heat, stir in the Pernod and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Serve spooned out into bowls with a dollop of Greek Yoghurt on top of each.

I've long been a fan of Dorie Greenspan's cookery books. I think I have every one she's ever published, including some of the earliest ones . . . Sweet Times . . . Waffles . . . and Pancakes. I also am the proud owner of books by other authors that she contributed to such as Baking With Julia and Desserts by Pierre Herme.

I was thrilled when I read that she had another book coming out, Around My French Table, and I signed up to receive it as soon as it became available. It came in the post last week, and I fell in love with it immediately. I can tell that this book and I are going to become very good friends!



I know this is The English Kitchen and one might not expect to find French Food in an English Kitchen, but . . . that is what I love so much about English Cookery and English Cooks. We are not afraid to try new things and to embrace them.

Such it is with me and the food of France. I fell in love with it from my very first trip there.

I was also thrilled to find out that just like the Baking Group that came out of Dorie's last Book, Baking, From My Home to Yours, called Tuesdays With Dorie, they were forming a new cookery group called French Fridays, where every Friday they will be cooking a recipe from this wonderful latest book of hers! I had to join . . . I just had to!



So here you have it a second post from me today. Dorie herself picked the first recipe for us to do from the book, Gougeres . . . delicious little bites of cheesey choux pastry goodness!



Choux Paste and I have a very tenable relationship through the years. I have not always had much success with it . . .and to be perfectly honest . . . it scares the heck out of me. Normally my choux paste ends up kinda eggy and flat, not at all puffy.




This is a fabulous recipe. My pouffs puffed up puffily and light. The flavour of them is incredibly cheesy. I think that I made mine a bit larger than they should have been though and so if I make them again, and I think I will, I'll do them a bit on the smaller size!



Having said that though, they are very, very good and although mine were somewhat on the largish side, they made excellent shells for some delicious Deviled Ham that I threw together for our lunch.



I'm afraid that you'll have to buy the book if you want the recipe, but trust me when I tell you it's worth every penny" Next week's recipe will be Gerard's Mustard Tart. Vive la France!



The deviled ham?? Just a mixture of chopped baked ham, a tablespoon of mayo, a tsp of french mustard, some chopped shallot and chopped gerkins. Easy peazy, lemon squeezy! Nom Nom!

What could be better than a tasty carrot bread??? All spicy and moist . . .




An Apple and Carrot Loaf, that's what!!! All spicy and moist and filled with lovely tart apples and sweet carrots . . .

Hmmm . . . And what could be better than an Apple and Carrot Loaf???




Why an Apple, Carrot and Walnut Loaf . . . all spicy and moist and filled with the tart flavours of apple, sweet carrots and the crunch of toasted walnuts!

But hey . . . you can go one step further you know . . . and make it even more scrummy!



How about glazing it with a sweet/tart apple glaze while it is still warm from the oven !!!




Oh my . . . this smells heavenly when it is baking. You almost can't wait for it to come out of the oven . . . it smells so good! And then once you get it out of the oven, you almost can't wait for it to cool down enough so that you can slice it . . . and then . . .



You want to sit down with a cup of your favourite brew and cut the loaf into thick slices . . . and then slather lovely softened sweet butter alllllll over them . . . mmmmm . . .




Every mouthful brings joy . . . sweet . . . moist . . . crunchy and nutty . . . pure bliss.

The loaf is so spicy and moist and nutty . . . the butter so sweet and rich . . . every mouthful is oh so very scrummy yummy nummy!

I just love autumn . . . don't you?



* Glazed Apple, Carrot and Walnut Bread*
Makes one 8 by 4 inch loaf
Printable Recipe

Moist, simple and delicious! Very nice plain, or spread with softened butter or cream cheese.

250g plain flour (2 cups)
150g light muscovado sugar (1 cup packed)
1 TBS baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
(about 1/3 of a nutmeg)
healthy pinch each ground ginger and allspice
100ml cloudy apple juice (1/3 cup)
75g of butter, melted (1/3 cup)
2 larger free range eggs, beaten
1 large tart cooking apple, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
a handful of toasted walnuts chopped

For the glaze:
4 TBS cloudy apple juice
2 TBS caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan and line with baking paper. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the apple juice, melted butter and eggs. Set aside.

Squeeze as much liquid out of the apple and carrot as you can with your hands. set aside.

Add the liquid ingrediets to the dry ingredients, and fold together just to combine and evenly moisten the dry ingredients. Fold in the apple, carrot and nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Level the top and then bake in the heated oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. It should be well risen, nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin while you make the glaze. Stir together the juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Spoon evenly over the hot loaf. Let sit a few more minutes to absorb, then turn out onto a wire rack, rightside up, to finish cooling. Serve cut into slices, and or not spread with butter. Store in a tightly covered container.

A few days ago I didn't think it was possible to make a cheese scone taste any better then it did already.

And then . . .



I had a brainstorm.



What if you took a really good cheese scone recipe . . . one that produced light and flaky scones with really cheesy flavours . . .



and then filled them with some tasty chutney before baking??? Just so that the scones bake up light and fluffy, but with delicious chutney oooooozing out the sides . . .

No need to butter these. Just bring on the ham, thickly sliced . . .



and perhaps a pear or two,

Cheesy Scones with tangy chutney centres. I used a delicious Apple and Pear Windfall chutney that I got at Marks & Sparks.

Two words. Nom Nom! What a tasty way to end the month!



*Ploughman's Scones*
Makes about 9
Printable Recipe

Nom Nom!

8 1/2 ounces plain flour (2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBS chilled butter, cut into bits
4 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
2 heaped Tablespoons of finely grated Parmesan Cheese
Cayenne pepper to taste
250 ml of whole milk (1 cup)
a smooth chutney (I used Marks and Spencers Windfall chutney, containing apples and pears)

Preheat the oven top 205*C/425*F/ gas mark 6. Lightly butter a baking tray. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in quickly with your fingertips until the mixture is mealy. Stir in the cheeses and the cayenne pepper. Add the milk and stir until the dough is soft, adding a touch more milk if necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surgace and knead a couple of times before patting out 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.

Take a sharp knife and make a hole in the side of each biscuit, widening it with your index finger. Spoon in a half teaspoon or so of chutney and then place onto the prepared baking sheet. Reroll scraps and repeat, until all the dough it used up.

Bake in the upper third of the oven until well risen and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. The chutney will leak out a bit, but that's ok. It only adds to their scrumminess! Serve warm, or at room temperature.