My grandmother always made fabulous doughnuts. They were not yeast doughnuts, but the cake type of doughnuts . . .



with a tender crumb and flavoured with freshly grated nutmeg. I remember them being so fat that the hole in the middle was always almost swollen shut, just like a big fat belly button . . .



Oh my but they were so very good. Served up warm with a nice tall glass of cold milk.



I can remember her standing there in her kitchen,in front of the old white enameled wood stove, wearing her flowered calico pinnie and cooking them in an old black iron kettle . . . . dropping them in and then turning them with a long handled fork.



She always shook the warm doughnuts afterwards in cinnamon sugar, in a brown paper bag . . . carefully saved and repurposed from a trip to the local grocery shop.

The paper would absorb any grease and the gentle shaking helped to coat them just perfectly in the sugar . . . I can still remember that beautiful smell . . . woodsmoke, hot brown paper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and . . . my gran.



We'd sit there afterwards, our mouths dusted with sweet cinnamon sugar, lips smacking with pleasure . . . each of us enjoying the soft and delicously, tenderly tasty results of her loving ministrations . . .



There would not be a lot of talk . . . but then . . . the happily satisfied smiles on our faces and the contented little mmmm's said it all. We did not need words . . .

Grandma's, doughnuts and Sunday afternoons . . . they are like the holy trinity of the heavenly home of a happy childhood . . .



*Grandma's Doughnuts*
Makes about 18
Printable Recipe

Easier to make and more cakelike than yeast doughnuts, these are great served fresh and warm with a nice tall glass of cold milk!

4 ounces milk (1/2 cup)
2 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 large free range egg, beaten
1 TBS butter, melted
7 1/2 ounces flour (1 3/4 cup)
Vegetable shortening or oil for frying
icing sugar or cinnamon sugar to dust when done

Whisk together the milk, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, egg and butter in a large bowl. Add the flour gradually, using just enough to make a dough that is soft, yet firm enough to handle. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a couple of turns. Roll out 1/2 inch thick and cut into 3 inch rounds, removing the centres. (You can also fry these!) Let rest for about 5 minutes while you heat the oil or shortening.

Using a heavy skillet, heat the oil or shortening (about 4 inches deep) to 182*C/360*F. Carefully drop in doughnuts a few at a time, frying until nicely browned on one side before turning to brown the other side. (Turn carefully using a long handled fork or a pair of tongs) Once they are brown all over drain well on paper towels and then dust with sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I've been having a bad day today . . . the wind blew the roof to our shed away last night, it blew our fence over, Mitzie chewed through our ethernet cable during the night . . . and I am missing my friend Angie so very much.



My eyes keep filling up with tears and my heart is aching. I think it is the missing of Angie that is bothering me most of all. She has left a big hole . . . I need hugs, and comfort. I need to crawl into my mama's lap and feel her patting me on the back and telling me it will all be ok . . .



Alas, I live too far away for that, and I fear that even if I lived closer my girth would squash her flat . . .



This is the next best thing to a mother's lap.



Rhubarb and custard . . . the rhubarb roasted until just softened, in a mixture of sugar and orange . . . all pink and sweetly tart . . . earthy. The custard . . . rich, steeped in vanilla . . . eggy and milky and oh-so-comforting.



The two together are bliss . . . my favourite boiled sweets, in a little glass bowl.



Angie would have loved this . . .




*Roasted Rhubarb with Proper Custard*
Serves 4

Simple and old fashioned yes, but there's nothing old fashioned about it's lovely flavour. I have chosen to use orange and ginger to flavour my rhubarb here, but you can use whatever strikes your fancy . . . vanilla, anise, rose water . . .

2 pounds of rhubarb, washed,
trimmed and cut into 3 inch lengths
4 to 6 TBS caster sugar
the finely grated zest and juice of two large oranges
1 TBS finely grated fresh ginger root
custard (see below)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Place the rubarb into a retangular roasting tin. Sprinkle with 4 TBS of the sugar, the ginger, orange zest and the orange juice. Give it a toss. Roast in the heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, just until the rhubarb has softened, depending on how thick the stalks of rhubarb are. The rhubarb should be knife tender. remove from the oven. Taste and add the additional sugar if you feel it is needed.
Set aside to cool.

*Custard*
Serves 4 to 6

Proper custard is not all that hard to make if you follow a few rules!

500ml of full fat milk (2 cups)
563 ml of double cream (2 1/4 cups)
6 TBS caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, sliced in half lengthwise and the seeds scraped out
or 1 tsp of vanilla paste
8 large free range egg yolks

Place the milk, cream, half of the sugar and the vanilla pod, seeds or paste into a saucepan. Bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to sit for several minutes in order for the vanilla to infuse.

Whisk the egg yolks together with the remaining sugar until light in colour. Whisk in a bit of the hot milk mixture, then add the remaining milk mixture, whisking continuously. Strain this mixture back into the saucepan, removing the vanilla pod. (This can be rinsed, dried and stuck into your sugar jar, where it will make your sugar smell gorgeous and impart some vanilla flavour as well.)

Cook and stir over a very gentle heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cooking just until the mixture thickens and begins to coat the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat immediately. It should be lump free, but if you do have a few, simply restrain it into a clean jug.

Serve hot or cold.

To serve the rhubarb and custard, divide the cooked rhubarb into individual serving dishes and ladle the warm custard over top. Delicious!

Sometimes you want a cake that is beautiful and dainty . . . womanly, feminine, and perfect for celebrating those special occasions in a gal's life.



Things like sweetheart celebrations, birthdays, new babies, and springtime weddings to come . . .



Or perhaps something as simple and special as sharing friendship, or being sisters, finding fairies, enjoying tea parties or kindred spirits . . .



A cake that is light and delicately flavoured . . . and yet moreishly, scrummily yummy at the same time.



This cake fits the bill on all counts . . . moist and buttery . . . scented and flavoured with just the merest hint of cardamom and white chocolate . . . sweetly spiced and fragrant . . . yet rich.



Filled with a beautifully flavoured and scented rosewater and white chocolate ganache . . . think turkish delight here . . . very reminiscent of that scrummy flavour, but mixed with sweet white chocolate and cream . . .



Then the whole beautifully feminine creation is blanketed in a sweet coat of a milky white glaze . . . and then sprinkled with delicate pink sprinkles . . .



or you could use rose petals, lightly frosted with a hint of sugar. They would be quite, quite pretty too.



The three together at once very beautiful and oh-so-temptingly deliciously moreish.



Don't be impatient like me though . . . do let it set up before cutting into it . . . oh, I am such a naughty girl . . . but in a very good way. ☺



*White Chocolate and Cardamom Cake*
Makes one 9 inch cake
Printable Recipe

Delicately flavoured white chocolate caked filled with a scrummy rosewater and white chocolate ganache. Yummo!

130g unsalted butter, softened, plus more
to butter pan (1/2 cup)
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
170g pf self raising flour (1 1/3 cups)
100g of white chocolate, finely chopped (3 1/2 ounces)
130g white caster sugar ( scant 2/3 cup)
2 large free range eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

For the ganache:
100g of white chocolate, chopped (3 1/2 ounces)
100ml of double cream (1/3 cup)
2 tsp rosewater

For the glace icing:
150g of icing sugar, sifted (approx 1 1/4 cups)
milk

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a deep 9 inch cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper. Set aside.

Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water. Don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Set aside.

Place the butter and sugar for the cake in a bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla. Whisk in the flour and cardamom. Stir in the chocolate, mixing all together well. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centr4e comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling, removing the paper. Leave until completely cold.

Place the chocolate for the ganache in a bowl Bring the cream and rosewater to the boil. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes, then gently whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Let cool, then chill in the fridge for about 15 to 20 minutes. Whisk until it thickens.

Carefully split the cake into two layers. Place the top of the cake, cut side up on a plate. Spread with the white chocolate ganache. Top with the bottom of the cake, baked side up. over top of the ganache.

Whisk together the icing sugar with enough milk to give you a pourable glace frosting. (It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but runny enough to pour) Pour this over the cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. Allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.

I picked up some really nice lamb shoulder the other day and decided to make a tasty stew with it.



Stews are one of the best things about winter. So comforting and delicious, and so easy to make. You just can't enjoy a stew in the summer time . . . they are too heavy and they heat up the kitchen too much, but in the winter? Bob's your uncle!



It's stew time! Simply browned meat, simmered together in a tasty gravy with some winter vegetables. What could be any better?



Oh . . . mmmm . . . feather dumplings, plopped on top and steamed until they are light and fluffy as . . . well . . . a feather!!



Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings. Make some today. Your tummy will thank you and so will your family! Exceedingly so!



*Lamb Stew with Feather Dumplings*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Simple goodness. Tender chunks of lamb and vegetables beneath a blanket of feather dumplings.

2 pounds boneless shoulder of lamb, trimmed
and cut into cubes
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS plain flour
500ml of hot lamb stock (2 cups\0
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into slices
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 small swede, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp summer savoury

For the dumplings:
4.25 ounces of plain flour (1 cup)
3/4 ounce fresh bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 of a small onion, peeled and minced
2 TBS butter melted
100ml of milk (1/3 cuo)
1 large free range egg
1 TBS finely minced parsley
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Boiled potatoes to serve

Heat a large skillet (with a lid) over medium high heat. Add the oil. Once it is heated add the cubed meat. Brown well on all sides, taking care not to stir it too much. If you stir it too much it will stew instead of browning. Just leave it be and give it a stir ever five minutes or so. This will take about 15 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add the onions and swede. Season with some salt and pepper and add the summer savoury. Pour on the hot stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about an hour. Add the carrot and parsnips. cover again and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust as desired.

Make the dumplings as follows:
Whisk the flour, bread crumbs, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Beat together the egg, milk, butter, onion, parsley and pepper. Stir into the dry ingredients all at once and mix to a stiff batter. Drop by heaped spoonfuls onto the top of the bubbling stew. Cover with a lid and cook, undisturbed and without lifting the lid for 20 minutes.

Serve the stew immediately, spooning some of it onto each of six heated plates along with a dumpling and with some boiled potatoes on the side.
Delicious!

I've had a half eaten jar of mincemeat languishing in the back of my refrigerator since Christmas, and I thought I had better get it used up, but we didn't really feel like mince pies . . . by the time Christmas is over we've had enough of them to be honest!



I could have made a teabread with it of course . . . but I didn't really feel like that either . . .



I wanted a rich and stodgy pudding . . . something that I could eat with a spoon, somewhere between a cake and pudding . . . but baked, not steamed.



I decided to make a variation on an Eve's Pudding, a traditional pudding found over here with a fruity base and almond cake topping.




You can find my traditional Eve's Pudding recipe here, and a Cranberry version here. As you can tell, we love Eve's Pudding!



I combined a mixture of cooked Bramley apple, along with some cranberries and the leftover mincemeat, and then topped it with a buttery almondy frangipane batter. Oh my . . . but this is some good. The tartness of the bramley apple and cranberries, offset the sweetness of the mincemeat just perfectly . . . each mouthful is wonderfully buttery, and sweet and tart at the same time.



Oh-so-good served warm with some pouring cream over top. In short . . . we completely adored this delicious pud! It was incredibly moreish and satisfying.



Spicy Cranberry, Mincemeat and Almond Eve's Pudding*
Serves 4 to 6 depending on appetites
Printable Recipe

The perfect way to use up that half eaten jar of mincemeat lanquishing in the back of your refrigerator!

1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 TBS water
200g of mincemeat (a generous cup)
100g of cranberries, frozen or fresh (1 cup)
100g of butter (7/8 cup)
100g of golden caster sugar (1/2 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
75g of self raising flour (2/3 cup)
25g of ground almonds (1/3 cup)
a small handful of flaked toasted almonds

Cream to serve

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready a shallow 11 by 7 baking dish. Set aside.

Place the apple in a pot with the water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the mincemeat and cranberries. Pour into the baking dish, leveling out.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift in the flour and stir in along with the almonds. Spread this mixture over top of the fruit in the baking dish. Level off and then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

Bake for 3-0 to 35 minutes, until the topping is well risen and golden brown, and the fruit is bubbling beneath. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then, serve warm with some pouring cream. Delicious!

If you are looking for a tasty treat to make for the kiddies (both big and small) for a special Valentines tea, or even just because . . . look no further.



These tasty little tarts are quick to make and oh-so-tasty!



Using only three ingredients . . . ready made shortcrust pastry, jam and marshmallows . . . they are very easily made and very impressive. Well, I think they are at any rate!



You can use whatever kind of jam you wish. I used blackberry, apricot and raspberry . . . but you can use whatever you have on hand. Strawberry is really nice, as is blueberry.



They are just perfect for an impromptu Tea party! Or an afterschool treat! Or for that Valentine's Classroom Party Treat!



Don't be tempted to overfill them . . . the jam really bubbles up and you will end up with a bit of a mess on your hands and or in your oven. Just a dab will do you!

Crisp buttery pastry, filled with fruity sweet jam and topped with a light little puff of marshmallow. What a delightful treat!



*Spiffy Jam Tarts*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Quick to make, versatile and oh so scrummy. Everyone loves these!

1/2 package of all butter short crust pastry
12 tsp of jam (any variety, raspberry, apricot, strawberry, etc.)
6 large marshmallows, cut in half with a pair of scissors

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Lightly butter a bun tin.

Pinch off walnut sized pieces of the pastry and press them into the bun tin to line each indentation. Fill with 1 tsp of jam. Do not be temped to overfil as it will bubble over and you'll have a hard time getting them out. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the jam bubbling. Top each tart with one half of a marshmallow and return to the oven for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the marshmallow has begun to soften and lightly brown.

Remove from the oven and from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before eating. Do not be tempted to eat when still warm, as the jam is very hot and will burn.

Since I will have spent most of Monday sitting around in a hospital having tests of one sort or another, I knew there would not be a lot of time for cooking. In fact, this will probably be a scrambled egg or beans on toast night! I did want to give you something tasty this morning to look at.




I thought of getting something from out of my archives and then I remembered the World Food Cup that I had participated in last June, and the lovely dish I created for that, but never got to share on here.



This was a dish that I felt was a coloured commentary on British cookery, or a "pundit" as it were. My good friend Angie helped me come up with the name for it, and I couldn't think of a better one.




Here in the UK we have some of the best meat in the world . . . and why not show it off. As they say, if you've got it why not flaunt it!



This dish is a wonderful meat fest of gargantuan proportions . . . salt marsh lamb (if you can get it), meaty pork sausages, bacon chops and beautiful British rump steaks . . . all grilled to perfection and placed inside individual "plate-sized" traditional Yorkshire puddings, with a tasty garnish of grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. With true English Roasties on the side as well as some tasty cabbage, leeks and peas, this is a dish truly fit for a king!!!




*Pundit Pudding*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

The best of England, served up in your very own Yorkshire pudding bowl! Do plan ahead as the batter for the puddings needs to sit out for an hour at room temperature before baking!

4 Lamb chops, trimmed
4 Small rump Steaks
4 small bacon chops
4 thick and meaty Butcher’s pork and leek sausages
Butter, melted
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 Large Tomatoes
4 Large Mushrooms
For the Pudding:
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp salt
1/2 pint milk, at room temperature (1 1/3 cup)
140g plain flour (1 cup)
a little oil or dripping

Make sure all your ingredients for the pudding are at room temperature before beginning. Beat your eggs together in a large measuring jug until very light. Whisk in the milk. Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients all at once, pouring them into the well, and then whisk them in, slowly incorporating the dry mixture from the sides until you have a smooth batter. Now, this is the important bit . . . COVER IT AND LET IT SIT ON THE SIDEBOARD FOR ONE HOUR.

Preheat your oven to 230*C/450*F. Place a small amount of oil or dripping into each of four medium sized pie tins. (You will want ones with a six inch base) Place the tins on two baking trays and then put them into the hot oven to heat up until the fat is hot and sizzling. Remove from the oven and quickly divide the batter amongst each muffin cup, filling them about 2/3 full. (You may not use it all.) Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until well risen, browned and crispy, reducing the oven temperature by 10 degrees every five minutes.

While your puddings are baking cook your meats. Preheat the grill to it’s hottest. Brush the steaks and chops with some melted butter and sprinkle with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the sausages on a rack in a grill pan and grill for about 7 to 8 minutes, turning frequently. Add the lamb chops and the rump steaks. Continue to grill for another 5 to 7 minutes, allowing 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove to a heated plate and keep warm. Now grill the bacon chops, allowing 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove to the heated plate and keep warm.

Slice the tomatoes in half and brush each half with some melted butter, along with the mushrooms. Place all beneath the grill and grill for about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and season to taste.
Remove the crisp and fluffy puddings from the oven and tip out of the pie tins. Place each one on a heated plate, right side up. (So that it looks like a bowl) Place inside each: one lamb chop, one sausage, one bacon chop and one piece of rump steak. Garnish each with half a grilled tomato and a grilled mushroom.
Serve immediately with some crisp roasted potatoes and a green vegetable on the side. (I used lightly sautéed Savoy cabbage and leek mixed with some tender spring peas.)

Bisto Gravy and Brown Sauce are completely optional!