I like to have mine with some sour cream, but you can splash yours with more hot sauce if you are up to it!

Note - I served this with wedges of iceberg lettuce with a homemade creamy dressing.

Our Black Currant bush is fruiting at the moment and providing us with oodles and oodles of lovely black berries.  I just adore black currants, don't you?



I have all sorts of plans for them.    Black Currant Cordial.   Creme De Cassis.  Dried black currants (in my dehydrator) to use this winter in cakes, etc.



They  are coming fast and furious now in my garden now and with the warm humid weather we have been promised for the week ahead (fingers crossed), well . . . I just want to get as much out of them as I can.  I know  I will lose a lot to the birds . . . or them overripening . . . I'm ok with sharing with the birds. They need to live too. I just want to get my own share's worth first!



I don't make my own jams anymore. With just the two of us, it's just not feasible. That means I have to do something else with the fruit that we grow and pick. I do try to bake crumbles, cakes, pies etc. with whatever fresh fruit that is in season at the moment, and I try hard to freeze some to enjoy in the winter ahead.




This pie is simple and delicious. You can have it warm with some custard, or ice cream, creme fraiche or even with some clotted cream. You will want somethiing rich and creamy to contrast with that crisp pastry and the sweet/tart fruit.  I hope that the missionaries like it.  Yes I do like to spoil them when they come for supper.   Cold supper tonight.  Fried chicken.  Potato Salad.  Coleslaw and . . . pie!




*Deep Dish Black Currant Pie*
makes one 8 inch pie
Printable Recipe

A beautiful deep dish pie that is at once sweet and yet tart, and oh so oozingly delicious! This is fabulous!

For the Pastry:
170g plain flour (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
a pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter (7 TBS)
1 medium egg yolk
Cold water, to combine

For the Filling:
350g fresh blackcurrants, washed, picked over, topped and tailed (abput 4 cups)
150g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon cornflour (corn starch)
Milk and extra sugar to glaze

To make the pastry, sift the flour with the salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolk together with 2 tablespoons of water and add to the butter mixture. Mix to a firm dough with a fork. Shape into two flat rounds, and then chill, wrapped for at least 30 minutes before using.

Preheat your oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.

Put the blackcurrants into a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and cornflour. gently turning them with a spoon until they all get coated with the sugar and corn flour.

Roll out half of the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to fit in the bottom of a 7 to 8 inch deep pie dish, along with some overhang. Line the pie tin with this. FIll with the fruit sugar mixture.

Roll out the remainder of the pastry in a round large enough to cover the top of the pie. Brush the edges of the bottom crust all the way around with some milk. Apply the top crust and trim, pinching and folding the edge to seal. (Flute according to your preference.) Cut a few slashes in the top to vent. Brush with more milk and extra sugar.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown. Serve warm with some ice cream, custard or creme fraiche. Delicious!

Note:  If you really want to be decadent you can add crumbled crisp meringues and then call them Eton Mess Pancakes!

Note:   As  a substitute for the ranch dressing mix, combine  2 TBS dry parsley, 1 tsp dried dill weed, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper in a mortar.   Crush with a pestle until fairly fine. Use as above.  If you want to use it as a salad dressing, combine 1 TBS of the mix with 1/3 cup of mayonnaise and 1/4 cup of milk.

Of course a tasty salad goes well with these.  I like a tossed salad myself . . . but the Toddster is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy . . . so I like to make this creamy garden Potato salad, which meets both of our desires.   He gets to please his meat and potatoes soul . . . and I get part of my daily dose of veg . . . both in a tasty salad.   This dressing is a type of honey mustard, creamy delish!!



*Creamy Garden Potato Salad*
Serves 6 to 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious potato salad with a punchy low fat Honey Dijon mayo dressing.  The green bush beans and radishes add a bit of crunch and colour.

1 pound of small new potatoes
2 TBS Cider Vinegar
4 TBS low fat mayonnaise
2 TBS honey Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 to 4 spring onions, chopped
(white and green parts)
a handful of radishes, trimmed and chunked
a handful of bush green beans, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 TBS Dill Weed (or a handful of fresh dill, finely chopped)



Place the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water to cover.  Bring to the boil and then simmer on medium heat until tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the green beans for the last 5 to 6 minutes of cooking time.

While the potatoes are cooking whisk together the vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, and cayenne pepper along with salt and pepper to taste.    Set aside.

Drain the potatoes and beans once they are tender.  Leave in the colander and place the colander over the hot pot.  Allow to cool until you can easily handle.  Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters.  Place the warm potatoes and beans into a bowl.  Pour the dressing over top of the warm vegetables.  Add the onion, radishes and dill weed and gently toss together.

Serve at room temperature. 

I like to have mustard and sliced pickles with mine.   My husband,  he likes catsup.

Serve immediately and pass more cream at the table. 

Note - if you have it by all means use clotted cream instead of whipped cream for the finished dessert.  It's turns something which is already fabulous into something which is pure bliss!  Mom would approve.

 

This is a delicious gratin that I first made 3 years ago now that I had pinched from one of my Waitrose Recipe cards that I have collected through the years.  It became a fast favourite at very first bite.  Some things are just worth repeating I think, and this is one of them.

Something that I learned very early on in my gardening life is that when you plant courgettes you had better be prepared to use and cook a lot of them, because they grow like mad and are very prolific.

Thankfully we love courgettes and I have found them to be a very versatile vegetable. We have them raw in salads and with dips as a crudite. They are also great, grated and baked into loaves, muffins and cakes.



They're fantastic stir fried with a bit of onion and garlic, and some herbs, making for a tasty side dish.



The tender young blossoms, stuffed with herby cheese, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, and then fried . . . bliss . . . pure bliss.

We love them most in tasty casseroles though and when the tomatoes are ripening right along side of them, there is nothing more delicious than this wonderful little gratin. Served along with some crusty fresh French bread, there is nothing finer on earth to eat of a warm summer evening . . .



*Courgette and Tomato Gratin*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe


This tasty gratin is a delicious marriage of ripe tomatoes and small courgettes. Toss with a bit of pesto and layer under a cheese and crumb topping. This is yummy scrummy!

500g courgettes, topped, tailed and thinly sliced (about 1 1/4 pound)
2 TBS fresh green basil pesto
400g fresh ripe red tomatoes, sliced (about one pound)
4 TBS fresh bread crumbs
25g strong cheddar cheese, grated  (about 1/4 cup.  I'll be honest here, I do
use more because we love cheese.)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
large pinch of cayenne pepper
1 TBS olive oil



Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F. Place the courgette slices in a large bowl and toss together with the pesto until lightly coated. Layer in large 2 litre gratin dish with the tomatoes. Season to taste with some salt and pepper if desired. Toss the bread crumbs into the same bowl you mixed the courgettes in (that way every residual bit of pesto gets used) and toss them together with the cheese, garlic and cayenne. Sprinkle over top of the vegetables in the gratin dish. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil if desired. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the vegetables are tender. Serve with crusty bread.