Old Dean Community Fun Day

By the time I'd turned it upside down and trowelled on the icing, I convinced myself the coffee & walnut cake looked acceptable enough to donate to St Martin's refreshments stall at the Old Dean Community Fun Day today, along with the gluten-free/dairy-free fruit cake.  The chocolate sponge cake is for Vicky's birthday.

Cake-wreck

I do a fair bit of gluten-free baking, successfully adapting recipes, but this time I followed the recipe faithfully as I hadn't tried making  a coffe & walnut cake before.  Here's the very sad result!  It was supposed to be for the Community Fun Day tomorrow (I've volunteered to help with the refreshments).  Do you think anyone will notice if I just fill up the well with coffee icing?

Some work, some play

Had a lovely weekend - Vicky came to visit. Saturday afternoon we went to see the exhibitions on at The Light Box in Woking - 'Escape to Wonderland', a history of children's book illustration, and Lord Snowdon's photographs of artists. Back home we played a game of Scrabble, the first I've played in a long time. It was my mother's favourite game - she played daily with my aunt, and I imagined them watching over our shoulders as we played, whispering tips in our ears.

Dave and Vic had been working hard on the construction of Dave's garden room, so we invited them over in the evening to share a home-made curry with all the trimmings, followed by games of Dominoes and a card game Vicky taught us called, charmingly, 'sh-t-head'. Dave spotted the Scrabble box and commented that there's been a change of rules which has hit the headlines in a major way - apparently you can now use real names. I confess the news had escaped my notice and I can't really understand why the change anyway. Oh well, time moves on.

Sunday Vicky and I went to see 'Step Up' in 3D. There are some amazingly talented dancers out there these days - some of those moves are just mind-boggling - how do their bodies do that?!? Incredible strength and flexibility, I guess.

Salad Days and Home-Made Wine

At work it seems we're a health-conscious bunch - in the morning the fridge is crammed with everybody's salad lunches. Here's a photo of mine. Colourful, n'est pas?



This year has seen a huge crop of blackcurrants from the allotment. I've made plenty of jam and jelly and after chatting with the lady who runs the gardening group at work, I decided to venture into a little home wine-making. My mother was quite successful with home wine-making, as I recall, but this is my first batch ever*. It's releasing an interesting yeasty aroma at the moment in the first stage of fermentation.
*PS Having written this, I remembered I have made wine before - there were grape vines at my previous home and a number of years ago in another life I tried making wine from the grapes. One batch was drinkable if a little too acidic and I don't think the other batch worked for some reason.

Experiment with Light... and salmon fishcakes

Well my lovelies, I'm going away for a residential weekend with the Religious Society of Friends (you probably know them as the Quakers). It's an 'Experiment with Light' weekend, trying to experience the Light as early Friends did, supposedly a very powerful experience. If nothing else, the surroundings are beautiful - it's up in Cumbria.

Yesterday I went to the Spiritual Journeying group. It wasn't my turn to lead, I could sit back and relax - very pleasant. One of my colleagues there commented on how the peace and joy I've found through connecting with the inner light is radiating from me. It's working then! Hopefully I'll have some more to share on the subject upon my return.

Dinner today was also an experiment - home-made salmon, dill and spring onion fish-cakes. I was making it up as I went along and the resulting mixture was perhaps a little sloppy, not lending itself completely to the perfect shaping I was looking for. Surprisingly bland, too - but plenty of tomato ketchup soon improved things on that score. Served with oven-roast sweet pepper and petits pois. I got the idea from an item I saw on a menu yesterday. A friend took me out for a meal at Bluebeckers in Chobham, and from there we drove on to Woking intending to see the film 'Dear John'. Unfortunately it was being screened in the smallest theatre and despite getting there three quarters of an hour early, all seats were sold. That was a big surprise! Normally we go on a Monday night when tickets are only £5 each, despite which the place is often almost empty. I guess Wednesday night attracts the 'Orange Wednesday' bargain-hunters.

Came back home and watched a DVD I'd borrowed from the library: 'A Serious Man'. I really, really, REALLY didn't get it one little bit ... sat through the whole film waiting to understand what the opening scene was all about and how it fitted into the rest ... and couldn't quite believe it when the titles started rolling, leaving me with the sense that the film had been abandoned halfway through. Hmmm... definitely not one of my better choices.

Interview

I was the first interviewee and the panel (3 worthy ladies) was still settling itself in and getting comfortable. I'd phoned the day before to clarify whether there would be any equipment set up to do a PowerPoint presentation and been told there wouldn't, so I'd lugged the laptop along, only to discover that they'd had a change of heart and had set up a laptop, projector and screen. Nonetheless I set up my laptop on their table and did the show from there, as that was what I was geared up to do. I was thrown a little when one member of the panel invited me to give them a presentation on "Why I want the job" ... as this bore no resemblance to the title I'd been given. What a relief to receive the confirmation that the presentation I'd researched so thoroughly was actually on the right topic! Phew!

The next difficult point to negotiate was that the letter hadn't given a time-limit, it had merely said 'you will be asked to give a short presentation'. Before I began the slide-show, I explained it would last about 10 minutes, was that ok? The lady Chairman looked a little put out and told me the letter had said 5 minutes - fortunately I had the letter with me and was able to refer to it and offer as a point of information that it hadn't stated a specific time.

Normally I'm fairly cool calm and collected for interviews but on this occasion I think I may have come across a bit like a rabbit caught in headlights, struggling with some of the questions. I do think I'd be competent in the job, I believe it is well within my capabilities and I think I'd enjoy it, but I suppose because I felt I'd not got off on the right foot from the beginning, I was finding it difficult to shake off that soggy start and leave them with a good impression. Oh well - the decision is out of my hands now. I consoled myself with a real 'comfort-eating' meal, home-made Shepherds Pie served with steamed broccoli, leeks and fine green beans. It did the trick - I feel comforted.

Easter

Vicky (daughter) came to visit Easter Sunday / Monday and Dave (son) came to join us for Sunday roast. It was lovely having them both round, the house ringing with good-natured joshing and laughter, not to mention the sound of really bad piano playing and rubbish duets! In typical fashion, Dave had left his Easter-egg buying until the last minute, finding a Disney Easter-egg hunt kit for Vicky consisting of several wrapped sweets and mini chocolate eggs plus a little metal bucket with a picture of Eeyore (her favourite Disney character) on. Of course she insisted he then hide the sweets so she could do the Easter egg hunt, and between them they had me practically rolling around helpless with laughter.

Dinner included a Capri Salad starter using fresh Basil from the aerogarden - simple and delicious! Dessert was my trademark lemon cheesecake with an identity crisis - I make a gluten-free sponge, soak it with coffee and marsala wine (a tiramisu base, in other words) then whisk up the juice and zest of two lemons with a tin of condensed milk and a tub of mascarpone and spoon it on top. Tiramicheesecake? Whatever, it's delish.

Dutifully they listened to my presentation, made encouraging remarks and offered some suggestions for improvement. I think I'm all set for the interview on Wednesday.

Busy day

I had an interview for a position at a local organisation at 9 am today. Knowing how bad the traffic and the queue for the car park can be, originally I'd planned to catch the bus but with the rain varying from 'tipping it down' to 'torrential', I decided to take the car. I left plenty of time and managed to arrive half an hour early. It seems the ticket machine wasn't working, the barriers to the car park were up and cars were streaming in so I followed suit. I passed some time in a book shop before heading on up to the interview. I had to take an audio-typing test which seemed to go ok, although I'd never used a digital transcription machine before. I didn't feel I gave a very good impression at the interview - could probably still do with brushing up my technique. The good news is when I came out, one of the exit barriers was up at the car park and I was able to sail out again without having a ticket.

Afterwards I took myself to a 'Prayer labyrinth' that has been set up in a local church. I hadn't anticipated quite how powerful it would be - I found stuff from my childhood surfacing that I didn't realise I was still harbouring jealousy over - it was a real surprise, perhaps triggered in part by the big impression the happy family in 'The Blindside' had made on me (it's based on a true story).

In the afternoon I made a couple of desserts - a banoffee pie and a tiramisu (see photos) - ready for tonight's bring and share supper party at my place. There were 6 of us plus baby Olive and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The Gas Man Cometh

The gas mains are being renewed all round the estate and yesterday an 'andsome Irish feller knocked at me door and asked if 'e and 'is mate could pop along early this marning, loik. I said to be sure that'd be foin, me good man. What he didn't tell me was that they were going to turn off the gas for the day and change the meter. So with no heating all day and the weather being a bit on the cold side with the windows open to let the smell of gas escape, I was very glad to see another workman come back around 3 pm to fit the new meter and get the gas back on. Just in time to warm the house up a bit for the arrival of my guests. With Mother's Day coming this Sunday, I invited the little girl next door and her friend to come round after school today for a craft session. Fortuitously I'd managed to get a cake baked this morning before the gas was cut off - normally I sandwich two together to make one large cake but this time I sliced each one to make two cakes, with cream and raspberry jam in the middle and melted chocolate on top. We made some white glace icing and the girls tried their hands at writing 'Mummy' on the cakes and decorating with stars and hearts.

Then we settled down to the business of making cards. They had a great time - I've got a nice photo of the two of them with their cards, but I'm going to check with their mums first if it's ok to put it on the blog. Here's the cards they made.

If at first you don't succeed ...

You remember me telling you about my experimental Rye bread that the birds wouldn't touch? Tonight I had another go and made these yummy rolls.

Simplified the recipe from last time:

1lb 5ozs Flour made up of 2ozs Soya Flour, and the rest 50:50 Rye and Spelt flour;

1 tablespoon dry yeast mixed with 1 teasp sugar and 3/4 pint water at 37º;

1 dessertspoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour and salt and put to warm;

Whisk the yeast into the sugared water and leave to stand in a warm place until it has a thick layer of froth on top; rub the honey and olive oil into the warm flour then mix in the yeast liquid and knead well for 5 minutes; put dough back into bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to prove for about an hour; knock back and knead again, break into small dough balls and put on a baking tray, cover and prove for another 20 minutes then bake in a hot oven (170º if fan assisted). Check they're cooked by tapping the bottom - they should sound hollow. Delicious!

I guess that motto (if at first you don't succeed, try and try and try again) will have to serve for a while as I continue to send out job applications.

Reasons to be cheerful

Reasons to be cheerful #1: Lidl's were selling large bunches of long-stemmed yellow roses for £1.79 each or £3 for two. Bargain!

Reasons to be cheerful #2: The aerogarden is ready for harvesting - I picked a large bunch of Basil and made a delicious vegetarian dinner: onions, garlic, leeks, carrots, sweet pepper, broccoli all cooked in a herby tomato sauce and topped with sliced potato and a cheesey white sauce.

Anyone for cake?

Well here's the remains of the cakes I made for tonight's meeting - the chocolate cream cake was the most popular, but there weren't as many people at the meeting as I'd anticipated. Now what am I going to do with so much cake in the house? Hardly conducive to my shedding some of the extra weight! Anyone care to come and join me for an impromptu coffee morning?

Anyway, some good news: I've been invited to have an informal chat about a possible job opportunity.

Impulse Buying

A few weeks ago I bought some rye flour on impulse, intending to make some bread (all because a friend once told me he liked the rye bread a local baker sells).

I went to a seminar many years ago on 'Stress' and out of all the words spoken there, the concept that stuck with me was "It's not the things we do that cause stress, it's the things we leave undone".

So the rye flour sits in the cupboard for a while ...

Finally the day comes when that niggling thought has gathered such strength that I get around to looking through my cookbooks for a suitable recipe and pulling the rye flour out of the larder (hey! I bought TWO bags of this stuff! What was I THINKING?!?). A kid from next door pops round with her friend - it's a pleasant distraction for a few minutes. They go. I'm left with my big intentions.

So I make the bread - in the end it's kind of experimental, not adhering to any particular recipe. I add soya flour and a bit of rice flour and a bit of cornflour, some honey, some olive oil. I guess at the amount of liquid then add some more, and take it out of the oven when it looks done. The result is very tasty but still doughy in the middle - whether because the dough was too wet, or because I didn't bake it long enough I don't know.

That was Sunday. This morning there is still half a loaf sitting there uneaten. I've thrown a slice out for the birds and they've turned up their beaks at it. Whatever the recipe was for the rye bread my friend used to buy from the bakers, I don't think I've quite stumbled upon it. But you know I've got lots of rye flour left to play with ... lots. Lucky me.

That same friend isn't a professing Christian but today sent me a link to Bocelli singing The Lord's Prayer with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He used the word 'sensational'. I watched it and for some unknown reason, it didn't do a lot for me. I tried to work up a sense of reverence, a deep emotional response that I'm guessing had I been there in person, I would have felt. Nothing. At best I could appreciate my friend's gesture, appreciate the connection between us that prompted him to send me the link believing it would move me. Contrast this with a link a Christian friend recently sent me: Glee: 'Imagine'. That held so much appeal I now watch the series on TV.

Anyway, back with the subject of this post: impulse buying.

I've been asked to make some cakes for a meeting tomorrow night. I went shopping for ingredients yesterday. I'm aiming to do a chocolate cream cake and a fruit cake. Used to be I bought sultanas for the fruit cake, until I discovered another friend likes bran loaf made with luxury dried fruit mix. As I stood in front of the shelf of dried fruit, I felt a gentle inner prompting to buy the sultanas rather than the luxury fruit mix. I heard it but ignored it, thinking I knew better, that any dried fruit not used for the cake will come in handy next time I make a bran loaf.

Today as I looked at the remains of the rye loaf, this idea popped into my head: why not make a bread and butter pudding with it?

As I stood there trying to pick out the sultanas from the luxury fruit mix, I thought back to that inner prompting yesterday. If only I had listened.

Mardi Gras

Today I learned something new: Mardi Gras is French for Shrove Tuesday. Here is the table laid ready for tonight's Pancake Party. I invited some friends round for a bring and share supper and enjoyed the evening so much I'm planning another one soon. I supplied baked potatoes and my friends brought tuna mayo, grated cheese, moussaka, salad, etc. Dessert was of course pancakes (served with a choice of ice cream, cherries, strawberries, maple syrup, lemon juice and sugar). All very simple. Entertaining made easy.

Culinary Success!

Tonight's tasty home-cooked meal was Thai Green Chicken curry served with fragrant Thai rice, broccoli and organically home-grown brussel sprouts and mashed swede. The chicken was really tender and delicious. There is still a full row of swede to lift over the allotment before I hand it over to a new tenant.

After dinner I took the digital camera out into the cold night air to try and capture the sight of Mars shining it's brightest alongside the moon. It's possible to just about make out Mars in the photos - maybe my old 35mm SLR camera and telephoto lens could have done better.

Culinary flop!

Not all my culinary efforts are successful. Now you might be forgiven for thinking that the photo shows two respectable Yorkshire puddings. Sadly not. Today is my neighbour's little boy's first birthday so I thought it would be a nice gesture to make him a birthday cake. If you check out the blog entry for 27th December 2009 you'll get the idea. I really don't know why these are such a flop - unless it's because I mixed two types of fat. I didn't have sufficient soft margarine so I made it up with butter. Would that do it?

Anyway, suffice it to say that I abandoned the idea of giving this cake to my neighbour. I had to go into town anyway this afternoon for an interview at the Job Centre so I used the trip as an opportunity to buy the kid a wooden shape-sorting puzzle instead. The present was very well received.

One half of the cake I have used as the basis for a large trifle, the other I gave to a friend for her to do something with. Now I just have to find someone on whom to bestow the trifle. Any takers?

Focusing on the positive

Yesterday's Spiritual Journeying meeting went extremely well, I'm pleased to report. There were 13 attendees and every single one joined in the conversation. It was stimulating and enjoyable (and for me, an answered prayer).

Dinner tonight was also very enjoyable - not to mention colourful and healthy. Salmon cooked in a foil parcel with olive oil, lemon juice, vine-ripened tomatoes and red sweet pepper, served with potatoes and courgettes oven-roasted in olive oil and fresh broccoli. It made up for a wasted afternoon, but I won't go into that. Let's focus on the positive.

Bramble and Apple Jelly

The allotment has produced a glorious abundance of blackberries and cooking apples this season. Following my successful adventure in jam making earlier in the year, a friend described how his mother used to strain the cooked fruit to create seedless jam/jelly. Naturally this inspired me to want to have a go. Studiously I searched my recipe books and the internet and decided I needed to buy a jelly-straining bag. There is a comprehensive cookshop in town and I was able to buy a ‘jam muslin’. I thought I was all set to go and began stewing the fruit, then opened the jam muslin only to discover it wasn’t a neat funnel-shaped bag as anticipated, simply a highly expensive square of plain white muslin. I couldn't immediately work out how to use it!

I got out the sewing machine and began to set it up, but managed to get a piece of cotton jammed in the mechanism. Sewing isn’t one of my special talents, and I hadn’t managed to fix the sewing machine by the time I needed to leave to attend a meeting.

Someone at the meeting was able to describe how she used her jam muslin to line a large sieve and suspend it over the bowl that way, so when I came home, that is what I did, and left it over night. Next day I completed the process, sterilising the jars, boiling the strained juice with jam sugar, and bottling it once it had reached setting point. Happily the blackberry and apple jelly was a total success.

New Toy

I'd always promised myself that if I ever had a big enough kitchen, I'd get a Kenwood Food Processor. Last week I looked on ebay and sure enough, there was one for sale which had been an unwanted present. I put in a bid and won it. Today I carefully unpacked it, washed all the accessories and then used my new toy to make this gluten-free sponge cake. What with the speed of the food processor and the speed of the fan-assisted oven, it only took half an hour!

Last week I harvested the wonderful crop of blackcurrants from the allotment and made blackcurrant jam, which is very yummy! As you can see, I used it in the cake. I'm thoroughly enjoying my new kitchen.

Pleasant days, pretty night

The weather has been delightful recently and I've been making the most of it over the allotment, sowing seeds, planting out seedlings, doing the weeding and pulling some rhubarb. Rather a lot of rhubarb, as it happens. So much that, having made a rhubarb crumble, I bundled the rest of the sticks into small packages and gave them away after Church on Sunday.

Today a friend came over for lunch and then we walked into town for an amble round the shops. It was interesting to note that neither of us was particularly thinking of buying anything for ourselves, but we would look at things and think of other people. I looked at a lovely picture of an African elephant with two baby elephants in the foreground, their trunks intertwined, and thought how much Vicky would like it. My friend looked at an abstract picture of chickens and decided to buy it for another friend. I saw an attractive silver butterfly necklace and bought it for Vicky. My friend saw some wooden ornaments and bought them for her grand-daughter. It was a very pleasant shopping trip, with the added delight of anticipating the pleasure our purchases would bring to their recipients.

In the cookshop there was an apron with a message printed boldly on the bib: 'I kiss better than I cook'. It seemed an odd motto to choose to wear on an apron considering the possible consequences: would readers take it as an invitation to sample the wearer's kisses? Would that distraction at a critical moment make it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Alternatively if the reader had his/her own judgment on how good a kisser the wearer was, might it put him/her off sampling the cooking? What do you think? (This is not a rhetorical question - I'm curious to read your answer. For example, are there any circumstances you can think of that would call for someone to wear an apron saying I kiss better than I cook? Or what motto would you prefer to wear on an apron? There's a comments facility below).

Tonight another friend phoned and had been chatting for some time when I glanced out of the window and realised how stunning the night sky looked with the moon peeping into the garden through the clouds and the branches of the trees. When I came off the phone, I went out into the garden and tried to capture it with the digital camera. The scene doesn't look quite as beautiful in the photos as in real life, but the camera didn't do too badly, all things considered.