A bit late but ... Happy Halloween!!!!!

My friend was complaining about Halloween the other day. She was saying that Trick or Treating was really just legalized begging and that she hated the way children came round to her house asking for sweets. Her thoughts surprised me as, for me, Halloween has always been a fun night full of community spirit.

For me Halloween is about dressing up, painting faces, decorating the outside of our house  and welcoming the children who come around for sweets. We are fortunate around here because there seems to be an unwritten code of practise ... if you have any sort of Halloween decoration on your front step then you are up for Trick or Treaters. If your step is empty and your house dark then it means "Move on, we're not interested".

Usually we have family around for something to eat and even though my boys are a bit big to go out Trick or Treating themselves they like to have their faces painted to open the door. For me, face painting is like therapy! Before I worked in my current job I ran a little face painting company, going to children's parties, so I love to paint and am there with my sponges, paint brushes and glitter at the drop of a hat!

What I love about the children around here is that they dress up and come round with their parents. They were, without fail this year, polite and friendly. I know that if I lived in an area where people were aggressive and frightening then of course I would feel differently to the way I do ... but I can only judge from what I see...

One of my favourite things to make n Halloween is lychee eyeballs ... They are so simple to make and very tasty ... if you can get over the way they look!! You need a tin of lychees then spoon in some raspberry jam .... then pop in a blueberry and Bob's your uncle .. eyeballs!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Easy Delicious Home Made Bread.

Since I finished my Degree I have started to really cook again. One of my favourites is homemade bread. Its easier than you might think and you don't need any posh bread making machines. In fact - I think this recipe is much nicer than bread made in a machine!

You will need:

500ml warm water
2 and half tablespoons dried yeast.
2 and half tablespoons sugar
1kg strong flour
1 tablespoon salt
another tablespoon salt
cold water (enough to make a wash with the dissolved 2nd tbsp of salt)

This is not a labour intensive recipe. I reckon, from start to finish it takes 2 hours max to make, but of that 2 hours you are only really doing stuff for about 10 minutes. The rest of the time you can:

• do other things
• watch tv
• have a bath
• read a book
• have a coffee

So ... here's what you do:

Put your yeast & sugar together in a large jug & pour on the warm water. Give it a little stir then leave until it looks a bit like this ...

please forgive my photo!!

Put your flour and salt together in a large bowl. If you have a mixer with a dough hook then you're made! Turn the mixer on a low low setting so you don't ruin the motor then let the flour and water mixture get together. Once its together in a dough set a timer for 4 minutes and leave the mixer to do its thing and turn it into a lovely smooth dough.

Or, if you don't have a mixer ... don't worry! Mix the dough in the bowl until it starts to come together, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead. I have always used this method until recently and its fine as well as excellent for cardio vascular fitness!! Knead for about 10 minutes.

Next ... put your dough back into the large bowl and leave it to prove in a warm place. (Just the kitchen side will do). Cover it with a clean tea towel and after about an hour, maybe less,  it will have doubled in size.

This is the moment you turn on your oven ... to 240 degrees centigrade. (I know its hot, but it works!)

Now ... punch it a few times to knock out the air. Tip it out of the bowl and shape into either one pretty huge loaf or two smaller ones. Any shape will do, but I like ovally ones as they're easier to cut.If you have a baking stone then bung them on this, or on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Score with a knife then cover again with the tea towel and leave to double in size again ( about half an hour ...)

Meanwhile make a half mug of wash ( water & 1 tbsp of salt or to taste)

When the dough has proved brush the salt water over it and place in the oven for 10 minutes.This makes a yummy crust and doesn't actually taste salty.

After 10 minutes open the oven to let out some of the heat ( and to gaze upon your beautiful loaves ...) and LOWER THE HEAT to 180 degrees centigrade. Set the timer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the bread should be gorgeously golden, even more risen and generally fabulous. Cool on a wire tray and eat as soon as its cool enough. I tend to freeze one and use one.

This is the nicest recipe I've found and I have to give credit to Paul Merrett from Economy Gastronomy whose recipe this is with a couple of tiny tweaks. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

A promise of a Christmas Cake recipe.

Thank you for all your support, fellow bloggers, after my last post. I absolutely love this aspect of blogging - the community of people from all over the world who appear in your moment of need and leave a friendly word, a hug through the ether. I wrote my last post so that I could go to sleep and when I woke in the morning I discovered my in box full of lovely messages and comments. I can't thank you enough!

I thought that a small way to thank you would be to share my Granny's special Christmas Cake recipe ... no don't laugh!! I was looking through my Mum's "Wilsher Recipe Book" this morning and came across the Christmas Cake recipe. My Mum, some years ago, gave each of us, her 4 children, a notebook with all the family's best recipes written down. Its a brilliant food bible full of memories from childhood ... Wilsher Apple Chutney, Raspberry Steam Pudding, Flat Meat Pie ... and among all these recipes is Granny Wilsher's Christmas Cake recipe.

So ... my plan is to cook it, take photos and then share them on here along with the recipe and instructions so you too can sample Granny's famous cake. Well ... I say famous ... its not really, but its an old family favourite!! Now, I am not a food blogger, but I love cooking and I hope you will like this cake.

I was on Twitter earlier this morning and @AnEssexWife tweeted that she had been dancing around her kitchen with her children as they stirred and baked their Christmas Cake together. It reminded me so much of my childhood memories - warm kitchen, carols on the radio and my mum baking mince pies, making Christmas puddings and Christmas cake. The smell of cinnamon and brandied fruit heavy in the air, candles in the front room and a log fire crackling in the hearth used to make our Christmas magical. I know its a month off, but by giving you this recipe now you will have time to bake.

If you come back tomorrow I promise I will have the recipe, ingredients and photos up. If you are coming later I will post a link on here too!!

And again, thank you for your blogger friendship xxx

How to make a Bakewell Tart - its as easy as pie!!!!!

Eve asked me, the other day, what was a Bakewell slice and I put the recipe on my questions page. I did promise that I would post photos next time I made one and so here we go. Of course the real reason for this flurry of baking enthusiasm is the fact that I am supposed to be working on a 4000 word essay!! I have done 200 words so far...

Anyway... the full recipe is on my questions page up above, but here are my photos. I really recommend it as its easy, cheap and very scrumptious!! Let me know if you make it??

cream together ground almonds, sugar and butter.

add eggs and mix

roll out pastry ( my rolling pin was in the dishwasher so I had to use a beer bottle... )

spread jam

splodge almond mix on top

roughly fold over pastry a la rustique until it looks like this...

then paint with egg wash and bung in the oven.... it should come out looking like this ...

serve hot with custard or cream... or leave it until cold and have with a cup of tea. yum!

Thanks to Economy Gastronomy for the recipe!!

And now I suppose I ought to do a bit more of my essay before I pop over to the allotment!!