I think I have said before that mince pies are my favourite Christmas food, but only homemade ones. I have yet to taste a decent factory made mince pie. It is no wonder many people say they don’t like mince pies if all they have ever eaten are the ones […]
I just love making preserves – jams, jellies, marmalades, pickles and chutneys. They each have their season – jams and jellies mainly in the summer, marmalades in January and February when the Seville oranges are available, and pickles and chutneys in the autumn, ready for Christmas. When I look in […]
Now Halloween and Bonfire Night are over my thoughts turn to Christmas preparations. Mid November is the perfect time for making preserves so that they have time to mature and develop their full flavour by Christmas. Mince pies are my favourite Christmas food but only if they are homemade using […]
This week my friend Margaret gave me some apples from her garden. They were a variety I hadn’t heard of before, Cornish Aromatic. They have a firm fresh flavour with a hint of pineapple. The skin is quite rough and dry so they need to be peeled to use in […]
I found some Red Windsor apples in the supermarket this week and used them to make my version of an old fashioned pudding called Apple Dappy, which is made using a scone dough as pastry. I found the original recipe in the Pudding Club Cookbook by Keith & Jean Turner […]
The new crop of British apples are now appearing in the shops, so it is time for some apple recipes. I made an apple pie using Bramley and Cox apples for Sunday lunch and also some apple and cinnamon scones for tea. For these I used Worcester apples which I […]
I was going to make a steak pie this week but I had a sudden craving for lemon meringue pie. This sweet treat is a little more effort to make than my apple pie but after eating a homemade lemon meringue pie you will never buy a commercially made one […]
This week I am sharing with you my mother’s recipe for apple pie. I always bake this as she did on an old-fashioned enamel pie plate. The metal plate combined with a hot baking tray will ensure the bottom layer of pastry will be cooked. I use a 10 inch […]
Autumn is coming to Ashdown Forest. The bracken is turning from green to golden brown and the holly berries are tinged with red. It’s time to think of comfort food, and what could be more welcome on an autumn day than a pie? To make a good pie you need […]
Here in the UK the summer holidays are over and the children are back at school but there are still plenty of summer berries in the shops, so I thought it is not too late for another summer dessert. This Raspberry Cream Sponge is made with a very light fatless […]
