Batter down the hatches

Finally, it would seem that winter has arrived. After a very mild beginning to November, there is now an icy blast whipping through my garden.  Have you bought your inflatable sledge yet?  I have.  I may even buy a second so that the bairns can have a go.
Comfort food is definitely on the menu.

Toad in the Hole.

For the batter:
5oz plain flour
pinch of salt
1 whole egg
1 egg white
300ml semi-skimmed milk

Sift the flour, or if you're lazy like me, stir it around in the bowl with a whisk.
Add everything else and whisk until smooth.
If you can, make the batter well ahead of time and allow to rest at room temperature.
Whisk again before use.
In a deep roasting tin, brown some nice sausages at 180 centigrade for about 10 minutes.
Don't let them take on too much colour.
Add the batter and return to the oven for a further 20 or 25 minutes until it looks risen and golden. When you open the oven door, the batter will fall so resist the temptation.

Fantastic served with buttery mash, cabbage and onion gravy.



Around the Grounds

Now that the frosty nights are here, I suspect that this little fella will be heading for hibernation soon. He was spotted this week but I have to admit that this photo was taken a little earlier in the year.  He's nice and fat though so hopefully he will be back in the spring.

I used to think that, rather like daleks, hedgehogs would be thwarted by steps. 
However, they are actually pretty good climbers and can manage the stairs in my garden no problem.

Here are some hog facts to impress your friends:
An adult will have around 6000 spines.
They can eat 200g of worms, insects and slugs every night.
They are naturally resistant to adder venom.
They don't take in laundry.



Left-overs Corner

This is a great use for surplus mashed potato.
The kids like them so much, I always make extra mash
with the next day's tea in mind.

Potato Cakes,
Cold, buttery mash
Seasoning
Beaten egg
Homemade brown breadcrumbs


Season your mash and shape into discs about 1.5cm thick.
Gently dip in to the beaten egg and then coat with
your lovely homemade breadcrumbs. 
If you have time, set in the fridge to firm up before cooking.

Fry in a mixture of oil and butter on a medium heat
for about five minutes on each side.
Delicious with anything. This week I put them with chicken and bacon casserole.

You could make these and keep them in the fridge overnight for an indulgent breakfast.

Funny of the Week

Tim Minchin.

Slightly colourful language but not as bad as the rest of his songs.

http://youtu.be/KVN_0qvuhhw



Don't wish for waxwings when blackbirds will do.

Three words to strike fear into every heart: "Locking wheel nut".
Do you know where the key for yours is?
Having had occasion to take my car to have a wheel replaced I was welcomed in to the reception area by a pleasant, if rather patronising mechanic.
"Why only one wheel to replace?" He asked and so I was moved to explain about bashing the kerb while parking.
Cue a knowing look on his face and slight rolling of eyes.
Having now established our roles - me as dizzy female driver and himself as all-powerful overlord,
he asked me if I knew where the key for the locking wheel nut was. 
He only had to look at my face to know that he was on his own with that one.  He liked that. 
Remarkably (although surely he had done some training), he was indeed able to change my wheel without my assistance.
It was then that he hit me with his second, terrifying, three-word phrase.
"Cheques aren't accepted".

Never-fail Carrot Cake

If you have recently been proved to be an air-head. Baking this cake is the answer.
I'm usually suspicious of cakes that use oil instead of butter but this one is an absolute winner.

175g light muscovado sugar

175g sunflower oil

3 large eggs - beaten
140g finely grated carrot (2 or 3 carrots)
100g raisins
Grated zest of 1 orange
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp mixed spice

Heat the oven to 180 centigrade.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, oil, eggs, grated carrot, raisins and orange zest.
Sift in the flour, bicarb and mixed spice.  Stir until evenly mixed.
Pour into an 18cm square tin, lined with baking paper.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes.

Now, I love the traditional topping of sweetened cream cheese but the kids aren't that keen so this week I made orange icing from the juice of the orange that I zested to go in the cake and some icing sugar.  You won't need all of the juice.
Top tip: make the icing while the cake is baking and set aside.  Any lumps will dissolve and leave you with a totally smooth and glossy topping for your masterpiece.

As the oven was already on, I slipped in some large potatoes for stuffed baked spuds for our tea.  More of the later...

Around the Grounds

I'm a great believer in being satisfied with what you've got.
In other words, the waxwings have not turned up yet. However, I am not down-hearted.
Its been another sunny week (mainly).

Every morning the pair of blackbirds that are roosting in my ivy come to collect the crusts from my kids sandwiches.  They may not be rare but there is a lot to be said for reliability.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

For every two potatoes, use half an onion, one rasher of bacon and an obscene amount of cheddar and butter.

Scoop out the baked potatoes into a large bowl.

Gently fry the finely chopped onion and bacon in a little oil.  While that softens and then crisps up, grate the cheese and add to the potato.  Season with salt and pepper and mash everything together with a fork.

If you are using cooked potatoes that have cooled, add the butter to the hot bacon and onion so that it melts. Now add to the cheesy potato mixture.

Return to the potato skins, sprinkle with more cheese and put in a moderate oven for about 20 or 30 minutes.

For posh, serve with green salad. Delicious.

This is a super quick meal that could serve two or two hundred.
Top tip: Allow to cool for ten minutes before serving so that scolding cheesy mash does not adhere itself to the roof of your mouth.

Funny of the Week.

The very welcome return of

I'm sorry I haven't a clue.

This is half an hour long but it is radio so you can get on with what you should be doing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b0174dzy/

A word to hormonal and "under-achieving" women.
Sir Henry Royce claimed, "Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble." 
Well, he obviously knew nothing about the split-infinitive but I think he makes a good point about life.  We are all our own harshest critics.  Its easy and dangerous to compare ourselves to others and be disappointed about where we are.  But.  Lets look around. Realise that we are loved and pretty fantastic to a handful of very important people. Lets also just get on with it.  Life is precious.
If that doesn't help, will this hotpot make you feel better?  Probably. 
And it is definitely noble.

Lamb Hotpot.

1lb lamb neck fillets. Sliced.
1 large onion, finely sliced.
1 clove of garlic, finely diced.
5 or 6 large, waxy potatoes (The pink ones are good for this).
4 leaves from a savoy cabbage. Shredded.
Dried thyme
1 large des. spoon redcurrant jelly
1 measure dry sherry.
2 pints lamb stock
Black pepper.

In a heavy bottomed casserole dish, gently fry the onion and garlic in olive oil.  Don't rush this stage, if it burns, its ruined. Add a teaspoon of dried thyme and a good grinding of black pepper. Now toss the lamb in flour - I'm not convinced that this protects the meat but it definitely thickens the gravy.  Fry the lamb, allowing the base of the casserole to colour but not burn.  Now add the stock, a little at a time so that the gravy thickens as you go.   Next the redcurrant jelly and the sherry go in.  Stir until the jelly melts. 
Slice the potatoes to about 3 or 4 mm thickness and add to the hotpot.  Simmer on a low heat with the lid on until the potatoes are tender - about an hour.  Don't stir your hotpot too often during this time or you will end up with lamb in watery mash.

Finally, add the shredded cabbage and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Serve with bread and butter to dip in the gravy. Perfect.







Around the grounds.

At this time of year, every bright, dry day is a gift.  It also gets dark early so there is every excuse for coming indoors to cosy up on the sofa.  Its the perfect time of year for getting out and doing a bit of sweeping and weeding and then returning inside for some guilt-free lounging. 

I rescued this little fella from the drain. I think he might be so yellow because he'd been down there a while.
We get a lot of frogs in the garden even though we don't have a pond.  They are brilliant for slug-control.











Whats in your soup today?
I'm glad you asked:

1 onion
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
1 courgette
1 sweet potato
3 savoy cabbage leaves
All chopped and softened in olive oil and butter before adding;
2 pints of ham stock (from a cube)
2 handfuls of red lentils.
Black pepper and mixed herbs.
Simmered until everything is cooked and then blitzed with a soup wand.
Served with cheese and onion pasties.



A Walk for the Weekend.
Loch Katrine.

Start at Trossachs Pier, Loch Katrine, by Callander.
The route takes you along the edge of the loch along a private road so there is very little traffic.  This makes it ideal for family cycling. You can hire bikes from Katrine Wheelz at the beginning of the route. If you get your timings right, you can cycle all the way to the other side of the loch and hop on the steam ship for a lift back to the cafe.

Its a lovely gentle walk or cycle with stunning scenery all the way.

For more info, check out www.lochkatrine.com

Funny of the week

This is the best bit of the movie but it will make you want to watch the whole thing. 

The Cannonball Run.  Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/WvHTeNThAo0

Check your bonfire for hedgehogs

Remember, remember the week beginning the 4th of November. 
(For the purposes of this blog of course.  The week begins on a Sunday as we all know).
Well, I have been buoyed by the increase in my followers - an exponential growth, rather like bacteria. I calculate world domination in no time. This week is for fireworks and the provision of sparklers to children while at the same time, stressing compulsively the position of the bucket of cold water.

What to Cook:

Roasted Red Soup

This is ideal to take to somebody else's bonfire party.

1 butternut squash - peeled and cut length-ways into 8 bits

4 red peppers - cut in half and seeded

12 tomatoes - halved

2 cloves of garlic - don't bother peeling

A couple of tips of fresh rosemary if you have it in the garden

Put all the above into a roasting tin and sprinkle liberally with olive oil and black pepper.  Roast at 200 degrees centigrade for about 40 minutes until tender and slightly scorched at the edges. Now scrape everything from the roasting tin into a large saucepan, and add:

2 tins of tomatoes,
2 tsps sugar,
and if you can bring yourself, a tin of tomato soup.
1 tsp dried chili flakes (optional)
1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
And for posh, 2 tblspn soured cream

Warm through and blitz the whole lot with a soup wand.

If your kids think that they don't like soup, try serving as a snack or starter in a small cup with buttered soldiers on the side.  In this way, its much more fun and if they really won't eat it, there is not much wasted and you won't get cross.  As with every food, keep trying it on the kids as eventually, they will realise that you are right.

What to do in the Garden:

Get your bulbs in.

In April, this scrabby old cabbage will be replaced by a triumph of tulips

This is a great weekend for putting your spring bulbs in.  Before the frost comes and makes the soil like pig-iron.  As a general rule, bulbs should be planted at a depth of twice their own height.  A layer of sharp sand beneath them will help prevent rot.  I have found that narcissus and alliums are as tough as old boots and can be left in situ all year round. As for tulips, I plant them in tubs so that I can bring them close to the house for the winter.  This keeps the bulbs warmer and drier and also prevents the pots from getting frost damaged. Usually!

If you don't have space outside for any more flowers, pot up a couple of tubs for your window sill.  Dwarf iris makes a welcome change from the over-powering hyacinth.

A Walk for the Weekend.

Length: You choose!

Grizedale Forest, near Hawkshead in the Lake Disrict is a brilliant destination for a walk or cycle trail.  There are many routes to take of varying length and difficulty, all way marked. An added dimention is added by the sculpture that appears as you wander.  On our first visit, when my kids where small, I took a box of cooked sausages and every time they saw a new sculpture, they got a sausage.  We positively romped through the forest.

The visitors centre has an excellent cafe which is open all year round, 10am til 5pm.

Funny of the week.

The Swedish Chef makes popcorn shrimp. (Keep an eye on the captions).

http://youtu.be/B7UmUX68KtE