I remember Bonfire Night as a kid, damp, very cold, feet really cold ( no thermal boots or clothing in those days). A Bonfire made from garden rubbish and fireworks. Everyone had their own bonfire and their own set of fireworks. Nowadays, it is deemed unsafe for mere individuals to do this.

Flash back to living in Belgium, for 10 years we hosted a Bonfire Party, for expat families mostly British with kids away at school, but were home for the mid term break. We would have +/- 100 people come. All that they were required to do was to bring a “GUY” ! A guy is more like a scarecrow, a mock up of poor old Guido Fawkes, to be burnt on our Bonfire!

We had 2 Acres of wood Land as out garden, leaves were swept, twigs and branches collected and a huge bonfire was made in a clearing. Himself decamped to a firework factory and I to the butchers to buy an enormous Brisket and tons of sausages.

Brisket slow roasted, pulled and ready to go with coleslaw, baked potatoes , sausages on the BBQ, Popcorn and Toffee Apples.

We always held a “Guy” competition and I am sure we had a prize for the most innovative. Bonfire lit, fireworks let go! I actually think that Himself had more fun than anyone.

The easy thing to make ( without kids around as the toffee gets really really hot) Toffee Apples.

Making simple apples is fine, but have you tried eating one, how do you get your mouth around this toffee. A bit difficult. Maybe OK as an adult but for a child ? The answer is simple. Toffee Apple Slices.

• 6- 8 apples
• 400g caster sugar
• 100 ml water
• 4 tbsp golden syrup 
• It is really useful to have a cooking thermometer to make sure you reach the Hard crack stage.

• Prepare apple slices by coring them and cutting into thick slices. Add an ice lolly stick or chop stick in one side. Cut a little off one side of the apple so it will stand up.
• Add the sugar and water to a pan and heat to dissolve the sugar.
• Once dissolved, add the syrup and check with a sugar thermometer for the temperature to reach 150°C, it is very important for the mixture to reach this temperature to make sure that the toffee is crunchy.
• Remove the toffee from the heat.
• Dip the apple into the toffee so it’s fully covered and rest on baking paper or silicone to cool.

An alternative is once dipped in the toffee quickly dip them in some sesame seeds.

Leave to cool before trying to eat ! Store in a cool place

When finished making the apples, clean up is easy, simply add hot water from the tap with a little washing up liquid and bring it to the boil on your stove. This will bring away any toffee stuck on. Then simply tip all into the sink and that’s it ! No need to scrap off the hard toffee

The heat from the boiling water will bring away any stuck on toffee with ease.

Tip the water into the sink, and it’ll pretty much all be gone. When it comes to washing up, you will then just need to wipe it over, rather than scrubbing hardened toffee off.

Just in case you were wondering how we pulled off our large bonfire party! Belgium has different police for different areas. We lived in a cul de sac in a French speaking area, hence French speaking police, BUT to get to our house they would have to traverse a Flemish speaking area. Oh No, not possible! Likewise the Flemish speaking police could not come and scold us as we weren’t in their area !

After our little Jolly in Scotland we descended to the Lakes. This was only after contributing to Mr. Trumps coffers, a couple of nights in Trump Towers ( aka Turnberry) great golf course, superb staff less said about hotel food the better. Let it be said we found that a picnic with a good bottle of wine, in front of the TV a better bet. !

However, what a different story, in Cartmel at L’Enclume ( Anvil to the uninitiated) and there it was sitting in pride of place next to our table.

L’Enclume was in a different class to Trump Towers, a beautiful space and definitely Covid secure. Starting with our beautiful room, which has been sealed until we entered, comfortable bed and fluffy towels ( wish we could have stayed longer!) The restaurant itself is relatively small with about 15 tables of 2, all set well away from each other. We have barely eaten out since March, a couple of picnics, and once in a plastic igloo, but this was special.

We had been asked in advance of dietary requirements ( we eat anything and everything), so it was very much the tasting menu in all of its glory.

This is Simon Rogan’s Flagship restaurant. We have eaten at Roganic in Marylebone London and at his experimental kitchen in London’s Soho, both of which are excellent.

I was particularly impressed by news of him during our Lockdown, that he and his executives took a 100% pay cut in order to pay everyone else. Meanwhile they cooked and supplied the village with wonderful meals at cost! I wonder if the residents of this beautiful village put on weight ?

And what else can I do, after such a wonderful meal but to share it with you. Unfortunately, I lost my menu, but that have promised that when Lockdown finishes they will send me a new one. Such a shame not remember exactly what we ate!

Therefore from the Top

And the next three

And so it goes on

Yes, we have escaped again, on a road trip to a Haunted Scottish Castle. Bearing in Mind that London has been moved into semi special measures, we are not allowed to Mingle, but that’s Ok, I’ll just mingle with Himself and and Vice Versa.

We are on a reconnaissance trip to this Castle on the East coast of Scotland, delayed from May. Apart from Himself having a contre temps with a kerb negotiating the narrow road around Loch Lomond, (but better than having a contre temps, with an oncoming truck,) we managed to find our castle without too many difficulties.

But back to London, last week was spent trying out a couple of new ideas and recipes. Namely, gnocchis with a twist. I had bought some celeriac with my Vegetables from Watts Farm, without a firm idea what I was going to do with it, be it baked, or remoulade or what ?

I decided I could make gnocchi celeriac with potato would fit the bill.

1. 1 celeriac +/-500 Grams, peeled and diced
2. Equal amount of potato also peeled and diced
3. 5 cloves garlic, left unpeeled
4. Tablespoon of olive oil
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 100 grms flour

Method

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
2. Toss the parsnips and potatoes in 2 tbsp of the olive oil and tip into a roasting tin along with the garlic cloves. Roast for 40 mins or until the veg is completely soft.
3. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.
4. Squeeze the garlic from their skins, discard the skins.
5. Tip everything into a food processor along with the flour and salt, season well, then blitze until well combined and holding together as a dough

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, cut into four chunks and roll each into a sausage about 35cm long and 2.5cm wide, or there about. Wrap the sausage in cling film secure the ends with string. And drop onto the boiling water and cook for about 15 minutes.
2. Remove from the water and leave to cool.
3. When cool unwrap and cut into slices about the thickness of a finger.
4. Dip the gnocchi lightly in some flour.
5. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and add the gnocchi in batches and fry on both sides. When golden, remove and drain on paper. Repeat until all are cooked.

At this point one can decide if to use them straight away, or as I do, flat freeze them, then when frozen, bag them and put them in the vegetable section of your freezer until you need them. 

Meanwhile, Himself periodically goes Rogue and takes himself off to a grocery store. His store of preference is Selfridges ( for uninitiated read Harrods or the smartest grocery shop that you know). He normally buys me Oysters but this time around it was Shrimp and Squid! Simply marinated and grilled on a Barbecue, ummmm! Delicious!

He knows the way to a Girls Heart, Seafood, Seafood and more Seafood!

I have been supporting Crowd Farming since March, supporting small farms ( mostly in Spain) who otherwise would have had to ditch their crops. I have supported three such farmers so far and this is not being just Altruistic, but also to inspire myself. ( having seen that we are stockpiling again, this is me! Mangoes, Olive Oil and Lemons !)

Therefore I have bought 5 litres of organic artisan Olive Oil, 5 Kilos of Beautiful unwaxed Lemons ( all now preserved for future use or donated to other cooks and today 5 Kilos of Mangoes from Maria Martinez. I will put them all to ripen, some I will just eat when ready and others will become Mango Sorbet and will also probably try Mango Jam.

Meanwhile, I have a new freezer, but read that as Another Freezer. As I am definitely not going grocery shopping but enjoying experimenting more in the kitchen And with the probability of Covid restrictions looming, and with my current freezer space full to bursting, it was time to expand. My Utility room is small but Himself got out his saw and hammer and Brain to install the new appliance, Success!

Eldest daughter the willowy blonde has a weekly Movie night with her three kids, Alfie, ( born in Sydney 13), Tess ( born in New Delhi, 10, going on ??) and young Sam ( our Mexican, 5), they take it in turns to choose the movie, and not always harmoniously! Whilst in France this summer, we also took part. Going on from that we decided, that as we are not going to the movies as such, we too would have a Pizza Movie night.

I made Pizza and watched Parasite( Oscar winner), which I enjoyed but Himself did not!

We have had another Take Away! Our third in 6 Months, all of which the willowy Brunette has been able to share with us. The first a Michelin starred Indian, which led us to make Fish/ Prawn Moilee, the second a Mexican from a renowned visiting chef. It was a disaster and most went into the bin, and now our third.

It was created by the winner of Master Chef 2020, Thomas Frake. It arrived as scheduled beautifully packaged and was promptly refrigerated. Instructions were in an online video with Thomas himself and a printed version also available. Instructions were followed, a few additions were added ( I had only ordered for two several weeks ago) , wine was drunk and dinner eaten.

Our dinner consisted of:-

Monkfish Scampi served on a bed of Pickled Fennel with Tartare Sauce.

Rack of Hogget ( technically from a two year old Lamb) with a Broad Bean and Pea Purée, crispy Broad Bean Shells, Hasselback Potatoes , with Salsa Verde.

Dessert an Earl Grey Eclair with Butterscotch sauce.

I also ordered the cheese course.

Was fun to cook and eat and of course could have done it all anyway. But would never have thought of keeping the shells of the broad beans and using them as a crispy garnish. The Monkfish Scampi ( did you know that not so long ago, nobody wanted to eat Monkfish and it was passed off in the local chippy as fried scampi), it was delicious and actually would have been happy with just that for dinner.

In fact we saved dessert and the cheese for the following night.

So two days on, the cheese is still in the refrigerator but we have eaten the eclairs. We enjoyed all of the meal but felt for us at least the Earl Grey Crêpe was underwhelming, nice but not especially so but otherwise it was really good. Have never thought of using the shells from broad beans before, I usually just throw them away, but now here is a thought!

Well done Thomas!

Whilst in the French Alps I played with the making of Sourdough Bread. One might wonder why this is proving such a novelty or difficulty. People make sourdough bread all the time! So what is the problem?

I have my lovely starter but the elusive dough or bread remained a mystery.

The reason being ALTITUDE! Yeast, Bread, Baking, Cakes, they all react very differently to being made at Altitude.

I already knew the set of rules regarding cakes etc but didn’t really realise what the difference would be with bread and actually it is crucial.

However, as my starter was beautiful, I decided to freeze until we are here sometime in the future.

Life here in the mountains was very quiet ( well maybe not so quiet with three grandchildren around, especially the smaller one who at 5 years old is very noisy !)

Parents have been working from home, but have made the most of using Dave’s Gym ( small private gym) and Lac de Montriond, a mountain lake that has a surface area of 32 Ha. With a depth of 62 feet. This beautiful lake was formed several hundred years ago and is a popular tourist spot in the summer, with swimming, sailing, paddle boarding and horse riding on offer. Our lodgers on the other hand chose to swim it 2-3 times ( only 1.3 kms long and cold! Wet suit is really needed).

According to Rick Stein, the French do have Sourdough bread, or at least their version of it. It is called Pain de Campagne, but the general consensus is, that it doesn’t quiet hack it!Usually pretty small and do not on any account use the wonderful bread cutting machines, that will be found in all Boulangerie and even supermarkets. The slices will be far too thin and not at all satisfying.

This loaf I bought in the UK and is so much better. But what about the rules for baking at Altitude?

Most of us do not encounter these problems, but number 1 daughter did, when she lived in Mexico City. For the uninitiated Mexico City sits at 2400 metres which is about a mile and half, ( almost 8,000feet) so pretty high !

Lower Air pressure at high elevation causes air bubbles trapped to rise at a faster rate, resulting in either uprisen cake/ bread or dry or both.

To combat this proportions need to be changed as well as the oven temperature, at heights over 3;500 feet the oven needs to be at least 25 F higher than at sea level. Baking powder needs to be reduced, as does sugar, liquids need to be increased and certainly for anything over 7,000 feet these ingredients need considerable alteration as well as the baking time!

Then of course there is the flour. When I lived in Belgium I have part of The Hints class to American expats. My job was food and food related subjects. I was actually astounded that many of them were very naive about the food and country in which they were living. They too were astounded that a packet of frozen assorted, deep fried nibbles had horse meat in them! And why not ?

Many of them would trot off to Antwerp to the Robber Lady, who as an enterprising Belgian, imported American food stuffs ( flour included) and sold them on at exorbitant prices. But then again, there was the English equivalent, who many of the Brits could not live without. For me shopping in Belgium was a revelation, after Germany, where I found the shops rather dull, but now I find food in London just amazing, it’s availability and quality.

But I digress, yes flour is different, here we talk of strong flour ( bread flour) whereas in France they sell flour by numbers, and Baguettes are made with a Lean Flour, which is why they go stale quickly. Even so I bought the French equivalent of Bread Flour, but failed miserably to make a decent loaf and froze my Sourdough Starter for my return ( whenever that maybe.)

However help is at hand. I have a bread machine in France, for which I use a bread mix! Cheating I know, but when faced with driving down 7 snow covered hairpins, just to buy some bread it comes into its own. BINGO, whilst perusing a Lakeland catalogue, I came across Sourdough mix for Bread Machines, so I bought a bunch, already for our next French sortie! Cheating , I know, but when needs must !

Iv’e just counted up! It is 166 days, since we were incarcerated! That is 166 x 3 equals 498 meals and for the most part meals for 2. Luckily it can be discounted a tad, as we don’t really “DO” lunch, but nonetheless it can be bread and cheese or a cup of soup ( homemade of course). It can also be discounted somewhat as we have dinner out, but just the once whilst in France ( thank you grandkids) and have had two Take Aways or rather called Take Ins! One a success from a Michelin starred Indian and one a disaster from a supposedly top Mexican Chef.

Otherwise it has been Dine at Home. And for the most part me. The exceptions being , Himself, once a week has created, very nicely done, thank you and whilst in France ( basically 5;weeks) we were 7, (and eldest daughter contributed ) and that equates to a lot of food !

When I think of grocery shopping, for me it has been easy, having cracked Waitrose booking system and now I have suppliers for Fish ( now three sources) fruit and vegetables several sources, wine a couple, and so on, but thinking back to my childhood, how did the housewives manage? Perhaps no refrigeration, no delivery service and a family to feed plus do all the housework, AND with no Mod Cons! How did my mother in law feed 5 growing boys? For that one has to admire her.

And so here we are, still at home and having taken much of the contents of my freezer to France this summer, I am in the process of restocking. I have tried an alternative fish company, as recommended by my neighbour Bob, Chapman’s. I would say about the same quality of fish and service as Ish Fish but with a better selection. In this latest delivery I was pleased to see that I could get skate wings, if you have never tried Skate, then for me it is a must. When we lived in Brussels I could get Skate wings from a Frozen food supplier and guess where they came from? The USA, Florida to be precise. I think Americans look upon Skate more as Sting Ray rather than a fish to eat.

This time around, from my new supplier I bought Hake, Skate and mackerel fillets ( for himself). Then from, Chalk Stream, trout farm I bought 12 trouts, all of which come vacuum packed ready to freeze and finally from Watts Farm, 2 large packs of fish pie mix, some of which I have already used to make fish curry.

This week, Himself had a birthday, and as were were not going out, I asked ( unusual for me) what he would like for his birthday dinner. The answer, Trout! As I has taken previously some trout to France, I had time to work out the best way to cook them on a Barbeque. The answer, actually was very simple. En papillote or rather fish wrapped in paper. This way the fish cooks beautifully, skin doesn’t stick, to grill or fish basket and little or no cleaning to do afterwards.

Very simply take a sheet of greaseproof paper, grease it with some olive oil, place the fish on it and make it like an envelope. Seal ( I stapled them shut). You could put some lemon or onion slices along with some dill in along with the trout. Place on a hot BQ grill and cook for about 10-15 mins. Do no turn over, all the juices will run out, but after 10 mins open the envelope a little and insert a fork or knife. If it slides in easily, then the fish is done.

Remove from the grill, and carefully tip put the fish onto a plate, then the underside will become the top, and it will be a really nice golden colour.

Serve with a salad or as I did, a mix of sautéed peppers, along with some anchovy butter.

As it was his birthday, Willowy Brunette had baked him a cake. A very moist Coconut cake with chocolate ganache icing.

Back in London, meant grocery shopping. I’m completely Off the idea. Hello, Online, here I come again.

Firstly, Watts Farm, and I am in love with Watts Farm. Apart from going to a Farm shop, where else do you find, home grown Baby Gem lettuce with soil on ? And nowadays, all the fruit ( and vegetables) sold in the supermarket fits into the supermarkets set criteria, carrots of a certain length, tomatoes a certain size, no wonky apples or potatoes. So what did I find on the Watts Web site, basically windfall apricots! Joy oh Joy.

Why the Joy? I always make Jam whilst in France in the summer, but this year I failed miserably, due in part to having my three eldest grandkids and parents with us for 5 wonderful weeks. We lived in our remote family bubble and it was fun.

Why do I have to make Apricot Jam?

Well, historically soon after we were married ( like the next week) Himself decamped to work in Germany and I flew off to Hong Kong and various other places. Breakfast in his hotel consisted of Brötchen ( lovely bread rolls) along with Apricot Jam. Fast forward 3 years and He is now with a different company and is working in France and staying in the company hotel, in the wilds of Normandy. Days long before internet, days long before self dial on a telephone, I tried telephoning , via the operator. Unfortunately I did not have a telephone number, but I did have the name of the hotel, or so I thought. Operator, please connect me to the Hotel, Les Célibataires, the Bachelors. No such hotel I am told. No, the hotel was actually called, Hôtel de la Petit Campagne, but called otherwise, because the only people allowed to stay there, were the young ( male) engineers. And guess what was for breakfast? Apricot Jam this time with baguette and croissants. The rule regarding who could stay there, changed soon after, when I stayed there as well, along with two small daughters! I remember one Christmas party held at the hotel. I was very pregnant and then it was acceptable to drink, as the waiters constantly filled my glass, with the words ” Pour Le Bébé. The hotel no longer exist !

So, I had almost two kilos of the equivalent of Windfall apricots and therefore it was Jam making time.

Jam is very easy to make, just a couple of things to watch. Jam sets at 220 F, 104C.

Don’t think that you can turn the heat up high and in no time at all it will be at the right temperature, because it won’t and in the meantime you will have a burnt on mess in the bottom of your pan. A cooking thermometer is a good investment.

Basically for most fruits it is equal quantities of fruit and sugar. Again it is possible to buy preserving sugar as this has added pectin to help the jam set more easily. Some fruits contain enough pectin naturally whilst others , like strawberries need a little help, usually in the form of added lemon juice.

Wash clean and destone the fruit. Put in a sturdy pan along with the sugar, juice ( and zest if wanted ) of one or two lemons or limes. Bring to the boil slowly and let it bubble away , stirring from time to time, until the correct temperature is reached. Using a thermometer, takes away any guess work. Remove from the heat and add about 2 Oz of butter, this will get rid of any foam that might have formed.

Meanwhile you will have sterilised your jars. Using a microwave overnight is a good way to do this. Half fill one jar with water , put in a microwave on high and let the water in the jar come to the boil. Remove, being careful and tip out the water and drain the jar on paper towel, leave upside down until ready to use. For the lids, put into a bowl and cover them with boiling water until ready to use.

Making sure the jars are clean and dry, ladle the jam into the jars and seal immediately with the dry lids, wipe off any spillage and leave to cool. When cool clean the outside of the jars, label and store!So if you fancy giving it a go, combined with a walk in the countryside, go blackberrying, and make some Bramble Jam, good luck !

La vie est simple, especially when in the French Alps. We escaped to France only after Boris ( our prime minister) said we could. Unfortunately this was to be rescinded fairly quickly, but never mind. Here we were isolated living in our extended family bubble. Daughter, Son in Law and three grandchildren aged 5- 12 ( almost 13 as he reminded us constantly).

Popi was on Breakfast duty , nothing too much trouble, but usually pancakes maybe scrambled eggs or fried eggs on toast. Me, for the most part on dinner duty , feeding 7 on a daily basis long forgotten.

Son in Law worked from home, commandeered one bedroom for his office and worked 12 hour days. Willowy blond also worked from home but made the most of her credentials to do some press trips whilst here. Mountain biking, ( many bruises) trip to Les Arcs with the kids, foraging, hiking, bivouacking with the big kids deep in the forest and Paragliding. What an adventure filled summer for them. Not forgetting the lacs, for swimming, boating, paddle boarding and the socially distanced WiBit, a giant bouncy castle thing in the middle of a lake. Dave’s gym ( private) came in very useful for the parents as did long distance swimming in the beautiful Lac de Montriond or running to the top of Mont Chery

Our occupation other than grandkids was some golf, usually on the top of our mountain in which the challenge is to see how many balls one doesn’t lose !

But seriously La Vie est Simple here. A hamlet of 10 houses up 7 hairpins. Somewhere, where in times past was the norm, doors are not locked and windows left open.

Normally whilst here in the summer I would make jam of some sort. However jam stocks are fairly high and inspiration was when #1 daughter gave me the goods found on her foraging trip. Rowan Berries. Rowan trees are everywhere and at this time of year adorned in orange berries. Beautiful in the winter as well, as the berries have turned red and look stunning when the trees are snow covered.

Unbeknownst to me, these berries make a wonderful jelly which is best served with game such as venison. Consequently I had to make some with the donated berries. As with all jam making it is not difficult and a jam thermometer makes life much easier.

I used equal quantities of berries, apples and sugar , about the same amount of water and the juice of two lemons.

Pick over the berries, cut the apples but do not peel, as the peel contains pectin essential for setting. Put the fruit, juice and water into a pan and simmer gently until the fruit is really soft. Pour into a Jelly bag and let it drain. No Jelly bag, no problem and pair of clean old tights will do the job just as well. Leave the fruit draining and dripping until it drips no more. Pour the juice into a saucepans add the sugar and heat to approximately 100 C. Watch out that it doesn’t boil over, easily done!!!

Skim the jelly, and pot in sterilised jars as quickly as possible.

Then eat with either some game, or with cheese! Sounds good to me, next summer I’ll go foraging myself!