It seems my creativity is centred on cooking 'free from' dishes these days. I made my very first Coq au Vin using chicken thighs and it was delicious. Why haven't I made it before? My next cooking project is curried squash soup. I can't wait!

Cranberry and raisin polenta cake with very dark chocolate

  

A while back I tried cooking with ready made polenta and it was hugely disappointing. However! I don't give in that easily so when I found a recipe for polenta cake in Phil Vickery's Gluten Free Cooking for Kids I took the challenge and decided to have a go. 

I had bought some ground polenta as opposed to the ready made and set to finding the rest of the ingredients in my store cupboard. Of course I didn't have everything...do I ever? That made no difference, I decided to adapt the recipe according to the ingredients I had and hoped for the best.

The first traybake I made  was my contribution to my daughter's fireworks party. I used dried ready to eat apricots and marmalade with ginger instead of the frozen peaches and lemon zest as listed in Phil's recipe. I also substituted demerara suger for the recipe's golden castor sugar and Willow spread instead of butter. The resulting baked cake was sweet and moist with an interesting rough texture that everyone liked. 

My granddaughter Natalie had an upset tummy so couldn't have any of the cake and poor mite must have dreamt about it all night long because that's what she wanted for breakfast the next morning. Of course there was none left and the tears flowed. I said I would make another one and this time I decided to use the correct sugar and butter as listed in the recipe. A quick trip to our local Asda got some castor sugar and butter but there was no frozen peaches or similar to be had. The dried apricots were a ridiculous price so I decided to buy dried cranberries and mix them with raisins from my store cupboard at home. I also bought some silver shred marmalade and although I only needed a dessert spoon full the rest will come in very handy for spreading on toast at supper time.

I'm so disorganised! I couldn't be bothered to use an electric whisk as it was packed away with its attachments in a box at the back of a cupboard somewhere so used a fair bit of elbow grease instead and eventually the cake mix creamed together. I got a lot more cranberries and raisins to the pound than I did apricots and ended up with a very fruity cake mix. This was where I started to panic. Would it end up in disaster?

The cake mix rose in the oven but left most of the fruit behind so when it had cooled I treated it as an upside down pudding, turning it over so that the layer of fruit sat on top of the traybake cake. Luckily I had lined the tray with baking paper otherwise I may have been scraping fruit off the tray and then the cake would have been ruined. I gently peeled back the baking paper to see a butter glistening jewel like layer of juicy fruit. Oh yes! This cake is to die for! The cake texture was different, more like a buttery Madeira. I thought all that sweet stickiness would marry well with a touch of bitter dark chocolate so melted some and dribbled it over the fruit layer. Yum Yum Well Done! 

Warning! The calorific value of this cake doesn't bear mentioning.

British Banger Week - Spicy Sausage Casserole

Its British Banger Week and I thought I would do something different to standard bangers and mash so searched my store cupboard for ideas.

It was the last day for using up my pack of gluten free sausages that had been sitting idly in the fridge so I grabbed them and decided to make a casserole. Gluten bangers can be a bit dry so cooking them in a sauce makes them more palatable. Any bangers will do of course but any excess fat needs to be drained away early in the cooking process.

My store cupboard produced a tin of baked beans in tomato sauce, a beef stock jelly melt and a tomato cup-a-soup. A rummage in the fridge produced three big chestnut mushrooms and I found an onion in the potato store. Yes! I had my main ingredients together.

I cut the thick sausages each into four making twenty four large bite size pieces and put them into a wok with a little hot cooking oil, added chopped onion and roughly chopped mushroom. I swirled them around a bit until they started to colour and got to the sweaty stage. I didn't need to drain any excess fat away. I then added the rest of the ingredients plus a large cup of hot water and brought it up to the boil. I then let it simmer gently with a lid on for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a drop of hot water when necessary.

It was time for the taste test and though the casserole was full of flavour I thought it needed just a bit of spice to give it a kick so I added half a teaspoon of madras curry powder. That did the trick and my spicy bangers casserole was ready to be served up with good helpings of creamy mash. I had a small portion which was ample for me while my other half, had a full plate and came back for seconds. There was still enough left over for two small lunches which will see me through the next couple of days. I reckon I made enough to serve three or four regular portions,

I can pat myself on my back (smile). Whose a clever girl then, lol. I've done my bit for the great British Banger!

Pro-Life Pilgrimage

On Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to join with the Pilgrimage of Reparation and Prayer for the Sanctity of Life which took place at Osmotherley in the Hambleton Hills of the North Yorkshire moors and on the route of the Cleveland Way, National Trail. Our journey began with the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary prayed collectively on the coach as we sped down the A19 and then through the beautiful countryside of the North Yorkshire moors.

The picturesque village of Osmotherley was bathed in sunshine under a cloudless blue sky making it a perfect day for our pilgrimage hike up to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Grace. There were twenty eight souls making the pilgrimage and ages ranged from as young as three years to the very old and was led by Marileine who was the organiser of the pilgrimage. Any infirmity didn't seem to matter as the young and old, the fit and the rickety and those with a bag on each arm to balance themselves gathered together in faith outside the village shop before our ascent to the shrine.

Turning off the main road we started our climb up a muddy and stony track that led up a steep hill. Rivulets of water from recent rains flowed or trickled down the track, crossing our paths unexpectedly and causing us to pick our way for fear of slipping into puddles and getting soaked. The woodland hillside was still green and lush, not having given into Autumn as yet. Occasionally we could peak through the trees at the vista beyond, way below us and as far as the eye could see fields and hedgerows bathed in glorious light.

 

Every so often we stopped at a station of the cross and prayed. I was reminded of the road to Calvary and the great sacrifice made by Christ for our sins. I hadn't thought I could manage this climb but with a leap of faith I was able to make it and was so glad I did.

Stations of the Cross

We all made it to the shrine and Our Lady's Chapel in one piece and after praying the Angelus we took some rest and had a picnic in the grounds of the Chapel. Tea and coffee was kindly provided.

Sisters of the Renewal and Marileine.

I chatted to two Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal who had joined us on the pilgrimage. They were both from the US but were based in Leeds. Sisters Catherine and John Paul were lovely, very young and very dedicated and it was a pleasure to have their company.

Our Lady's Chapel

Inside Our Lady's Chapel

Later we attended Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. We prayed the sorrowful mysteries and took time to reflect on the needs of babies in the womb, their mothers and the support they need in these  sorrowful times and our own pro-life ministries. There was then an opportunity for confession before mass and time to take a break. Father Damien led mass in the tiny chapel, which was filled to capacity with pilgrims. During mass I noticed a beautiful butterfly, a welcome visitor and possibly a Red Admiral dancing in the sunshine rays that cascaded through the high windows of the chapel to the altar below.

Father Damien joined us after mass for tea and coffee with home made scones and cake provided by volunteers. He was kept very busy chatting and blessing lots of medals and religious objects bought at the piety shop. I was able to buy three delightful nativities, one each for my grown up children and their families. Each one carries a Christmas Blessing and I hope they will stay in my children's Christmases for many years to come.

Although the day had been beautiful in every respect I was feeling too tired to head back down the hill to Osmotherley on foot and accepted a lift from one of the volunteers. I am very grateful to Flora for taking four of us in her car down into the village centre where our coach was waiting for us. On the way home we prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, making our glorious pilgrimage complete!  Although not officially starting until October 11th I hope it is for me, the preparation and beginning of my Year of Faith, 2012 - 2013.

sometimes less is more

I love the multi layered cards that some people make and the swirls and embellishments that seem to go on forever. One day I will try my hand at such masterpieces but for now I'm just glad I was able to motivate myself into creating some pressed flower designs and transformed them into 'any occasion' cards or note-lets.

An American friend of mine sent me some lovely pressed flowers when I was ill and I was thrilled to eventually get to use them over the last few days and create something special. Amongst the assortment Barbara sent me were Roses, Hydrangeas and Love in a Mist. I made very simple designs with them adding a few pieces of my own pressed items too. They scanned well and I played with the images adding text and created some 5 x 5 inch cards with them. They are very simple cards with no message inside but sometimes I think just one word coupled with a pretty image is enough and can speak volumes.

This is the first run of these particular cards and although they are perfectly OK as they are I have to admit (I am my own worst critic), that they could have printed better. The next run will be using a superior card and hopefully one that my printer likes! I'm sorry the close up images shown here are a bit out of focus but that's because my hands aren't too steady. I should have a little tripod somewhere, errrmmmmm, where's that gone!

I said they were something special and so they are! I recently joined an organisation called  Cancer Connections, whose headquarters are in a bungalow in a neighbouring town and I was delighted to find two boxes in the lounge - one for men and one for women. The boxes are for giving and taking out little surprise gifts for members. Just something to cheer up their day. I thought how much I would like to give something in support of this wonderful charity and decided to donate some special cards. Nothing elaborate or fancy, just something small and simple that might be appreciated. I hope they will be well received.

Carbonara and Plums

With just a small part of my stomach left and a need to avoid gluten and lactose its not always easy to find something to eat that is both appealing and fits the bill. I always had a good appetite and enjoyed most foods and taste experiences. My grandson is also gluten and lactose sensitive and I now realise the need to become more creative with food and make nutritious meals that the whole family will enjoy.

Today I made a loose take on Pasta Carbonara. Instead of cream I used soya milk, thickening the sauce with cornflour and lactose free cheese and completely forgot to add egg! The cheese was quite strong so I didn't need much - just a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese was enough. I cooked gluten free pasta until it was cooked through but still firm, drained it and poured boiling water over it to refresh.

I hate waste so I used the single rasher of bacon that had been left idling in the fridge for days and a slice of cooked ham from another opened packet. Chopped them both up into small pieces and fried them in olive spread, adding chopped mushroom and a good mix of home grown yellow cherry tomatoes and red baby plum tomatoes. I like a coating sauce best so I added enough soya milk to amply wet all the fried ingredients without letting them swim, then thickened with a heaped teaspoon of cornflour mixed previously with a drop of milk to make a creamy paste. Just as you would do when making custard before instant custard became the norm. Brought the mixture to the boil and allowed to simmer for a minute or so, stirring all the while. 

I added some torn coriander leaf at the end of cooking time, mainly to add a bit of colour but in hindsight, for extra flavour I wish I had added either a touch of garlic or some green pesto during the cooking process. I was able to divide it up into four small portions for myself but otherwise it would make two regular size portions or one large portion for those with big appetites.

My husband tasted it and said that it reminded him of something he'd had abroad and yes he would have some if I made it as a family meal. So I took that as a compliment!

While all this was going on I had a wok full of plums from the garden simmering in water, demerara and white sugar, ground ginger and cinnamon. The smell was divine! I let the liquid reduce to a syrup consistency and when it has cooled will pack it into zipped storage bags for freezing. It will come in very useful for making cobbler or crumble desserts in the future, though I have yet to master the technique of using gluten free flour!

Bon Appetit for now.

salmon and kippers

Well, my blog went by the wayside for the last couple of months due to me having my operation brought forward and my recovery since. I'm really glad that's over with and I just have to concentrate on getting better and hope the sarcoma doesn't return.

Staying on that positive note I want to tell you about my trip out yesterday and yummy purchases. We chose a lovely day for a drive into Northumberland sightseeing the coast and castles up there. It was almost like being on holiday and my first proper day out in months. The scenery was beautiful but I could have kicked myself for forgetting to take my camera, oh noooooo! Never mind we intend going back for a revisit, especially to Warkworth, which is fabulous and has superb river walks and steeped in heritage. The trees and vegetation were still lush and green but I also look forward to visiting in autumn when seasonal colours should be radiant. I will remember to take my camera with me next time.

My other half was keen on getting some Craster kippers to take home so we drove to the little fishing village and had a pleasant walk by the harbour and visited the smoke house shop where traditionally smoked fish can be bought. I treated myself to some hot smoked salmon and wondered later why it had cost so much till John pointed  out that it had been £29 per kilo!!! Agghhhh!! I made up my mind there and then to make sure I enjoyed it. So last night I cooked some pasta in tomato sauce and tossed in some of the very expensive hot smoked salmon, a few peas, coriander leaf and home grown lettuce and baby plum tomatoes...delicious!

Before we went home we visited some tea rooms in Alnmouth and had some very nice coffee and cake.  John had carrot cake by the Cake Root company and I had a gluten free chocolate cookie which I have to say was the most decadent I have ever tasted. The coffee wasn't bad either.

I'm so looking forward to my next trip.