Pot Pie

Just experimenting. I wanted to make an alternative for my weekly Shane-ish pasty. The filling is grated/drained carrot & swede & parsnip and left over winter squash from last week. (Of course, 4 eggs and milk mixture too!) The combination isn't the best I've ever tried and I would use this combination but it was a good experience. This is going to be consumed in the next 4-6 days.

Another lesson learnt is that you are supposed to score bread dough before the 2nd rise instead of doing it just before baking it!

Sorry this post is ridiculously boring.

Dried fruit and nuts cake

Dried fruit and nut cake (recipe adapted from Mary Berry’s recipe http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/430420/Mary-Berry-s-Victorian-Christmas-cake)

Packed with juicy fruits and nuts with a hint of lemon flavor. Crumbly but moist.

Ingredients:

400g dried fruit (I used apricot, purple grape, green grape.)

Water

300g nuts (I used hazel nuts, walnuts, almond)

150g self raising flour

70g brown sugar

1tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 lemon

50ml milk

80ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

Method

1.    Cut dried fruits into 1cm cubes if they are big. Put dried fruits in a bowl. Add boiling water into bowl until dried fruits are covered. Leave for about 3 hours until fruits get plump.

2.    If necessary, chop nuts into desirable size.

3.    After fruits get plump, put all of it in a sauce pan and boil vigorously until the water reduces to less than 50 ml. Separate fruits and water with a sieve and cool.

4.    Prepare cake tin with baking paper on the bottom and sides.

5.    Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, lemon zest and stir until all is combined.

6.    Add milk, beaten egg, oil into dry ingredients and fold it in.

7.    Add nuts and cooled fruits, fold.

8.    Put the mixture into cake tin.

9.    Decorate the top with nuts if you like.

10.  Bake in 160C oven for 40 minutes. While baking, add lemon juice into syrup. After 40 minutes, take it out and cover the surface with syrup. Bake again for 20 minutes. When the surface begins to brown, cover the top with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

11.  Leave to cool.

This is what you get.

smell travels. A LOT

I can smell my neighbors after shave. My window isn't even open.

What I learnt from today's pasties.

• Use 1 small onion finely diced. Try cooking it before packing.
• 1 medium red potato Thinly sliced and diced
• 1/2 Rutabaga Thinly sliced and diced (5mm cubes
• Don't be afraid to put a bit more water in the pastry: otherwise it will be a bit too hard and will take ages to roll out.
• Meat should be diced smaller (although, I have to admit that I prefer just veg pasties.)
• don't be afraid to season well. (but not too much)
• Don't forget to add salt in the pastry
• Roll out pastry about a bit thinner than 2mm.
• Don't try to pack too much but not too little.
• Seal the edges tightly before crimping with two fingers on right hand and one finger on left hand.
• Buy pastry brush.
• Don't try to bake bread at the same time. Do it later.
• Put filling in the centre (although this isn't the REAL Cornish pasty.)
• Buy measure (Mine broke).
• Put baking paper.