Retro Tastes

Well, been while hasn't it? Entirely my fault!

Things have been busy, busy and not had a lot of time really (and I am tired, so veeerrry tired!), but there has been a distinct flurry of activity in the kitchen; a brief outline is below:

Christmas Cakes - after the sugar flies decided they wanted a nibble in the summer, two large expensive fruitcakes were packed of to mother with the instructions 'Eat the frozen one or it will go off, I don't want it wasted!' and 'I'll ice the other one nearer Christmas, I promise'

Then the other week I made some more Christmas cakes in my lovely new multisize pan from Alan Silverwood (purchased on ebay) - they had goji berries in them as well as some great rum from Havana, which is used to cook specifically (tastes delicious though!!). That was a culinary gift from a tutor and I promised I would give him a cake so maybe there was an ulterior motive. I now have 6 cakes to ice and decorate (eek!!)

Then I made my first ever mincemeat - a great Delia recipe except I forgot the nuts and made up my own fruit quantities (again goji berries) - stuck in some nice orange brandy that I bought in France and hey presto! A dark jar of alcoholic fruit ready to tantalise the tastebuds of my friends. I'm thinking about adding more booze as I'm worried the fruit may be a little dry (I added it during the cooking process - I can be so dim!)

Then, I have been batch cooking bolgnese and chilli - I am super busy at the moment (who would have thought?) and it's easy to pull food out of the freezer!

Phew, and.....

D and I (yes we are trying to get on, but we keep having our moments) made a Pineapple Upside Down cake from a Marguerite Patten cookbook. Now she is one of the original doyens of revamping Bristish food in post war Britain and was an essential voice for British housewives trying to make it all go that little bit further! After some big whisking, the cutting up a a fresh pineapple and the addition of three tablespoons of coconut milk to replace the normal milk indicated (I reckoned it needed the higher fat content and would add a tropical taste!), I was rewarded with a lovely, tight crumbed cake. oozing stickiness and tasting great!! Recipe will be posted!

I have also made some chicken liver pate but added way to much cream so now it looks like spread! Oh well, we can't be domestic goddesses all the time.