More Posts Returned
Cannot believe how much guff and stuff I was writing each day. It is quite a laborious job to read through it all and then decided what should be deleted. Unfortunately a lot of what I wish could stay in has had to go, just so that the recipes and certain info could stay (these being the most important). So newer readers, who then go back to the start will now have missed much of the daily 'happenings' in the Goode Life, but a blogger hasn't now room for it all, they wouldn't have been able to read it anyway.
So far have pruned the blogs up to and including the 30th March 2008. So getting there. Still a few missing from the very beginning of each month, but some have been deliberately deleted, others still don't have the room to reappear. Checking today have found that the recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding (2nd Dec. 2006) is on the (now) last page of that month, so NOW able to be found via Archives. Polly asked what TOP was. That was the name my husband gave to the above pudding, calling it "Ticket Office Pudding" (TOP).
Also Polly sent in some great news. Asking her butcher for some free bones etc. she was given two chicken carcases, each with a goodly amount of meat still on. Proving that it is always worth asking.
I do have an ice-cream maker Aileen, but since we got rid of our huge chest freezer, haven't since used it to make ice-cream, for the inner container needs freezing overnight, and our smaller freezer hasn't the room to hold it. When making ice-cream I prefer to make the soft-scoop which doesn't need a machine, neither does it need re-beating once it has been put into the fridge to freeze. The recipe for soft-scoop is on this site somewhere but haven't yet discovered it when scrolling back (although will check with my idex today and see if it is still 'up', if not will assure it will be brought back.
Many congratulations Les on becoming a grandfather. Strange you were asking about squashes and cordials for although did have a whole posting covering making these, deleted it yesterday - mainly because each needed further sterilising in a hot bath for some time after being bottled. If not done properly, these wouldn't keep well at all.
Only the other day gave a recipe for elderflower cordial - this being one you could make. Another idea is lemon barley water. Easy enough to make (although it doesn't keep long, so had to be kept in the fridge). The idea is to boil a few ounces of pearl barley until tender in a fair amount of water, then strain. Keep the cooking liquid and discard the barley. Only of course I would never discard the barley, just add it to a casserole, or even freeze it to later add to a casserole or use to make a speedy risotto. To the barley water, then add the rind (not zest, just strips of pithless lemon rind), lemon juice and sugar to taste. Then drink.
By colour coding, do you mean the whole paragraph coloured according to what was being discussed (green for gardening, blue for freezing etc), or just add the coloured letter at the end of the recipe title (V for vegetarian, B for able to be frozen etc.)? As most of the 'talk, talk' will eventually have to be deleted to allow the recipes to stay, you would need to print off what you wish to keep a.s.a.p. There will be no going back.
Pleased to hear from you again Cheesepare. When clearing the undergrowth, your name was one of the first to appear as a regular reader, so you've stayed with me almost since the beginning. You deserve a medal. Was myself sorry 'media moments' had to go, but I suppose can be brought back, and at least you got the chance to read them when they were there. As I said before, like most things like that had already disappeared from the site, they weren't now there to be read anyway.
Pleased you have discovered that a raw chicken carcase does make a richer flavoured stock that one that has already been roasted. Two carcases are better than one, so you can always freeze one to (thaw) and add to another when you have one. Your butcher may also be able to give you some free. Have you asked?
It IS quite hard working reading back through all the previous postings Sue15cat, then deciding what to keep and what can stay, then finding some still haven't returned, so even more pruning has to be done. Of course many full posts have had to be deleted, but as there was nothing 'useful' on them, then why not? Am hoping readers find it's turning out to be worth doing. Let me know.
Will be taking another look at the Approved Foods site Eileen. If there are any other readers who live in the Morecambe area we might be able to get together to 'bulk buy' and then share the 'cheapies' between us. Or pull in a few family members and friends to make it worth doing. Being able to buy food cheaply is one thing, being able to use it up quickly enough is another. Let alone having enough storage space.
Very little done yesterday other that lugging watering cans around to water all the containers. As it has rained during the night I needn't have bothered! At least the plants in the greenhouse DID need a good soaking, so can now take a day off from that. One of the bush toms (think it is 'Tumbler') is LOADED with fruit, but so far all green, and unless we get more warmth and sun, am wondering if they will ever change to red.
For ease, gave B smoked mackerel with salad for his supper with a potato salad made with tartare sauce rather than with mayo. Tartare sauce goes really well with any fish, so worth making it this way.
The last loaf of bread (made by B) is turning out to be a disaster. Although baking for too long (hence the crust is very hard) the crumb is too dense and wet, the loaf sank (top middle) when cooling, and now B is discovering huge holes towards the centre as he slices it. If nothing else this is proving to him that baking bread is not as easy as it looks (even when the dough is made in the machine. Almost certainly he used too much water, over kneaded it AFTER the machine had kneaded it, and folded the dough to enclose pockets of air when he put it into the loaf tin. Don't think he let it rise enough either. It will be interesting to discover whether this will put him off making more, or whether he will continue.
For those who prefer to make a simpler loaf, there is nothing like soda bread, as this does not need yeast. Beloved - when clearing out a corner of his garage, found the recipe below torn out of somewhere (and not by us) and - as it is a more interesting soda bread than most - thought one or two readers might like to try it. Scottish Soda Bread:
8 oz (225g) plain flour
2 oz (50g) malted wholewheat flour
4 oz (100g) wholemeal flour
2 oz (50g) rolled oats (or porridge oats)
1 good teaspoon salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a good ounce (45g) of butter, diced
4 oz (100g) mashed (cooked) potato
2 tablespoons runny honey
half pint (300ml) buttermilk (or diluted yogurt)
Sift the flours together with the salt and bicarb, and put into a food processor with the oats. Pulse in the butter, then add the potato and HALF the honey.
Transfer contents to a large bowl and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, then knead until smooth.
Shape into a long oval (it needs to be at least 1" (2.5cm) thick, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon - dusted with flour - make indents diagonally along the top of the loaf.
Mix the remaining honey with the same amount of water, and brush this lightly over the surface of the loaf. A few oats can also be sprinkled on top.
Bake at 200C, 400F, gas 4 for 40-45 minutes until brown and well-risen, then remove from baking sheet and place loaf on a cake airer to cool.
Despite it being not yet 8.00am, am finishing today's 'diary' so that I can press on with more 'pruning'. Who knows, by the end of this week might have reached 20011!
Hope you can join me tomorrow. Remember that it is always good to hear from as many of you who can be bothered to 'write in'. Enjoy your day.
So far have pruned the blogs up to and including the 30th March 2008. So getting there. Still a few missing from the very beginning of each month, but some have been deliberately deleted, others still don't have the room to reappear. Checking today have found that the recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding (2nd Dec. 2006) is on the (now) last page of that month, so NOW able to be found via Archives. Polly asked what TOP was. That was the name my husband gave to the above pudding, calling it "Ticket Office Pudding" (TOP).
Also Polly sent in some great news. Asking her butcher for some free bones etc. she was given two chicken carcases, each with a goodly amount of meat still on. Proving that it is always worth asking.
I do have an ice-cream maker Aileen, but since we got rid of our huge chest freezer, haven't since used it to make ice-cream, for the inner container needs freezing overnight, and our smaller freezer hasn't the room to hold it. When making ice-cream I prefer to make the soft-scoop which doesn't need a machine, neither does it need re-beating once it has been put into the fridge to freeze. The recipe for soft-scoop is on this site somewhere but haven't yet discovered it when scrolling back (although will check with my idex today and see if it is still 'up', if not will assure it will be brought back.
Many congratulations Les on becoming a grandfather. Strange you were asking about squashes and cordials for although did have a whole posting covering making these, deleted it yesterday - mainly because each needed further sterilising in a hot bath for some time after being bottled. If not done properly, these wouldn't keep well at all.
Only the other day gave a recipe for elderflower cordial - this being one you could make. Another idea is lemon barley water. Easy enough to make (although it doesn't keep long, so had to be kept in the fridge). The idea is to boil a few ounces of pearl barley until tender in a fair amount of water, then strain. Keep the cooking liquid and discard the barley. Only of course I would never discard the barley, just add it to a casserole, or even freeze it to later add to a casserole or use to make a speedy risotto. To the barley water, then add the rind (not zest, just strips of pithless lemon rind), lemon juice and sugar to taste. Then drink.
By colour coding, do you mean the whole paragraph coloured according to what was being discussed (green for gardening, blue for freezing etc), or just add the coloured letter at the end of the recipe title (V for vegetarian, B for able to be frozen etc.)? As most of the 'talk, talk' will eventually have to be deleted to allow the recipes to stay, you would need to print off what you wish to keep a.s.a.p. There will be no going back.
Pleased to hear from you again Cheesepare. When clearing the undergrowth, your name was one of the first to appear as a regular reader, so you've stayed with me almost since the beginning. You deserve a medal. Was myself sorry 'media moments' had to go, but I suppose can be brought back, and at least you got the chance to read them when they were there. As I said before, like most things like that had already disappeared from the site, they weren't now there to be read anyway.
Pleased you have discovered that a raw chicken carcase does make a richer flavoured stock that one that has already been roasted. Two carcases are better than one, so you can always freeze one to (thaw) and add to another when you have one. Your butcher may also be able to give you some free. Have you asked?
It IS quite hard working reading back through all the previous postings Sue15cat, then deciding what to keep and what can stay, then finding some still haven't returned, so even more pruning has to be done. Of course many full posts have had to be deleted, but as there was nothing 'useful' on them, then why not? Am hoping readers find it's turning out to be worth doing. Let me know.
Will be taking another look at the Approved Foods site Eileen. If there are any other readers who live in the Morecambe area we might be able to get together to 'bulk buy' and then share the 'cheapies' between us. Or pull in a few family members and friends to make it worth doing. Being able to buy food cheaply is one thing, being able to use it up quickly enough is another. Let alone having enough storage space.
Very little done yesterday other that lugging watering cans around to water all the containers. As it has rained during the night I needn't have bothered! At least the plants in the greenhouse DID need a good soaking, so can now take a day off from that. One of the bush toms (think it is 'Tumbler') is LOADED with fruit, but so far all green, and unless we get more warmth and sun, am wondering if they will ever change to red.
For ease, gave B smoked mackerel with salad for his supper with a potato salad made with tartare sauce rather than with mayo. Tartare sauce goes really well with any fish, so worth making it this way.
The last loaf of bread (made by B) is turning out to be a disaster. Although baking for too long (hence the crust is very hard) the crumb is too dense and wet, the loaf sank (top middle) when cooling, and now B is discovering huge holes towards the centre as he slices it. If nothing else this is proving to him that baking bread is not as easy as it looks (even when the dough is made in the machine. Almost certainly he used too much water, over kneaded it AFTER the machine had kneaded it, and folded the dough to enclose pockets of air when he put it into the loaf tin. Don't think he let it rise enough either. It will be interesting to discover whether this will put him off making more, or whether he will continue.
For those who prefer to make a simpler loaf, there is nothing like soda bread, as this does not need yeast. Beloved - when clearing out a corner of his garage, found the recipe below torn out of somewhere (and not by us) and - as it is a more interesting soda bread than most - thought one or two readers might like to try it. Scottish Soda Bread:
8 oz (225g) plain flour
2 oz (50g) malted wholewheat flour
4 oz (100g) wholemeal flour
2 oz (50g) rolled oats (or porridge oats)
1 good teaspoon salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a good ounce (45g) of butter, diced
4 oz (100g) mashed (cooked) potato
2 tablespoons runny honey
half pint (300ml) buttermilk (or diluted yogurt)
Sift the flours together with the salt and bicarb, and put into a food processor with the oats. Pulse in the butter, then add the potato and HALF the honey.
Transfer contents to a large bowl and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, then knead until smooth.
Shape into a long oval (it needs to be at least 1" (2.5cm) thick, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon - dusted with flour - make indents diagonally along the top of the loaf.
Mix the remaining honey with the same amount of water, and brush this lightly over the surface of the loaf. A few oats can also be sprinkled on top.
Bake at 200C, 400F, gas 4 for 40-45 minutes until brown and well-risen, then remove from baking sheet and place loaf on a cake airer to cool.
Despite it being not yet 8.00am, am finishing today's 'diary' so that I can press on with more 'pruning'. Who knows, by the end of this week might have reached 20011!
Hope you can join me tomorrow. Remember that it is always good to hear from as many of you who can be bothered to 'write in'. Enjoy your day.
posted by Shirley at 5:40 am
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