The smell of baking

You cannot beat the smell of baking.  There is something so comforting about the aroma of bread and cakes wafting from a warm oven.  And the fug of condensation on the windows on a cold November baking day instantly transports me back to my childhood.  I remember baking with the children when they were small, and then not so small - they have inherited my love of the mixing bowl and wooden spoon.

There is always a cake in our house, rarely elaborate, but a welcome addition to a cup of tea and always, but always a key part of packed lunches.

The thinking behind this one was triggered by the unexpected treat of Jaffa cakes in the workshops, brought in by Carl, and Neil's sudden whim for toast and marmalade late one evening.
Apparently marmalade sales are on the decline, but there seems to be an ever growing band of marmalade makers, so it would appear that news of its demise is greatly exaggerated.  We are very partial to home made marmalade here, tangy and not over sweet, and definitely containing peel!

Not only have slices of this been wrapped in beeswax wrap for packed lunches, it has also been dressed up with poached quince and Greek yogurt as a dessert.

120g butter
120g orange marmalade, something robust and dark is best
2 nubbles of preserved ginger, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
2 eggs
120g self raising flour

Pre-heat the  oven to 165ºC 
Cream the butter and marmalade with the chopped ginger.  Beat in the eggs and then fold in the flour and fennel seeds.

Spoon the mixture into a greased 1lb loaf tin and place in the oven.
Cook for around 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Turn out on to a cooling rack.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Lavender and Lovage, a book review

There was an invitation posted on Instagram to review Karen Burns-Booth's book, based on her blog Lavender and Lovage, before its scheduled publication date later this month.
Tentatively I put my name forward, expecting to be rejected like a first novel doing the publishers' rounds.
But they agreed to send me a copy, so it is my privilege to be able to share my thoughts on Lavender and Lovage; a culinary notebook of memories and recipes from home and abroad.
Read on, I did!

As you can see it is already full of bookmarks, like signposts on a journey, a journey in Karen's well travelled footsteps. Each chapter reads like a carelessly put together travel itinerary, taking you where the fancy leads you rather than a meticulously planned voyage.  The "snippets" are like snacks, to be eaten between meals and inevitably sharpening the appetite for more.

I have been dipping in and out of the book since it arrived, as Karen dips in and out of the phases of her life.  I can imagine her moving from destination to destination with a suitcase full, not of belongings, but bulging with recollections and recipes, memories and menus.

Turning each page is like rounding the bend to a new vista, each chapter feels like you are stepping on a plane or a train, either heading to somewhere new and exciting or the bittersweet journey, bringing you back to home comforts and familiarity.  Familiarity may be the essence of what you remember, but the reality has been updated, is fresher, as though every room in the house has been redecorated in brighter, more vibrant colours.

Her "recipe" for a bacon sandwich is a case in point; the addition of Worcester sauce consigning the humdrum debate between tomato ketchup and brown sauce to the recycling bin.

For what it's worth, my father always has a smear of bramble jelly on his bacon sandwiches - don't knock it til you've tried it, it's no weirder than having apple sauce with your roast pork.

The recipes themselves are evocative of time and place, the Gregg's inspired cheese savoury sandwich filling instantly takes me back to Durham in the 1980s, the Auberge marinaded goat's cheese has me muttering to myself in French and longing for a trip to France and the recipes from South Africa bring rays of sunshine into the kitchen on a dull and grey day.

This is not only a cook book, it combines history, geography, science and literature.  It is the ultimate text book!

Sentence openers like "Once upon a time.......I ran a restaurant in Cyprus" not openly makes me wonder what I have been doing with my life, but draws you in to pensive penning about conflict and reconciliation.

This book is an education, a revelation and an unadulterated joy. 
Published on 13th November 2018 by Passageway Press

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©