We have always operated an open house policy for our children's friends and with the elder rapidly approaching his 20th birthday, we have experienced a generation of sleepovers.
These have, without exception, been a pleasure and on occasion particularly memorable.
Of course, food, and latterly booze, have played their part and it has been a joy serving up home made treats to all of their friends. It has also been a revelation and an education, producing interesting reactions and a response to strawberry ice cream for a very small boy that is remembered by his father over 16 years later!
Most recently, Netherton's daughter proposed a "gathering" for some of her college friends simply to celebrate the joy of summer. Of course,as the kids have got bigger, the house has felt smaller, and so whenever possible, these get-togethers have taken place in the garden, affording both them and us a sense of space.
What was once a pond, totally unsuccessful as a garden feature, has been long filled in and has created the perfect fire pit area. This makes it the ideal location for setting up the chapa griddle.
The girls gathered around this long into the evening, chatting, drinking, eating and creating memories that they will take away with them to their various destinations as they embark on the stage of their academic lives.
I was warned by my daughter that Lyd only drinks water or Malibu - of all the options, how did she choose Malibu? - and only likes plain food, nor does she eat burgers. My idea of outside cooking was somewhat kiboshed by this and I was prepared to offer sausages and, well more sausages.
However, culinary negotiations within the gang ensued and it seemed that Lyd was feeling daring; she was going to try my marinaded chicken.
This has been a mainstay of many a barbecue and is so easy to prepare.
The girls gathered, the fire was lit, the sun set and the chicken was cooked................. and the verdict?
Delicious!! And as no Malibu had been imbibed, think we can safely say that this was a success.
So, here for Lyd and the rest of you is my simple and straightforward marinade for barbecued chicken.
This is sufficient for around 6 - 8 chicken thighs.
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon smoked paprika.
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Chuck in the chicken thighs and, using your hands, thoroughly coat them in the tomato mix.
Cover the bowl and leave for around 2 hours.
Cook on a barbecue, or better still a chapa griddle until the juice run clear and the meat is cooked through to the bone
(Alternatively, throw them on to a baking tray and cook in the oven for around 30 minutes at 180ºC)
Eat with your fingers and wash them down with the beverage of your choice - Malibu is not compulsory.
I have been agonising, well umming and aahing, about how to start this write up for the best part of 2 weeks.
I had a mind map the size of a continent, but no starting point. I could have wandered who knows where, which is always an adventure, but before you set off, it's generally a good idea to know where you want to return to eventually.
Baking was once an activity to do with the children on a cold, wet afternoon; the first foray into cooking in Domestic Science classes at secondary school - I could get sidetracked about the inadequacies of cooking in schools, but that will have to wait for another day and I have already had a bit of a rant here - and something my mother always did on a Sunday afternoon for my Dad's packed lunches during the week.
But BAKING has had a makeover.
Film stars and rock stars, look to your laurels, the new kids on the block are the bakers!
From the terrifyingly qualified and exacting Cherish Finden, whose jawdropping creations are miniature works of art, to the homeliness and failsafe recipe of the Queen of baking, Mary Berry, Lorraine Pascale's straightforward, yet impressive approach often offering a "lighter" version of classic bakes, to the truly gifted amateurs who have stepped out of their kitchens and into the spotlight that is (was? let's see what the new C4 version brings) The Great British Bake Off.
We have been lucky enough to meet both Luis Troyano and Val Stones. Despite his new found status as a celeb, Luis was down to earth and and friendly and, at the time, still genuinely bemused by his new status. Val is an absolute darling, thoroughly enjoying her new found fame. And, she makes the best cheese scones I have ever tasted.
There is no longer any excuse not to have a go at baking.
It was at the Shrewsbury Flower Show, however, that the distillation of what baking is all about struck home and kicked me into writing a simple blog, rather than ruminating on the fads and fashions of baking, getting sidetracked by regional variations (for which see my take on a Yorkshire curd tart.) and creating a piece as insubstantial as a baked alaska on a summer's day.
John Torode, yes, he of Masterchef fame, wowwed an enthralled audience by baking a cake. Nothing overly elaborate or complicated, just delicious. He was brought up by his grandmother, whose recipe he was using, after his mother died when he was only 4 years old. He shared his abiding memory of there always being a cake in the house; something sweet to delight the children. He told us, as he made the most basic of cake mixes, that because it makes him happy, he was baking to make us happy and that is my philosophy every time I switch on the oven.
By the way, he would like you all to know that the recipe for his grandmother's peach upside down cake can by found in his new book, My Kind of Food.
I was thrilled to see that he uses the same method for measuring out his sponge ingredients as I do - weigh your eggs, a small cake needs 2 eggs and then scale up from there, but the proportions are always the same. However much your eggs weigh, then use the same weight of butter, sugar and self raising flour. It's a simple as that - baking is not about absolutes, it's about ratios. For example, when I make shortbread, I can use anything as a weight on my balance scales, because it's always 1 of sugar, 2 of butter and 3 of flour. 1,2,3 be they ounces, kilos or cans of beans!!
This cake is a wee bit different from a basic sponge, so I have included some (imperial) measurements for you.
Raspberry and coconut cake
For the cake
4 oz soft butter
4 oz sugar
Zest of 1 lime
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
3 oz coconut yogurt
4 oz self raising flour
2 oz desiccated coconut
4 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
3 oz sugar
(You can substitute the fresh/frozen berry and sugar combination with a good quality raspberry jam if preferred)
For the icing
4 oz icing sugar
2 dessertspoons raspberry juice
Lime juice
1 dessertspoon desiccated coconut (optional)
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC
Lightly grease a cake tin and dust with flour. Tip out the excess flour ( you can use as part of the flour in the recipe)
Put the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and add about 50ml water. Put over a low heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved and the juice is starting to run out of the fruit.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. As Mr Torode pointed out the clue is in the word, "cream" - that's the colour you are aiming for.
Add the zest, coconut, yogurt and egg yolk and beat thoroughly.
Fold in the flour.
Whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak - you should be able to invert the bowl over your head without fear of a meringue headdress - and then fold into the cake mix.
Put half of the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the raspberries from the cooking liquid and scatter across the cake mix. Alternatively, stir some jam until soft and spreadable and put dollops of this over the cake base.
Put the rest of the cake mix on top and smooth over the raspberry layer.
Bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes (you know your oven better than I do).
Allow the cake to cool for around 10 minutes, then run a palette knife around the sides and turn out onto a cooling tray.
To make the icing, tip the icing sugar in to a bowl with the coconut (if using) and use the lime zest and the juice form the raspberries to make a thick glace icing and drizzle across the top of the cake. If you used jam rather than cooked raspberries, just use lime juice and a little hot water if necessary..... you can add a drop of food colouring if you want a pink topped cake.
This was served on one of our black serving and baking trays.
