Don’t worry, all of these recipes will be moved over to there. I wanted you to be the first to know, so head over to
for a sneak peak and let me know what you think.
Bye for now,
Gran E xxx
Pubs are opening up (hurrah!) so I thought I’d share some of the classic pub puds.
In addition to the lemon meringue pies I’ve talked about before, other favourites were:
A pastry base topped woith a mixtire of breadcrumbs , melted butter and golden syrup with beaten egg folded in and baked in a medium-hot oven.
Either with a pastry lid or open. Place sliced apples with a topping of buttered bread crumbs and brown sugar on your base. Always to be served with custard – Birds of course!
I have enjoyed the repeats of Nigel Slater on the TV. The programme I DO NOT watch is the Professional s Bake Off. This is the type of cooking definitely not my style; having to produce dozens of pastries all exactly the same is what nightmares are made of, fiddly and faddy.
Fortunately anyone I have ever worked for and with has wanted the home baked approach – not too perfect in appearance but high on taste and content!
With all this distancing I have had difficulty in sharing with neighbours. Not everything survives being chucked out of the window and I’m running low on small plastic boxes. Luckily my daughter sent me some in a recent goody box – thank you dear XX
There is a birthday on the Lawns next week so I’m making a chocolate and cherry cake; I’ll leave a bag on the front step to be collected.
I’m leaving for now with this quote from Nigel Havers:
“Old Age is like the Corona Virus. No-one wants to get it but you can’t choose”.
Stay Safe everyone
Love and Hugs
Gran E xxxx
Well, here we are in July, after spending June clearing away birthday cards and spring cleaning. I hope I don’t become anti-social with all this isolation – but no, we will enjoy and appreciate going out and being with friends and family rather than chatting at the window!
My baking recently has been past favourites – banana and nut loaf, peanut cookies, seedy oaty bakes – all of which you have recipes for. My current diet is soups and poached salmon or chicken, not really of interest to you.
So, I’ve made a trawl through my old books and come across a notebook from the 1970’s pub-cooking era. This reminded me of how I became such an alcoholic cook (most going into the food of course). I really enjoyed these days, hard work though it was!
This was a real popular item, made using sherry. For those who haven’t cooked livers before, my preparation tip; put them all in a colander, rinse well under the clod tap before cutting in half and trim all the pipey odd bits from the inside using a pair of scissors.
Anyway, after cleaning and trimming a tub of livers put them into a large frying pan with
Cook these slowly before adding in your sherry (Fino or Amontillado) until the mix is bubbling.
Season well with salt and pepper before stirring in a teaspoon of Dijon or Wholegrain Mustard.
Leave to cool then tip into your blender or food processor, pulse until reaching your preferred consistency. Pour this into a dish or individual ramekins and top with melted butter; store in the fridge until required.
Added flavourings you may wish to consider include pureed garlic or herbs (thyme is good); for texture maybe chopped cooked crispy bacon.
Spread your thick pork sausages with onions, garlic and cider in a roasting tin and cover with foil. Cook slowly in a medium hot oven – really tasty!
Chicken pieces with white wine and herbs works equally well, as do pork chops with apple, sage and onions in lager.
Large meat balls or patties with tomatoes (tinned or big over ripe fresh ones) with red onion , red wine and basil was another favourite.
All these were good pub grub alongside the trusty meat pies of course.
A former boss of mine recently reminded me of my dislike of serving chips with everything. As an alternative I’d cook up large dishes of sliced potatoes and onions with either stock and herbs or milk and cheese. No fancy names, just Enid’s Sliced Potatoes.
You may wish to gloss over the next bit as I’m going to have a small moan!
I’ve done pretty well and been trying hard to remain positive through lockdown. But now a lack of independence is really starting to bug me. I’m desperate to just jump (well hobble) into the car and drive to the park, do my own shopping, visit the library, see friends – not much to ask! If I was younger I’d be loudly protesting with a banner.
Well, maybe not for much longer. Have patience, keep smiling (through clenched teeth) and amble up and down the road giving cheery waves. It’s Thursday and maybe the last chance to cheer the NHS so bang loudly with your saucepan tonight!
Bye for now
Gran E xxx
Alternate days of sunshine and cloud. As it’s still “Stay at Home” time I sit outside and read the paper in the sun then when the clouds come there’s cooking (or pottering at least)! I’d noticed a method for Vegan Mayonnaise in a magazine using the magic Aquafaba (chick pea juice) instead of egg. It’s so simple yet effective:
All you do is mix the following together in a large jug:
Then, over around two minutes, slowly drizzle in 250ml neutral (non-flavoured) salad oil – I used sunflower oil – mixing all the time with your hand blender. Gradually the mixture will thicken.
The result was very good! I didn’t have any wine vinegar and used cider vinegar – this was rather too strong in my opinion. Any seasonings can be varied – herbs, garlic, chilli for example – just use your tastebuds.
A favourite ingredient of mine is cream cheese (I prefer Philadelphia) and I use it in both sweet and savoury dishes.
A delicious quick dip using either from a jar or freshly boiled and grated, amounts varying according to numbers. For a party I suggest mixing together:
Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour before serving. If you prefer a smoother texture wiz up with your hand blender.
Philly also gives an unusual twist to brownies. Heat your oven to 180c/Gas Mark 4 and grease an oblong tin (8×12” ish). The ingredients:
Melt the butter and chocolate with the brown sugar then whisk in the beaten eggs
Stir in your cocoa, flour and baking powder, then pour your mix into the prepared tin.
Beat together the Philly and caster sugar, randomly spoon this over the chocolate mix and swirl around with the tip of a knife
Bake for 35-45 minutes until firm but spongy to touch
Cool before slicing into squares.
Enjoy baking these should you try them out. Bye for now xxx
Let me know if you try any of these recipes over on Instagram!
Amongst all my beautiful cards there was a reminder from my oldest friend of a card I had sent to her a few years ago. She had kept it for the words inside;
“Life should not be a journey to the grave
With the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body
But rather to skid in sideways – wine or G&T in hand – totally worn out
Shaking with laughter”
Just a thought.
Hope you are all watching out for each other – and please keep smiling.
Gran E xx
One to go with my evening gin and tonic, this is an old (retro) recipe and is very easy. You’ll need:
How to make…
Enjoy! Let me know on Instagram if you test this one.
I’ve talked before about how meat pies have been a staple of my repertoire. And it seems this reputation remains, as there’s been requests to Gran E bakes for the recipe. So, here goes!
This will need long, slow cooking (approx two hours) .
Method:
Timings cannot be too precise as they depend on the type and size of the dish and, of course, your oven!
When finished the crust should be a lovely golden brown and you’ll know the pie is ready to eat
Serve with beans, mushy peas and don’t forget your lovely gravy and a splash of Hendersons!
Enjoy!
Let me know on Instagram if you try this recipe out! I’d love to see.
Many moons ago in the eighties Cranks cafe in Covent Garden was a great revelation to me, not having any experience with Vegetarian cooking. I’ve hunted out my old Cranks recipe book and am repeating some old favourites , now very relevant and “on trend”. To begin how about:
It’s the same sort of method as the previous fruity one, so for the crumble top:
For the Vegetable base:
Method:
Use the same mix as for the crumble and add in some grated cheese and seasoning. Spoon this when cooled onto circles of short-crust pastry – saucer size – moisten the edges then fold over and gently crimp the edges together. Brush with egg or milk, sprinkle with seeds and place on a baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven (200C, Gas 6) for 15 minutes then reduce and cook for a further 15-20 mins.
I’ve re-tried this recipe from Cranks made with Black Treacle and Muscavado Sugar. This gives a rather strong flavour so I think I’d prefer Golden Syrup but the dark sugar was good. You’ll need:
Melt together all the ingredients, adding the oats last. Stir the porridge in then spread this mix into a shallow, greased, oblong baking tray.
Bake at 190C (Gas 5) for 15 mins, lower the heat cook for a further 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before marking into bars whilst still warm.
Well, as it’s Thursday I’ll be outside banging my saucepan for the wonderful NHS and essential workers. Remember, don’t give in, keep smiling and help where you can.
Love, Gran E X
Welcome to Planet Covo – yes, it does feel like we’re living in a parallel universe. Life is the same but different, carrying out everyday tasks but more slowly; like travelling under water. In a strange way I feel calmer and more at peace now I have accepted it will be much longer than we anticipated before normality returns.
Look on the bright side; a sparkling flat, every nook and cranny scoured clean; more time trying new and old recipes; friends from near and far contacted; family all coping well and keeping fit. It will be good when we can have a proper hug rather than a virtual one through the window.
This week I am slightly disappointed with some different “cream cheese” substitute. This supermarket brand made with coconut oil didn’t work in cooking, becoming thin and runny. However, maybe it can be baulked up with small seeds – sesame, linseed, poppy; chia seeds soaked in boiling water for a few minutes do a good job.
I haven’t tried nutritional yeast flakes before. One of my grand-daughters sent me some, along with a recipe for vegan cheese sauce. The method is to melt together vegan butter with oatmilk, plain flour, mustard, salt and pepper and a minimum of one tablespoon of the yeast flakes. Bring everything to a simmer while stirring continually. I’m going to try this out and will let you know about more exact ingredient amounts.
I’ve tested the mock cheese sauce using Nooch (nutritional yeast flakes). It works really well to form a pouring sauce that tastes really good! You’ll need:
Place all the ingredients together into a small saucepan and whisk vigorously over medium heat until bubbling. Turn down the heat and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
Gran E Bakes 