Tussocks of violets, blueberry flowers and more daffs!!

Up on blueberry hill right now are the loveliest tussocks of violets sprinkled all over the landscape in and around the burgeoning blueberries, whose flowers can you can see here
Another tussock....sadly these violets don't have any discernible smell..otherwise wouldn't it be lovely to make something with them, and I do like the idea of some sublime dish made with both the violets and blueberries together, some pale lavendar coloured, delicate confection...OH MY!!

A view from atop blueberry hill looking towards Seasport, Maine

These are the most magnificent daffodils I have ever seen...they are regal, robust and redolent with a heady scent like magnolias or orange blossoms...they are very tall and withstand heavy rain, and they come in late in the season after the other, more ordinary daffs, have gone by. They are called Acropolis if you have the desire to head out this autumn and plant them in vast swaths!!

Mystical golden beauty abounds!!

"The Silent Arrival of Memory"

Isn't this truly amazing?, and it ISN'T Photoshopped. That really is a golden ball floating, at average eye level, above a mystical temple in a land far, far away....
This is a detail photograph of James' latest obelisk sculpture, which can be seen below in it's full and awesome glory. It is part of a series of "story" sculptures that he has been working on for the last two years. Using the technology of microchips, electromagnets and rare earth magnets he has floated this golden sphere above the 24 carat gold leafed main body of the sarcophagus/small temple below.
The obelisk base has subtle relief surface sculpture and a stairway leading to a mysterious entrance beautifully painted in a chalk blue that fades towards the top of the column. James says that he likes to imply mystery in these sculptures, relying on the observer to imagine themselves into this mystical world.
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT TO BEHOLD and I feel so honoured to be able to gaze in wonder at this everyday and share it with you through my blog!

Lilac scented daffodils, magnolias and rhubarb!

Doesn't this daff look like a pinwheel? I thought I had discovered a new form of daffodil but after doing some research online I found out this is an old-fashioned daffodowndilly (the olde englishe name) and I am disappointed to find that I shan't be having a daffodil named after me after all! What is truly wonderful about this particular daff is that it smells very much like a lilac...it's really lovely!!
Another pic of the daff with one of it's 'ordinary' friends!

...and look at this....a Magnolia blossom...too beautiful to believe...and this smells fabulous too!!

...and the rhubarb is beginning, I LOVE rhubarb and am already planning what I shall make for the blog with this tart and delightful vegetable!! Rhubarb lemonade, rhubarb sorbet, rhubarb and custard, rhubarb crumble...rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb. Yum, yum, yum!!!

Pink meringues, rain and kittens

Look at these beautiful little puffs of perfect pale pinkness, what could they be for??? Actually they are the beginning of a new illustration project I am setting myself which shall be revealed when I am finished probably in about 10 days time. Yesterday began rainy and gloomy but then the weather brightened and I thought I would go ahead and make my little pink meringues.....but I was wrong, the weather went down the tubes and up the spout and I ended up with crinkly, uneven and sticky meringues that won't work for their intended purpose...so it is indeed true, not that I didn't believe it, that you can't make meringues in rainy weather
Here are the crinkly baked meringues, craggy finish and all. I will have to wait until the projected tropical weather weekend we are now looking forward to to make the meringues again.
Harry is considering whether he should check out the meringues or not.....

...curiosity got the better of him!!

Let's bakes a Simnel Cake for Easter!

Lucie came over to help me bake my first Easter Simnel Cake but was so competent and enthusiastic she ended up doing all the work whilst I gave out the orders and drank gallons of tea...cruel me!!
Here is Lucie's perfect cake glazed with apricot preserves ready for the eleven 'apostles' waiting in the background to be set in place.
...and here is the final result...a marzipan layer on the top of the cake and eleven balls of marzipan with toasted almonds affixed to their summits.....in the background is the list of baking classes and circled in red are the ones Lucie and I are looking forward to at the Good Table
A close up of the beautiful Simnel cake...in case you are wondering why the marzipan isn't the usual luminous yellow, it is because it is homemade with the whole almond and not skinned almonds as used commercially...thought I'd hang on to a few extra vitamins and minerals wherever I could!

SIMNEL CAKE
This is a traditional Easter Cake eaten in Britain. I'm not sure how often these days but certainly it was very popular in the past. Apparently this cake was originally associated with British 'Mothering Sunday', which is the fourth Sunday in Lent and is also known as 'Refreshment Sunday' (a day when the fasting of Lent could be relaxed somewhat). In Medieval times it was the Sunday on which one returned to the 'Mother' Church or Cathedral to worship. By the mid-seventeeth century it was more closely linked with the family and every child living away from home, including servants and apprentices, would return bearing gifts and food. Many girls would bake a Simnel cake for this special day of family feasting. Why it has become more associated now with Easter is unclear but what is clear is that the eleven, sometimes twelve, balls on the top of the cake are representative of the apostles...eleven being the number if you don't think Judas deserves a place.
Here is the recipe for a 6" round cake, for an 8" please double the recipe: Taken from 'The Festive Food of England' by Henrietta Green

INGREDIENTS:

Almond Paste/Marzipan:

12oz confectioner's sugar/icing sugar

12oz ground almonds (with skins or without)

3 large egg yolks (not recommended in areas where salmonella is a problem or for anyone in ill health...if this is the case I would purchase the marzipan)

1 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of orange flower water (this may be hard to find but it is worth the effort)

1 teaspoon almond extract

Cake:

3 1/2 ozs unbleached flour

1 oz rice flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon mixed spices (I used, yes you guessed it!, nutmeg with cardomon and allspice together)

pinch of baking powder

4 oz butter

4 oz soft brown sugar

2 eggs seperated and whites whisked to stiff peaks

1/2 oz ground almonds

1 tablespoon dark rum (you can leave this out if you want)

zest of one lemon, preferably organic

4oz currants

4 oz sultanas (white plump raisins)

2 oz candied orange and or lemon peel

2 tablespoons apricot jam

The night before I baked this cake I soaked the dried fruit in tea...I like doing this to plump the fruit and give it a sophisticated flavour but it is not necessary to do this step.

TO MAKE ALMOND PASTE/MARZIPAN:

1. Sift confectioner's/icing sugar into a bowl, add the almonds and mix around.

2. Lightly beat egg yolks, orange flower water, lemon juice and almond extract.

3. Add liquid to dry ingredients and knead to a smooth paste.

I had to work a little with this to get it non-crumbly...adding a bit more liquid and kneading quite a lot, but I did eventually get there! Maybe my ground almonds with the skins is drier than without?

TO MAKE THE CAKE:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare your cake pan, butter it first, then cut a disc of parchment to fit into the bottom of the pan, butter the parchment and then flour the pan.

2. Sift flours into a bowl with baking powder, spices and salt.

3. Cream butter and sugar together 'til light and fluffy.

4. Beat eggs into butter and sugar one at a time and cream well.

5. Add almonds, rum and lemon zest and mix well.

6. Fold about one third of the dry ingredients into the butter mix.

7. Gently fold in the egg whites, alternating with the rest of the flour and the dried fruit.

8. Make eleven or twelve small balls with the marzipan, then cut remainder of it into two pieces. Roll out each piece to fit the diameter of your cake pan.

9. Spoon half the cake batter into the prepared pan, lay one of the discs of marzipan onto this and gently pat down, then spoon in the rest of the cake batter and smooth flat.

10. Bake your beauteous little cake in the oven...for my 6" I baked it for one hour and then put a buttered parchment disc on the top to prevent it browning too much and baked it for about another 25 minutes (The recipe says for the larger size to bake for 2 hours before you put on the parchment)

11. Take your cake out and let it cool on a rack.

12. Warm some apricot jam in a pan and glaze the top of the cake.

13. Lay the other disc of marzipan on top of the cake and pat down, add your 'apostles' with more of the apricot jam et voila!!!!

I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE A PIECE: Lucie and I have decided to be as pure as the driven snow and eat the cake tomorrow on the day it was intended for....

WHAT'S MADE OF ALMOND PASTE AND SWINGS FROM CAKE TO CAKE??

TARZIPAN!!!

Thank you LEA for the birthday funds to procure the ingredients for this lovely cake...James and I will have a piece for you on Easter Sunday!!

Hot Cross Buns...one a penny, two a penny....

Hot Cross Buns are very traditional in Britain for Good Friday. They are a humble, subtle little bun...not very exciting, not very unusual but they are consumed in great quantities around this time of year. The cross commemorates the cruxificion of Jesus. Hot Cross Buns actually baked on Good Friday...unlike mine which were baked yesterday in preparation for today's posting....are believed to never go mouldy and may be hung from kitchen ceilings to ward off evil.....but then they are not so tasty!

THE RECIPE

taken from "The Festive Food of England" by Henrietta Green

1/2 oz dried yeast

1/4 cup soft light brown sugar

3/4 whole milk warmed to 80F

4 cups unbleached flour

pinch of salt

2 teaspoons mixed spice (I did 1 teaspoon of my beloved nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon allspice)

1/4 cup of butter (as usual I use salted)

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup of currants

scraps of pastry if you have them (I didn't)

MAKE SURE ALL INGREDIENTS ARE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE!

1.Sprinkle the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar onto 2/3 cup of warmed milk, whisk together and wait about 15 minutes until nice and frothy.

2. Sift the flour, spices into a large bowl and add remaining sugar and pinch of salt.

3. Add the creamed yeast, the remaining milk and whisked eggs and mix together.

4. Knead into a soft dough, scatter the currants over the dough and knead again 'til evenly distributed. Cover and leave for 1 hour in a warm place 'til almost doubled.

5. Have ready two lightly buttered muffin tins.

6. Knock down the dough and knead for a couple minutes more.

7. Make a small ball of dough big enough to fill each space about 2/3rds full...repeat to fill all the muffin spaces.

8. Leave to rise again in a warm place for another 15 minutes,

9. Brush the buns with a glaze..either whisked egg white or in my case a sugary concoction of hazlenut simple syrup..yum, yum.

10. If you have spare pastry cut it into thin strips and lay over the buns in a cross, if you don't just slash the top of the buns deeply in a cross.

11. Bake in a 425F oven for about 15-20 minutes until nicely browned.

You can eat these buns hot or cold, with or without butter, with or without jam...but definitely with a steaming cup of tea!!! I kept them overnight in a cookie/biscuit tin and when I opened the tin this morning the smell was delicious.

"Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns,

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns.

If you don't like them give them to your sons,

If your sons don't like them give them to your daughters,

But if you have none of these little elves,

Then you must eat them all yourselves"

Now, here's two questions , no three, about this little ditty:

1. How come the sons get first dibs?

2. Does this even rhyme?

3. This is not good advertising for Hot Cross Buns as it implies nobody will like them...so who made it up?...a baker who couldn't sell them?

HAPPY BAKING!!!

We're sugaring down in Maine!

It's one of those scuddy cloudy, sun and brighty March days here in Maine and we are collecting our maple sap.......
...in possibly the smallest sap buckets known to man...everyone else uses 5 gallon buckets...not me, they just aren't cute enough!
The sap has been flowing intermittently as the temps have been up and down the last few days but today it is flowing like a raging torrent...well not quite, more of a constant trickle, but certainly better than yesterday when it was freezing coming out of the tap!! I am awestruck at how much water you have to boil out of the sap...the ratio is about 43:1 so I am going to have to collect 43 gallons of sap to end up with 1 gallon of maple sugar, no wonder the divine stuff is so expensive. I am aiming more realistically for a pint, and then I will consider myself lucky!!

Here is Eleanor wondering when she gets to taste the sap which you can see frozen into a doughnut shape...yum, maple doughnuts...that sounds good to me. Alas, I don't have a recipe for today but I did just see a delicious looking one on David Lebovitz's blog so hop on over there for Giovanna's Maple Creams.

I would show you a picture of the actual sugaring down on our trusty old wood burning stove but I have to admit I am too embarrassed at it's current state of dirt and rustiness after a hard winter of constant burning day and night. I am delighted to be able to do the sugaring down on the stove which we are still using to warm the house so I am killing two birds with one stone...apparently this is not such a bright idea as there is the possibility of my coating the entire house with sugar sap but so far it hasn't been a problem and honestly you saw the size of my buckets....we will be lucky if we end up with 4 fluid ounces of that delicious golden liquid, nectar of the Gods. When I have completed the process I will post a Brit recipe which uses maple sugar but I haven't decided on one yet.

HAPPY MAINE MAPLE SUNDAY!

Melting moments...please!!!

In a desperate attempt to help the mounds of dirty snow dissipate I decided to make one of my favourite cookies which just happen to be called MELTING Moments, also known as Viennese Swirls (does everything in England have more than one name I ask??) These sublime little cookies/biscuits really, honestly do just wisp away in your mouth, it is quite extradorinary how they do it, AND they are very simple to make.

MELTING MOMENTS: From 'Irish Traditional Food' by Theodora FitzGibbon

10oz butter (as always I like mine salted)

2oz icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

8oz sifted all purpose flour

2oz cornflour/cornstarch (same thing on different sides of the pond:))

(for equivalent US measurements check out Sue Palletts link in my web/blogroll in the right hand column aways down from the masthead...thanks!!)

Lashings of vanilla buttercream...or any flavour really, almond would be good, anything flavoured with almond is good in my book.

1. Cream the butter and sugar 'til very light

2. Sift both flours together and add gradually mixing well after each addition.

3. Either pipe the dough as I did in the pictures above (other wise you can't call them Viennese SWIRLS)...or if you don't do the piping thing drop small spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350F until 'set' and very slightly browned.

5. Cool on a baking rack and then snadwick, or even, sandwich together with your lashings of buttercream.

6. Eat and melt!!!

Happy Baking and melting...Patricia

Spring is coming...it is HONEST!!!

Spring simply must be coming because I am now the proud owner of this little pink chick...and chick's are born in spring right???...or at least near Easter because chick's are associated with Easter...anyways I bought the chick from the same place (Left Bank Books, Searsport) I purchased these lovely little boxes of Italian candy/sweets....aren't they adorable, look - the pink one says "Fairy Wood Fragrance", doesn't get any better than that!! The chick decided on his own about the red ball.....
...and then there's this sign....the very tiny tips of daffodils, I just spotted them this morning and I am thrilled...this winter may really, in fact, END!!!
Then there's this sign...the shadow can only mean one thing...SUNSHINE! ...and thank goodness temperatures above 32F/oC, the snow is melting...I am so happy!!!...anyone who has made it through this winter in Maine knows exactly how I feel...congrats to all of us if we haven't been institutionalized!!

Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday.

Pancake Tuesday, as it is known in Blighty, also Shrove Tuesday as it is the day on which one shrives.....ie confesses one's multitudinous sins before the beginning of Lent. Also the day when you decide to deprive yourself of 'luxury' foods for the next 46 days, eggs and butter constituting 'luxury', thus Pancake Tuesday was born to use up the remaining butter and eggs, of course with the addition of flour.

In Britain many pancake races (here's a link to the pancake races in London 2012) are held on, yes, Pancake Tuesday......a race open to women over 16 who must wear a cap and apron and run 415 yards (who chose that number I wonder?) whilst tossing their pancakes at least three times. Dropping your pancake means instant disqualification.

British pancakes are what Americans would call crepes...they are very thin and light and crepe like. Growing up we always had two sorts of toppings on our pancakes (and yes we always did have pancakes on Pancake Tuesday).....jam (how very Eddie Izzard!) and the very Brit lemon and butter, by which James is horrified! I have Americanized my lemon and butter with the excellent addition of maple syrup....lemon and maple is a truly great combination.

I use Jooolia's French cooking crepes recipe for my pancakes...and no I don't run in races with them. For some unknown reason my pancakes would not toss this time...I am usually very good at flipping a pancake.....not today....must be something to do with all the snow we have!!

THE RECIPE:

3/4 cup of cold whole milk

3/4 cup cold water

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla essence (Joolia uses 3 tablespoons rum, brandy or orange liqueur but that doesn't work for Pancake Tuesday pancakes)

1 cup of flour, scooped and levelled

5 tablespoons of melted butter

THE METHOD.....bone achingly hard.....place all the ingredients in the jar of a blender in the order they are listed and blend at high speed for one minute. Scrape down any flour on the sides of the jar and blend again for 3, not 4, seconds. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and preferably overnight.

For each pancake I used about 3 tablespoons of batter, I let them cook on medium high heat with just a glimmer of butter to grease the pan, preferably a copper crepe pan, for about 2 minutes on the first side 'til browned on the edges and they come free of the pan when shaken, not stirred, laterally. I attempted to flip today and failed miserably so I loosened the edges with a sharp knife and persuaded the unwilling pancake to flip over with a spatula.....I cooked them on the other side for about one minute then I shimmied them onto a plate knee deep in granulated sugar...for the jam ones I placed about 1 tablespoon of Bonne Maman cherry preserves in a strip in the centre of the pancake and rolled it up into a tube the way my Mum did, and for the lemon ones I dotted with butter, squeezed lemon on the butter (a Meyer lemon if you can get one, so much more fragrant and juicier) and folded into quarters then sprinkled both types with a bit more sugar...ta dah!!!...Pancake Tuesday pancakes...and delicious they were too. I have some batter left so I can have more tomorrow on the correct day.

A beautiful snowfall in Maine!

"Viewmaster" by James Strickland

Snow piling up under the spruce tree
Our house hunkering down for the storm

"Girl Facing North East" by James Strickland

My "Abbey" mandala...I love the way the snow is sticking to the mandala in a really nice pattern, it's a nice sticky snow that would be perfect to make either a snowman or an igloo if one were so inclined....I would make the effort for a snowman IF it were just a little warmer.

There'll be a lot of digging out tomorrow...what joy!!!

A FOOL for Valentine's Day!!!

Is this a Fool or a Whim Wham...that is the question!

After reading through various books and tearsheets I realized that Fool and Whim Wham are somewhat interchangeable although Fool leans more to crushed fruit and luscious whipped cream gently folded together and Whim Wham tends towards custard, cream and crushed fruit with the excellent added addition of almond macaroons. I have to admit I swooned towards the Whim Wham but, of course, I wanted to use Fool in the title as it works so well with the whole concept of Valentine's Day!!! Tee Hee

Here is the recipe, which honestly is not at all unlike the trifle recipe below...the jelly/jello being the noteable absence.......please make in order...

MACAROONY PART:
2ozs ground almonds
2ozs fine sugar (I actually grind the sugar and almonds together in a coffee grinder to get them finer than they come from the store...the almonds don't go oily if you combine them evenly with the sugar and don't grind for too long).
2 egg whites...whisked to quite dry/stiff peaks
1 teaspoon rose water (not necessary if you can't find it but it does add a certain 'je ne c'est quoi')
Very simply gently blend all ingredients together so as not to deflate the whisked egg whites then drop in small mounds onto a greased baking sheet and cook in a slow oven ie about 275F for about 30-40 minutes until somewhat browned and 'dry'....the net result should be a very crunchy cookie/biscuit to crumble in with the Fool, allow to cool completely before you use them so they are nice and crisp.

CUSTARD/english custard/creme patisserie/pastry cream:
FINALLY, I have found a pastry cream that actually sets when cold, I tried about 3 other recipes that SAID the custard would set when cold but they didn't...this one WORKS!!!, and really well but you have to be vigilant!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of regular flour
1 tablespoon of cornstarch (cornflour for the Brits)
1. Combine the milk, vanilla and 1/4 cup of sugar in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves.
2. In a bowl beat the egg and extra yolks with the remaining sugar until thick.
3. Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch into yolk mixture and beat until well mixed and smooth.
4. Beat half the hot milk into the yolk mix until combined and smooth.
5. Then pour this into the remaining hot mixture in the pan.
6. HERE IS THE VIGILANT PART, keep your eyeballs peeled and whisk moving like the clappers!!! Bring the custard to a quick boil, whisking, whisking, whisking and as soon as it thickens..., take off the heat and whisk until it starts to cool....put pan in a bowl of cold water and continue to whisk until cold...you don't have to do it non-stop, but pretty often to prevent a skin from forming....when I was little if there was a skin on the custard it made me gag,

so don't go there!!!

WHIPPED CREAM:

Preferably organic and about 12 fl. oz of such with a little added sugar to taste and perhaps a teaspoon of vanilla extract/essence

FRUITY PART:

I chose raspberries for my Fool, a package of frozen organic ones which I put into a bowl, sprinkled with sugar and let steep and macerate whilst I proceeded with the rest of the recipe.

You can do strawberries or most traditionally gooseberries if you can find them.

ASSEMBLAGE:

In a tall glass layer the whipped cream, then the custard, then the crushed fruit, then the crumbled macaroons til the glass is elegantly full....add a macaroon to the top...consume!!

DID YOU KNOW??

In Medieval Europe lovers gave one another sprigs of YARROW at the beginning of a Valentine's Day dinner which if they wilted by the end of the repast, meant the love affair was doomed, DOOMED I tell you....now where do you get yarrow at this time of the year in Maine??

(This information courtesy of Gourmet Mag Feb 2008)