Magnum Opus

No, not an amazing new piece of textile art, the sort to inspire, the sort that could win prizes and sell for loadsamoney.

But a heck of a lot of time and energy has gone into this project nevertheless:

Yup, I've been sorting my recipes out.

Every year I get a gift subscription to a certain food magazine .  Unfortunately, the lethal combination of a monthly magazine delivered through the letterbox, my worrying hoarding tendencies and my neverending quest for Vegetable Solutions, has resulted in a massive stack of clippings, box files and plastic wallets of recipe overload. 

But I think I'm nearly there!  I've been ruthless and chucked recipes that I know I'll never make, made a massive teetering pile of old magazines for the recycling collection, sorted everything I'm keeping into "main vegetable ingredient" categories, and now I can begin the long process of sticking it all into useable pages for my plastic folders.  I've just spent a happy morning working my way through "Green and Leafy", but I've hit a bit of a wall with where to put cauliflowers.  One idea does spring to mind, but I know I should eat them because they're good for me...

But it's not all vegetables around here.

We made an impromptu visit to Wales to see Mamgu for some apple tart refills.  While there, when it wasn't raining, I took the opportunity to look at some of the trees and bushes more carefully, in the vain hope that trees won't be so difficult anymore.

I like this idea of collaging text and drawing over it.  I will develop this idea...

And the Girl and I spent a happy half-hour grubbing around in the little slate quarry at the end of the track.  We brought plastic boxes of slate pieces home....but the colours seem to be better when it's wet, which in Wales is nearly all of the time...maybe I could varnish it?

Not a very good representation, but a quick go at recording the colours.  Again, something to work on.

I also made a little box of inspirational words, in the hope that I may conquer my fear of journaling and learn to express my innermost thoughts...

Hmmm.  I did surprise myself and write a haiku the other day:

See the trout leaping

Coffee foam river thunders

Nature harsh and cruel

Inspired by seeing the sea trout trying to jump up the fish ladder.  I've never seen them before and we were there for ages, wanting to see if one made it to the top.  But I think I'll leave the poetry to someone else.

Back to it - "Autumn and Earthy" and "Root Vegetables" next!

Fudge 2

 

Just to completely finish myself off last night with more standing around in the kitchen boiling up sugar, I had another go at the fudge.  Success!  Not fudged, but fudge!

What I was looking for was something like this, possibly the best fudge in the world.  What I made in my second attempt wasn't the best fudge in the world, but was quite good: it had the crumbly texture we like, not sticky or gooey, and best of all it didn't split or burn or end up in the bin....

Fudge 2

150ml milk (I used 50ml double cream and 100ml milk, to use up the cream)

50g butter (I used unsalted - again, to use it up - but added a teaspoon of salt flakes)

1tsp vanilla extract

400g sugar (I used a mix of golden caster, and ordinary white granulated)

Put everything together in a pan (use a large, heavy based pan as the mix bubbles up and takes up more than twice its original volume when boiling).

Heat on the lowest heat possible, stirring all the time, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Tip the pan from time to time to check for granules. This will take ages, but don’t be tempted to turn up the heat.

When you are ready, stick in a sugar thermometer – clip it to the side of the pan if possible. Crank up the heat and get the sugar bubbling.

Watch the thermometer like a hawk and turn off the heat as soon as it gets to “soft ball” or 116°C. Stir the boiling sugar mixture occasionally so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom, but be very careful not to get splashes on your skin – use a long-handled wooden spoon! The mixture will have changed colour a little, becoming more golden.

Leave it to cool for 5 minutes (set a timer) then beat the living daylights out of it with your wooden spoon. As soon as it starts to look less glossy, a little grainy around the edges, pour it into a lightly greased 20cm square baking tin. If you wait too long to do this, it will set hard in the pan….spread the mixture to the edges and smooth out as best as you can with a firm spatula or metal spoon. Leave it for about 10 minutes then cut it into squares, then leave again until it is completely cool.

It won’t keep long…

The secret this time round seemed to be boiling it up more carefully, stirring the bottom of the pan.  The previous batch seemed to have caught on the bottom, which made it much darker in colour.  It had probably overheated which is why the butter separated out...I think the salt might help too...I did spend quite a lot of time on Google trying to work this out...It also has half the butter, so it's better for you.  Ha!

Ultimate flapjack

Think we've cracked it, folks:

Melt 2oz golden syrup with 6oz butter and 1tbsp water (I weigh the syrup straight into the pan by sitting it on the scales). Mix with 8oz porridge oats (NOT jumbo oats, unless that’s all you’ve got), 4oz plain wholemeal flour, two pinches of bicarb of soda and 6oz Demerara sugar. Chuck in a bit of cinnamon if you like that kind of thing, perhaps some dried fruit as well.

Mix it all up until no dry bits are left and pack it into a 8”x11” tin, lined with baking parchment. Level it off and pack it down with the back of a spoon or a spatula, then bake at 150°C (140°C fan oven) for 35 minutes.

Leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully lift the whole shebang out using the edges of the baking parchment, and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into as many pieces as you feel is appropriate (we do about 15 squares, enough for 5 pieces each…).

This recipe makes a dense and satisfying flapjack, with a good bit of crunch, but not so much crunch that it hurts your jaws.

Enjoy!