Tag: recipes

Pavlova perfection

Mum’s always been the maestro pavlova maker in the family. This year, she struggled to find the recipe and to remember how she made it. She eventually tracked down the old recipe book with the recipe written in careful capitals. There was no complete method however, but I remembered my sister saying that our brother, who makes an excellent pavlova, adds the sugar at one minute intervals. And so it fell to a rather nervous me to make the pavlova for a family early Christmas dinner today.

Plenty of time for a selfie during the one-minute intervals
Fresh out of the oven

The secret of a good pavlova is to beat it for so long it has no choice but to stand up. It collapses a bit as it cools, but that is easily covered with whipped cream and strawberries. I forgot to take a photo of the end result, but it passed the test at the dinner, thankfully.

Pumpkin Pie

A friend with a very productive garden gave us some pumpkin this afternoon as we left her house after playing cards. I was intending to make an apricot dessert that evening, but one of our card players suggested pumpkin pie.

I found a recipe in my ancient Edmonds Cookbook, but used the short pastry recipe from another book. I had more pumpkin than I needed and used it all by doubling the recipe for the filling. I used half yoghurt and half milk, and golden syrup instead of treacle. After I’d boiled the pumpkin until it was just soft, I realised the recipe said to bake the pumpkin. That would have taken too long, but would have produced a drier pumpkin with more intense taste, I imagine.

An ancient Edmonds Cookbook
Pumpkin Pie ready for the oven – the apricots are looked forward to for another day
There were a lot of dishes afterwards!
Forty minutes later it came out of the oven
Cream on top for Mum and yoghurt for me

It tastes very nice; spicy with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. The pastry was a little hard to cut through with a spoon, perhaps because I used a recipe with one cup of flour instead of the two cups suggested in the Edmonds book, but I prefer a thinner crust. The pie will last us for several days. Yum!

Mid-afternoon boost

Sometimes at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon on these cooler days I enjoy a hot chocolate which is a bit more substantial than a cup of tea and, unlike coffee, won’t keep you awake at night. Microwaving might be a quick way to heat the milk, but I often burn my mouth, and watch nervously to make sure it doesn’t boil over. I tried a caste iron saucepan, but spent ages cleaning it afterwards. So I’ve bought a small milk pan with a pouring lip on each side.

With this marvellous piece of kitchen equipment, making hot chocolate has assumed the significance of a ritual. I heat the milk slowly, use a wooden spoon to stir in a square of dark chocolate, check it is hot enough (not boiling), then froth it (for a touch of luxury – and you need less milk) before pouring it into a warmed mug. Lovely. It goes well with an oaty biscuit!

The melted chocolate and milk
Frothing the hot chocolate
Notice the milk hasn’t stuck to the pan so it’s easy to clean (due to the gentle heating and stirring).