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A Few Of My Favourite Things

The hubby and I have been in America for over six weeks now and I’m slowly becoming accustomed to my new home. To be honest we’ve both been busy with all the usual hectic stuff that goes with a move abroad i.e. renting a flat; buying a car; settling into a new job; getting to know people; finding the best place to get a take away curry etc. etc.

I’m very excited about coming to America and all the opportunities it presents. From the time I was a teenager, I had a feeling that I’d one day end up living abroad. And now I’ve done just that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get homesick and miss England and everyone and everything in it terribly because I do. So I always take comfort in anything that reminds me of home… and some of these things even have a connection to my childhood!

BOOT’S PRODUCTS

I remember when I was last in Oregon a few years back, Target had started stocking up Boot’s products which I was very excited about. And I’d totally forgotten about it until we went into our local Target last week and found a small section of the store – and I do mean small – dedicated to Boot’s cosmetics and skin care products. That really did cheer me up – to see a little piece of home.

I’m not familiar with many of the brands available in the States although I will inevitably get round to trying them out – but right now its great to see a brand I know and trust.

JELLY

Or jello as its called over here. OK, I know – jelly is such a kid’s dessert. No one with a sophisticated palate would even consider a bowlful of the wibbly-wobbly stuff and most adults will probably only touch it if you add alcohol and serve them up in little plastic shot glasses at parties.

But then I’ve never really been one for following the crowd and I’ve always loved jelly. It stems from childhood when a bowlful of jelly was an amazing treat – how easily pleased we were – and even now, when I’m feeling homesick or a bit low for any reason, jelly hits the spot every time. And if there’s any ice- cream or squirty cream to go with it, so much the better!

Funnily enough, most American adults I know have no interest in jello – unless we’re talking jello shots – but yet there’s such a fantastic array of flavours unlike the UK where we’re pretty much limited to five flavours. So far I’ve come across peach, melon, cherry, blueberry, apricot, grape, fruit punch, cola, pineapple, mango… and those are just the ones I can remember!

While the Americans beat us on flavours, the thing I love about jelly in Britain is that you can get them in the form of squidgy gelatine squares whereas over here in America it’s always in crystal form. How I love those jelly squares! Whenever my mum used to make jelly for us, you could be sure I’d pop a couple of squares in my gob. In fact, I’ve even been known to scoff a whole packet like sweets!

EGGO WAFFLES

In Britain, waffles are either Belgian or potato which are both fab but I remember my aunt making a different type of waffle when i used to go round to her house which seemed to be made from batter. I have no idea what brand it was but when I was much older I used to look for them in the frozen aisles but could never find them so they’d obviously been discontinued long ago.

Eggo waffles are the ones that come closest to my childhood memory and they are a firm favourite in our household.

SARA LEE DESSERTS

Who remembers those Sara Lee television ads of the eighties where we were advised that “If at first you don’t succeed – cheat!” I’m quite sure that Sara Lee gateaus would have been all the rage at dinner parties back in the day but this brand is another thing that seems to have disappeared over the years in Britain. It was only when I used to visit Oregon a few years back that I ran into this brand at the supermarket like a long- lost friend… and those Sara Lee fruit pies soon became a freezer staple.

These days I’m addicted to Sara Lee’s pound cake. Delicious!

Old-Skool Ice-Cream Flavours

27 Jun

Today has been an absolute scorcher of a day. I swear half of me has melted away!

If I could walk around the streets of London in a string bikini, I would. But unfortunately can’t (especially not with this bod!) so I’ve had to think of other ways to beat the heat and I’ve been downing anything that’s icy cold.

And thoughts turned to all the ice-creams we used to devour as kids. It goes without saying that we loved our ice-cream. For a number of reasons, this was not a freezer staple but rather an occasional treat. There’d always be tubs of Cornish vanilla or neopolitan ice-creams at family parties and gatherings; the ice-cream man wasn’t safe when we heard the van approaching our road, and ice-cream cones always featured when my family and I hit the local park. Unsurprisingly, Mum refused to stock up on ice-cream during the winter months, so ice-cream is most definitely synonymous with summer.

Today ice-cream means Ben and Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs, Carte D’or and (once) unusual flavours such as salted caramel, lemon meringue pie, espresso, and toffee apple. When I asked my class recently what their favourite flavours were, ‘pistachio’ and ‘green tea; featured in the answers. And me? Well funnily enough my favourite ice-creams are three which are very hard to find in England: I love butter pecan (USA) crème caramel/flan (Spain) and brown bread ice-cream (Ireland.) I must be the only person who needs to hop on a plane every time they fancy an ice-cream cone!

This is all good but it’s dawned on me that many of the ice-cream flavours from my childhood have either totally disappeared or they’re very hard to come by. Ice-creams in the 1970s,1980s and 1990s wasn’t necessary high-end or ultra-sophisticated. In fact when I think about it, there were very limited in their range of flavours (generally chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla) and packaging was anything but glam. Brands were typically Wall’s, Lyon’s Maid… and not much else! But it was fun, delicious and it kept you cool.

I absolutely love ice-cream today: there’s a never-ending variety of flavours, including savoury flavours (avocado chilli or basil, anyone?) the quality has vastly improved, and it’s that much more creamier and flavourful. But I can’t help but get all nostalgic when I think about what ice-cream looked like back in the day and those retro flavours. So as an ode to summers gone by and staying cool, here’s a list of the ice-cream flavours that were around when I was growing up in the eighties. Some of them are still around; some are hard to find, and some seem to have melted away…

1. VANILLA

Vanilla ice-cream needs absolutely no introduction! Vanilla ice-cream might be considered a bit, well, vanilla, but back in the eighties, in a world with limited ice-cream flavours, if anyone had a tub of ice-cream in their freezer, you could bet your life it would be vanilla. It was very popular in our house although Mum tended to buy it in block form rather than a tub. I suppose one reason it was so popular was because it was – and still is – so versatile: you could pop it in a soda float; add any flavour topping to it; layer it up in a sundae, or serve it as an accompaniment to a pudding such as a cake or tart – much like we do today. However most of the people I knew used to serve it with tinned fruit salad – a real treat back then for us kids (tinned fruit was the only fruit I’d eat back then) or jelly. It might not sound very sophisticated but if someone served that up for me now I’d still scoff it!

Today, vanilla has to work hard to maintain its popularity with all these weird and wonderful ice-cream flavours around that are tempting us away from this good, old-fashioned flavour. Vanilla is still tops due to its versatility but we’re much more fussy when it comes to the quality and won’t settle for any old vanilla ice-cream. It has to be super smooth and creamy, with an intense vanilla flavour – and if it happens to be vanilla bean ice-cream, so much the better!

2. CORNISH VANILLA

Now this was the ice-cream flavour that Mum was most likely to buy and it was always the Wall’s brand that was in our freezer. Cornish vanilla ice-cream had a much deeper cream-come-yellow colour that regular vanilla ice-cream didn’t have, and what I remember most was that deliciously buttery flavour. Even as a child I felt that Cornish vanilla ice-cream didn’t really need any sauces or toppings thanks to that unique flavour; I preferred to have it ‘plain’.

Over the years I gradually stopped devouring Cornish vanilla. I’m not sure if it’s because I ate bucket-loads as a child or because I was tempted away by other flavours – or maybe both! But when I’m hit by nostalgia – as I so often am – I do treat myself to some Cornish vanilla ice-cream. However, I can’t help feeling a little underwhelmed by it because that intense, buttery flavour that I remember doesn’t seem the same – no matter which brand I buy. But I live in hope of rediscovering it.

3. CHOCOLATE

I didn’t know a kid back then who didn’t like chocolate ice-cream – and I still don’t! It’s still very much a firm favourite today with children and adults alike. When I was growing up, it was just ‘chocolate’. Now chocolate ice-cream has more varieties than Heinz: white chocolate, chocolate brownie, chocolate fudge; chocolate cookie dough; chocolate mud pie; triple chocolate; chocolate-til-it’s-coming-out-of-your-ears etc.

At secondary school, we were fortunate enough to have an ice-cream van arrive in the school yard every lunch time and home time, where after school, I would sometimes treat myself to a chocolate cone. I wonder what Mr. Oliver would make of that!

And you don’t need me to tell you, it’s still one of the most popular ice-cream flavours all over the world. But then with all those chocolate variations it would have to be.

4. STRAWBERRY

My memories of strawberry ice-cream – a flavour both my parents loved back then – was that it was always an eye-catching shade of pink, from a pretty pastel shade to a very deep pink. However one thing I’m wondering about is whether any of the strawberry ice-creams I devoured contained a scrap of real strawberry at all. I suspect most of them didn’t and were simply strawberry flavoured but even if we knew that back then, I doubt we would have minded very much.

Of course today there is a real distinction between the brightly coloured strawberry flavoured ice-cream, and the frozen, creamy delicacy that’s made with real strawberries and often contains yummy chunks of strawberries – and I definitely know which one I prefer!

And as with chocolate, there are many variations today of the humble strawberry ice-cream: strawberry cheesecake; strawberry shortcake; strawberries and cream; strawberry and Champagne… oh it was all so much simpler in my day!

5. MINT CHOC-CHIP

A childhood fave for me, as I loved anything that was mint flavoured (as a matter of fact I still do!) And contrary to popular belief, mint ice-cream tastes nothing like toothpaste. When I was around seven, I went through a phase where I would only ever eat ice-cream if it was mint choc-chip. I loved the cool, refreshing, minty taste combined with the soft, creamy texture. And those dark chocolate chips were a very welcome addition. Mint and chocolate – a winning combo if ever I heard one. And of course I loved the minty green colour too.

Mint choc chip is still readily available and although I never rush out and buy a tub anymore (I definitely overindulged when I was a child and can never finish a whole tub now) I never say no to a mint choc-chip cone.

6. RASPBERRY RIPPLE

This was another ice-cream flavour I really liked: vanilla ice-cream swirled with raspberry sauce. Once again Mum used to buy this in block form (yep, those blocks sure were popular in the eighties and nineties) which we would usually slice and serve between two wafers. I was always very fussy about which slice I got because it had to be very heavily rippled with raspberry sauce.

Thankfully this delicious ice-cream is still around today but I don’t think it is as consumed in such huge quantities anymore. Definitely one for the retro fanatics!

7. NEAPOLITAN

Whoever invented Neapolitan ice-cream is right up there with Einstein! It was a great idea to put the three popular ice-cream flavours together: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. It meant that mums could buy just one tub and know it would please the whole family, and for those who just simply couldn’t decide which one to buy – they could just go for Neapolitan. One tub fits all!

It goes without saying that a tub of Neapolitan was always very well received in our house where we all had our favourites. And whenever we had guests over for dinner and there was going to be ice-cream for afters, if it wasn’t vanilla, it was almost guaranteed to be Neapolitan because let’s face it everyone was guaranteed to like at least one of the flavours (unless they were strictly mint choc-chip in which case we were screwed!)

Neapolitan ice-cream is still around today but I wonder how many people have a tub in their freezer…

8. BROWN BREAD

Although brown bread ice-cream was well-known during the eighties, I don’t ever recall it being available to buy in stores. Instead it seemed to be an ice-cream people were encouraged to make at home judging by the recipes I’d see in magazines and on cooking shows. At the time I remember thinking what an odd flavour it was for an ice-cream. Why on earth would anyone want to eat ice-cream made out of bread?

Well I’ve just come back from holiday where I indulged in the most gorgeous brown bread ice-cream. Words really don’t do it justice. Good on the ice-cream parlour for having brown bread ice-cream as one of its flavours. I hope other parlours and restaurants will follow.

9. RUM N’ RAISIN

I may have had rum n’ raisin ice-cream only a handful of times when I was growing up, despite it being quite popular, because I wasn’t keen on raisins and I was afraid I’d get drunk on the artificial rum flavour! How times have changed because now I love to get drunk on real rum… but I still have a love-hate thing going on with raisins. So good on rum n’ raisin for making it into the twenty first century but I really don’t think it’s something I’ll ever be wolfing down (it would have stood a better chance without the raisins.)

My mum, on the other hand, loves raisins but will never stock the freezer with rum and raisin because she hates the taste of rum – or any alcohol for that matter!

10. BANANA

This is an ice-cream flavour I loved back then and still do. Banana ice-cream wasn’t overly common when I was growing up – it still isn’t – but I remember that some restaurants offered it along with the top three. I really like banana ice-cream partly because I love the sweet, creamy taste of bananas but also because it made a change from vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. I’ve since discovered that banana ice-cream isn’t popular with a lot of people even now although I can’t understand why after all most people like a banana split and the flavours aren’t too dissimilar.

Never mind – I’ll still guzzle it by the bucketload!

11. TUTTI FRUTTI

Meaning ‘all fruits’ in Italian, this ice-cream flavour containing mixed peel, dried and candied fruits was incredibly popular during the eighties and early nineties and was a huge hit with my family, especially my mum and aunts. But guess what? I HATED it! I couldn’t stand the stuff. I remember one occasion during a family get together when my five year old self had cried the house down because I wanted some ice-cream. And of all the flavours they could have brought me, they brought me a bowl of horrid tutti frutti.

“Now you eat that,” said my aunt in a very stern tone, “you asked for it, now eat it!” I didn’t dare tell her that even though I’d asked for ice-cream, I did not ask for that awful flavour.

Even though my palate has changed over the years and I now like foods I once detested, I don’t think I could ever get used to tutti frutti ice-cream. And I’m not sure I’ll ever get the chance to find out if I’m right because I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw it on sale… anywhere! In fact a lot of people I’ve spoken to have said the same. And despite my dislike of the flavour, I am sorry that it doesn’t seem to be around now as it brings back a lot of memories of my family, childhood and the eighties… and also because my mum likes it!

12. CHOC-CHIP

Chocolate chip ice-cream is an absolute classic: smooth vanilla ice-cream combined with crunchy chocolate chips. This was a very popular ice-cream flavour as I was growing up but funnily enough I don’t remember us having this at home. On the rare occasions when we were fortune to sample a dish of choc chip, it was usually in a restaurant. And of course this flavour is still consumed by the truckload.

Right, now I’m going to stay cool with a huge tub of olive oil and bay leaf ice-cream. Bliss!

8 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on June 27, 2015 in Nostalgia Tastes Like This!

Tags: 1980s, 1990s, Banana, brand, Britain, British, brown bread ice-cream, Candied fruit, childhood, Children, Choc Chip, chocolate, Chocolate Chip, comfort food, Cornish Vanilla, Dessert, dried fruit, Family, Food, fruit, Ice-Cream, ice-cream flavours, Ice-cream float, ice-cream sandwich, memories, mint, mint choc-chip, Mixed peel, nostalgia, People, Pudding, raspberry ripple, reminiscing, strawberries, strawberry, Sweet, Tutti Frutti, United Kingdom, vanilla, vanilla ice cream, Wall's

Comfort Food #16: Banana Custard

06 Apr

I realise that it’s been a while since I last did a Comfort Food post and as I’ve been having thoughts about banana custard for a while, I thought now would be as good a time as any to do a new recipe post.

Things have been a little stressful lately what with work issues and wanting to move house. I thought back to one of the most stressful periods of my life when I was in my mid-teens, and do you know what got me through it? Puddings! It’s no secret that I’ve got a sweet tooth and all sorts of sweet, warm yummy puddings proved to be a real comfort and help with all that teenage angst. And one pudding in particular that proved to be a real godsend was banana custard. Now I am well aware that banana custard might not be to everyone’s tastes and I’m sure some people might liken it to baby food and think it’s just for kids but I absolutely love it. It’s simple yet delicious and warming – although it can also be eaten cold.

I love creamy, custardy type desserts, and I’m also fond of bananas so it was inevitable that banana custard and I were going to get on well like a plate of bacon and eggs! There are many variations of this classic dessert some of which include mascarpone, chocolate, cake or biscuit pieces, whipped cream, meringue topping etc. which all sound incredibly scrummy but I still say that the simplest and old-fashioned version is the best – home made custard with chopped or mashed bananas folded in. Of course if you’re pushed for time or you find making custard a challenge (I do understand – it’s not as easy as it looks!) you could always opt for the ready-made stuff and simply fold the bananas in yourself, though personally I do think it’s worth the effort to try and make the custard yourself. And it’s also a great way to use up bananas that are beginning to over-ripen. And it’s also quite versatile as a dessert because the banana custard can be used as the filling for a pie, cake or crumble. You can also caramelise the bananas first, and even make a baked version of this pudding.

So here’s a recipe for the dessert that made my teen years taste so much sweeter. It’s yumtastic!

BANANA CUSTARD

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

300 ml full fat milk
Contents of 1 vanilla pod
3 large egg yolks
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
3 large bananas, sliced or mashed
A splash of rum (optional)

METHOD:

1. Pour the milk into a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat.

2. Add the vanilla and pod and bring the milk to the boil.

3. While the milk is heating up, tip the egg yolks into a bowl, along with the cornflour and sugar.

4. Whisk together until the mixture is thick and pale.

5. As soon as the milk comes to the boil remove the pan from the heat.

6. Scoop out the vanilla pod and pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture.

7. Whisk continuously until well combined.

8. Pour the custard mixture back into the pan and heat gently over a low heat, stirring all the time, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

9. Slice the bananas into the custard and stir to combine.

10. Add rum if desired.

11. Pour the hot banana custard in dishes.

12. Serve hot or cold.

4 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on April 6, 2015 in This, That and the Other!

Tags: Baking, Banana, bananas, childhood, Children, chocolate, comfort food, custard, Dessert, Food, memories, milk, nursery puddings, Pudding, recipes, reminiscing, sugar, Sweet, teenage, teenager, vanilla, Vanilla pod

Video

With This Ferrero Rocher Advert You Are Really Spoiling Us

31 Dec

It’s New Year’s Eve. People all over the world are going to be celebrating, partying, guzzling Champagne, and generally having a good time as is customary all over the world. So I thought it would be very appropriate to share one of my favourite television adverts. It’s the Ferrero Rocher ad where the ambassador (not sure of which country) is throwing a lavish reception and has invited guests from all over the world. Despite their numerous languages, they all understand the language of fine chocolate – and Ferrero Rocher was definitely considered top quality confectionary back in the day. And let’s face it – during the festive season, there would always be at least one box of Ferrero Rocher among the tins of Roses and Quality Street.

Even though this advert is more than two decades old, it is still very well remembered. It’s the cheesy piano music along with that classic line, “Monsieur, with Ferrero Rocher you are really spoiling us.” It’s a line I still use when I want to be sarcastic – and of course everyone instantly knows where it came from!

1 Comment

Posted by nostalgiapie on December 31, 2014 in Commercials/Adverts, Slogans/Phrases/Logos

Tags: 1980s, 1990s, adverts, brand, Champagne, childhood, chocolate, Christmas, commercials, entertainment, Ferrero Rocher, Food, memories, nostalgia, People, reminiscing, Sweet, Sweets

Sunshine In Winter With Delia Smith’s Summer Collection

29 Dec

I am so excited with my latest purchase. This afternoon I bought a copy of Delia Smith’s Summer Collection and it brought back so many memories. This cook book accompanied the 1993 BBC series which used to be broadcast once a week on a week night which I used to watch when I should have been doing my homework!

I’ve pretty much grown up with Delia; it’s no secret that my mum was a huge fan of TV cookery shows – she still is – so I got my liking for such shows from her. And Delia Smith was probably the first TV cook I watched in the early 1980s and her career started long before I was even born. I’ve watched all of her TV series as I was growing up which I’m sure contributed to my interest in food, cooking and trying new culinary delights. And I have to say it – Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Delia Smith’s Christmas.

Delia is most definitely on a different plane when compared to today’s TV chefs. Not that I’m saying anyone’s better or worse as I have a lot of respect for those guys, but whereas they’re more fast-paced, energetic and often prone to tantrums, Delia is a lot more calmer with a no-nonsense approach. She reminds me of a school teacher with a great deal of patience! She also had a reputation for complex dishes and for using obscure ingredients that were difficult to source but flicking through Delia Smith’s Summer Collection, there’s very little evidence of that. Many of the dishes seem extremely easy to rustle up with ingredients that are easily obtainable. I was also surprised to see some recipes for Thai and Sri Lankan dishes so I’m guessing the British public were starting to become more adventurous when it came to food just over twenty years ago!

There are a lot of tasty recipes in here, as well as ones I remember her making from the show such as Coconut ice-cream with lime syrup, ice-tea, and coconut lime cake. That last one is especially interesting because I’ve never been much of a fan of desiccated coconut but it looked so fantastic on the show that I wanted to try it!

So here’s the recipe for coconut lime cake taken from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection which I will also be attempting soon. Go on – inject a little sunshine into winter!

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz (50 g) desiccated coconut

2 limes

6 oz (175 g) self-raising flour

6 oz (175 g) caster sugar

6 oz (175 g) soft margarine or butter

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 level tablespoons dried coconut milk powder

1 rounded teaspoon baking powder

For the icing:

3 limes

8 oz (225 g) icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C).

Equipment

You will also need two 8 inch (20 cm) round sponge tins 1½ inches (4 cm) deep, greased and the bases lined with silicone paper (parchment).

METHOD:

For the cake, start off by grating the zest of the 2 limes on to a small saucer, then cover that with clingfilm and set on one side. Next, measure the desiccated coconut into a small bowl, then squeeze the juice of the limes and pour this over the coconut to allow it to soften and soak up the juice for an hour or so.

To make the cake, just take a large, roomy bowl and sift in the flour, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. Then simply throw in all the other cake ingredients, including the lime zest and soaked coconut, and with an electric hand whisk, switched to high speed, whisk everything till thoroughly blended – about 2-3 minutes. Now divide the mixture equally between the two prepared tins, smooth to level off the tops and bake on a middle shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the centres feel springy to the touch. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn them out on to a wire rack to cool completely, carefully peeling off the base papers. They must be completely cold before the icing goes on.

To make the icing, begin by removing the zest from the limes – this is best done with a zester as you need long, thin, curly strips that look pretty. Then, with your sharpest knife, remove all the outer pith, then carefully remove each segment (holding the limes over a bowl to catch any juice), sliding the knife in between the membrane so that you have the flesh of the segments only. This is much easier to do with limes than it is with other citrus fruits. Drop the segments into the bowl and squeeze the last drops of juice from the pith. Now, sift the icing sugar in on top of the limes a little at a time, carefully folding it in with a tablespoon in order not to break up the lime segments too much.

When all the sugar is incorporated, allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes, then spread half of it on to the surface of one of the cakes and scatter with half the lime zest. Place the other cake on top, spread the rest of the icing on top of that and scatter the rest of the zest over. Then place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up the icing before serving.

3 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on December 29, 2014 in Books Galore, Childhood Legends

Tags: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Baking, BBC, Britain, British, cake, childhood, coconut, cook, cookery, Cookery books, Cooking, cooking series, cooking show, Delia Smith, Delia Smith's Christmas, Delia Smith's Summer Collection, desiccated coconut, Dessert, Food, lime, memories, nostalgia, People, Pudding, recipes, reminiscing, Sweet, Television Program, Television show, TV, United Kingdom

Comfort Food #15: Cherry Cake

26 Oct

This Comfort Food post is a little bit of a strange choice for me because although I love cake, I am not a fan of cherry cake because of the glacè cherries in it. But nonetheless it does bring back memories for me of my childhood Christmases – which makes me think that perhaps this post would have better suited to December – but watching Mary Berry show viewers how to make the perfect cherry cake has inspired me. So cherry cake it is!

Courtesy of RitaE @pixabay.com

A cherry cake is traditionally a sponge cake that contains halved or quartered (usually) red glace cherries, which is then topped with icing, flaked almonds and more glacè cherries. Even though a freshly baked cherry cake is not my idea of bliss due to the use of ghastly glacè cherries, they most definitely do take me back to childhood Christmases back in the 1980s. When my sister and I were younger – before we were joined by our two other siblings – Mum used to bake an array of baked goodies every Christmas. In fact she used to bake so much, there must have been more than enough for the entire neighbourhood! Of course one of these bakes included cherry cake which was one of Mum’s favourites.

Courtesy of Vincio @pixabay.com

Even though I’ve disliked glace cherries since I was a very young child, I did like Mum’s cakes, so I would always have a slice – and just picked out the cherries. But what was most memorable about these cakes was that, we always had a slice of cherry cake after we got home from midnight mass. So cherry cake – offending glace cherries or not – always bring back happy memories of Christmas, midnight mass, and Mum’s large-scale baking!

Courtesy of pixabay.com

But even though I have mixed feelings about cherry cake, I know that most people, like Mum, absolutely love it! It is a very old-fashioned, very traditional English cake which I’ve been told is usually linked to Easter, rather than Christmas. It’s a very versatile cake and fits the bill for just about everything: picnics, afternoon tea, lunch boxes, bake sales and it is the mainstay of traditional tearooms, not to mention one of the most popular cakes to be baked among the Women’s Institute. And although it may sound simple to make, quite often it isn’t as the cherries are notorious for sinking to the bottom of the cake. However people have their own methods for preventing this from happening. One of them being to rinse of the sticky syrup from the cherries before dusting them with flour. Delia Smith believes n mixing two-thirds of the cherries into the cake mixture before poking the remaining third through the top of the cake just before it goes into the oven.

Courtesy of Pixel1 @pixabay.com

Don’t get me wrong, I do love cherries just not glace cherries. But I’m wondering if I can substitute the glace cherries in the cake for dried, fresh or tinned cherries. I’d definitely have no problems with eating it then! But despite my reservations regarding cherry cake, nothing can take away the fact that cherry cake is a very memorable part of my childhood and evokes memories of Christmases gone by…

So here’s a recipe for cherry cake from Mary Berry for a traditional cherry cake. Try it and enjoy!

Ingredients

200g/7oz glacé cherries
225g/8oz self-raising flour
175g/6oz softened butter, plus extra for greasing
175g/6oz caster sugar
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
50g/1¾oz ground almonds
3 large free-range eggs

For the decoration
175g/6oz icing sugar
1 lemon, juice only
15g/½oz flaked almonds, toasted
5 glacé cherries, quartered

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Grease a 23cm/9in bundt tin or savarin mould with butter.
Cut the cherries into quarters.
Set aside five of the quartered cherries for the decoration later.
Put the rest of the quartered cherries in a sieve and rinse under running water.
Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper and toss in two tablespoons of the flour.
Measure all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for two minutes to mix thoroughly.
Lightly fold in the cherries.
Turn into the prepared tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until well risen, golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
For the icing, mix the icing sugar together with the lemon juice to a thick paste.
Drizzle over the cooled cake using the back of a spoon, sprinkle over the toasted almonds and reserved cherries.

2 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on October 26, 2014 in Nostalgia Tastes Like This!, Recipes

Tags: 1980s, Afternoon Tea, Bake, Baking, cake, cherries, cherry, cherry cake, childhood, Children, Christmas, comfort food, Delia Smith, Easter, England, Family, Food, glace cherries, Mary Berry, memories, nostalgia, People, Picnics, recipes, reminiscing, Sponge cake, Sweet, Tea, Tea Rooms, United Kingdom, WI, Women's Institute

Yay! My First Farmhouse Kitchen Cook Book!

07 Sep

In a my previous post about the iconic cookery program, Farmhouse Kitchen, I mentioned that there were books available which accompanied the series, and that I would dearly love get hold of these. Well I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve been able to do just that. I am now the proud owner of Farmhouse Kitchen, Book One – and I am thrilled!!!

WHERE DID I FIND IT?

I was just walking down a busy high road, minding my own business as I always do, when I saw a book in the window of a second-hand bookshop that stopped me in my tracks. On closer inspection, I realised it was the first book in the Farmhouse Kitchen series. There was no question of me purchasing the book. I rushed in and grabbed it before you could say rough puff pastry. And it was mine for the grand sum of £1.49. I just couldn’t believe that someone would want to part with a little piece of television history – not that I was complaining of course! And it was still in great condition – in fact it barely looked as if it had been used.

SO WHAT’S IT LIKE?

This A5 book which contains just under two hundred pages, has a scene from a nineteenth century Yorkshire Kitchen as it’s front cover. The old Yorkshire Television logo is also on the front cover- a logo I’d seen many times during my childhood and I was surprised to find that I actually miss it (I need to get out more!) The book’s synopsis explains that:

Farmhouse Kitchen Book One includes traditional country recipes for everyday soups, main courses and puddings as well as preserving and pickling for the store cupboard.

So not much for fans of pulled pork or Piri-Piri chicken then! And for those who are used to huge colour photos in recipe books, this one may seem a little stark as there’s not much in the way of pictures except for the odd few illustrations – and absolutely no colour at all. It might put some people off but I didn’t mind at all. It had a very nostalgic vibe and reminded me of many of the recipe books my mum used to own.

THE CONTENTS

Open the book, and there’s a brief introduction from the show’s presenter, the late Dorothy Sleightholme. There’s also a footnote explaining that all the recipes in the book – over four hundred of them which have been derived from the recommendations of Dorothy and the show’s viewers- have all been prepared by Dorothy herself. Now that’s a lot of food prep!

The book is divided into twelve chapters with everything from pies and pastries to pickles and preserves to homemade wine, beer and pop. The culinary theme Farmhouse Kitchen is based on good hearty, country-style cooking and traditional British fare – and the book stays true to form. There are recipes for Lancashire hot-pot, Cullen Skink and steak and kidney pie. This book doesn’t necessarily do food trends but there’s a touch of the exotic from Italian inspired recipes such as risotto and minestrone.

Food trends may have changed over the years but there are still plenty of recipes in this book which are still relevant today. And I was delighted to see a recipe for good old Baked Alaska! However, there were a few I don’t think I’ll be trying: pig’s kidney stuffing, Kidneys in red wine sauce, stuffed hearts… no thank you!

Many of the recipes in Farmhouse Kitchen have been devised by Dorothy and there are even a few named after her. But there are also recipes by the lovely Mary Berry as well as, of course, recipes that have been sent in by the shows viewers.

I’m having a great time going through this book and will be making some of these dishes soon. I’m delighted to have found this book and so far have kept it hidden from my mum for fear that she’ll soon make it part of her recipe book collection. I’m on the lookout for Farmhouse Kitchen Book Two but in the meanwhile, here’s a recipe for another one of my childhood favourites, baked bananas, taken from my latest most prized possession!

BAKED BANANAS

PREP: 5MINS

COOK: 15MINS

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 bananas

Lemon juice

2oz. desiccated coconut

2oz. little rum (optional)

METHOD:

Lay peeled bananas in a lightly buttered, shallow, fireproof dish.
Sprinkle with lemon juice, then with coconut and sugar mixed.
Add shavings of butter and a sprinkling of rum (optional.)
Bake at Gas4, 350ºF for about 15mins.
Serve with custard or cream.

Love those old school measurements!

3 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on September 7, 2014 in Books Galore, Nostalgia Tastes Like This!, Recipes, Slogans/Phrases/Logos, TV Shows

Tags: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, baked bananas, Baking, book, Britain, British, childhood, Children, comfort food, Cookery books, Cooking, cooking series, cream, Dessert, Dorothy Sleightholme, Farmhouse Kitchen, Farmhouse Kitchen Book One, Farmhouse Kitchen Book Two, Food, Grace Mulligan, logo, memories, nostalgia, People, Presenter, Pudding, recipe book, recipes, reminiscing, Sweet, TV presenter, TV series, TV show, United Kingdom, Yorkshire Television

Comfort Food #14: Peach Melba

30 Aug

Summer is on it’s way out, and along with it some of my favourite fruits which I will not see for another year. Two fruits which I love and have been readily available these last few months are raspberries and peaches – two reasons to love Summer! Needless to say our refrigerator has been stuffed with these fruits, as well as other seasonal goodies, which I’ve put into puddings, fruit salad, or eaten them just as they are.

As both raspberries and peaches are the chief ingredients of a peach Melba, it wasn’t long before thoughts turned to this retro pud. As a child I was very familiar with peach Melbas because they were EVERYWHERE! Not only was my mum a huge peach fanatic, but it was also served up in restaurants and at dinner parties; featured in the recipe section of magazines, and appeared on cooking shows. Peach Melba was as common a dessert back in the ’80s as panna cotta is now.

But as with many of my childhood desserts, the dish which Nigella Lawson rightly describes as ‘summer on a plate’ went from being everywhere to disappearing without a trace. Even Baked Alaska made an appearance on The Great British Bake Off this week!

Peach Melba is such a delicious dessert which I hope (please, please!) counts towards your five-a-day. Peaches and raspberries are a gorgeous combination and it’s a great way to make use of the two fruits are in abundance at the moment. It’s just a shame everyone’s forgotten about it!

SO WHAT IS PEACH MELBA?

The peach Melba is a simple, well-known, classic dessert. This creamy, cool, and fruity pud consists of vanilla ice-cream, peaches and a raspberry sauce – in some ways, a kind of ice-cream sundae.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE DESSERT

The dessert was first created in the 1890s. it’s something of an international dessert because it was created in London by a French chef – Georges Auguste Escoffier – in honour of the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba who this dish is named after. Incidentally Melba toast is also named after her.

The original peach Melba is believed to have been poached, skinned, and sliced before being sprinkled with sugar and cooled. This was then placed onto vanilla ice-cream and then drizzled with a sweet, seedless raspberry sauce. Escoffier insisted that the dessert should be served in a silver dish.

But the version we are more familiar with sees the peach halved before being poached in a sugar syrup.

WHEN WAS IT POPULAR?

I know Peach Melba was all the rage in the 1980s when I was growing up until about the early ’90s. I’m sure it must have been very popular in the preceding decades to but it’s hard to determine when it was at it’s most popular as there’s so little information available.

DECLINE IN POPULARITY

It’s not known why this dessert isn’t as popular now as it once was. It’s just simple gone out of fashion just as clothes and hairstyles often do. It could be that it has quite an old-fashioned image or perhaps it’s considered to be too simplistic and has been ousted by more seemingly sophisticated desserts which everyone now has more of a taste for.

THE LEGACY LIVES ON…

Peach Melba isn’t altogether ‘off the menu.’ Some chefs have revamped the humble Peach Melba for the twenty-first century in terms of appearance and ingredients so it’s shaken off it’s retro image. The combination of peaches and raspberries is still very much used in cooking, which isn’t a surprise because the flavours and colours work so well together. So even though the actual dessert isn’t so common now, the flavour profile is still very much evident, and the fact that any dish containing peaches and raspberries is referred to as ‘Peach Melba’ indicates that this classic pud still continues to live on albeit in a different form. So now we have Peach Melba cheesecakes, trifles, pies, tarts, tortes, ice-creams, roulades, martinis, smoothies, sorbets and even a Peach Melba… Baked Alaska!

So if you’d like to set your senses alight to the fabulous flavours and textures of a Peach Melba, here’s a recipe for Nigella Lawson’s take on this pud for you to try.

INGREDIENTS:

for the peaches

750 ml water
700 grams caster sugar
juice of ½ lemon
1 vanilla pod (split lengthways)
8 peaches

for the raspberry sauce

375 grams raspberries
25 grams icing sugar
juice of ½ lemon

to serve

1 large tub vanilla ice cream

METHOD:

Put the water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla pod into a wide saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar.
Bring the pan to the boil and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes, then turn the pan down to a fast simmer.
Cut the peaches in half, and, if the stones come out easily remove them, if not, then you can get them out later.
Poach the peach halves in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the ripeness of the fruit.
Test the cut side with the sharp point of a knife to see if they are soft, and then remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
When all the peaches are poached, peel off their skins and let them cool (and remove any remaining stones).
If you are making them a day in advance, let the poaching syrup cool and then pour into a dish with the peaches.
Otherwise just bag up the syrup and freeze it for the next time you poach peaches.
To make the raspberry sauce, liquidize the raspberries, icing sugar and lemon juice in a blender or else a processor.
Sieve to remove the pips and pour this fantastically hued puree into a jug.
To assemble the peach melba, allow two peach halves per person and sit them on each plate alongside a scoop or two of ice cream.
Spoon the raspberry sauce over each one, and put the remaining puce-tinted red sauce in a jug for people to add themselves at the table.

3 Comments

Posted by nostalgiapie on August 30, 2014 in Nostalgia Tastes Like This!, Recipes

Tags: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Australian, Britain, British, chef, childhood, comfort food, Dessert, Food, French, fruit, fruit pudding, Georges Auguste Escoffier, Ice-Cream, memories, Nellie Melba, Nigella Lawson, nostalgia, Opera, Paul Heathcote, peach, Peach Melba, peaches, People, Pudding, raspberries, recipes, reminiscing, seasonal fruit, summer, Sweet, United Kingdom, vanilla, vanilla ice cream

Ten Ice-cream Memories That Will Hopefully Make a Comeback

31 Jul

It’s summertime and it’s absolutely sweltering. I don’t think I’ve ever known it to be so hot (I probably say that every summer!) and I am literally melting away!

On a more positive note, I am definitely gorging on more and more ice-cream in a bid to keep cool, and I suppose I should make the most of it. After all once the hot weather gives way to the cold, I won’t be looking at another ice-cream until next summer.

This got me thinking about the lovely ice-cream treats we used to feast on when we were kids. When we were growing up, ice-cream was not a freezer staple but something Mum got in when we were having a party or a family gathering, so it really was an occasional treat and regarded as something quite special. Back when we were kids, the weather didn’t matter a bit – we would have happily devoured ice-cream in below freezing conditions!

However, I’ve noticed that a lot of the ice-cream treats that were very popular in the ’80s and ’90s – and most probably even before then – seem to be virtually unheard of today, or at the very least they’re not as common. I’ve noticed that twenty-first century ice-cream has been given something of an image overhaul. With an array of flavours and textures, ice-cream nowadays is smoother, slicker and sophisticated and most definitely not just for kids.

But I’ve also noticed however, that despite ice-cream being given something of a revamp, most of the time it’s just an accompaniment to a dessert such as a fruit pie or tart, fudge cake, or waffles etc.

With these old time classics, however, Ice-cream is very much the star of the show.

1. JELLY AND ICE-CREAM

The classic kids dessert. No child’s birthday party was complete without jelly and ice-cream. I haven’t been to any kids parties for quite some time now but I do hope it still features on the menu. I absolutely loved this as a kid. I didn’t care what flavour the jelly or ice-cream was; as long as one half of the bowl wobbled and the other was icy. I’m sure jelly and ice-cream were most people’s childhood favourite dessert but while most kids grow out of it, I still have a massive bowlful most weekends as a not-so-little treat. My not-so-guilty pleasure!

2. ICE-CREAM FLOAT

A glass of soda with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. My mum introduced me to the delights of an ice-cream float when I was about five. But Hubby was horrified when he heard that Mum used cola and not root beer which he insists was the only soda used in making an ice-cream float in the States. Well over here in England, it was always cola floats – especially as we don’t really get good quality root beer over here. And I’m almost certain that Mum has used cream soda a few times as well. Though whether you use root beer or cola, they’re both equally delicious. I think so anyway! There is now a new trend for sodas and ice-creams of any flavour. Hmmm… don’t know how Hubby will feel about that!

3. ICE-CREAM SANDWICH

This was an amazing treat when we were growing up. An ice-cream sandwich is a layer of ice-cream sandwiched between two biscuits, cookies, slices of cake, or -as in the ones Mum used to make for us – wafer. Ice-cream sandwiches have been eaten all over the world and most countries have their own version of it. Admittedly it probably wasn’t such a hit for people with sensitive teeth but it was seriously delish. We tended to use mainly vanilla, Neapolitan, or raspberry ripple ice-creams (with the latter being my fave!) Basically ice-creams which were typical of the 1980s.

Now that I think of it, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed an ice-cream sandwich. Hmmm… time to start buying packs of wafers, I think!

4. ICE-CREAM CUPS WITH LITTLE WOODEN SPOONS

I haven’t had these in England since childhood but I have stumbled across them when I visited India – and the ice-cream was delicious! These are not to be confused with miniature tubs of ice-cream which are still readily available. The ones I’m referring to were little cardboard or lightweight plastic cups of ice-cream with peel-off paper lids. These were eaten with the little wooden spoons that came with them, although they resembled paddles rather than spoons. The ice-cream was almost always vanilla but I’m sure I vaguely remember vanilla ice-cream that contained ripples of chocolate or strawberry flavoured sauce.

Mini tubs of ice-cream today don’t come the little wooden spoon, and if it does come with a spoon at all, it’s always plastic, which handy as it is, it’s just not the same. I actually think the little wooden spoon made the ice-cream taste better!

5. BANANA SPLIT

Now who doesn’t like a good ol’ banana split? My aunt used to make a very simple version of this classic dessert which she served as afters during the summer months. Hers consisted of a banana cut into quarters served with vanilla ice-cream. Simple, not quite like the traditional version, but still very appetizing.

The classic version – which originated in Pennsylvania – involves splitting a banana lengthways and placing it in a boat-shaped dish before filling it with three scoops of ice-cream (usually strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla) before being topped with sauces, whipped cream, crushed nuts and a cherry. Many different versions of this dessert exist but one thing remains – it’s unlikely you’ll find anyone who can finish a whole one by themselves!

Banana splits can still be found in ice-cream parlours and diners, but thanks to the emergence of more sophisticated desserts, this retro pud is not as ‘talked about’. In fact three years ago, there were reports that Wimpy had dropped this dessert from their menu due to a fall in demand. Are people mad?

6. KNICKERBOCKER GLORY

At the mere mention of a Knickerbocker Glory I’m immediately transported back to the 1980s. Another retro dessert like the banana split, a Knickerbocker Glory is an ice-cream sundae served in a tall glass which contains layers of fruit, ice-cream, jelly, cream, nuts, meringue, sauces or syrups. This dessert is as peculiar to Britain as the banana split is to America, and has been served up in ice-cream parlours across Britain since the 1930s. There is no set recipe for making a Knickerbocker Glory and flavours can vary. This was another dessert which didn’t survive the cull at Wimpy and was cut along with the banana split three years ago.

There are some things I will never understand…

7. ARCTIC ROLL

I must have been about seven when a friend told me that she was going to have an Arctic roll for dessert after her tea. I had no idea what an Arctic roll was at the time – but I soon found out!

An Arctic roll is similar in appearance to a Swiss roll. It’s made of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of sponge cake to form a roll, with a layer of raspberry flavoured sauce or jam between the sponge and the ice cream. This dessert was invented in Britain by a Czech lawyer who had emigrated here, and it has been around since the 1950s, though it became extremely popular during the 1970s.

Since being enlightened by my friend, my family and I had worked our way through quite a few Arctic rolls in our time, with the pud being a firm favourite with Mum. Production of the Arctic roll ceased for a while, beginning in the 1990s due to a slump in sales, but it resurfaced again in 2008 due to a combination of low-cost and nostalgic charm. Reviews were mixed with some regarding the dessert as too old-fashioned while the nostalgics among us welcomed it’s return. Despite it still being available to buy – with chocolate versions available as well – it’s not as popular as it once was. But at least it’s still here!

8. ICE CREAM IN A CARDBOARD BLOCK

Those of us old enough to remember, will know that back in the day ice-cream didn’t come in rectangular plastic tubs, or cylindrical tubs a la Haagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry’s. No, instead was available in the form of a block and wrapped in a cardboard container. Flavours tended to be vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, raspberry ripple or Neapolitan – the flavours of the day. As you can imagine, a cardboard wrapper wasn’t very practical: if you didn’t get your shopping home fast enough on a hot day, the ice-cream would melt and start to seep out of the packet. The softened ice-cream would also be at risk of being squished by heavier goods. Furthermore, if you were able to get the ice-cream home in one piece, it was best eaten once opened, as it was impossible to seal properly and the ice-cream would develop a layer of frost in the freezer. My mum especially liked the ice-cream that came in tubs because she could store things in them after the ice-cream had long been devoured.

But there’s something extremely nostalgic about the old block-form ice-cream – and they did have their advantages: less waste and you could cut the perfect slice to put into your ice-cream sandwich. I very much doubt it’s available in the UK anymore although, I have seen them abroad – so there’s a chance that they could make they’re way back to these shores again.

9. ICE-CREAM BOMBES

This dessert is believed to have originated during the Victorian era and it’s got something of a retro vibe. Also known as a bombe glacee, this ice-cream pud is frozen in a spherical mould so it resembles a dome, and they sometimes had a hard chocolate shell. I don’t remember Mum ever making these but I do remember her buying packs of these from Iceland (when the frozen food chain started springing up everywhere) so we clearly enjoyed them. I also remember tucking into these during an extended-family meal in a restaurant when I was about eight. It was mint flavoured ice-cream which I was crazy about at the time, served with fresh cream. Yum!
10.BAKED ALASKA

As far as I’m concerned, Baked Alaska is the queen of ice-cream puddings. A very decadent-looking ice-cream dessert which generally consisted of ice-cream and fruit on a cake base, covered in meringue before being browned in the oven. And here’s the amazing bit – the ice-cream doesn’t melt! Baked Alaska was a very popular dessert when I was growing up and although it’s been virtually unheard of for at least fifteen years, I’m thrilled to see that Marks and Spencer have brought out their version of this classic dessert.

AND FINALLY…

I must say though, that one memory I’m glad has become a very distant one is that delightful combo of vanilla ice-cream with… tinned fruit salad! When I was a child I was obsessed with tinned fruit salad. In fact my mum used to say it was the only time I would go near a piece of fruit. I remember for school dinners, desert would sometimes consist of tinned fruit and custard (which I thought was yum!) But our family gatherings and parties weren’t any better: dessert was almost always tinned fruit and vanilla ice-cream. Don’t get me wrong; at the time I thought it was fab. But then I hadn’t developed the sophisticated palate that I have now! I have no aversion to fruit and ice-cream only now I insist on using fresh fruit rather than opening a tin.

Now if only we could bring back the other old classics…