Hi I am back

Bit late in the morning I know, but I have spent the best part of the evening from about 7.30 p.m.to about 12.15 a.m. teaching my friend how to cook.  The practical has helped  - she had never made shortcrust pastry from scratch and by hand before, tonight was the first lesson. We made two batches of pastry.  Out of one batch we made jam tarts (or schoolboys earholes as my darling father used to call them) and a large egg custard for her partner.  This was blind baked another technique she has learned tonight, and I have had her making home made custard for the tart filling with fresh ground nutmeg.  Scrummy.  Its cooled down and is now in her fridge waiting for tomorrow night's tea.  then we made a dozen plain scones which she says she will be making again as they came up nice and light. The same rubbing in technique for the pastry and the scones and also for crumble mix.  I had her in hysterics though when I bashed the dough out  sharply with the cutter- helps the scones rise and keep all the air in them. Have to slap them about a bit!  We then made soda bread from scratch and she says that she will be making that as well.  Have also had a first for me this evening.  We have made Samosas from scratch for the filling with filo pastry which I have read about but never actually used, bit fiddly but ended up producing 6 Samosas and she has filling to make some more once she has bought some more filo pastry.  The only thing we didn't get to was the Risotto, but will do that next time with her.  So all in all not too bad an evening  a busy one, but the practical has helped take some of the unknown out of what I have shown her and also given a visual to look back on when she goes on to have a go on her own.  I am going to go to bed now - I am slightly cream crackered and I have a lot to do tomorrow/this morning.  Just need to get a glass of milk before I go up the wooden stairs to Bedfordshire.

Take care wherever you are and will catch you all again soon.

Pattypan

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