Pottering In the Kitchen -Pastry, Pasties and things

When I got up this morning the first thing I was greeted with was not good morning sweetheart are you okay but Trish will you make some pastry!  Did I miss something somwhere?  Ah well - as a result I have been kitchen bound  pottering for most of the morning - makes a change from the irnoning board.

As a result I made a load of shortcrust pastry earlier on as we got some skirt beef out of the freezer yesterday and were intending to make pasties then; however the skirt beef had other ideas as it did not properly defrost.  This time I am quite chuffed with the pastry as it has come up better than it has before but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. 

 I make very short pastry- just the way it comes up - my mum has told me that I make pastry like her mum did.  After my last attempt when it went far  too short and did not even make it to rollking out properly  I asked my mum what I had done wrong and it turned out as I was making it in the food processor that I had over worked it.  It only needs very little action which the three batches I have made all had.  

Whenever I make pastry it always falls apart when it comes to the rolling part; but this does not look too bad.  Never mind the upheaval to find the large pastry press and cutter (I have lots of kitchen equipment that I do not have storage for in the house as I only have a tiddly kitchen - couldn't swing a rat in it). but we got there in the end.  We have fourteen pasties out of the skirt beef we had available to us mixed with onion, carrot and potato - we did not have swede or turnip.  I made three batches of pastry - which was used up but there is still mixture left to probably make another two pasties.  If this lot turn out well come pay day I will be taking a trip to the butchers and getting more skirt beef and making some batches up for the freezer; as they are ideal as a snack on their own or incorporated into a main meal served with veggies and gravy.  They are cooking as we speak and the aroma smells lovely.

I have fingers crossed and toes plaited that they come up alright - think they will and if the pastry is up to scratch will think of doing some fruit ones i.e. raspberry and apple or strawberry and apple pasties which can be served as a pudding or used in a packup or a pic nic.

Once I return from my mum's I am going to have to set about seriously putting stuff up for the Putdown and the freezers.and for the pantry.  some serius work to come but then again you only get a return for putting some serious work in and I have never been one to shy away from hard work or take the easy option. 

May even involve a trip to a PYO farm we have one at Chesterton near Peterborough; but it may also involve a trip down to the coast in Norfolk - I seriously need to feel the sand between my toes and to have the inaugural paddle.  ah well we can only do what we can do.

Am off to see how those pasties are doing.

Catch you later

Pattypan

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