TARRAGON & THYME

I was born in Lincolnshire  and most of my relatives live in that fair county so I am well versed in some of the local delicacies such as Lincolnshire Plum Bread and Chine.  So was very pleased just recently to locatey from  my butchers a little bit of Plum Bread and served this with some nice strong cheese.  It was a little pricy but it was very good.  A  Bit of a treat really and something we used to have on a regular basis, especially at my Nan's.    As a result I wenty mosying through  my numerous cookbooks I located this recipe which comes from a recipe book sold in aid of and contributed to by members of the public.  Needless to say its all Lincolnshire recipes.  I am going to give it a try this weekend to see how it turns out. Ingredients 3lbs self-raising flour 2lbs currants 1lb sultanas 2lbs moist brown sugar 1/4 lb mixed peel 1/4 lb cherries 1/2 lb butter or margarine 1/2 lb lard 5 eggs 1 tablesp...

When I do my main shopping (usually around pay day) I try to buy in enough ingredients for the month so that I can make my own bread, do a little bit of cake baking, make puddings.  I have found sticking as much to a basic list month in month out usually makes sure that I have enough ingredients in house so to speak to have a go at a lot of basic stuff and a few fanciful things as well. You have to have something nice every so often to tickle the taste buds otherwise things get monotonous and people lose enthusiasm for what they are eating and life in general.  I have a set few things that I tend to make week in week out, like some scones, butterfly cakes, muffins, chocolate refrigerator cake, flapjacks, a swiss roll or a victoria sandwich and some tea breads and then I sometimes make a treacle tart, mini fruit pies or mince pies as well.  It depends very much on what time is available to me in any one week and sometimes I batch bake and then store the basic cake in the ...

 I love ginger cake and especially Parkin.  I was one of the lucky ones and was taught how to make this at school in what were then called Domestic Cookery lessons.  Sadly the schools don't provide these lessons like they used to which is a great shame,.  There are hot spots where the teachers have pushed and actively encouraged this type of lesson, but we had lessons 4 hours worth week in week out until we chose our options for CSE/Olevels.  But even then I chose cookery so I still had this time-tabled.  I think having teachers passionate about their subjects makes all the difference. And not only that, all of us can do something, but we usually fall into two camps, with very occasionally a third.  Those who are practical and those who are academic. The third camp is those who can do both brilliantly, but then we all bring something to the table, figuratively speaking. Anyway here's the recipe, and unusually it has rolled oats in the recipe.  ...

These are a firm family favourite by all my family; both my Nan and my Mum used to make these regularly as have I in the past. I sort of got out of the habit of baking and cooking, but have now taken to experimenting a bit mor of late. So I thought it was about time that these "old favourites" were due to make a re-appearance on the menu. Ingredients To make Pastry 8oz plain flour pinch of salt 50g/2 oz lard 50g/2 oz margarine cold water to mix (approx 30 ml or 2 large tablespoons) 25g/1 oz caster sugar if a sweet pastry is required -down to personal preference I don't use Method for Pastry Mix the flour and salt in a basin and rub in the fats. Using a knife to cut and stir mix with cold water to form a stiff dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out and use as required. Ingredients for the Cakes Pastry as above Filling: 4 x 15ml spoon (4 tablespoons of jam) 50g/2 oz margarine 50g/2oz caster sugar 1 medium egg 50g/2 oz dessicated coconut Heat th...

Mum used to make these when I was very little - I loved dates and figs then and these are very moorish 1/2 lb stoned dates 4 oz self raising flower 6 oz caster sugar 1 pint water - dash of vanilla essence 4oz porridge oats 4 oz butter Boil the dates with the water, cool and add vanilla. Mix the flour, oats and sugar together and rub in the fat. Press half the mixture into a tin 7 inches by 11 inches (sorry I don't do metric) cover with the dates and top with remaining mixture. Cook at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes. Mark into slices whilst hot. Leave in tin to cool. Decant from tin - I store these in tins.

Sausage Sage and Apple Plait This makes a nice warming main meal if served with gravy and vegetables or you can serve it with a side salad. It is very tasty. Ingredients 9oz puff pastry 9oz sausagemeat 1 small onion peeled and very finely chopped 2 tsp chopped sage fresh 2 small cooking apples peeled cored and chopped 2 hard boiled eggs chopped salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 egg beaten to glaze Roll out the pastry onto a lightly floured board to an oblong approximately 12 inches by 10 inches. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet. Mix together the sausagemeat onion sage apple and chopped eggs and season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into a roll and place it along the centre of the pastry. Cut the pastry on each side of the filling into 1/2 inch wide strips making diagonal cuts. Brush the strips with beaten egg. Wrap the pastry striops over the filling to enclose it and brush the top with egg. Bake the plait in the oven pre-heated to 400 degrees F Gas mark 6 for about 3...

Bacon and Cheese Puffs Ingredients Packet of frozen puff pastry Enlish Mustard Cheddar Cheese - preferably mature - stinky and strong and/or Gruyere Baon preferably streaky but any other will do 1 egg Take a packet of frozen puff pastry a block or pre-rolled If block please roll pastry out once defrosted to a sheet approximately 1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into 4 inch squares which will make approximately 12. Smear English mustard diagnally from one corner to the other add a strip of bacon to fit over the mustard from corner to corner preferably streaky but any other will do. Then add a slice of cheese approximately 1 inch wide from corner to corner the same. Beat the egg in a separate bowl then egg wash one opposite corner and fold the other corner into the centre and then pull the egg washed corner over on top of the corner that you have just folded in. Egg wash the top of the pasry and bake approximately Gas Mark 7 for about 10 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Eat hot or col...

It surprising what you can do with a pack of frozen puff pastry. My mum used to do these for us as children and needless to say that they used to disappear very quickly indeed. We used to have fun decorating them as well. 1 packet frozen puff pastry 6 oz icing sugar sieved to remove any lumps that have formed a little water to mix a little pink/red colouring 2 teaspoons of jam 1/4 pint fresh cream lightly whipped (these are also very good filled with buttercream but extra icing sugar and butter should be allowed for that version) Few drops of vanilla essence. Defrost the pastry - (this is important if it has been in the freezer) Roll pastry out into 2 strips about 3 inches x 12 inches usually at this point I split into about 16 mini strips Place on a damp baking tray and bake in a hot oven for 12 minutes or well risen and cooked. Place on a cooling rack to allow to cool. Mix up the icing sugar with the water to a reasonably stiff consistency so that it coats rather than dribbles o...

I love this scone recipe of my mum's as it is quite versatile and they are delicious spread with butter. Ingredients 8oz S.R. Flour Pinch of Salt 2oz Margarine 1/4 pint of milk 1oz of sugar Sift the flour into a bowl through a sieve add the salt. I use Stork block Margarine chilled and cut it into tiny chunks. I then rub into the flour until like fine breadcrumbs. I then add the sugar and mix in well. I then add the milk keeping a small amount back in an egg cup for glazing the top of the scones. Mix until all the crumbs are incorporated into the mix. Clump together and then roll out leaving the rolled out thickness quite deep. Cut out into rings or leave as is and put onto a greased baking tray glaze and then cook for 10 to 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. If you leave it as a large bap cake when this is cool you can then cut into slices and spread with butter. Its just the presentation that is different.

Now these certainly bring back memories of when I was growing up and learning to cook. I used to have to earn my pocket money by tidying and looking after my own bedroom, doing my own ironing and helping mum out in the kitchen on a Sunday morning when she used to cook Sunday Dinner and do the baking for the week. These were a favourite make the original recipe coming from my Mum's pocket sized Be-Ro book. These will soon disappear and become a firm favourite 100g/4oz butter 75g/3 oz caster sugar 1 egg yolk few drops vanilla essence 150g/5 oz self raising flour dessicated coconut Grease two baking sheets Cream butter and the sugar together until pale and fluffy; then beat in the egg yolk Add the vanilla essence and then stir in the flour to give a smooth dough and divide into 24 portions. Form each piece into a ball and roll in the dessicated coconut until covered. Place the balls on the baking sheets and bake in the oven at 190 degrees C/375 degrees F or Gas Mark 5 for 15 to 20 m...

This is an old fashioned make that is good with custard and also good as a slice of "cake" and makes the most of what essentially would be stuff that is thrown away i.e. stale bread. Its also very forgiving in the making because if the mixture is too wet then just add a little more bread crumb. I have just snaffled two slices and it was/is delish. The recipe I use is:-  8oz stale bread  4oz currants or raisins or sultanas or a mixture of all  2oz brown sugar  2 oz finely chopped suet  1oz chopped peel  1/2 teaspoon mixed spice I also add same of mace/cinnamon 1 egg  a little milk  Method  Break the bread into small pieces and soak it in cold water for at least half an hour (sometimes I do this before I go to bed and then deal with it first thing in the morning usually on a Friday night/Saturday morning or Saturday evening/Sunday morning). Then strain and squeeze as dry as possible the bread mixture. Put into a basin and beat out ...