Walnut Tree Workshops - Christmas Pudding

I am so glad I met a lady called Emma Wright.  As well as passing on my skills to her in floristry, and gaining a new friend for our flower club...I have discovered Emma's relatively new venture Walnut Tree Workshops.

I went along to the Christmas Pudding workshop yesterday which was tutored by chef Louise Eason.  As with Jo's workshop today a lot of fun and very hands on, all i needed was my pudding bowl.

After mixing lots of wonderful christmassy ingredients together I had made our christmas pudding (minus the cherries and peel for hubby). 

After that we watched Louise make some really easy but very different mince pies with the use of filo.  I also learnt that i can make mincemeat but leaving the eggs out of the pud recipe.

Well good old dad whilst i was out today and hubby at work, he steamed our pudding for 8 hours which leaves just 3 hours for me on Christmas day....however a couple of tips picked up today were if in plastic container after initial steaming you can just microwave, and someone mentioned using the slow cooker...will need to investigate as both easier than taking precious hob space off hubby on Christmas Day. 

I am now contemplating which workshop next for me.

If you want more information about Walnut Tree then visit http://walnuttreeworkshops.co.uk/

Christmas pudding fully steamed.....if you like the Pudding Basin it is available via John Lewis stores or online.

Jo Wheatley Christmas Hamper Baking Day

Do you remember my post from 4th and 5th August when I made a cheesecake and then won a Baking Day....well the day arrived.  I travelled down the M11 to take part in Jo Wheatley's Christmas Hamper Baking Day.  Jo was the British Bake Off winner of 2011. 

What an amazing day I had of baking, meeting some lovely people and rounding off an all in all wonderful birthday weekend.

After a coffee and some scrummy traybake for breakfast....well why not the day started with us making cupcakes, chocolate stirrers, and shortbread.  We broke for lunch which was an extremely yummy Thai Butternut Squash curry.  We then resumed the afternoon session chopping apples and squeezing oranges for the cranberry sauce, then decorated our cupcakes and made a mincemeat loaf (i did laugh when on the way home I told my husband what I had made and his response was "ooo lovely we can have that with mash and veg tonight"....then met with a silence when i said not mince beef, but mince pie mincemeat...bless him).

To round off the day Jo signed my book.  I had a wonderful day, and am mulling over which class i can enrol on for next year.  Jo is a lovely lady and someone where fame has not seemed to change her which is so refreshing. 

I will say as a home baker and I am not just saying this, but the recipes i have so far completed from Jo's Book "Home Baking" have never gone wrong, they are cooked to the correct time in the book....and if you want a failsafe Victoria Sponge don't use another recipe.

Here are some of my creations from the day....and if you want more information on Jo's classes visit her website http://www.josblueaga.com/p/2014-classes.html with Christmas coming an ideal christmas present.

Jamsmith

Whilst i was away on one of our caravanning holidays I came across an article in Country Living magazine regarding a small business called Jamsmith.  Run by a lady called Vicky, she has set up membership to a club where for either a one month subscription of £10 or a three month subscription of £27 you will receive 2 x handmade quality seasonal preserves each month.

I signed up for a one month and received this recently containing Bramble and Fruit Jam and Bramble and Cassis Jelly.  Each month you get a tasting notes and recipe idea sheet too.  The jars come packaged in a country styley.

The jams are quality and definitely for foodies amongst us out there.  I think these subscriptions would make an ideal gift with Christmas coming up to buy one for a friend, relative etc if they are always a struggle to buy for.

If you would like more information or to purchase a subscription then go to the website at www.jamsmith.co.uk

I have used a dollop of my jam in a cupcake today (as i ran out of the Lindt chocs) and amazingly yummy too.  Fantastic idea Vicky and will be signing up shortly for another batch once i have got through my jars of stuff i made earlier in the year.

Lindt D'Or Cupcakes

You know those little bundles of Lindt D'Or joy in a red wrapper, well they are going to become a bundle of gooey joy in a cupcake.

Make a basic cupcake mix as below:-

4 oz (100g) butter (soft)
2 beaten eggs
6 oz (175g) caster sugar
8oz (225g) self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons milk
Lindt D'Or chocs

Preheat oven 180 C/160 C fan/Gas 4.

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases. Mix butter, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder and milk in a bowl until smooth. Spoon the mix into the paper cases and in each one push in (unwrapped) a Lindt D'Or choc. Bake for about 25 minutes until well risen, golden brown and shrinking away from the cases. Remove cases from tin and cool on a baking tray.

Enjoy!!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Whilst i still have a few home grown tomatoes and the English Vine ripe ones are still in my local supermarket I am going to make this wonderful soup again.

Just a tip I made this for a dinner party a few weeks ago and lovely sieved the lumps out, but we like the chunky lumpy element so am not going this far this time.

It was very well complemented on.  The recipe is from the book Mary Berry and Lucy Young at Home published by the Random House Group ISBN 978-1-849-90480-3

6 large red peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped large onion
2 finely chopped garlic cloves (i use smoked garlic which is amazing)
6 quartered tomatoes
900 ml (1.5 pints) of chicken stock (i use ready made but if you have the book refer to page 248)
1.5 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 220 C/200 C fan/Gas mark 7.

Slice each pepper in half and remove stalk and seeds.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes till tinged brown.

While peppers are cooking heat oil in a large pan, add onion and garlic, cover and fry gently until softened but not coloured.

When the peppers are ready add to the pan along with the tomatoes, stock, balsamic vinegar and sugar and stir.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the onions are completely soft.

Process soup until smooth.  (if you wish to sieve do so at this point).

Season with salt and pepper or thin with a little water or stock.

Today i used a mixed bag of peppers as they were cheaper and the result is below.

Storm in a Flower Vase

With my love of floral art, my blog and demo title including a tribute to Constance Spry, how could i not go to see the new play by Anton Burge called Storm in a Flower Vase.  I had also been to see Mig Kimpton who was the associate producer in his floral art show at the Corby Cube last year so knew I would be in for a treat.

With my birthday looming it seemed fitting to have a trip to London with mum and two of my friends Judy and Sarah whom all share the interest of floral art.

After reading reviews, the play I knew was not going to be a couple of hours of how to arrange flowers, but it was a fascinating and enjoyable insight into the life of Constance Spry.    The play is based around the biography by Sue Shepherd called "The Surprising Life of Constance Spry" which i have read and enjoyed.

The main part of the play was concentrated around the relationship between Constance, her husband Shav, his mistress Val Pirie and a painter who was known only as Gluck.  It ends around the time of late 1930's when her relationship with Gluck comes to an end...a shame that it never took the play to her final days including her finding and creating the well known dish Coronation Chicken.

We saw the play on the last matinee performance, and I so hope that this play may go on tour as I feel with many NAFAS ladies out there (and of an age where they may have attended one of Mrs Spry's classes - one of my friends on Saturday had), will go and enjoy this.  I too would certainly enjoy watching the play again.

Just of note the tea room at the Arts Theatre in the West End is very quaint and the chocolate torte and carrot cake on offer that day was amazing.  All very reasonably priced too for London so all in all a pleasant trip.

Burghley House Flower Festival - October 2013

To commemorate the 200 year anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice the theme for the Burghley House Flower Festival was the classics of literature.

Corby Flower Club of which I am chair were one of 8 clubs who took part in the festival. The chosen book was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and the exhibit depicted Chapter 8 - The Queen's Croquet Lawn. The room that was decorated was the Black & Yellow Bedroom and the book was chosen to link into the them of the Grotesque's as the room held two Soho 'Grotesque' tapestries.  A team of five including myself staged the exhibit on the day, however on the last club night every member of the club made or assisted with something that formed part of the exhibit so it was truly a club effort.

Much hilarity surrounded the Cheshire Cat who was much loved by the end of the day and the festival by many who visited.

Here are some pictures:-