September Evening Pear Tart

Tonight we are off to visit my lovely friend Lisa. We used to see each other every Monday evening, but lately life has got busy for both of us, so we decided to make it every other Monday evening instead. Then along came a bank holiday, a family birthday and a holiday (the latter hers, not mine, alas!) and it has been a while since we saw each other. So tonight will be an evening of much chattering, crafting and dining. We both love to cook and create, and happily her and Carl know each other from school, so he always feels part of things, which of course, he is.

Lisa is roasting a chicken for dinner, and I have been trying to decide what to take for dessert. Something transportable, autumnal, delicious. Well I had a potter and a play, and this is what I have come up with...I will let you know if it is delicious after we have tried it!

September Evening Pear Tart

Early on a September evening, when the sky is already fading as though it has been swept over with a muslin curtain, set the oven to hot, 200 oC or so. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry onto a baking tray, and trace a border with a sharp knife about 2cm from the edge, taking care not to cut right the way through.

Rummage in your cupboard and find the leftover marzipan from the Ruby Anniversary cake you made earlier in the year. Grate it over the pastry base, avoiding the boarder as best you can. Take two Green William pears, halve and core them. Then slice them so that each half fans out prettily. Nestle them amongst the sea of marzipan.

Scatter over the top a good sprinkling of brown sugar, then grate over some nutmeg and shake over some cinnamon.

Gild the frame of the tart with a splash of milk.

Post the tart into the oven for about 20 minutes whilst you wash up, and boil the kettle for a cup of tea, whilst looking out of the kitchen window and marvelling that already the view has turned to a silhouette.

When the tart is cooked, take it out, then drizzle with some melted bitter chocolate. Spatter about as though recreating a Jackson Pollock painting. Smile and decide that it needs just a hint of gold edible glitter....realise you have run out so give it a dusting of 'disco hologram white' instead.

Enjoy warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or some creme fraiche. Idly wonder what it would be like with roasted figs and mixed spice instead....

Apples and Autumn Leaves

Good morning...how was your weekend? I hope it was lovely! Mine was blissful...one of the best things to come from losing one of my 2 library jobs is that I am no longer working 3 Saturdays out of every 4, which gives me more time to spend with my lovely husband. This Saturday, we made the short walk into town. Sometimes we go 'the pretty way' which is a tiny path that runs along the back gardens of one street of houses on one side, and the back gardens of another row of houses on the other. Although there are fences, there are also garden gates, so you can peek in as you walk. There is one garden in particular that is just so beautiful it always makes me smile. We spotted 3 cats, including one laying in a tree just like a panther! Last week, autumn came to that little path. Overnight, many leaves fell from the trees. The curious thing was that the leaves hadn't really been turning colour along there, yet there were drifts of them in every rusty hue you can imagine. Alas, that night, the rain came, and the next day it seemed that all the colour had washed away, yet happily there was left the beautiful scent of wet leaves, that along with woodsmoke and cinnamon, is autumn to me. The leaves have dried out now, but they are all muted and no longer as scrunchy...I am hoping for another drift of leaves soon!

Having wandered through our little path, we visited the Shire Hall, where a tiny vintage fair was being held. I do love to look round it, although as I say it is small, and it does seem to be the same stalls with the same things each month. But still, nice to look round, and my lovely husband bought me a present! One of the stalls was selling mainly crocheted lovelies (bedsocks and phone covers!) and had garnished their wares with a few vintage books, amongst which was a white tome with a silver spine titled 'For The Bride'. I picked it up, and it was a household guide for the new bride from the 50s! Carl asked me if I would like it, which of course I said yes to, and he bought it for me. Very unexpected and so lovely of him, I gave him a kiss....only I forgot I was wearing my red lipstick, so then I had to wipe him off...which made the lady running the stall giggle!

We then went through to the tea room, which is a pop-up affair run by the Plum Fairy. They have tables laid with embroidered tablecloths and pretty mismatched floral crockery. We took a seat at one laid with a cloth with yellow flowers, and ordered a pot of tea, and a slice of Victoria Sponge each. It was just heavenly to be sitting there on a Saturday morning, sipping tea and nibbling cake. What really made me smile though was that the Shire Hall is also home to our Court, so there were posters up advising you that if you were going to plead guilty, you had to ask a clerk for a particular form!

This morning we had breakfast at our kitchen table, by candlelight. Such little tiny things as lighting a candle make a real difference to the feel of the day, I find. We had a recipe that I have adapted from a book that I got from the library, and it was delicious...it will definitely be appearing on the menu again!

Autumn Apple Breakfast Bowls

For each person, take an apple, core and slice it into wedges (I have one of those lovely cutters that you just press down from the top of the apple, and it does it in one go!). Tumble the wedges into a small ovenproof bowl, and sprinkle over 1-2tsp of brown sugar, and a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the apple is soft. (Don't use a cooking apple, you don't want apple sauce here! Any eating apple you have is fine!)

While it is baking, take a small tub of greek yoghurt and stir into it a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, to your own personal taste.

Take the bowl of cooked apple out of the oven, and generously top with the yoghurt. Then sprinkle over some kind of oaty cereal....granola, or even some oats you have toasted in the pan.

Serve by candlelight for a happy start to the week.

This recipe was inspired by one I found in Vintage Tea Parties by Angel Adoree which arrived from the library on Friday, and I have already devoured. I haven't felt so tingly and excited about a book for a long time, and I am trying to justify the £10 it would cost me to buy on amazon. It is less floral and Cath-Kidston-y than my usual taste but is just wonderful. As well as recipes and menus, there are sections on putting up your hair, making Union Jack flags and other tea-party-ish crafts. The recipes themselves are split into Brunch Tea Parties, Afternoon Tea Parties and Evening Dinner Parties. I don't believe I read a single recipe that I am not desperate to try! There was also a nice selection of tea-based cocktails. The book is beautifully styled as well, and has given me lots of ideas for presenting my cookery at home. If you have pennies to spare, or a friendly local library, I can't recommend this quirky book enough!

I have a very long to-do list today, and I am working the rest of the week, so I must away...but I do hope you are having a beautiful Monday, and if you do try the breakfast recipe, do let me know what you think!

Love,

Mimi

xxx

Marzipan Acorns From Halloween Brunch Club

Marzipan Acorns

I love autumn, it speaks to my soul somehow. Walking through mist wreathed mornings always seems special; spotting a spider's web jewelled with dew always makes me smile. I have an autumn wreath on my front door, and cinnamon coffee at my side. There is so much that is cozy and blissful about this time of year.

Just recently I have been very drawn to owls, oak leaves and acorns. I don't know why, they just please me indescribably. Mum made us the most beautiful curtains for our bedroom- they are a lime green with swirls of orange and brown acorns all over them. I like to draw the curtains early just so I can see them!

A few weeks ago, I was in my kitchen, looking over my stores, and planning a menu for Brunch Club (we held our annual pumpkin carving party, more of which in another post). I think that one of the nicest things about planning a menu is to plan a little sweet something to go with coffee. Just as you think everything is over, the food has been eaten and the plates are (hopefully!) empty, out comes a little something extra. Sometimes I make peppermint creams or fudge, but I wanted something really autumnal.

My gaze fell upon a block of marzipan, and all of a sudden, I knew just what to do!

Mimi's Marzipan Acorns

Make yourself a cup of cinnamon coffee, put on the radio, and pull up a chair to the kitchen table.

Divide a block of marzipan in half (I like to use the natural coloured marzipan, not the golden one There are recipes online to make your own marzipan from scratch, but I didn't fancy doing that this time!) Roll out one half, and stamp out some autumn leaf shapes (I used a maple leaf cutter as I don't have an oak leaf cutter). Draw on some veins with the point of a knife, then drape them over a rolling pin or similar, so they dry slightly curled.

Colour the other half of the marzipan a light green, or brown, depending on what food colouring you have. Watching the colour marble throughout the marzipan then become even as you knead is such fun!

Pull balls of marzipan off, and roll each into an egg shape.

Melt some dark chocolate, then dip the bottom third of each acorn into the chocolate (the fatter end is the end you want to dip).

Let the excess chocolate dribble off, then sit the chocolate dipped end of the acorn into a little bowl of vermicelli sprinkles.

Put a little dab of melted chocolate onto each marzipan leaf, then sit an acorn on top.

Serve to friends with hot coffee and a smile!

A Wet Wednesday in October

Sometimes, wet rainy days are gloomy and dull, but happily the soft pattering of rain drops against my windowpane, and the soft rain-scented breeze that drifts in serves only to make me feel more cozy.

When I woke up this morning to the beep-beep-beeps marking the hour on Radio 4, it was grey and blowy, but not yet rainy. In my nightie, I cooked up a vertiable feast of an Autumn breakfast, the perfect start to a midweek day off.

Bramley Apple Pancakes with Pear, Rum and Cinnamon Compote, and Ginger Marscapone Cream

Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, and sipping tea from a flowery mug, peel and chop 2 pears and throw into a little milk pan along with a large handful of raisins, a walnut of butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a shake of vanilla sugar and a splash of water. Pop on a gentle heat to bubble away.

Meanwhile, peel and core a bramley apple, throw into a small pyrex bowl with a little water, and microwave until soft (or if you have another small pan, cook on the hob). Measure about 4oz into a food processor along with a sprinkle of cinnamon, 4oz plain flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1oz caster sugar, and egg and 75ml milk. Blitz until you get a thick batter.

Making the ginger marscapone cream is easy peasy- stir a small tub of marscapone with a similar sized tub of double cream (about 200ml). When the marscapone has stopped feeling lumpy, pour in a glug of syrup from a jar of stem ginger, put in an electric whisk (or a regular one if you are feeling energetic so early in the morning!) and whisk until it becomes a beautifully thick billowing cloud.

Lightly coat the bottom of a small frying pan with oil, spoon in some batter and cook your pancakes, one by one. The mixture should make about 8.

Make a stack of 4 pancakes on each of two flowery plates, then spoon a generous heaping of compote on top, and add a swirl of cream. Take back to bed with a cup of vanilla coffee, and eat while listening to the radio, and contemplating the delights of the day yet to come.

After a hot shower, I left our little flat, glad that it was not raining, and went into town to meet a friend for lunch. While we were in town, I picked up the Halloween issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine, which I have been waiting to come out for ages. Knowing that the Abel and Cole man was going to be delivering while I was out, I also bought some ingredients to make dinner. I have some chard to cook, and I found a recipe for chard and salmon cooked in coconut milk. I am going to add some courgette and carrot, and make a thai inspired supper.

On the way home, the drizzle started, so I put up my polka dot umbrella. I got home, and was slightly astonished at how dark it was, and only just past 3 o'clock in the afternoon! Feeling cold and chilled, I decided a hot bath was in order, and after that repaired to the living room in my dressing gown with a Hercule Poirot novel and a cup of tea. It seems ridiculously indulgent to have the lights on so early, but I will be switching them off before Carl gets home and lighting candles instead.

Later on, I plan to sit and knit the rest of my hot water bottle cover (it is destined to be a present; it is in a soft grey cashmere) and watch the first episode of the BBC adaptation of Emma, of which I have heard mixed reviews.

I like to think on rainy days, we make our own sunshine...and the lovely people who come and visit me here are definitely rays of sunshine in my day! To Nita, I have not seen Housewife 49, but my Mum has (and read Nella Last's War too), and she loves them both. If you decide to get it, do let me know what you think!

I hope very much that your Wet Wednesday is just as scrumptious as can be!

Love, Mimi xxx

Autumn Evening Ritual

I always feel slightly uncomfortable with the word ritual...it has a ring of witchcraft about it! Until I find a better word for it, I use it to describe a lovely thing, in the manner of Puttery Treats at www.brocantehome.co.uk (think embroidering initials on tea towels, setting up a breakfast porridge tray and such scrumptious things) that I do regularly, and usually at the same kind of time.

I don't do them forever though, or the shine wears off. Sometimes it is good to retire one, even if it is just for a month or two or three, so there is time and room for a new one. The change of the seasons is perfect for this. One of my little rituals that I have started doing is to go round our little flat at about quarter past seven or thereabouts, and turn out all the lights, except for one. The one that I leave on is the lamp on my writing desk in the corner of our living room. Then I light candles all around the rest of the room. I could light them in the other rooms in the flat too, but I worry about leaving them unattended. I do have them at the ready though. There is a Yankee Candle in a jar by the pretty mirror on my dressing table, and a whole row of votive candle holders along the side of the bath. That way, when dear Carl comes home from work, he comes into a softly lit happy home. There is something magical about the flickering of candlelight, and it feels so good to have a break from just electrical lighting.

Other little things that I want to do for autumn, but more in the puttery treat line than rituals are to hang my autumn wreath on our door, and to buy some cinnamon syrup for coffee. The lovely Vintage Kitten visited from her scrumptious blog at www.thevintagekitten.blogspot.com to share her wonderful tip of using cloves and candles together- check the comments on my previous posts to read it! Thanks VK! I shall definitely be trying that. Whilst I was in town today, I bought some thick tights from Marks and Sparks in a dusky purple shade. I love that the name of the colour is Damson. So much more evocative than just 'purple'. I plan to wear them with a jumper in the same shade, a black skirt and black ballet pumps. I saw some wonderful ballet pumps in Dorothy Perkins this morning- they had pompoms on the toes- but alas they did not have them in my size. I would really like a pair though!

I will leave you with dusky thoughts of autumn leaves and cinnamon coffee and the scent of cloves wafting across a candle-bright room. I hope you are having a scrumptious evening!

Looking Forward to Falling Back

A sweet friend recently posted about the comforts of home and looking forward to autumn: http://prettylittleblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/no-place-like-home.html
and I have to say, while I am not wishing my life away, I cannot help but be really excited by the coming of autumn.

There have been one or two mornings recently where I have flung the window open to wave goodbye to Carl, and there has been the faintest hint of autumn mornings to come. At the local farmers market, bags of home grown apples have started to appear. I have always loved Autumn...the smell of woodsmoke in the air, autumn leaves to scuffle through...I can hardly wait!

I love the back-to-school feeling of September and new pencils that mistily drifts into Autumn and pumpkins, before being rounded off with sparklers and bonfires.

Soon there will be apple day at the local orchard, and I will have mueseli with grated apple for breakfast, and pear juice with ginger to drink. I will bake apple crumbles and fill jar upon jar with gleaming purple blackberry jam. I will take all my softest jumpers from the bottom of my wardrobe and wash them so they are all soft and ready to wear again. This is the year I am going to buy an electric blanket to make our bed snuggly warm. There will be hot water bottles and mugs of cocoa, and rich stews cooked in the slow cooker and studded with dumplings. I will knit a new scarf for chilly mornings, and paint my toenails chocolate brown, or velvety purple.

There will be peppermint-and-nutmeg to spray upon my pillow, and autumn leaves pressed between pages of a book. Bowls of pinecones and shiney conkers will sit in bowls, and I will read 'Mrs Miniver' again, and buy huge bunches of bronze chrysanthemums. I will bake pumpkin cupcakes for halloween, and go on long walks.

To be ready for all this, I am having a really large clear out. I would love to take a week off work and turn out every cupboard at once, but I have done this before and it is exhausting. Instead, every week I am doing a little bit at a time. We are going to buy a new, bigger book case for the living room, and then we will be ready to snuggle up our home for Autumn.