Tag: Foodie fun
Bring Back Black Forest Gateaux!
Exposed by a Lifetime’s Recipe Collection…
Applying the ‘sparks joy’ criteria has continued overtime throughout the weekend. I am still decluttering, obsessively, focussing for the minute on a lifetime’s worth of ‘favourite’ recipes – see bird’s eye view below of a tiny selection. I am sure even Marie Kondo would be slightly impressed.
Another New Supermarket for Ashbourne
With a flurry of excitement and an enormous fanfare of publicity, a brand new out of town supermarket opened in Ashbourne last week. Apparently according to all the excitement that was being generated, it was to be just what Ashbourne needed, but it seemed hard to see why, in a small town already served by a Coop, Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S, and already concerned about the future of small local independent shops. Continue reading Another New Supermarket for Ashbourne
A Gluten-Free Delight:
Almond and Coconut Flourless Cake
At last! This is another very special recipe, from my secret stash of delicious maximum impact/minimum effort trusted favourite recipes. I have been promising to put it up for weeks, ever since it won 1st Prize at the Parwich Bake Off! (Don’t inquire too hard about how many entrants there were.)
I am a fan of the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine, and cut this recipe out on one of our trips to Australia to see our daughter Sara and her family, husband Derek and their son Tom. I was interested merely because it was advertised as both delicious and easy to make. The fact that it is gluten free has proved an added bonus… Continue reading A Gluten-Free Delight:
Parwich Bake-Off Final Results!!
There were many more judges than entrants for the Great Parwich Bake-off, which was disappointing, but a very jolly and satisfying time was had by all that attended, young and old, as we conscientiously tasted… and tasted again… just to be sure.
I am relieved to tell you that presentation did not come into the judging, which was purely on taste. I also feel a bit sheepish telling you that my gluten-free entry was the only one in that section, so inevitably it won 1st Prize; however, in my defence the cake was all but finished by the judges, some of whom were seen returning for more and more helpings – and I did receive some very nice comments afterwards, although of course at the time no one knew who had cooked what. (Recipe on its way to the marionfs blog in a day or two.)
I also received 1st prize for my roulade but there were only two entries, so that was more by luck than the officially required technical skill. As it is I feel quite ashamed about the final toffee sauce whirls that are meant to be the finishing touch to decorate the roulade.
The ultimate winner overall was Linda Keyworth who more or less swept the board, and received many admiring comments for her presentation cake.
So busy chatting to all and sundry I’m afraid I missed it – so you will have to look on the Parwich blog to see for yourself – who won the children’s section, and the many very beautiful cupcakes and lots more pics, many of them John’s.
I think everyone is hoping that this event might be held again next year. It was a lot of fun, and nobody need feel in the slightest overawed. The judges, all of us, were far more concerned with chatting together and enjoying the delicious tastes than having any concern over method or technical skill.
It was a great way for young and old to enjoy themselves together, and at the same time raising over £100 for the Memorial Hall and the TearFund’s No Child Taken Campaign. Cheryl Woolley and her crew deserve our warmest thanks for organising it all.
Great British Parwich Bake Off!
Not to be outdone by all the media excitement over the latest Great British Bake Off and all the hype about Nadiya the 30-year-old-mum-from-Leeds, The Parwich Memorial Hall committee has decided in its wisdom to run our own village bake-off, in aid of the Parwich Memorial Hall Fund and TearFund’s No Child Taken Campaign. You can read all about it on the village blog, to save me explaining the rules and regs.
Fortunately it is all somewhat lower key than the series on the telly – no cameras, for a start, and in fact everyone will bring their entries to the hall tomorrow, having ‘made one earlier’ so to speak in the peace and quiet of their own familiar kitchen.
Everyone attending the event will judge the entries, presumably also the contestants themselves, going round like Mary Berry and Paul Holywood, tasting our efforts blind. One hopes everyone will be as kind as Mary Berry, who always has something positive to say, however disastrous the result. You can’t have us all running out of the hall in tears.
I love cooking and wanted to support this fun-sounding village event so have spent this evening cooking, after a last minute rush to Janet Gosling in the shop-in-the-pub to stock up on bananas and cream, and round the corner to beg a swiss roll tin off lovely neighbour Sue.
John took lots of photos every so often, when there was a quietish spell in between the excitement of the New Zealand v Wales rugby match but I cannot show any pics yet that will give away the maker.
Keen as I am to join in the fun, I have no aspirations, no hopes or plans to be crowned the Parwich Baking Star. I am only entering two of the four sections – a presentation cake is not my line at all, and I didn’t fancy my chances of making four identical cupcakes. All I hope it not to be made to look an idiot, which is rather likely if presentation is important, as no doubt it is.
I have never been great on presentation, although the taste is usually okay. I must admit, my Banoffee Roulade looks very cumbersome (that is putting it politely, I really should have used a piping bag for the drizzle, rather than a plastic spatula…).
The Roulade is a Mary Berry recipe, to be followed religiously. The other category I am entering is simply for a gluten free cake or pudding of one’s choice. I have a very faithful totally gluten free recipe cut out some years ago from the Australian Woman’s Weekly magazine. Again, it looks good, but not as obviously delicious as it is, or should be, anyway. I will put the recipe up on the blog after the competition.
We’ve been in London the last few days and I haven’t conferred with anyone so have no idea who else or how many others may be entering and how stiff the competition will be.
All will be revealed tomorrow…