h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's the one with the tomatilloes? You never did tasre them raw did you? I think if you had you'd be surprised your chutney came out as it did. They really taste nothing like tomatoes.

No, I didn't taste any of them. The skin on my fingers smelled very odd for a few days after I cut them up though.

So, it wasn't a vegan approved chutney then.

Oh very droll

One of my favorite relishes used to be one made with green tomatoes. I went looking for the recipe and can't find it. Story of my life.

Bath buns.

I really don't know why I've waited so long to have a crack at making buns. When I was a kid I loved currant buns. So much so that on one occasion when I was taken to London for the day, I had a bun and a cuppa every time we went into a cafe or tea room. Funny how they tasted so much better in central London.

These ones don't seem as soft and squishy as I remember them being. Maybe it's because of F50359?thread=8260699

Yorkshire teacakes.

Well, they're very tasty, and a nice texture too, but the teacakes I remember are flatter than your average bun. These ones decided to go up rather than out when I put them in the oven. They look a lot like the dome of St Paul's in London

I bought $10-worth of cod fillets this morning, on a whim. Fish and chips, obviously. Never done that before. Better check the fire extinguisher works.

Floury baps, and I made them for breakfast

150 ml water
150 ml milk
450 g strong plain flour
5 ml/1 teaspoon salt
50 g lard
15 g fresh yeast or 10 ml dried yeast

Mix the water and milk, heat both together until lukewarm if using fresh yeast or ordinary dried yeast, or until hand hot if using easy-blend dried yeast. Follow the method for White Bread to make the dough.

Divide the risen dough into four, shape into balls and roll out to flat rounds, 1-1.5 cm/ ½-¾ in thick. Set the rounds on a well-floured baking tray, dredge the tops with more flour and cover with polythene. Leave the dough to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, for about 45 minutes.

Press each bap lightly in the centre with the knuckles. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/gas 6 for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

They look - and taste - just like I remember, and have that fantastic soft bap texture No doubt from that high proportion of lard.

Sorry, but I only had one denotation for the term "BAPS" and I couldn't reconcile it with the adjective "floury".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118663/

I think I know where you're going with that, before I click on the link...

Nope, I was wrong

Eccles cakes (aka fly pies).

This could be interesting. I bought a pack of puff pastry specifically for making some Eccles cakes, but I wasn't paying proper attention and grabbed a pack of pastry shells instead of a sheet. This could be useful because they're already cut in circles so all I have to do is roll them out to the required size, but since they've been manufactured to rise as a shell for filling with stuff, like vol au vents, I've no idea what's going to happen when I put in the filling, fold the top over to close them and then put them in the oven.

Updates at 6.00 and 9.00.

I'm currantly waiting an up 'date*'




*Yes, I'm a Northern lass, I know you don't put dates in 'em

Oh

I just pulled them out of the oven and I think we have a result They're cooling on a rack at present.

Man, you've got to burn your mouth on at least one.

Not a chance Besides, I had three slices of lardy cake and a cup of tea while they were cooking

Which reminds me... did I forget to put lardy cake in this thread when I made it last week?

I love threads like this...I've always found Delia to be best in the green tomato chutney league, it was the one that got the thumbs up from more than one person (in a poll of Hubby and whoever else I could get to taste it!) when my tomato harvest refused to ripen last year.

I'm a disaster at sweet baking, can't make a cake to save my life, but I like making savoury pies. Tonight's effort was 12 mini puff pies with ham, onion & sweetcorn in a creamy cheesy souffle sauce and a huge smoked ham, mushroom, onion & cheese pie in the same souffle sauce (white sauce with beaten egg in and lots of cheese) in a hot water crust. The small ones have passed hubby's taste test and we're awaiting the coolness of the big pie (we're having a picnic tomorrow and I wanted a cold cutting pie)

I'm going to have a crack at making my first hot water crust pork pie in a week or two when I'm on holiday I've got a couple of recipes lined up and it's just a matter of choosing the right one... unless you have a tried and trusted recipe you'd like to share, Deakie

Just ate the first of my Eccles cakes, and it's just the way I remember them I'm quite staggered really. I thought Eccles cakes were one of those myriad things you had to have, at the very least, a diploma to make, and ordinary people like me were required by law to buy them from the baker's shop. Who knew you could make your own!

Has to be Nigel, I only own one recipe book - Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible - but I have a huge bookmarked recipe list on the computer (so much easier to bookmark your favourites than fumble through 20 cookbooks!)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/23/nigel-slater-pork-pie-recipe

Start a day earlier than you think you should - the pie needs to cool before you start pouring jelly in and then needs at least a day to set (the recipe says you can do it overnight but that doesn't work - especially in a hot climate when your fridge is maxed out anyway!) I have tweaked the seasoning a bit, add lots more pepper, salt and herbs than the recipe says, I add a couple teaspoons of dried oregano, same of fresh rosemary chopped finely and a pinch of cinnamon/allspice plus about a scant tablespoon of salt (sounds a lot but it's a big pie and we are talking 16ish portions... if you don't like adding salt, make sure it's smoked streaky bacon as it gives the slight saltiness you need) and lots of black pepper.

So Day 1, make your stock, it boils for hours then needs to be strained ( loves the trotters after!) and cool overnight in the fridge. I also chop all the meat on the same day (I cheat and use half minced pork and half chopped pork shoulder), combine with all the herbs etc and let it infuse overnight in the frdge.

Day 2: Make your hot crust pastry - the most lovely, slippy, amazing pastry to work with, I could play all day. let it cool a bit otherwise it all slides everywhere and won't stick to your pan. Add in the filling, top and bake - the recipe's not clear but after the 90 mins baking, the pie needs to cool a little out of the oven, slipped out of the springform very gently as you can't have a crack in the pastry, then the whole lot inc sides brushed with egg and then in for the last 30 mins. Let it cool out of fridge for at least a couple of hours. Start pouring in your stock (you may need to warm it in micro to get it runny again) very very slowly, let it settle then add more and keep doing (this may take several hours) Cover with foil and pop in the fridge.

Technically, it should be ready to serve on Day 3 and will be if you make the pie early on Day 2, but I made this one in the evening before a party and the jelly hadn't set by 4 pm the next day so I would leave it an extra day and serve on day 4.

It's a lot of work, it's a lot of faff in spurts, but it's darn fine. Scales well, up and down in ingredients for bigger or smaller pies. A 17 stone ex-copper who regularly comes to our parties and is fond of a bit of pie says it's one of the best he's had.

Keeps for days in the fridge, freezes and defrosts in fridge well.

I have tried hand raising smaller pies and even moulding round jam jars/wine bottles - it never worked for me.