The Autumnal Christmas Chronicles Preamble - Thread 2 further ramblings

[HannahDefoesChristmasHamper]

Hope nobody minds me starting anew thread as old one nearly full

Will pop some links in 🍂🍁

@grannyweatherwaxsbroomstick

Here's the paprika pork recipe for 4 people

750g boneless pork steaks
2 red onions
1/2 - 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 415g can baked beans
400g can tomatoes
200ml.beef stock
300g chatenay carrots

You can brown the pork and software the onions but I can't be bothered and bung it all in the slow cooker for about 6 hours on low

An hour before I want to eat it I make the dumplings by mixing the following together

75g cornmeal (can't find this so I am using polenta)
75g plain flour
Teaspoon baking powder
2 spring onions
100g grated cheddar
2 eggs
150g natural yogurt
2 tablespoon olive oil

Then you drop large spoons of the dumplings mixture over the top of the meat and sauce and then put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for a further hour

You can brown the dumplings under the grill if you want

The lamb and pearl barley recipe is a new one to me but this is what I will be putting in the slow cooker:

20g mixed dried mushrooms (couldn't find any so I have substituted mushroom paste)
1 litre boiling vegetable stock
4 tablespoon cream sherry or orange juice
1 onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves crushed
40g sultanas
125g pearl barley
4 lamb steaks around 600g
250g chopped butternut squash or pumpkin

The recipe says 6-7 hours on low

Some serious cooking going on today by the sound of it, and it all sounds delicious! Re chutney recipes, DD makes Old Dowerhouse (a Delia recipe), which is excellent, also chillilli, which is piccalli with added chilli. Hope she’s making some this year so I can beg a few jars!

The afternoon is dark and dank here. I've lit the hallway candle already.

Somerset casserole is bubbling away in the slow cooker, and cheese and herb mash will soon be popped into the oven.

Have made a huge batch of tomato, veg and lentil sauce, which will become a chilli, a bean shepherds pie (Treehugger pie!) and a cheesy pasta bake. So good to know that many of the meals this week are accounted for.

I'll make chestnut, red wine and parsnip casserole in the week too.

I use a Riverford recipe from a kit of theirs I got one time and I do have the leaflet from it somewhere. But building work means all my perfect organisation is constantly in disarray and I have no idea where my recipe leaflets are right now! I'll look, but it might take a couple of days! 🙂

I can smell this thread before I see it!

A slow day today for me, but a jewel of a gift from nature on my short walk along the canal - a sighting of the local kingfisher. Bliss!

Oh, kingfishers are so beautiful, @Bimblesalong. What a lovely thing to see and share with us.

I was going to make a cottage pie, but a couple of old friends will be in town this evening, so we have arranged a short-notice meet-up this evening, so the pie can wait until tomorrow.

I love the idea that you have a local kingfisher @Bimblesalong - makes me think of that line by Gerard Manley Hopkins As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame. Drowning in drizzle here - hard to believe we were basking in the sun on the terrace with our tea this time yesterday. Back to Paris tomorrow - hoping for a few golden October days.

@lucysmam @DeckTheHallsAndBringYourBrolly

Here's a Riverford piccalilli recipe. The Riverford website has some nice seasonal recipes.

https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/piccalilli?srsltid=AfmBOorEGePRx5WZAhkI6VRxtGRLYjlIEBZ_nFwHZDwUWWEfUW0IxHDe

Thanks @HannahDefoesChristmasHamper that's the one I use. 👍

Lovely @HannahDefoesChristmasHamper thank you. I'm off for an early shower shortly so will look & see what ingredients are needed after that, before an hour with my crochet.

I love kingfishers! Only ever seen them twice but they are magical.

DS and I made homemade chicken nuggets, they were amazing! I don't know why I have never tried that before. Then we went for a walk as the cloud started to come down - drizzle rather than rain but still warm enough to be pleasant. Glad to get home to the cozy house though!

Definitely some lovely cooking going on today. We have arrived at Legoland and I have to say I am surprised by the food. There’s a buffet restaurant in, which I usually try to avoid but the had the most amazing medium rare roast beef and red wine gravy. Better than at any buffet I’ve ever had anywhere. And there is a playroom in the restaurant so I’m having a quiet half hour with Nigel and ATF while DS is off making new friends and building stuff.

@TheLiloAndTheSlowCooker your kittens are gorgeous, I want one or all three!!!!!

@Splendud thank you for posting the recipes. My mouth is watering just reading them.

@DeckTheHallsAndBringYourBrolly I cannot find my recipe book for love nor money regarding my chutney recipe. Will look again tomorrow as it's bugging me now. How's your toothache? Mine ramped up an hour ago (why does pain always seem worse at night?) Codeine has sorted it for now, thankfully. Hate taking it, but have to for my joint issues.

@lucysmam The stollen bites (stookies) look fab. I'm not a fan of biscotti. Probably because I used to have to make hundreds of them for my shop / café, but also, they are too 'hard' for me and I don't even like them dunked in coffee.

@fallingleavesandhairyknees that apple cake recipe looks amazing. I might try that this week as I've got a lot of apples to use up.

Had home made lentil soup for lunch and I'm now looking at leftover roast potatoes and thinking I could chop them up small and add some cheese to make them easier to eat.

@RainbowZebraWarrior any top biscotti tips?

@Bimblesalong yes! I know exactly what you mean.

I've just pulled out a cardigan I bought on Vinted. It's a wrap style but the bottom wrappy bit has no fastening so it moves all the time 🙄 . The cardi's really comfy and snuggly, perfect for autumn, so I'm going to crochet two ties onto it or see if I can find matching ribbon in my stash to sew on.

@lucysmam My top Biscotti tips are: wait till the first bake has cooled, use a very sharp serrated knife to cut them into slices (preferably on the bias), cut the slices as thinly as you can, only return to the oven for 4 or 5 minutes (turn half way through) They do burn very quickly, so also turn the oven right down or even off for the last part. Take them off the tray immediately and put on a wire rack, otherwise the heat from the oven tray will continue to cook them. Store in a kilner jar once cooled (or pop into cellophane bags if they are for presents)

The airing / cooling / drying of them will make them crisp, as much (if not more) than the twice baking does.

Chocolate makes them more gooey, so harder to get that crisp texture. I'd personally go for plain biscotti and do a half dip in chocolate (or a drizzle) rather than an actual chocolate biscotti recipe.

I also find that whole nuts (like almonds or pistachios) are less likely to burn than flaked almonds.

Love a loaf cake recipe thank you for sharing will give that a go this week 😋

Thanks so much @RainbowZebraWarrior, I shall attempt them again with a plain recipe next time and then add a drizzle of chocolate.

The thermostat in my oven is knackered so I turned it down - obvously needs to be lower. Cutting will take practise too, it was tough getting them all the same ish.

Such lovely cooking going on! I love a bit of chutney making, but I've struggled to find the time this year.

I have a bowl full of unripe tomatoes waiting to become chutney. Hope I find time before they turn into mush.
Although today I have an extra school run because DS left his computer at home

@Bimblesalong how wonderful, that's a proper treat. We also have kingfishers on our local river but we very rarely see them. Such beautiful birds, they look straight out of a story book, don't they!

@RainbowZebraWarrior I'm much better, thanks! Hope yours has eased too. I've been swishing salt water, packing cloves and sipping on brandy to attack it from all fronts.

(Not all at once, I hasten to add 😆😆)

@IngenTing your casserole pot is such a lovely colour! We've got a few - one from Le Creuset which we got at an outlet shop some years ago in a sensible black because we wanted to be on the safe side with it, a couple from ALDI in cream, and I've now got my eye on a set of deep red ones from a reasonably priced brand. But it'll have to wait 'til next year because I've been so spendy this month 😳 and I have very few pennies left now! But I do wish I could have some of the lovely, muted pretty colours too. Wouldn't fit so well into our decor scheme though so I valiantly resist. 😉

Thanks to everyone who posts the beautiful photos, it's such a joy. 💐