Fireworks

Last night was Bonfire Night here in the UK when we celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. For once, it was perfect weather - cold and clear.

We hadn't intended going out but, all day, I just really felt like seeing some fireworks and soaking up some atmosphere. So, we headed to the display at the village church which costs a bargain £3 each.
These photos were taken using the newly discovered fireworks setting on my camera. Who knew that cameras had 'fireworks' settings! I've only ever used an auto setting before so it was interesting seeing what came out. OK, we're not talking New Year's Eve fireworks along the Thames or over Sydney Harbour Bridge here but I was pretty pleased with the results. Particularly the strange looking character wandering across the screen in the last photo!

Hope you enjoyed your evening wherever you were. Back soon. x

Firelighters

I thought I knew all of the cookery books that Mum owns but, when I was there the other day, I came across this very battered little gem. Family Fare was published by The Co-operative Wholesale Society - yes, the good old Co-op - and we think it dates from the late 50s/early 60s as Mum bought it when she worked for them. At that time it sold for the very reasonable price of 1/6 (1 shilling and 6 pence).

Naturally, the first sections I turned to were for cakes, scones and biscuits and it was here that I found Firelighters. The name alone seemed perfect for a recipe to share on Bonfire Night.

As the book was published by the Co-op, the recipes are used to promote their products such as Wheatsheaf evaporated milk, Eskimo frozen cod and Silver Seal margarine. This one though used Cremo oats. Despite a good hunt on the internet I couldn't find out what kind of oats these were but, since firelighters seemed to be a kind of flapjack, I guessed at rolled oats. It was only afterwards that I thought to search for 'firelighters' and came across a traditional recipe called Stanhope Firelighters. The difference is that this one includes coconut and I've added my own twist of glace cherries to represent the glowing embers of the fire.

Firelighters

100g soft brown sugar
100g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
200g rolled oats
25g dessicated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
75g glace cherries, quartered
pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/160 Fan
2. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan.
3. Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, including the cherries.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Press into a 28 x 18 cm tin, or whatever size you have to give a depth of about 1.5cm.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Leave in the tin but, while still warm, cut or score into pieces and leave to cool.

A sweet treat to enjoy by the bonfire :)

I'm at my yoga class tonight so won't be going to our usual fireworks display. If the weather is still fine when I get home, we might wave a few sparklers around in the garden. Hope you have a lovely evening wherever you are and stay safe. x

Fireworks

Did you have a good Bonfire Night ? The fireworks were already going off as I drove home from work and I spotted a couple of bonfires in full flame.

We went to the fireworks display at our local church which is basically a few volunteers setting off fireworks for half an hour or so. However, it's our family ritual which started when Chickpea was small. At that time she spent most of the evening with her hands over her ears but she's got better over the years!

Before the health and safety police got involved, there was also a bonfire but the insurance costs now mean that this small 'cauldron' was the only thing on offer. Still, it was a symbol of the real thing and added to the atmosphere.

We handed over our bargain entry fee of just £3 each and gathered with a couple of hundred people in the church grounds. The queue for refreshments stretched out of the church hall. We'd already eaten but I went inside for a peek at what was on offer: tea/coffee/pop, hot dogs, pasties, toffee apples, toffee lollies, treacle toffee, marshmallow sticks, ginger cake, parkin and black peas!

Back outside, we stood to watch the fireworks. I think they must have upped the budget because the standard was generally higher than previous years. I kept my camera pointed skywards and kept pressing in the hope of capturing some of the display. Lots of black nothingness but occasionally these colourful shots.

As you can see, we were sheltered under the trees which I actually liked as I'm always worried about rockets falling on my head! At least here, the trees would deflect the blow!

After the final firework had flown, we got out our sparklers and stood in the darkness waving them around like a catherine wheel. And when the last of the sparks had died down, we slowly made our way home. A modest way to spend bonfire night but enough to make us feel part of it, and the comforting familiarity of following a family tradition.

Well, that rounds up the Bonfire Night posts. Same time, same place next year?

Happy Bonfire Night!

Bonfire Night has finally arrived and we're off to watch the firework display at our local church. Have a safe and happy one wherever you are. x

Bonfire Night: Parkin

My second Bonfire Night recipe is Parkin: a dark, chewy, crumbly, gingery cake. It can be bought all year round but is most traditionally associated with this time of year. The recipe is also known as Yorkshire Parkin and contains treacle. There is another version, Lancashire Parkin, which is much lighter in colour and texture because it contains both treacle and golden syrup.

Oh dear, I can feel the spirits of my Lancashire ancestors disowning me but, whisper it, I think I prefer the Yorkshire version*. However, as I've played around with the recipe by altering the spices, adding extra ingredients to make it even more gingery, and I'm a Lancashire girl, maybe they'll forgive me if I call it Larkshire Parkin?

By far the hardest part of this recipe is that, after baking, you should leave it to one side for a few days to allow the flavour to develop. It's worth the wait, I promise!

Larkshire Parkin

175g treacle

150g butter

100g dark muscovado sugar

3 pieces of stem ginger, coarsely grated

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated

175g plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon mace

275g medium oatmeal

1 egg

150ml milk

1 tablespoon ginger syrup (from the jar of stem ginger)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan/350F/Gas 4

2. Put the treacle, butter and sugar into a pan and heat gently until the butter and sugar have melted. Cool slightly. Add the grated stem ginger and fresh ginger.
3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl and add the oatmeal.
4. Mix the egg, milk and ginger syrup together in a separate bowl.
5. Add the egg mixture and treacle mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well.
6. Pour into a lined 20cm square deep tin. The mixture is quite runny but don't worry - as it bakes the oatmeal will absorb the moisture. Bake for 55 minutes or until firm.
7. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
8. When completely cold, wrap in greaseproof paper and store for a few days to allow the flavour to develop.

Parkin can be served on its own but it's also traditionally served sliced with butter. However, I still had some of the maple buttercream from the Halloween muffins so Chickpea and I decided to have a taste off.

Two slices were spread with butter (thickly for Chickpea and a thin scraping for me) and two with the buttercream. Which would we prefer? Well, I was expecting the buttercream to win but, as Chickpea noted, the maple flavour somehow seemed to minimise the ginger of the parkin. We were both unanimous that butter was the perfect combination.

This is the first time I've made parkin and the first time I've tasted it in many years but I'll definitely be making it again: I'd forgotten just how delicious it is.

I'd love to know what you think if you decide to make this recipe. However, if you don't fancy trying parkin but like the idea of a ginger cake, my all-time favourite ginger cake recipe is Preserved Ginger Cake with Lemon Icing by Delia Smith. I've made it lots and lots of times and it's always absolutely yummy - mmm, mmm!

*Lancashire-Yorkshire rivalry has been around for several centuries - see the War of the Roses.

Bonfire Night: Black peas

It's almost Bonfire Night when England remembers Guy Fawkes' failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. As well as memories of bonfires and fireworks, I mostly remember the food we used to eat. In this and the next post, I'd like to introduce you to some of these traditional dishes from my Lancashire childhood.

Today it's the turn of Black Peas. I only ever remember eating these on Bonfire Night and always out of a polystyrene cup with a plastic spoon. However, on some Northern fairs and markets, you can buy them all year round. In Preston, they are known as parched peas: parching apparently being an old English word for long, slow boiling. Amazing what you learn when blogging!

Intrigued to find out if parched peas are the same as black peas, I queued at a food van on the Flag Market and handed over my 75p for a small portion. I wasn't the only one buying that day as the older gentleman in front of me also bought a portion. In fact there were three food vans on the market selling parched peas which must be a sign of its popularity in Preston.

Sure enough, the portion was handed to me in a polystyrene cup with a white plastic spoon. The traditional acccompaniment is salt, vinegar and pepper. I'm happy with just malt vinegar so I added a good splash and went off to find a quiet corner to taste my first black peas in many years.

The peas were a lighter colour than I remember but the flavour was the same. The texture should be al dente and I'd say more closely remembers a cooked dried bean than a pea. Earthy and, in this case, quite peppery which must have been an addition by the vendors. Lovely, warming and tasty on a chilly day.



The peas don't seem to be widely available but in this area you can buy them from fruit and veg stalls in markets. Mum says they can also be found in pet shops where they're known as pigeon peas (ie. for feeding to pigeons!), but I'm not sure whether these would pass food safety standards for human consumption. According to Wikipedia, they are purple podded peas, also known as maple peas. All very confusing, so the best advice is to wander over to Lancashire to be sure of what you're buying!

My peas came ready-bagged and included the bicarbonate of soda tablet shown above for the pre-soaking process. On other stalls, tubs of bicarb were sold separately. So, how do you cook them? Well, the recipe is so simple it can hardly be called a recipe. However, this is the one handed down to my Mum from my Nanna and now to me.

1. Soak 200g peas overnight in a bowl of cold water with 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
2. The next day, drain the peas and rinse well.
3. Put in a pan and cover with water. Bring up to the boil and then simmer until the peas are soft. They should not be too mushy but still have some bite to them (al dente).
4. Add salt and pepper to taste - the liquid will turn milkier as you do this.
5. Serve in a mug with plenty of malt vinegar.

Black peas are usually served on their own as described above. However, Mum remembers her Auntie Maggie mixing them in with minced beef and onion to flesh out a dish. I decided to serve them as a side dish with sausages and corn on the cob.

OK, so they're not going to win any beauty contests but they do taste good. Why not give them a go?