The day before the first day....

This post was intended to be the day before the first day, but here it is, just a little late......

A few thoughts before day one of the challenge......
Whilst out buying and collecting local foods I realised that what we will be lacking is 'easy food'. No ready made bread, crackers, oatcakes, cereals – all those things you take for granted that make busy lives juggling works and kids possible.
Already before day one has started I am behind. Arrgh – organisation is looking like it will be very useful! I am planning on making quiches, pasties, bread, crackers and cheese straws. The one missing ingredient here is butter. The only local source I can find is just north of Norwich from Nortons Diary and just out of the 30 mile range. Now I am not being too fussy, I would like to use it anyway but I need some butter right now and the local stuff is not cheap (£2.10 a pack) so perhaps it will be one of my luxuries.....



I hope these recipes and ideas will be useful:
Breakfasts: try pancakes, bacon and tomatoes (or the full English!), homemade toast with local jam or honey, fruit, yogurt, eggs (omelettes, fried, scrambled, poached, yummy!). Oats I am trying to find out if we have a local source.....
Butter-free pastry (American recipe but cant be too hard to work out measurements!):
2 2/3 c. flour (about a cup of whole wheat pastry flour, and the rest all-purpose flour)
1 tsp. salt
2/3 c. oil (organic canola, or half canola, half macadamia nut oil)
6 T. skim milk
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Put the oil in a measuring cup, then add the milk without stirring. Dump that in the flour and mix briefly. Do NOT refrigerate. Shape into 2 balls. Flatten one ball and roll out between two sheets of wax paper. If it breaks apart, just smush it together - this crust is easily repairable. Remove the top sheet and turn the pastry over into the pie pan. Fill the pie, then repeat with the second layer. Cut vents in the top, then brush with a tiny bit of milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the pie at 400 for the first 10 minutes, then reduce to 350 or 375.
Yeast: don't want to use dried yeast of unknown origin, then make your own:
San Francisco Sourdough
125g strong plain flour
2tsp sugar
225ml warm water
Put the flour and sugar into a bowl and stir in the warm water. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for 2 days or until it is bubbling and risen. This is enough to make up a loaf using 750g strong. Plain flour.

A Seasonal Recipe: Blackberry Bread

180ml warm water

30g fresh yeast/15g dried yeast

500g wholewheat flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1 egg, beaten

150ml warm milk

2tbsp honey

45g lard or butter, cut into small pieces and softened

250g fresh blackberries

Put the water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Leave fresh yeast for 5mins and dried for 15mins. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and mix in the salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Make a well in the centre and out in the yeast, egg, milk, honey and lard/butter. Mix to a moist dough. Add the blackberries and carefully mix them in. Knead the dough in the bowl, taking care not to squash the blackberries too much. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead it again. Form it into a loaf shape and put it into a 1kg/2lb 4oz loaf tin. Bake the loaf for 40 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped and the top is just browned. Turn it onto a wire rack to cool.

More recipes to follow (crackers, cheese straws, traditional delicious pies, scotch eggs)