Though the apple season has more or less passed, it is a fruit that can be made to last extremely well. Indeed, it isn’t unheard of for apples to remain edible for 6-12 months if stored in a dry place and wrapped individually in newspaper. Since October is arguably peak season for this universally beloved fruit I’ll assume there are a few spares to hand for this wintry Spiced Apple and Walnut Traybake.
As promised, little over a week ago, here is my post for homemade ravioli and what good ravioli it was too! As expected, it turned out to be a little trickier than my previous attempt at tagliatelle, but as you can see, the end result wasn’t entirely offensive. The only reason ravioli is made more difficult than average pasta is that one must roll one’s dough out to the pasta machine’s thinnest setting, which only serves to pique one’s chances of manhandling it. Still, after a couple of tribulations, we were each faced with a scrumptious plate of rather interesting pasta.
My grandmother has, in the past couple of weeks, started passing on a number of her recipes that I have expressed an interest in trying out. Since she is of a certain age, my grandmother is from an era in which most people would naturally eat frugally. As one might imagine, it was unacceptable, both socially and economically, to waste resources during war-time and post-war Britain; the setting in which she grew up. Though it is fairly clear that the roots of this dish do not lie in the 1940s – particularly with the addition of dried apricots – I believe that it still retains the frugal sensibilities of that period, as so many of my recipes do.
One of my main culinary influences has been my grandmother. She has made more apple pies than I care to remember, and each of them has been entirely delicious. I’m not quite sure why FrugalFeeding hasn’t yet encountered this humble pie, but such an oversight couldn’t be allowed to remain at large for long. So, last weekend and with a fairly candid approach, I set about constructing one such masterpiece for my extended family. Though the recipe was slightly different from the one used by the matriarch of the Frugal family, it was extremely tasty and did my history of good apple pie justice.
In recent weeks my Grandfather has developed a penchant for divulging a number of his favourite Clement Freud anecdotes. His favourite story concerns a trip Freud made to Mexico. Whilst in Mexico, Freud thought he would sample the delights of a true Central American Chilli, something he soon regretted. After ordering ‘six bottled of beer in quick succession’, Freud advised the chef that it may be best to warn visitors about the deadly speciality. The chef replied that ‘the ratio [of chilli to meat] was about one to one.’ Had Freud wanted his chilli with only a little spice the chef said that ‘there was an American place just down the road.’ I think it’s rather a humorous little tale, though perhaps you’ll disagree if you are an American. Anyway, a deep interest on the writings of Freud developed within, and I asked to borrow my Grandfather’s copy of ‘Freud of Food’. To my delight I discovered that my taste in humour shared an even closer affinity to that of Freud’s, when I discovered a section entitled, ‘Give The Wife A Break’.