Tuesday 14 September 2010

Windfall Apple Crumble


It’s been a great year for apples in our garden. And now we have an abundance on our ground. But these aren’t destined for the worms, there’s still enough to salvage for a crumble or two.

What makes this crumble so delicious is that it uses sweet, juicy very ripe apples, so doesn’t have that slightly tart flavour of cooking apples.

Ingredients:

1kg Windfall apples, sliced (carefully removing the worms and cutting out the bad bits)

20g Sugar (soft brown gives a lovely richness to the flavour)

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1 x clove

1 Tablespoon water, just to get it started

Topping:

200g Flour (I use Dove Farm Gluten Free)

75 g Brown Sugar

75 g Butter

3 Tablespoons Rolled Coats

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 x Tablespoons gently toasted Pecans, crumbled (optional)

Method:

Place sliced apples in a saucepan along with sugar and spices and cook gently until apples are beautifully soft and not too mushy.

Rub butter and flour between your fingers in a bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add sugar, oats and cinnamon (and pecans if you’re adding them too, I give mine a good bash in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, great for getting rid of aggression too...but don't get too carried away or you'll end up with pecan flour), again with your fingers, rub until combined,

Placed cooked apples in a pie dish and add crumble topping. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve with ice cream, cream or both. I've served mine on Fliff's lovely Lace Tea Set, available online.

Wednesday 8 September 2010

Quilty Pleasures

Mughal Quilt, Toast Autumn/Winter 2010

I am so pleased that Quilts are now on trend. And although I am not the most accomplished of sewers, I have always wanted to make my own patchwork quilt. But I think I need a bit of help getting started so am hoping to do a course at The Make Lounge before the year is out.

The history of quilting has always excited me - sewing as a social tool, bringing women together while making something both beautiful and practical, and perhaps as a way of earning money for house wives.


Our modern lives, with lack of time, and the convenience of the high street, have meant the redundancy of these important skills. So resurgence in the handmade, returning to and reinventing the skills of our ancestors, but in a modern setting, excites me. It arouses something in my own creativity…if only I could find the time to devote to making!


In the meantime I'll have to make do with these lovely quilts from the High Street...


John Lewis