A new trifle

A lot of my cooking is dictated by the need to use things up, and as Christmas approached I realised I still had a pannetonne from last year.  My mind naturally went to thoughts of zuppa inglese - the cake, smeared with some of the elderly jam in the top of the fridge and lightly sprinkled with rum and covered in chocolate custard would be good.   For the top we could have an orange syllabub...with ratafias and flaked almonds... it was delicious.

Recently I have been wondering whether one could simply coat the cake element in advocaat and do away with custard... but it might be too much.   Like to try it though...

Pumpkin Soup

I first ate pumpkin soup in France, many years ago.  It was nectar.  Since then I have never succeeded in making good conventional pumpkin soup.   I think this is because the pumpkins most widely available are what is called "carving pumpkins" grown for decoration, not flavour.    I duly bought one a couple of weeks ago, but then decided to be a Hallow'een grinch and not provide sugar and e-numbers to the local kids.  So I had a rather nice, farm shop pumpkin waiting to be dealt with.

I made a good soup with it.  I had some really rich, fatty lamb broth made from a collection of lamb shoulder bones I had been storing in the freezer, and a sad, aging leek, and I had a yen for the lamb, leek and pearl barley stew my mother and grandmother used to make - but with more ooomph.


1 onion, one or 2 leeks,  half a large pumpkin,  a lot of lamb stock, butter, salt and pepper, ground coriander, pearl barley (about 75-100g or 2-3 oz.)

Fry chopped onion and sliced leeks in butter, add the peeled, de-seeded, roughly chopped pumpkin, stir about until they begin to soften.  Add 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and salt and pepper.,  Then add the pear barley and stir a little bit more, then add the hot stock, bring to the boil and simmer until barley is soft (about an hour I think).  Eat!

It is not a low-carb soup, but it doesn't need bread with it, it's very filling on its own.

A hot trifle

I usually only make a pudding once a week.  Today I had no ideas, but I did have an annoying spoonful or so of desiccated coconut in a bag, and 2 egg whites that had been in a bowl for week.  So something along the lines of coconut meringue perhaps... then I had to delve into the fridge and find meat for supper.  I also found a frozen madeira cake, which was part of the "overstocks" from Christmas.   This was good - I could slather it with some of the elderly raspberry jam in the fridge and drizzle some sherry, or, since I was out of elderly sherry dregs, some elderly vermouth, cover it with a swiftly made custard, 2 eggs (whole) and half a pint of milk, sugar and vanilla.  I poured the custard over the cake, then carefully spread the mergingue mix over it.  It went into a 180 degree (Gas 4) oven for about 25-30 mins and then came out.  The meringue was chewy rather than crisp, but the coconut made a nice crunch, I could perhaps have toasted it first.  The cake and hot custard was great.  Even though I am trying to Atkins, I didn't manage to resist it.  First I had to try it to see if it had been a success, then I had to have a bit more because it was delicious.  Very good.  I can recommend it.

Sadly I didn't take a picture...