What Happened to the Past Three Weeks?

Is it just me or is it the most frightening thing how fast time goes by these days? I cannot believe I haven't written in this blog for more than three weeks! Don't ask me what I've been doing that has been so all-consuming that I haven't found the time because I'd have to lie as the truthful answer is so depressingly mundane.

Surely there must have been some highlights or at least slightly raised molehills in this sea of mediocrity that is my life - let me see....

Ok so there was Bonfire Night and that meant two celebrations in our house, one on the actual night just for the children and my nine year-old's friend from school who stayed for a sleepover and then a second do on the Saturday for extended family members as well. The first was a completely traditional affair with hot dogs, baked potatoes, toffee apples and sparklers but for the second I wanted to keep it along the same traditional lines but at the same time make it a bit more special - in terms of the food at least. I chose to cook Venison Sausages Braised in Red Wine from Delia Smith's Winter Collection served with mashed potato and red cabbage. The venison sausages weren't cheap but they were good and fitted the bill perfectly. A simple chilli con carne as well ensured there was enough food for everyone and a bottle of Hot Tabasco sauce on the table meant people could spice it up as much as they wanted. The fireworks weren't anything special but the venison sausages were such a hit you could say the the evening went with a banger more so than a bang!

Pumpkin Pie - not for me

We went away for a few days over half term and had a lovely time in Burford in the Cotswolds. Luckily the weather was kind to us and the rain kept itself to night time so we managed to get out and about every day. There were a few places to go with the kids and even though it is always expensive to go anywhere as a family of 5 I managed to be quite clever with vouchers and offers which helped keep the expense down slightly. One day we went to the Cotswold Wildlife Park where I think the memory of a huge Anaconda sliding into the water will haunt me for the rest of my life. We also had a good visit to the Cotswold Falconry Centre in Moreton-In-Marsh with a great display and talk by one of the keepers with hawks, owls and other birds flying free above your heads including a Bald Eagle who flew off for about 30 minutes before he decided to come home. My 9 year-old was enthralled but the twins were a little more concerned about the dead baby chicks that were being consumed.

Of course it was Halloween on Sunday and two witches and one small pumpkin boy had great fun trick or treating (but only at Grandparents house - don't want to upset the neighbours!) I failed miserably to get a real pumpkin on Sunday so I scoured Bristol on Monday morning and eventually tracked one down in Sainsbury's (everywhere else had sold out!). So our pumpkin carving was a day late and it was such a small one that I found it proved rather hard to see his mouth as it was too near the bottom. Despite this my kids all thought it was wonderful - so well worth the effort.

Sadly for the pumpkin he has now been turned into Pumpkin Pie which I have to admit I was not a great fan of but my two girls loved it.

I didn't have any evaporated milk so used the following recipe instead (maybe that was why it didn't taste as sweet as I was expecting).

Pumpkin Pie Recipe without Evaporated MilkIngredients

• 0.5 kg/1 lb pumpkin
• 200g shortcrust pastry
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 100g/4 oz caster sugar
• 4 x 15 ml spoons/4 tablespoons milk
• pinch ground ginger
• pinch ground nutmeg
• 2 x 5 ml spoons/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Cut the pumpkin into pieces, remove any seeds and stringy bits and cut off out-side skin. Steam or cook in microwave until tender. Mash well with a fork or puree in a blender.
2. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 20 cm/8 in flan case or deep pie dish. (I always blind bake my pastry cases as I have a ceramic pie dish not a metal one and if I don't I tend to end up with a soggy base.)
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the pumpkin, milk and spices. Blend well and pour into the pastry case.
4. Bake in a hot oven (220°C/425°F, Gas Mark 7) for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to moderate (180°C/350°F, Gas Mark 4) and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the filling is set.
5. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Hopefully if you try this, you'll enjoy it as much as my girls and more than me and my little boy did!