The Experimental Kitchen

Welcome to my experimental kitchen.

I know it looks pretty small and it really is this tiny.

This photo shows only half the room. The other half is about the same size.



It comes straight out of the comic book of modern house-building, which for a family of four, can only be out-done by marketing literature for London bedsits.

I used to think our kitchen was too small for proper baking, but since getting rid of the microwave and recently off-loading the breadmaker on Freecycle, I am grateful for the extra space.

And believe me, that's welcome space in which I can happily don my imaginary white coat and turn into the mad scientist that I become when faced with an ordinary bag of flour. All for the cause of reduced packaging!

However, after my recent successes in home-baking, I feel that I should be a responsible blogger and dispel any myths that I could successfully challenge Nigella in the royal court of domestic godessdom.

In all honesty, I feel more like Dr Frankenstein than a Domestic Goddess.

Take yesterday's experiment with Quiche Lorraine for example. I was suitably encouraged by Kate's comments on my Apple Pie post, so dug out an old recipe that's been knocking around since my college days.

Perhaps I should be ashamed to admit that it looked more like burnt pizza! Surely you'd expect something better from a woman bordering on 40 years of age. Personally I blame it on the old cheese and too much heat but do forgive me if that sounds like the onset of early menopause.



At least the culinary version of Frankenstein's Monster was more appetizing to the tastebuds than its visual appeal. It got the thumbs up from our resident food critic, aka Mr A, who even went back for seconds.

So perhaps my continued experiments with pastry have been worthwhile after all. I am even convinced that pastry-making is ready for a fashionable comeback.

And if that's the case, maybe I should consider a kitchen extension?

With a bigger space, who knows what I might achieve!

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The day I baked an apple pie

Yesterday, I woke up with a real desire for apple pie.

Why? I don't know!

I just wanted apple pie.

More curiouser...I felt the urge to make one.

The old me would have just gone out and bought one, but for my alter-ego, aka Almost Mrs Average, who has this thing about packaging and all that, this option is now generally a no-no!

Of course, it's pretty easy to get ready-made pastry these days and this has been a popular addition to my shopping basket over the years.

But yesterday, I took a step back in time and recalled the days when I used to make my own pastry.

The last time was circa 1988 when I was a student on a grant in Nottingham, with £2500 annual income to support me for the whole year. Back then I used to be able to cook up a mean apple pie to share with my friends.

So what happened?

I suppose things have got in the way of my appley pie delights...work, cheap supermarket deals, more disposable cash, kids and generally less time on my hands. When you think about my love of blogging as well as my regular dose of Corrie, I generally don't have the hour or so needed to dedicate to regularly making pies.

...but that's where I've been foiled. My poor memory must have got the better of me, darn it.

An hour...where did I get that from? Of course it doesn't take that long!

Yesterday I grabbed the flour, butter and lard, rubbed it into crumbs and bound it together with some water and within 10 minutes I had some pastry.

After leaving it to chill in the fridge, I rolled it out and shaped it into the pie dish, added the chopped apples and then bunged it in the oven for 50 minutes.

And there it was...a delicious apple pie, which required only about 20 minutes effort.

I am glad to have rediscovered the ease of home-made pastry. For something that seems to carry a veil of mystery, it really was that easy. It's almost like unpicking an illusion and discovering the reality that hides within.

I think only time will tell whether I' m a real convert or whether it's just a temporary blip of enthusiasm, but I'm pretty confident that there will be a few more pies in the Almost Average Household from now on!

The other big news today is that Almost Mrs Average is stepping out of Suffolk...well only for 5 minutes...when I "nip" over the border to Beds, Bucks and Herts!

If you tune into BBC Three Counties Radio at about 12.15, you may be able to hear me talking to presenter Jonathan Vernon-Smith about my rubbish, or rather the lack of it. So to any listeners who are visiting the blog as a result, may I extend a very warm welcome and thank you for listening to my rambles.

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