BOO!! ME AGAIN- DID I SCARE YOU!? WELL IT IS HALLOWEEN!
So, the weather today! Weird or what!? I was under the influence that we were officially at the end of Autumn and next month would be Winter, as if there are 12 months in a year, four seasons, that would equate to 3 months in each season. I classify December, January and February as Winter... Non of this is relevant except from the fact that today it was 17C!
This is global warming I think. I remember when I was younger, the 1st November was cold and you could see your breath. Today, I saw people in t-shirts and shorts, topped off with glasses of the sun!
I relish the months that are so cold your teeth chatter, skin is freckled with goose pimples and it is so cold that you can see your breath and we all look like victims of cheek pinching, what with all the rosey cheeks. Where are those months, where have they gone?
Yesterday I had the yearn for something sweet, or what would be more accurate, I wanted to do what I always do, bake! And it isn't like I just want to do this when I am conscious, I want to bake in my dreams as well. Now this isn't a joke, I promise you that. I have had this dream a few times.
CAUTION: DEPTHS OF CIARA'S INNER, MOST STRANGE DREAMS BELOW:
Plot: Local girl is baking... but not in her own kitchen. In fact said girl, isn't actually herself. I mean she is, but she isn't, but she is.... but isn't.
She's (not she, but herself, just not in her own body) is baking, but not in her own kitchen. No, she is baking in the kitchen that belongs to the owner of the house in one of these box sets she has been binge watching.
Local girl is baking a cake, within a cake, within a cake. AND IT IS AMAZING!
All of a sudden, what was a harmless dream about baking, turns into this strange murder sequel, as the dream morphs into a reoccurring nightmare.
No longer does local girl find herself, but not herself, but herself in her kitchen, not her kitchen, but the kitchen that belongs to woman who owns the house in the box set which she is binge watching and apparently is now in and owns now. No, she now finds herself, but not herself in the set of a Robin Hood, meets A Series Of Unfortunate Events woodland area.
Taking place at night, more specifically twilight on a slanted hill, covered in leaves, surrounded by trees. There is an outhouse form Shrek (the one with the crescent moon), except it isn't an outhouse, but a little cupboard with around 10 steps upwards to the ceiling (no benefit in this design). Although these aren't any ordinary stairs, they have no back, it is simply planks of wood. So the horizontal parts are there, but the vertical parts that make the stairs complete aren't there.
The back wall of the outhouse, but not an outhouse, actually a cupboard, suddenly vanishes.
All if a sudden, local girl finds herself at the top of the hill with some sinister music playing in the background. Then a wolf, like the one out of Harry Potter, so Lupin. This comes hurdling towards her, teeth as large as you like and local girl is its target.
Local girl runs into the outhouse, come cupboard and locks the door, by standing on the third step up, hunched over and putting all her weight behind the door. Wolfy keeps trying to break its way in.
Then it all goes quiet.
Local girl finds herself surrounded by silence. Boom!!!
Wolf starts gnawing on her ankles. Suddenly my ankles are no more. All that is left are my bones, except they're not bones, but wooden spoons. Wolfy and local girl stare at each other in anticipation of what will happen next.
Then I wake up.
This is me always thinking about food.
Any way, I made crumble. It was your classic, wholesome, traditional crumble. All buttery and delicious.
This is my own recipe and it will vary depending on the size of your hands.
The ingredients you'll need:
- 8 Apples, any kind, I use eating apples, Pink Ladies to be more specific. The difference between using cooking apples and eating apples, in my humble opinion is nothing, bar the flavour and texture. Eating apples are sweeter and softer in texture. Cooking apples are more bitter and need more cooking as they are firmer. So the flavour and texture will be the biggest difference.
- 3 tbsp cinnamon, ground
- 50-75g Caster Sugar
- Good knob of butter and a glug of oil
- 10 handfuls of plain flour
- 4 handfuls of soft brown muscavado sugar
- 2- 3 handfuls of butter
Method:
What you want to do is pretty simple; which is perfect for the weekend and if you want something full of flavour, but isn't going to take too long to assemble and bake.
- Peel and chop the apples into fairy beefy chunks and chuck into a deep- deep-ish pot, that is non stick
- Once all the apples are peeled and chopped and in the pot, chuck in some butter, oil and wack on the heat to high. Let these apples sizzle and simmer until they are slightly softened. Add in the sugar and cinnamon and allow these to mingle and bubble away with a little water . You want these apples to boil and become tender, rather than fry and crispy.
- Cover with a lid and allow to bubble away for 20 minutes.
- In the meantime (I've never understood that saying, meantime, suggesting that the time is mean perhaps???) All Google can give me is the definition in which there is a space of time between one activity and the other... I already knew that.
Make the crumble topping. To do this, take the flour and sugar, plop them into a bowl together and mix with your hands until they are combined. Chuck in the butter and using a rubbing motion between your thumbs and fingers, rub the flour/ sugar and butter together to form the iconic breadcrumb texture consistency.
- Butter a deep dish, I used a casserole dish, and chuck in the cooked apples. Top with the cinnamon, breadcrumb like topping and pop into the oven, which will have been preheating at 170C and bake for 35 minutes or until set, golden and cracking slightly on the surface.
- Take out of the oven and eat! Yay! It is done!!!
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