Halloween 2014

Another Halloween, another late night, science fiction picture show and a warm-up pumpkin carving session before we rocked London in Rocky Horror fancy dress. A solid 3 hour carving session. Pumpkin acquired from the new fruit and veg stand outside Canada Water station with a few pieces of fruit thrown in for free to sample. I'll be back. But that's another franchise altogether.

Life of Pie

Pie remains my pinnacle, the epitome of dessert perfection. Step aside, queen of puddings, the wildcard of a versatile pie crust can trump all.

Two of my happiest kitchen memories involve baking pies with friends. One a late night sweet potato pie in Helsinki, the other, a daytime venture to make a gluten-free lemon meringue pie in Berlin.

The sweet potato pie night was made even longer by the fact that we had forgotten to actually turn on the oven to bake the potatoes, but it is otherwise, the most foolproof recipe imagineable; 3 large baked sweet potatoes and most of a tin of sweetened condensed milk combined to the viscosity of a thick pudding, with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste for the filling, poured into a blind baked shell and baked until set and just starting to catch colour. On occasion I've also incorporated pumpkin into the potato mixture to make it a fitting addition to any Thanksgiving spread.

Gluten-Free Lemon Meringue Pie: (Stiff) peaked perfection

A good test of determination lay in the lemon meringue pie venture in that we whipped the egg whites by hand, given that the recipe we tweeked to render gluten-free was called something along the lines of "Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie" and we were certain no Grandma we know would cop out and use an electric mixer. I'm convinced years of playing Mario Party proved their worth in our display of endurance with repetitive motion. Now to hone in the fine motor skills by practicing with some Minecraft.

Knotted

Finally! A recipe that requires no real additional or unconventional steps to satisfyingly render gluten-free. That being said, it's time-consuming for something that incorporates only 3 core ingredients and a hint of seasoning.

Nevertheless I have fond memories of making gnocchi with my family; three generations, packed into a kitchen, covered in flour, rolling small bits of potato dough off the prongs of a fork, memories of my mother yelling at me for rolling them too vigourously onto the floor and/or eating them raw. Happy memories, I promise you.


Armed with her sound advice of using baking potatoes, I purchased a small gnocchi board; a ridged paddle of wood off which you roll the morcels of dough to get that ridged top on each little dumpling. It's less awkward to maneouver than a fork and while I feel the purchase is justified in its authenticity, having been procured at an Italian village street market for a mere €3, a fork would still suffice, and frankly be easier to clean. Any old gnocchi recipe, bake (don't boil!) the starchiest potatoes you can find, and substitute any all purpose gluten-free flour - one with a rice component for best results.

Add this one to the list of foods that Brits have trouble pronouncing. Hearing them butcher "mille-feuille" is also comical. Seeing them attempt to spell it, on the other hand, is shameful.