Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Yawning - and a recipe for Lemon Curd Biscuits

 Whenever I need to be away early the next day, I have a broken night's sleep the previous night, and today is no exception (nor was yesterday).  Yesterday I was seeing my friend Pam before I went to the Quilting group, was awake for 3 hrs in the night, and didn't wake again till 8.30.  I didn't get much done at Quilting group - too much background noise spoils concentration but I began another block and sewed part of that before leaving early so that I would get home before dark.  I had shut the cats in for the day and just as well as the foot hunt was round after foxes and still here gone 5 o'clock looking for stray hounds, one of which was in my orchard.  You never know when they are going to be over this way.

The mountain route to Tam's

Today I'm going to see Tam and Rosie, which will be lovely as I've not seen them since Christmas.  It will be a foggy journey though, taken steadily.  I have put the red cabbage (8p at Christmas!) I got her on the side, so hopefully I shan't forget it.  I will see them again on Saturday as we are going to a Wassailing at an apple orchard near Llanidloes (about an hour from here on the way to Aberystwyth). That's something I've always wanted to do (I'll add more info about Wassailing later).

Excuse the blue background - recipe copied from an earlier blog post of mine.  They are a shortbread type biscuit.  I made a batch of these this week and they were swooped on at Quilting Group yesterday (and one lady asked for the recipe), plus Ed's helper was making inroads into them too!  Right, back to bed for an hour or so and let's hope I sleep, but as I'm going to set the alarm that normally prevents all thought of sleep occurring!

LEMON CURD BISCUITS

150 g (6 oz) plain flour (3/4 American cup)
1 tsp baking powder
100 g (4 oz) cornflour (1/2 cup)
100 g (4 oz) butter     (1/2 cup)
100 g (4 oz) caster sugar (1/2 cup)
2 egg yolks
Grated rind of 2 (washed) lemons

Sift the flour, baking powder and cornflour into a mixing bowl.  Melt the butter and stir into the sugar, egg yolks and lemon rind.  Add the flour and mix all the ingredients together to give a smooth biscuit dough.  Roll into a “sausage”, wrap in cling film and chill briefly in fridge – not too long or it goes like concrete!

Preheat the oven to moderately hot (200 deg. C/400 deg. F, Gas Mark 6).  Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to 3mm (1/8” thick).  Place the biscuits onto a greased baking tray and bake for about 10 mins.  Cool slightly then lift with a knife onto a wire rack to cool.



12 comments:

  1. Hope your journey today is nice and easy with no fog or road closed signs.
    I'm very envious of your trip to a wassailing event! Enjoy

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    1. I went steady on the way over and got stuck behind a slow driver all the way to the Llanurig roundabout (half way!) Took nearly half an hour longer than usual. No fog though and it was sunny. Coming home it was magical - sun on the cinnamon coloured bracken and absolutely lovely. I will enjoy the Wassailing and will have to do it in my tiny little orchard too.

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  2. Thank goodness you left the cats indoors, those hounds are renowned for killing pets. It doesn't bear thinking about does it.

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    1. I left them inside today too, as I was out all day. Tomorrow they can go out again. The boys nip out in the evening, but I don't let the girls out after dark or even anywhere near dark in the winter. I worry about them deciding to stay out - having had a close-run thing several times when they were younger.

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  3. I only function well outside the house between the hours of 10am and 10pm!
    Any earlier than 10am and I wake constantly, checking the clock.

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    1. I know that feeling. In my case, make it 8 p.m.! Don't like driving after dark but do so from necessity.

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  4. Thanks. I will try to translate to NA measures. Is the cornflour half of the flour measure?

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  5. I've put the American cup measures in, hope that helps. The cornflour is 2/3 of the flour measure.

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  6. I do the same ''can't sleep'' thing too---and normally I am a great sleeper. But plan a flea market morning or heaven forbid an early doctor appointment and I am up all night. Being tired and sleepy for the flea is so discouraging, don't care about the doctors, lol.

    The biscuits--cookies---sound so good. Must look up castor sugar and corn flour, which is probably not cornmeal [which I have] or cornstarch [also have]. 400* sounds like such a hot oven for cookies?
    It's nice that the people working/ neighbors stop in and make friends where you are, I can't imagine that.
    Do you have to bring your sewing machine to the group? Or you hand piece? Maybe just get advice and visit, don't try to sew. And...do you lay out all your pieces for each block. I use a square of batting attached to a fabric backing , just zigzag edges. Then I set that by my machine. Can roll it up for transport too.
    Wassailing sounds interesting. I think Sue in Suffolk has written about it. Have fun
    love, lizzy gone to the beach...

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  7. PS Still confused: Google says UK cornflour is US cornstarch, the white squeaky gravy thickener. BUT corn flour--two words, in US is fine ground corn kernals, in UK may be called maize flour. What is in your biscuits?

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  8. I will give your recipe a try as it should fit nicely into my toaster oven (my regular oven is not working). Hope you had a lovely visit with your family and I am looking forward to your post about Wassailing.

    God bless.

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