Hot buttered crumpets with homemade quince jelly

We had an unusual but lovely tea on Sunday – hot buttered crumpets with homemade quince jelly and a plate of exotic fruits.  Mr Rigg and I had eaten quite well the rest of the weekend (including a lovely meal out on Saturday night with Mr Rigg’s uncle) so we weren’t that hungry.

So we toasted some crumpets under the grill (our toaster is broken…has been for months…the new toaster I want costs about £50…too much for a toaster I’m told…) until they’re really golden and crisp. 

My friend Jane makes the best crumpets and she always puts them in the toaster a couple of times until they’re really crispy and only a little bit soft right in the middle.  Any less and you just get a soggy doughy mouthful – yuk!

Once toasted, I liberally buttered them – lots of butter is a must with crumpets – popped them on a pretty blue and white plate (this makes them taste better, I promise) and top with homemade quince jelly.

So you see, despite my lack of regular posting we have been busy making lovely food – like making quince jelly for the first time.  Just without a camera I’m rather embarrassed and ashamed of my phone camera pictures.

We also had a plate of fruit – pomegranate seeds (we drank the tiny cupful of juice that came out in little shared sips) and feijoa fruit.  Ever heard of a feijoa?  Me neither.  Unicorn had a basket of them, these small green fruits and they were described as tasting of mint, pineapple, strawberry, guava…they sounded too intriguing not to buy a bag full to try.

The instructions I had on how to eat the feijoa were to leave until they were tender when squeezed – then they were ripe.  Simply cut in half and eat like a kiwi.  Firstly, the fragrance of this fruit is incredible.  Utterly bewitching.  The taste is equally wonderful, and beyond description – quite unusual even.  If you see them whilst out and about, my advice is to buy yourself a bagful and try them.

On quick investigation they are native to South America, also known as the pineapple guava, and the pulp used in some natural cosmetics as an exfoliant.  Fascinating stuff.

Brownies and hot chocolate by post

I don’t really like to share to much of my personal life nor photos of me and my family that often, but today I felt I should.

My little sister, who’s nearly 17, has just started her first week of A-levels.  In the five days she’s been back at school, she’s had a miserable time of it with backstabbing friends and boyfriend mishaps.  Although the air is starting to clear now, she was very sad at the beginning of the week.

So, I did what every big sister would do.  I sent her a confidence-boosting email, reminding her not to get too down because of other people and their hurtful words or actions.  I reminded her who she is deep down inside, the confident and happy little four-year old care-free enough to dance on hotel poolsides and at firework parties. 

She is pretty and silly and funny and smart and one of the most genuine and nice people I know.  It’s hard living so far away from her, I just wanted to be there to give her a hug and sit and watch a girlie film or play Lego Indiana Jones on the X-Box (sounds silly, but we love it!).

Without the ability to make her a hot drink and snuggle up in a blanket, I did second best – I sent her a delicious packet of hot chocolate flakes from Cocoa Loco – it did the trick. 

Within almost 24 hours they’d delivered her the little gift and she could snuggle up with her luxurious hot chocolate and think of me and how much I believe in her.

If you want to show someone you love them, cheer someone up, or make up for missing their birthday I highly recommend sending them brownies (or other chocolatey gifts) from Cocoa Loco.  They make the best organic chocolate brownies and they deliver them by post – what could be better!

Image: Cocoa Loco