Our darling Ronnie, who has been with The Fellowship for years now, observed to me yesterday (In the comments lounge where all the best conversations of my day happen except the ones with Sheila of course) that my blog had changed over the course of time. I used to do more food. I had not realised it but I suppose there are less recipes. In fact lately there have been none at all. How did that happen? This change. What an excellent observation. My original premise was to grow food and then cook with it. Showing how easy it is to feed oneself.
Interestingly the personalities of the animals, who are players in this gathering of food, have begun to speak louder in the pages.
I thought about this yesterday as I struggled through yet ANOTHER attempt at making Custard Squares (slight failure but getting closer) and by the time I got to making the meringues with the left over egg whites, I had worked out why.
I make the SAME stuff over and over again. My day by day meals are really pretty repetitive. And I have already documented all those recipes. When I get busy I fall back on tried and true foods. Like lasagne, or steak and onion pie, or roast chickens, roast pork. I roast a lot. Meatloaf or spaghetti. With piles and piles of whatever vegetables I am picking (either from the garden or the freezer or the shelf). Or I just make stuff up as I go along and sometimes it is edible. (I went through a stage of burning and over cooking food but I recovered). Sometimes I don’t bake anything for weeks (frankly these are good weeks for my health) other times the house is cold (like yesterday) and I cook for an excuse to turn the oven on to warm up the kitchen.
I am an exceedingly deliciously dull repetitive cook. And like many cooks who create food from whatever is to hand I love my own food. And like many cooks who grow the food they eat we eat the same food over and over again. Over the blogging years I have also consumed recipes from other cooks of good food. Making them a part of my weekly repertoire. For example I could cook Misky’s roast potatoes every day. Or Chicago John’s pasta. All summer we had panfried kale with butter and pumpkin seeds and garlic. Almost every day actually.
Now isn’t that interesting. thekitchensgarden has evolved, and you with it. However it is sometimes a good idea to look back and make sure we are still on the right track. I hope this winter I will challenge myself a little more. And try some of your favourite recipes.
It is the day for giving thanks. I am thankful that I can cook and that I can fail. And that I can learn. And that we are all open to the change that is essential to life. And I am thankful for blog friends like Ronnie who can sit down with the blog and her cup of tea and say “Look at that. You have changed. Hmm. I like it. ”
For the custard squares I made a regular egg yolk custard fortified with 1/4 cup of cornflour (cornstarch), sandwiched between two cooked pastry sheets. Then into the fridge to set. Next time I will make twice as much custard and half as much pastry, work out the thin icing that you dribble on the top and I will not step away from stirring the hot custard to take a photo of a cat.
And when I get it right I will write the recipe for you. I am trying the cake again today, the moist one. As a contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner. So I am hoping to share that recipe with you tomorrow.
I love the Comments Lounge.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Your friend on the farm,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
65 responses to “Custard Squares – Thank-Fully”
Even writing an exclusively food blog there are problems with what you fancy for supper, what’s seasonal and what’s plentiful. After a couple of years a lot of the everyday recipes have been posted and one has to look further afield. For example, yesterday I made pheasant curry, because pheasant is currently in season and very cheap (in the UK) – it sounds exotic, but I posted the recipe some time ago…
Anyway, I love your animals and those custard squares look delicious. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
Hmm, pheasant curry.. bet that was tasty.. c
Amazing – you should try it with your pigeons – they are mini game flavoured chickens 😉
You said that a while ago too, I do remember and I told John, I also told him that you said they are probably the best fed pigeons around too, with all the good food they get to clean up! c
They’d be hard pushed to find KFC and cigarette buts where you live 😉
true that!
I love the foodie bits but i adore the animal stuf even more
I would read your blog no matter what you wrote about. You have a way with words! Not to mention your photos. Your care for your animals and the land shines throughout your blog and I appreciate that!
Have a wonderful day.
Thank you Liz.. I hope you are in the midst of a lovely day too.. c
Ditto! The best part of my internet day is finding a Kitchen’s Garden post in my inbox.
We all fall into the same pattern Celi, from a lack of time to lack of motivation to just enjoying the same damn things! The Hungarians have a lovely custard square I made a year or so ago http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/hungarian-custard-squares-kremes/
Ah, Eva, as soon as I saw the photos of the custard square I remembered the ones I would buy at Ruszwurm Cukraszda when I lived around the corner in Budapest. Thanks for the recipe!
oo.. thank you.. i shall pop over and have a look.. thank you eva.. c
Happy Thanksgiving to the Fellowship. I am thankful for you all!
Among the many things I have to be thankful for, this blog and the Fellowship are right up there. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Now I’m hungry LOL
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Celi, and all the Fellowship. xo
Happy for Queenie even if she doesn’t become pg.
Happy for Queenie even if she doesn’t become pg. And happy thanksgiving to every one of the fellowship .
Happy Thanksgiving to all. I start every day with the Farmy and the Fellowship, I mean every single day, no matter where I am. It grounds me and reminds me to celebrate life and love ! I am so grateful to have this “family”. A special warm hug to you Celi and all the critters great and small . Barbie aka Nanster
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! I, too, fall back on the same recipes over and over when I’m busy and also forget to take pictures of anything new when it gets dark so early, as I cook at night. Bad if you’re a food blog. Looks like you have some wonderful furry helpers in your kitchen today. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Im so thankful for Christine telling me about this blog, I live for it every morning with my coffee & cat.
Robin🐥
Happy Thanksgiving! I love that I feel like a part of this group. You are all my friends. Thank you.
Have only followed your posts for a bit….since before your trip for your son’s wedding….and having been raised on a Michigan farm and later raising horses in Missouri……I open your messages first thing. If your posts had been more food oriented that probably would not be the case as there are so many of those about. But coming to know your thoughts and feelings about your critters, following you half way around the world and back, climbing into the closet to share the dear little new borns, running to the airport to pick up the little piggies, and now watching the progress of them little felines……it all brings so many memories and puts a lot of life into perspective. Thank you so much for sharing. For being there. Sometimes I long to be in front of the fire on a cold snowy day. The chores done. The dogs and cats curled up in front of the fire. Soup on the stove. Hot tea and cinnamon toast at hand…….to just be so grateful. So thank you for giving that
opportunity. Many blessings to you and all that are included in your circle. Happy Thanksgiving Day.
Joan, thank you..this is what I am hoping. That my wee blog feels like a chat over a cup of tea, a two way thing, the wonderful things about the Comments Lounge is that we do actually get to have a conversation too, albeit a short one.. I hope you are also in the throes of a lovely Day of Thanks.. c