The contrast between the good and the weird.
From a couple of weeks ago........... a home made quiche - very rough looking shortcrust pastry case - my pastry cases would never win a prize - filled with vegetables (onion, peppers, sweetcorn, peas and tomato) and cheese, egg and milk. Because it had so much filling it fed me for 5 days rather than 4 which is good - no thinking needed.
And the Weird ........the cheap 53p sponge mix from Asda that I'd seen mentioned as a good bargain. It doesn't appear online either in ' Baking' or 'Just Essentials' but it was on the shelves in store. .
The ingredients seem to be mainly flour, sugar and oils with some complicated raising agents.
How can this small amount possible make a cake I wondered and would it be edible with only an egg and water added? Only one way to find out.
This is what it looked like, using 6 inch cake tins as specified. I mixed up a small amount of buttercream icing and the very last from a jar of strawberry jam made two years ago for a filling.
Tried a slice (⅛ )with my afternoon cuppa - it was edible but a slightly artificial taste although lighter and fluffier than my home made sponges which always seem to come out more solid than light. Useful as an occasional quick and cheap tummy filler I guess or a cheap way to make sponge for an old fashioned trifle.
It actually tasted better on day two for some reason, not sure how dry it will be by day 8!.
Tennis news...........................There were 4 British men playing yesterday, all predicted to lose which wasn't surprising considering they were playing people seeded much higher, especially Oliver Tarvet playing Alcaraz, although he put up a good fight . But Cam Norrie played really well and beat Tiafoe.
(I'd scheduled this post and switched off the lap top before Arthur Fery played so he might have been a winner. ) I don't take much notice of women's tennis as you can tell!
Weather news........cooler but Mid Suffolk missed out on heavy rain with just a few showers, water butts now empty. I'll be using mains water for watering for the foreseeable as there's no rain forecast for a week at least.
Back Tomorrow
Gosh, that's a quiche and a half. I always said I didn't like quiche - but here we are talking the horrid flat tasteless efforts they call quiche in the supermarkets. When I make them at home, they are great! Good to get so many meals from so few ingredients. SO much healthier too.
ReplyDeleteThe cake turned out well. I could never make sponges until in my 50s I tried Hugh Fearley-Whittingstall's weight of an egg recipe and have never looked back.
Bought quiches are so flat! I've only ever eaten when away on holiday
DeleteThat looks a very good quiche. I like the way a quiche will come out of the oven all brown and risen and then slowly sinks as the air gets to it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a pity it doesn't stay all puffed up
DeleteYour quiche looks good and nice to have meals for several days. My pastry always looks rustic too but it shows it's homemade!
ReplyDeletePenny
Rustic is a good word but perhaps too kind for my pastry cases!
DeleteThere's no comparison between home made (or small batch from excellent coffee shop in local town) and supermarket slabs! Yours looks delicious 😋
ReplyDeleteI like a quiche that lasts me several days
DeleteI think your quiche looks fabulous. Proper food unlike the sad, pale, cheap supermarket versions. As for the sponge, those ingredients put me right off. I'd rather have a not so pretty home-made one any day. We've reached the point where we ask in cafes whether they make their cakes. If they buy them in we don't bother.
ReplyDeleteThe cheap sponge needed trying but I won't bother again
DeleteThat quiche looks lovely. Mmm
ReplyDeleteI also tend to watch more men’s tennis, but have come back in the last few years to watching women’s tennis as well. But I’m fairly selective! I do like those players who put heart and soul into the game.
Sonay Kartel’s two matches have been great, ditto Emma Raducanu.
Am also enjoying the range of coverage on i-player. J’nan
The problem I have with the womens games is I don't know who's who with the eastern european names! But I have watched Sunay Kartel who never seems to get flustered and Emma Raducanu who ought to do better than she does sometimes.
DeleteYour quiche looks delicious and so great that it lasted for so many meals!
ReplyDeleteSaves me having to think about what to have - I eat it with different accompaniment's each day for variety
DeleteYour quiche looks absolutely delicious. I gave up making sponge cakes long ago as mine always turn out like pancakes, so any sponge that rose would be more than acceptable to me.
ReplyDeleteI used to make sponges a lot but don't bother now but thought this cheapie was worth a try
DeleteThe quiche looks delicious. I would give the synthetic stuff a miss, it upsets my gut. Delia’s all-in-one sponge cake works well, though I have been making rock cakes as an easy option when the oven is on, or a few drop scones.
ReplyDeleteI won't bother with the cheap sponge mix again but had to find out if it was any good
DeleteCam Norrie did brilliantly, didn't he? That was a cracking match. Emma Radacanu played quite well too. Everything will be fine with her until she loses. Then I suppose we'll see the physiotherapist back on court side. Pardon my cynicism.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I'm a fan of packet cake mixes. The only time I have ever used one on a regular basis is when I've made Dump Cake. And you can't make a successful one of those without a packet of mix.
I had to look up Dump Cake, never heard of that - learning something again!
DeleteDan Evans playing Djokovic later - fingers crossed Dan can do well it will be a difficult watch. Sonay Kartel seems stronger physically and mentally than Emma - one to watch I think
Meals that last more than one sitting are always a good thing in my view.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely - anything that doesn't need thinking about is good
DeleteThe quiche looks gorgeous, my pastry liners always look like that 😀
ReplyDeleteYears ago I often used Greens cake mixes, not bad if in a hurry.
Alison in Devon x
I've given up trying to make good pastry cases - I don't eat the burnt bits anymore!
DeleteYour quiche looks delicious. It is filled with lots of goodness. The mass-produced and store-bought quiche is greatly lacking in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI threw in all the veg I could find!
DeleteThey have homemade baking mixes online, Sue, that you can throw together yourself & keep in the refrigerator. Just add milk & you're ready to go. They taste a lot better than the store bought stuff but... the store bought stuff is better than nothing, to some folks, I guess. Your homemade pie crust looks wonderful and the quiche inside looks delicious! Love, Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteI don't really need to make cakes at all - usually too sweet and fattening but thought I'd give this a try as it was so cheap
DeleteThe quiche sounds delicious! Do you reheat your portions in the microwave?
ReplyDeleteYes - just for a few seconds to take away the chill of the fridge
DeleteYour quiche looks delicious! I love your rustic crust. Do you have a recipe for the milk/ cheese/ egg proportions? I looked in your recipe file and didn't find it. I love the way you used so many different veggies. And--what kind of cheese? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I just work by eye. As this quiche had lots of filling I used three eggs and then some milk but no idea how much. The cheese was grated and used under and over the veg. Any good extra strong cheese is fine.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteHa Ha -- I'm not alone -- my pie crusts look a lot like yours!
ReplyDeleteI cheat on my crusts, I'm ashamed to say. I keep some crusts in the freezer. When I am making a quiche, I simply pull one out, let it thaw, and put it in pan. Your quiche looks wonderful, though. I love a good vegetable filled quiche. All I need is vegetables. *Looks accusingly at the garden*
ReplyDeleteThat is one huge quiche. I can see how it fed you for all those days. Love a well filled quiche.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Actually, that quiche looks crusty homemade delicious! An imperfect crust is a sign of a homecooked delight!
ReplyDeleteThat quiche looks amazing, and you've got to love something that keeps you fed for five days. 😀
ReplyDeleteWow the quiche looks lovely. Do you have a recipe posted somewhere? I love quiche but can't seem to find a good one here. They taste a bit funny and are quite heavy and are really expensive - something like the one about would be about ten pounds!
ReplyDeleteThe sponge looks pretty nice. Not bad for 53p. Not sure I could buy half a bunch of carrots for that lol