NEW SHOW FOR THE COMING WEEKS!!!

As a new venture to increase the number of special shows on Beaten Path, I will be taking over the airwaves on Tuesday nights for the coming few months to bring you:

LIVE IN CONCERT!

Each week (subject to timings) I will be broadcasting live concerts and shows from the best artists to hit the stage.

 A new show each week featuring the different styles of performers such as 

Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, Electric Light Orchestra, Mike Oldfield, Queen, Status Quo, Supertramp...

PLUS MANY MORE!

Fans of Yitzie's Hullaballoo need not worry as he doesn't get many opportunities to entertain us and he will still be broadcasting when he can. Live concerts will be broadcast when he has no show on a Tuesday, starting 23rd June, and will be of varying duration, starting at 10pm UK/ 5pm Eastern Time.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE CALENDAR AT THE TOP OF THE BLOG PAGE FOR DETAILS!!!

(NB: could I ask people to post a response or send me a message to let me now if they would rather:

A: Have it publicised which act will feature in the live shows

B: Leave it as a nice surprise for when the show starts...

Best wishes to you all.... let's all get our air guitars out!!!!

 

 

Bestest cakes ever!!!

I know this is really simple and everyone SHOULD know how to do this, but my dear mother has always commented that "she can't make cakes like I can"... so I'm doing something right!

The majority of my cakes are based on the traditional "all in one" mix... as I describe it, "Get all your ingredients and chuck them in a bowl... then beat it into submission!!"

Equal weights are used for a basic cake mix, using:

6oz Self Raising flour
6oz Caster Sugar
6oz Margarine (cut into smallish pieces)
3 large eggs.

Put all of this into a large bowl and mix with an electric food mixer, starting on a slow speed to keep the dust down. As it binds together, increse the speed which will introduce more air into the mix for a light and soft cake. 

Line the base of a 7-8" cake tin with greaseproof paper. I usually help the paper to stick down by first lightly wiping the base with the paper wrapping from a butter block. 

Pour the mixture into the tin and gently spread out to evenly cover, using a spatula. It was at this point that mother dear commented "It looks very runny... is that ok?" My answer - "you told me that I'm better at making cakes.. don't argue!!!! )

Put the cake into a pre-heated oven at 350F / 180C or gas mark 4, and cook for around 20-30 minutes.

When cooked, the cake should 'spring back" when gently touched although I prefer the option to stick a knife or skewer into the middle. When removed it should be clean and not show any cake mix sticking to it.

Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack.

When cooled, the cake can be cut through the middle (to make a top and bottom) and then filled with your choice of filling. For a victoria sponge, flip the top over. One side is covered with strawberry jam, the other with butter icing or whipped double cream. Bring the two pieces together again and lightly dust the surface of the cake with icing sugar.

Many variations can be made on this recipe, my favourite being a chocolate cake with coffee cream filling and topping

 Chocolate cake with lashings of coffee cream

For making a rich chocolate cake, substitute between 1 and 2 oz of the flour with cocoa powder.

A coffee flavoured sponge can be easily made by dissolving 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules in THE MINIMUM amount of boiling water required to make a liquid. This should be chilled in the fridge to bring it's temperature down before adding to the sponge mix.

Another great success was my spicey fruiit cake, again an adaptation of the basic cake mix.
Add to this ground nutmeg, ground cinammon, and mixed spice, and a generous helping of mixed peel and mixed fruit. (raisins, sultanas and currents). Don't ask me exact quantities... make it up as you go along and test it with a regular dipping of the finger!!!!

Trev's chicken soup

To start the ball rolling, I've added my home made, thick chicken soup recipe, for making a hot and steamy satisfying light lunch! This was something I came up with when pottering around with alternatives to a soup recipe I tried once.. I loved the thick and creamy texture of these!!

Ingredients:
3 Chicken stock cubes
1 litre cold water
3 large potatoes
2 Chicken breast fillets
1 onion
200-250ml of single cream
White pepper, parsley and thyme

Instructions:
Pour the water into a large saucepan and add the stock cubes, heat until the cubes are dissolved.

Peel the potatoes and cut into dice sized cubes, add to the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes to cook...

slice the chicken breasts and dice the onions... and fry until cooked.

Put the chicken and onion into a liquidiser and blitz to break the chicken down into fibres. Then add the stock/potato mix and blitz again. You may need to do this in several stages or you're gonna redecorate your kitchen!

Return the mix to the saucepan on a low heat and and simmer, stirring while slowly adding the cream until you acheive the desired smooth consistency.

Add parsley, thyme and white pepper to taste. Serve and garnish with parsley

Serves 4.

Recipe page added!!!

If you have your own recipes or foodie tips you'd like to share, please feel free to drop me details and photos by email directly to "trevor.hickson@talktalk.net"

Your ideas and experiences will appear on the blog and recipes page!