I think I could look at Jessie J in her leather top all day

Yes she is a great potential for some one that you fancy but is annoying thread. Sometimes she looks amazing other times like she has been smoking fashion crack and it did not work.


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My attempt at a Cornish pasty with short crust pastry was a disaster. The contents were fine it was the pastry. It was not really suited for a pasty. I need to rethink how to do the pastry. Thinking of trying ready made flaky pastry next time. That if it is in the shops. Also need to work out a better way of baking, as not easy in a Halogen oven. The pasty mould worked well, after a couple of tries. Will I remember these tricks next time I try?


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What fat did you use for your shortcrust? I've always struggled with pasties as I always do all butter and it's to short. I never use lard as I tend not to have it around due to my wife being a veggie, so it's not something that would be in the fridge as it would be used so little it's not worth buying. However, I suspect for a successful pasty you would need 50/50 at least.

As to what's on my mind, Iain Banks' impending death. At first, I just was gutted that there wouldn't be any more culture novels, but now I'm thinking about how personal novels are. It's as if he's been speaking directly to me all these years. I have three equal all time favourite writers and two of them (Arthur Ransome and Goscinny) were dead before I discovered their oeuvres, so this is a new one on me.

Decided to google some of these symptoms, and outlook being generally terrible.
Turns out I'm probably not alone in my dislike for it, but whenever I clicked through from my google results to an MS community page about issues with outlook, I get

Annoying.

I decided to start simple and use a pastry mix. So only had to add water and mix. It tasted like pastry, and would have been nice on a steak and kidney pie. It might be that the pastry was too thick. I was worried that it would break. Though I do not think it was right for my pasty. I am going to try a ready made flaky pastry mix next time. Or possibly a filo pastry depending on what is in the shop tonight. The pasty mould worked well and I used less meat filler than I anticipated so that will not be an issue next time. It might take me months to learn how to do it properly so if for the next few months I use a ready made pastry and work from there till I have mastered making them before starting with making pastry. It took me three months to solve the basic problems with bread mixes, such is the handicap of amnesia.

I did pasties last weekend and they came out great. A couple of people doubted that I'd made them myself *smug*. As always, I used the simplest short-crust pastry recipe possible but not mixing it quite completely so you end up with a rough-puff. With 500g of minced animal I made 4 large pasties:

6oz plain flour, 3.5 oz salted butter (both Tesco Value)

Put into the food processor or blender and whiz on max until it resembles breadcrumbs but with the odd flake of butter. That's to say, don't overdo it - stop as soon as the big lumps of butter have gone. The longer you blend, the shorter and less flaky the pastry will be.

Turn processor down to lowest speed and slowly drizzle in cold water until it all comes together,

Split into 4 equal pieces and roll into rounds. Add about 3 tablespoons of filling and gather and pinch. Use a flour paste if the edges don't stick together. Lubricate the baking sheets well with a neutrally flavoured fat; I needed 2 separate sheets.

It's very important to pre-heat the oven and brush liberally with egg before baking. That maintains moisture and adds structural integrity in addition to giving a professional looking crispy, tasty, glossy finish.

Do not skimp on the fat. Any ratio less than 1:2 will taste like cardboard. My Cornish grandmother uses half butter and half lard. Lard has a higher fat content so gives a slightly shorter product, which is why some people call it "shortening". I prefer the taste of all butter, but that's a question of taste. Using half lard would also save about 5p per pasty if money is an issue.

Never forget the mustard and black pepper to season the filling

I might try that. Before I used the pastry mix in my big Kenwood bowl. Though I could use the processor to make the pastry instead. I will get some lard and try that next time. For the meat filling I have a really hot chilli which is not too wet and would probably be good in the pasty. There could also be the matter of forgetting what they really should taste like so might get a proper pasty from the shop and try that.

Yeah, good luck with that

Although actually, I've never had one from Greggs. Maybe they're not so bad?

Actually we have a village bakery, but I think that they are bought in from somewhere else.

LOL people thinking Cher is dead on twitter due to #nowthatcherisdead That's given me a proper laugh!

I love it

+1 very funny even if unintentional.

I need some sunshine.

I don't even need an exotic beach and a drink with an umbrella in, just some good old fashioned English sunshine. I am starting to feel transparent and as though I've been living in the dark forever.

I need some sunshine!

My glasses. I put them down somewhere but not sure where. It is not as if I know when I last used them? So will have to do a very thorough search of the flat. I might be some time.