Day 6: the important things in life

Tuesday is the day I go to the 'needle and natter' group at the library.  It's a pound a visit and this money would normally come out of the 'disposable income' I keep in my purse.  I'd decided that for the duration of my challenge I wouldn't go - as the pound would need to come out of my food budget.  The lovely ladies persuaded me that the pound was 'tea money' and that if I didn't partake, I needn't pay (the library being a community space and free to enter). It made me consider what it might really be like if I were bereft of cash, out of a job and used to all my socialising being done at restaurants, bars and coffee shops.  How very easy it would be to become depressed and isolated if one HAD to spend everyday alone because socialising always cost money.

These ponderings made my experiences today particularly poignant.  A neighbour told me she'd been reading my blog and invited me in for coffee.  At the 'needle and natter' every member of the group asked me about my challenge and how I was getting on and cash was thrust in my hand to go into the Start-Up Stirling fund.  One knitter told me how I'd been on her mind since she had popped into the Co-op and came out having spent £30 on 'bits' and another handed me a bag of apple and pear windfalls which she hoped might come in useful.  On returning home I found that old friends had sent me an encouraging email after sponsoring me and had then dropped off a package of apples.  I feel moved just thinking about it.  Today people in my community, friends and neighbours thought about me and were concerned for my welfare.  For me, undertaking this challenge, this care and consideration ranks really highly amongst the important things of life, and I can imagine the difference it would make if I had actually fallen on hard times.

Not unsurprisingly I felt rather happy this afternoon and decided to use up some of those lovely apples.  In the process I remembered why I bought this 40 years ago.....

and pulled out some old favourite cook books that I'd had when I was a young wife (back in the days when I believed I needed to be superwoman):

I didn't want to make an apple pie as I'm rubbish at shortcrust (and scones!) and in any event it would use up a fair bit of non-dairy spread (no butter in the house 😕) and I'd probably end up with a soggy bottom.

But one thing I've always been able to make (with the help of Mrs Beeton) is apfelstrudel. A half portion makes loads: 8oz plain flour, 1oz fat, 1 egg and lukewarm water worked until it stops sticking to your hands and then rolled and pulled out on a flour covered tea-towel until it's thin enough to see the pattern through it.  About a pound and a half of sliced (but uncooked) apple, dried fruit (the recipe calls for sultanas but I only had raisins), sugar and mixed spice are laid over the top and then the whole lot rolled up using the tea towel.  I cut it in two (and using that long slice shown above) manoeuvred it onto a greased and floured baking tray and cooked until golden brown and the apple soft at about 180C.  Traditionally the strudel would also contain fried breadcrumbs to help soak up the juice - but I sprinkle a little dry semolina and some finely chopped almonds on top of the apple (thanks Mum) which serves the same purpose.  Delicious warm with yoghurt or cold with a cup of coffee. I'll leave half out for this week and cut the other into portions to freeze for desserts later in the month.

I had to put the big oven on to cook the strudel, so I thought it best to make the most of it.  The 'Use Your Loaf' cookbook contains my favourite pizza dough recipe, so I made a double batch (using 1lb flour, 8 tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon of yeast, sugar and salt and enough warm water to make a dough) and made four one-person pizzas.  I only had enough filling to complete two, so two have been baked with the tomato sauce only, and two were topped with half a red pepper (the last bit left and a tad soft), a few black olives and anchovies.  One was for dinner tonight (followed by strudel) and the remaining three will be frozen and be topped when I have something to put on them and cooked as the need arises.

I didn't need to make the tomato sauce from scratch.  The soup I made yesterday thickens on chilling so I used half of the portion set aside for tomorrow's lunch to make the pizza sauce. I added a crushed garlic clove, some extra herbs and a big squeeze of tomato puree and whizzed it up to a smooth

texture, adding a little extra seasoning and a splash of olive oil.  The fact that the 'sauce' has more cabbage, carrots and potatoes in it than tomatoes really isn't noticeable once it's cooked with other toppings.  And tomorrow's lunch?  Well, there is strudel as well as soup and bread now, I don't think I'll be hungry.  And that's three more dinners and desserts in the freezer.

If you'd like to sponsor me for this challenge and support  'Start-Up Stirling' you can do so here!