Dice a dozen fresh figs and place them in a bowl. For the sauce you’ll need a cup of some very rich yoghurt such as Serbian or Greek style. We get a lovely raw, whole milk yoghurt from a local dairy that would be perfect for this. You want plain (no flavours added). Place it in a large, 3 or 4 cup container. To this add 3 tablespoons of honey, 2 teaspoons of curry powder and 2 dashes of bitters (from the bar!) and mix it all well. Pour it over the fruit and toss until the figs are well-coated.

Now, this is good enough as it is… But if you have some proper, English-style crumpets around, let’s gild the lilly: it IS a feast day after all! You can get decent crumpets at Trader Joe’s in the US, Metro in Ontario and in the freezer at Ingles in Dixie.

Toast and heavily butter the crumpets (those lovely things called “English muffins” won’t work here, I think). Place each on a plate and top with the fruit mixture.

Serve with a really full-flavoured coffee and some crisp, fried bacon.

Enjoy! S’praznikom!!

Lately, I’ve been remembering his recipe – which I’ve never used, if I’m honest. Mixes and Bisquick took over long before I could cook. But scratch seems like the best option:

1 Egg
1 Cup milk
1 Cup self-rising flour.

That’s it, although he always fried it up in corn oil: makes the edges very crispy. I imagine the batter might last for a couple of meals.

I’ve been missing things like this a lot lately. I have a *very* simple life, don’t get me wrong. Even my access to the internet is, essentially, a blogging typewriter where y’all get to read what I write faster than in a book. If I were to write a book, I think, it would provide the same enjoyment I get now, blogging. So: simple. Like a zen monastic or a mediæval hermit, I can be found in a very different life than many of my peers. My bed’s on the floor, my books are on a few shelves, my prayers are whispered quietly in the same room as all my worldly possessions. But there is something about those breakfasts of single pancakes eaten in silence that I’m missing.

1966 or so… Grandpa was then about my age now… Strange enough to think about.

• 1K very lean ground beef
• 500g mild Italian sausage (casings removed)
• 250g chicken livers
• 15 – 20 strips of thick cut bacon
• 250g mushrooms sliced (I used “baby Bellas”)
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 50g butter
• 1 egg
• Spices: Pinch of nutmeg, sprig of rosemary, two bay leaves.

Preheat oven to 230C/450F

1. Melt the butter in a pan and saute the mushrooms until just tender. Sprinkle the nutmeg over the top and remove from the heat.
2. Remove the stringy parts from the livers and mash up a bit to make them easier to blend.
3. Combine all the ground meat and livers in a large bowl, add the mushrooms and the egg. Mix this all up with your hands, it will be gushy.
4. On a rack over a pan, lay out some bacon strips to form a solid platform. Form the loaf on top of the bacon – it will be loose, and only a couple of inches high. Wrap some bacon around it to hold it together. But the rosemary and the bay leaves on the top and then lay bacon across the top. See picture, above.
5. Place in oven at 230C for 30 mins and drop to 175C/350F for 1 hour.
6. I used the drippings to add to a Bisto gravy and served it with mashed potatoes.

• 1 lb Seitan cut into bite-sized bits
• 1 can Contadina or LaChoy Sweet and Sour Sauce. Or, to save money, make your own.
• 1 small onion cut in a large dice
• 1 green pepper cut in a large dice
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup Bisquick
• 3 tsp egg replacer powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Canola or Vegetable Oil for frying. Steamed rice for serving.

1. Mix Bisquick, egg replacer and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Add Seitan bits and stir to coat all evenly.
2. Heat 1-2 inches of canola oil in a large skillet.
3. Place battered Seitan in oil and fry until golden brown. (I usually need to do this in two or three batches.) Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Keep it warm.
4. Drain oil from frying pan, reserving a small bit for the rest of the recipe.
5. In the heated skillet, saute the onion and pepper dice until the pepper is soft.
6. Add sweet and sour sauce and stir. Bring to a simmer and add the Seitan.
7. Simmer for five minutes and serve over steamed rice.

I’m overjoyed to see there is a DVD coming out! This woman – and her generation – are a treasure!

While Yorkshire Pudding is, really, just another way to get starch and fat into your system this holiday season, it is a very delicious way, indeed.

Here’s a few tips of my own:

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Which is, of course, the modern take off on this one:

Use it up, wear it out. Make it do, or do without.

Apart from a few nutty religious groups that actually expect self control, we’re not used to hearing “do without” these days.

Pity.

It’s what we’re going to have to learn.