Stamped with Love

Happy Birthday, Mother.

P.S. I kept this envelope from a Christmas card sent by 'you can guess who' 

because the stamps were so beautiful. 

Crumble Down

My cousin introduced me to her version of crumble when I went to visit her earlier this month.

She had the beginnings of the crumble in the fridge when I arrived on Thursday 05 April and she seemed to be waiting for the right time to assemble and bake it.  She cut up some apples and pears the next morning and baked the crumble.  We were scheduled to go out after lunch but she asked whether I wanted to have some crumble before we left.  

Have you ever known me to say 'no' to dessert? 

Besides, the crumble was nice and warm, how could I say 'no'?   

Well, after she got the thumbs up for dessert, she posed the question of what I wanted to have with the crumble --my choices were ice cream, yogurt or custard.  I was on vacation so I opted for the adventurous option, I chose custard. I could imagine how ice cream and yogurt would go with crumble, custard would be new to me. Little did I know that custard was the most involved choice because it didn't come out of a tub found in the fridge or freezer.  She had to measure, mix and microwave to get the custard but I must say, it was definitely a good choice.

I have made apple crumble in the past but her version was so much better.  To begin with, hers had way more crumble than what my normal recipe would have, and it was really nice that way. Plus to top it off, literally, when crumble is served with warm custard, it is really a delicious combination.   

She had gotten the recipe from a magazine but because she likes to have more crumble, she had tried different ratios over the years until she found the crumble ratio to her liking plus added almond flakes on top.  (Smart girl!)  Naturally I had to ask for the recipe.  I was sure the family would love her version of crumble as much as I did.

Within the week of my arrival, I introduced this wonderful dessert to the family.  I made half the custard recipe in a feeble attempt to reduce the calorie count of this dessert.  The crumble was gone in two days and there were only four of us at home at the time because GI was still abroad.  

Apple, Pear and Blackberry Crumble (Serves 8)

2 apples (peeled, cored, cut into 3 cm. pieces)
2 pears (peeled, cored, cut into 2 cm. pieces)
3 T sugar
1/2 T lemon juice
170 g blackberries 

Crumble: 

200 g (~ 1 1/2 c)  all purpose flour
90 g  (~ 1 c)         porridge oats*
80 g  (~1/2 c)       brown sugar
120-125 g (~ 1/2 c) butter, chilled and cubed
75 g (~ 1/2 c)       ground almonds
2 t                         cinnamon
1 t                         flaked almonds (opt)
1 T                        demerara sugar ** 

Preheat oven 200 C
Toss apples and pears with sugar, lemon juice, pinch of salt.
Stir through the blackberries.
Scatter in a 1 litre ovenproof bowl or 8 ramekins 

For crumble : Mix flour, oats, sugar, pinch of salt in a bowl.
Using fingers, rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs with a few bigger lumps. (Add 1 or 2 T of water to get additional lumps, if desired.)  Stir through nuts and cinnamon. 

Flatten out fruit as much as possible using back of spoon.
Scatter crumble on top. Sprinkle over demarara sugar (and flaked almonds if using).
Bake until golden brown. 40 minutes for large container or 25-30 minutes for ramekins.
Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with double cream, ice cream or custard, if desired. 

*Or use mix of rolled oats and quick cooking oats**Or use brown sugar if demerara sugar not available 

Custard

(serves 8) 

4 egg yolks
1 T cornflour
1/4 c sugar
600 ml low-fat milk
1 t vanilla extract 

Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to boil
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk until smooth.
Remove hot milk from the heat and slowly pour milk onto the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened.  (If you are able to draw a well-defined line through the custard on the back of the spoon using your finger, then the custard is ready.)
Custard can be refrigerated up to three days.

Lest We Forget

We celebrate ANZAC Day today in Australia.   

Traditionally, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day.  The smell of rosemary is thought to improve the memory and today is a day of remembrance.  Rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula where Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed this day in 1915. 

For a more accurate account of history, this is what the Australian War Memorial Site has on The Anzac Day Tradition:

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and its government was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had died in the campaign. Gallipoli had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.

Another symbol of remembrance is the poppy.  For Australians, the poppy is traditionally worn on 11 November, Remembrance Day.  In 2018, 11 November will ward the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914-1918). On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute of silence is observed and dedicated to the soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation.

During the First World War, red poppies were among the first flowers that grew in the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Canadian doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote a poem in the spring of 1915 entitled "In Flanders Fields" shortly after losing his young friend and former student Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa (killed on 2 May).  Since then, the poppy has been adopted as a symbol of remembrance

London Eye brought me to the Victoria & Albert Museum last 2 April.  As we were running out of time, she asked me if there was any particular display I had wanted to see before we left.  I asked her to show me the poppies.  During the weekend, as she was showing me around, she had mentioned what had been done in front of the Tower of London in 2014.  The moat was filled with ceramic poppies to represent the number of lives that were lost during the war.  She said that the V&A Museum had purchased 16 poppies to commemorate the 16 V&A staff that had died during WWI. 

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

July to November 2014 

Sixteen Ceramic Poppies from

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

(Paul Cummins; Designed 2012; made 2013-2013)

These poppies formed part of a temporary installation at the Tower of London in 2014, marking 100 years since Britain entered the First World War.  Each of the 888,246 flowers comprising the commemoration represented a British or Commonwealth military life lost.  The ceramic artist Paul Cummins drew inspiration for the installation's title and concept from a poem that he discovered by an unknown soldier killed in Flanders.

The poppies were hand-made in Derby, Stoke-on-Trent and Warwickshire under Cummins' direction.  Thousands of volunteers 'planted' them progressively in the Tower's dry moat, in a scheme devised by the stage designer Tom Piper MBE.  Over five million people visited the installation, drawn by the dramatic sea of red, to reflect on the scale of lives lost.  Afterwards, all the poppies were sold and proceeds from their sale were given to Service charities.

Of the vast number who died in the War, 16 were V&A staff.  Their names are recorded in the Cromwell Road entrance on a memorial tablet by sculptor Eric Gill.  The Museum bought 16 poppies, every one subtly different, to honour the sacrifice of each individual.

It Was Wicked!

Wicked was awesome!

No photos allowed during the show.

But we approached the stage after the show.

I took these two photos of the orchestra pit.

I think I see their Oscar awards.

 I got London Eye to take a picture of me against the Oz map backdrop as we were leaving.

Wicked selfie!

(You can tell we enjoyed the show.)

Hamilton was playing around the corner.

But according to London Eye, the tickets to Hamilton were like gold dust.

We were happy with Wicked.  It was the first time for both of us.