Cupkcake Kits Galore!

Betty has been selling a lot of cupcake kits for that special gift - Pink ones for girls and red ones for boys but they are really good to use at any age.

DELUXE CHRISTMAS PINK CUPCAKE PACKAGE - £39.99

DELUXE CHRISTMAS RED CUPCAKE PACKAGE- £39.99

Christmas Cupcake Package - £25.99

All available at www.bettytwyford.com

Freezing tempatures. Steaming hot food!

The recent cold weather has brought on a cooking frenzy - lots of soups and stews and casseroles on the Aga. Try this soup for a heart-warmer

1. Lots of chopped vegetables - potato, carrot, swede, squash, peas, onions and garlic
2. Simmer until tender with some stock and
3. Then add a good wedge of stilton cheese.
4. Liquidise to a smooth soup
5. And eat with croutons!

SMASHING!

IT'S CHRISTMAS!

On a cold, sunny but frosty day, the aroma of mulled wine simmering on the Aga and Bing Crosby singing of his dream for a ‘White Christmas’  greeted the intrepid visitors to Betty’s Christmas gift extravaganza! Our gorgeous cake decorator, Jacqui was kept extremely busy demonstrating how to ice and decorate a Christmas cake and the beautiful Julie was busy helping customers to make the right choice of gift.  Of course, Betty’s wonderful colourful and spotty ‘Cupcake Kits’ stole the show.  They were disappearing like hot cakes!

Mulled Wine Recipe

Here is the recipe used for the Mulled Wine, which certainly helped the day to go with a swing!

Two bottles of red wine

2 fl oz of Damson Gin (Betty made her Gin 3 years ago – very potent!)

½ Carton Orange Juice

2 large oranges stuck with cloves

2 large lemons stuck with cloves

4 cinnamon sticks

¼ cup Demerara suga

3 or 4 Bay leaves

Stir the sugar into the wine and heat gently (do not boil)

Add the oranges, lemons and spices

Pour in the Damson Gin

Add the Bay leaves

Add the orange juice

Simmer for about 20 minutes and then keep warm on the Aga.  Pour into wine glasses and relax!

Lamb Shanks and Anchovies Made on an Aga.

Lamb Shanks are wonderfully tasty and economical to use. The anchovies bring out the ‘meatiness’ of the lamb. This dish provides a complete meal for a family of four people and is warming, filling and special.  Made mostly of store cupboard ingredients, it can be left in the simmering oven for most of the day.  It could also be served as a dinner party main course, just add a swirl of cream!

INGREDIENTS
2 good sized lamb shanks
1 small tin anchovies (drained of oil and chopped)
1 tablespoon oil
2 medium onions (chopped)
2 large cloves garlic (chopped into slithers)
2 tins plumb tomatoes
1 large tablespoon tomato puree
1 good bulb fennel (chopped)
1 medium orange pepper, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
4 good sized potatoes (chopped into small pieces)
1 tin butter beans
2 dried chillies
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp sugar
2 low fat vegetable cubes in 3/4 pint of boiling water
Flour for thickening
Splash of red wine

Method
Cut small slits into the lamb shanks and insert the slithers of garlic.  Rub with oil and sprinkle over with rosemary.  Brown the shanks, being careful not to burn them. Whilst gently stirring, add the cumin seed, fennel, onion, carrots, and pepper.  Then add the chopped dried chillies.  Sprinkle over about 1 tablespoon of flour, and cook for 1 minute, and start to add the stock.  Bring to the boil on the boiling plate; add the chopped anchovies, sugar, tins of tomatoes and the tomato puree to make a thickish sauce.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. (At this point you could pour in a splash of red wine)

Transfer to the simmering oven and cook for 21/2 hours.  Remove from the oven and add the butter beans and potatoes. Bring back to the boil and then put back into the simmering oven for a further ¾ - 1 hour.  To serve, sprinkle over chopped coriander and ladle into large bowls.  The lamb will fall off the bone with good grace and ease!

Enjoy the Winter warmer.

Love Betty x

Hugo and the cake

Our little darling had his birthday on Sunday and couldn’t wait until we decorated his cake (note the bite marks).

 

   

Betty quickly cooked another one, decorated it with butter cream and adorned the whole pretty cake with sparklers.   

 

 

  

However, Hugo’s tummy was so full – he couldn’t manage to eat it but he certainly managed to lick the butter icing bowl!

Food Comforts for the Winter Months

The chilly winter air and the dark morning skies are enough to make anyone want to stay in bed. Try this receipe to warm the winter blues away.

STEW AND DUMPLINGS FROM THE AGA SIMMERING OVEN

INGREDIENTS 500g stewing steak, bite size pieces 1 onion, chopped, 1 carrot peeled and chopped 1 turnip peeled and chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 oz flour, some seasoning Bouquet garni ¾ pint – 1 pint meat stock Little red wine METHOD Brown the meat in the oil and remove, then brown the vegetables and onion, add the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Pour in the stock, add the bouquet garni, return the meat, and stir until boiling. Place a tight lid on top and transfer to the simmering oven of the Aga for 11/2 to 2 hours.  Before serving, add the dumplings and a spatter of wine (or more stock) to increase the gravy if it has reduced. THE DUMPLINGS INGREDIENTS 165g flour ½ tsp baking powder A pinch of salt 125 ml milk 1 tsp butter Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Simmer the milk and butter in a saucepan and mix into the flour mixture, until moist. Take teaspoon scoops of the dumpling mixture and form into dough balls. Place these into the stew to cook, 10 minutes before serving time.

Cooking with Lizzie

I have been teaching Lizzie to cook on the Aga, which involved a lot of spoon licking and testing!  She knows how to weigh out butter and sugar and crack eggs into the mix and how to add the flour gradually.  We put her cake into the top roasting oven, using the cold shelf to slow down the cooking process.  Lizzie found it impossible to wait, and kept having to look!  Fortunately, this didn’t spoil the cake!  Thank you Aga.

Icing was another thing – she wanted it to be white and used ‘Way too Pink’ glitter in vast quantities.  Lovely cake though!  Lovely Lizzie!

Christmas Ideas

There is a lot of activity at the Aga Twyford factory.  We are holding an open day and early evening for people who would like to find a solution to their Christmas present problems.  We are serving coffee and mulled wine and nibbles and demonstrating how to ice a Christmas cake and showing off our fantastic cupcake package. There is a lot of Aga cookware and Betty Twyford products at fantastic discounts.   

If you are in Hereford on the 26^th November, come along and see us! 

Love from Betty x

NEWSFLASH!!

Betty’s blue 1950’s retro style enamelware has just arrived and will be featured on the website shortly.

 

 

Betty has a cupcake advert and offer in Country Living visit www.bettytwyford.com for details of the kit.  The offer is for a 10% discount making the kit a good value purchase at 17.99! (makes a fantastic Christmas gift for little cooks as well as large cooks)

Betty is busy creating her new brands – some wonderful natural soap bars are in the pipe line – Betty’s Beauty Bar (in orange and lavender hues) and Bertie Twyfords glorious Bath Bar (a shampoo bar kind to animal and human skin) and George’s Grooming Bar (take this bar travelling with you and it will nurture George’s skin and he can shave with it too!

Keep an eye on the website for these stunning new products!

RECIPE FOR BETTY’S GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY

Green Tomato Chutney

 What you need:

A kind neighbour to give you

2 KG’S GREEN TOMATOES (or from your garden/local fruit and veg store)

THEN:-

4 GOOD SIZED BRAMLEY APPLES

1 KG SOFT BROWN SUGAR

1 LITRE MALT VINEGAR

A CHILD’S HAND OF ROOT GINGER

6 RED CHILIS

250g RAISINS

600g SHALLOTS

2 TSP SALT

3 GOOD CLOVES GARLIC

1. Peel and chop everything very small, except for the chillies and ginger – keep both of these whole. 
   
2. Put everything into an Aga preserving pan and bring to the boil, keeping a watchful eye that the sugar does not burn.  
   
3. Transfer to the simmering plate and cook for about a 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. 
   
4. When ready (it should look thick, like jam) spoon into sterilised jars – try bettytwyford.com website for lovely looking jars with lids.   

 Enjoy with meat or cheese!

Deluxe Aga

Betty is thrilled with her original deluxe renovated Agas (in blue or cream) with a red Aga badge and enameled lid rings, priced at £3,995 for a two oven.

Four oven version available at www.twyford-cookers.com

Original Deluxe Aga with Red Aga Badge - Available in Blue or Cream

BETTY COOKS...

LEMON TART

Lemon tart is a gift at the end of a delicious meal eaten with good friends.
Here is the recipe
Sweet pastry is made by using
120g soft butter,
75g icing sugar,
3egg yolks,
250g plain flour and a little water if needs be.

Cream the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl, mix in the egg yolks with the flour.  Add some water if the mixture needs it, and form into a ball and wrap with cling film.  Place in the fridge for the pastry to 'calm down' before rolling out to line a pastry tart tin (about 24cm). Prick the base with a fork.

For the Lemon Cream - Beat 5 eggs with 150g castor sugar and the juice of 3 lemons.  Add 150ml double cream to the mix. Grate the rind off one of the lemons (or more if you wish) and add to the mix. Place the mixture into the tart tin.

lemon tart

Cook on the floor of the roasting oven of the Aga beneath the cold shelf on the third set of runners down.  Cook for about 20 mins and then transfer to the simmering oven until the cream is 'set'

getting ready to cook

Betty is creating masterpieces in the kitchen with her trusty Aga - the lemon pie, mentioned earlier, along with goose and fig sauce, pork tenderloin stuffed with spinach, mushrooms and pate, wrapped in puff pastry and ...green tomato chutney in Betty's fantastic kilner jars go to http://www.bettytwyford.com/ recipes will be posted SOON - give a girl a chance!! love from Betty

celebrating birthdays

A wonderful weekend spent at The Plas celebrating an important birthday in stunning September Welsh countryside.  Pimms on arrival, wine and champagne flowing with delicious cuts of duck and beef and scrumptious salads - what more could a girl ask for?  Home now, and it is baked beans for lunch - well, every good weekend has to end for another one to follow.  Best pudding was lemon tart - will try out a recipe and post it soon http://www.bettytwyford.com/

BETTY COOKS...

GAME CASSEROLE

Because I am a domestic goddess, I am always looking for ways to indulge my family and friends.  There is no better way to collect the people you love together, than around a table to eat.

With a glass of wine and good food, the conversation flows.  Our time leisure time is invaluable in this strange economic climate and maybe these are the memories our children will recall in years to come.

There is a small price to pay for entertaining –our domestic goddess spends more time in the kitchen. (She also has a tendency to gain weight). Temptation has to be met with a degree of caution, and with this in mind, I have created a low fat version of a rich Game casserole, and I hope you will agree that taste does not have to be sacrificed in our constant battle with the calories.

Game is now available all year round, and it is a healthy low fat alternative to red meat.  Try a mixture of pigeon, rabbit and venison, cut into bite sized cubes.  The Aga is an ideal machine to slow cook this casserole, which tantalises the taste buds and appears to be rich and creamy whilst remaining virtuous and delicious.

RECIPE FOR GAME CASSEROLE
SERVES FOUR

INGREDIENTS
525grms mixed game – rabbit, pigeon and venison
1 large red onion
3 sticks celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
10 dried apricots, soaked to plump up
seasoning
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ pint chicken stock
½ pint red wine
25grms butter, (25grms won’t hurt!)
25grms flour

1. Sauté the game and garlic in the butter; remove and add the flour and cayenne powder to the juices
2. Cook for a moment, and then add the stock and red wine to make a smooth and thickened sauce.
3. Return the game to the pan, and add all of the chopped vegetables and season.   
4. Add the apricots, and sugar and bring back to the boil on the simmering plate.
5. Leave for approximately 4 minutes, and then transfer to the simmering oven.   
6. Forget about it for about 3 hrs.  Have a taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.   
7. This can stay in the simmering oven until you are ready to serve with mashed potatoes and green beans. 
8. Enjoy!

The Goose Chase

Suddenly the sky has turned grey and the nights are drawing in. The heart is warmed by the sweet thought of Christmas and the excitement of buying presents and planning the Christmas menu. This year, I am abandoning the BIG Fat Turkey for a BIG Fat Goose!

I am told that the meat is rich and delicious and the stuffing needs to be fruity and alcoholic, so I will keep you posted with the suitable recipe.

Am I mad you may ask? The answer is yes!

Love from Betty

Brown Betty

INGREDIENTS
8oz breadcrumbs
2lb apples, peeled and sliced
2-3 tablespoons golden syrup
2 tablespoons lemon curd
2-3oz butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teacup of water
1 lemon (grate the rind)



METHOD

Grease a pie dish and lay some of the breadcrumbs on the base. Cover with a layer of sliced apple, and pour over half of the golden syrup and half of the lemon curd. Dot this with the butter, and sprinkle with half of the spices, and half of the grated lemon rind. Continue to layer the dish, finishing with a layer of breadcrumbs.  Dot the top with the remaining butter.  Mix the juice of the lemon with the water, and pour over the pudding.  Bake in the roasting oven of the Aga, with the cold shelf on the second rung down, and the grid shelf on the bottom.  Keep checking, 35-45 minutes should do it.

More recipes can be found on Betty's Recipe Page.

Mansion House at Tatton Park

Betty has been mixing with the great and the good in the Mansion House at Tatton Park with George, as guests of Country Living magazine.

Dressed in our best bib and tucker, we dined on Italian chicken, hams and cheeses from all regions.  Quite a lot of food and wine was consumed whilst regaling the difficult economic times we are all suffering, and then a lot of retail therapy indulged in afterwards in the R.H.S. Flower show.  It seems we are all holding our own, and bravely ‘getting through it’!

Here is a version of the delicious Italian chicken consumed in copious amounts by George!

To feed four people, cut up about three chicken breasts and sauté in some butter with some crushed garlic.  In a separate saucepan gently melt 4 tbspns butter and then add the cream, when this has been absorbed, add the grated Parmesan, ground black pepper and a dash of nutmeg and a tiny tsp.sugar. simmer to thicken but take care not to burn.   Add the chopped chicken breasts and allow to amalgamate.  Serve over cooked Pasta – delicious. 

•    3 skinless chicken breasts
•    2 tsp crushed garlic (optional for sautéing chicken)
•    4 Tbs butter
•    1 cup heavy cream
•    1 cup grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
•    8 oz Fettucine Pasta (or enough to feed 4 people)
•    salt to your taste
•    a little ground black pepper to bring out the taste
•    a little sugar to taste
•    dash of nutmeg

GARDENING

It is the Weekend (how I love that word) and we are out in the garden.  At first it is with a slight reluctance, when yawning and still tired from a hectic week, we eat breakfast and don the gardening gloves.   But once the fresh air kicks in, it becomes addictive, and borders are weeded, vegetable beds are raided and George sits astride his red mower to motor up and down, up and down, to mow the area we have named the orchard.  I think he finds this therapeutic, as he jealously guards this machine.  It is a man thing...

Red and Blackcurrants drip from young bushes planted by me, Betty Twyford, last year.  Now they are heavy with fruit, and I realise that whilst it is good to pluck and pick, you then have to MAKE something with the produce.  Well, it is all about Jam, and there is something wonderful about filling the pots – like a squirrel, I am hoarding up food for the winter.  I feel like a pioneer, growing, picking, preserving.  Better think about cleaning out that old freezer in the garage!

Cupcakes

Susan and Teddy have been invited to a Birthday party, so I am doing my bit with cupcakes!  I am creating them from my own special cupcake kit (go to www.bettytwyford.com) I have decided to make blue ones! With blue edible glitter and candy stripped candles – I think that sometimes we just have to go for colour and taste!  

Now, a quiet afternoon while they are partying – what must I do...sofa, chocolates, glass of wine – oh Betty, practise what you preach! Let us pray for the rain to stay away.

Remembering Italy

Back from Italy, I am cooking all Italian! Lots of Pasta, but here is the thing – I am using my vegetables from our raised vegetable beds (which have been a boon – no hard digging, the soil is freshly delivered ready mixed with fertiliser!)

The Italians, like the French, have a wonderful way with simple food. We eat fresh Pasta with broad beans, peas, spring onions and garlic sautéed in butter and just lightly rinsed with single cream. A few gratings of Parmesan cheese, and voila! A complete meal, just simple and delicious. Wash this down with a light Italian wine from the Barolo region from producer Giacomo Borgogno and Bob is definitely your uncle!!

NEW WEBSITE JUST UP

Betty's new website is now up and running. A lot still needs to be done and many products are still to be listed but its a start ! Please go to www.bettytwyford.com to see it, but to see ALL the range of products please go to www.twyford-cookers.com. A complete and greatly extended range to include cupcake kits, and lots of fantastic products will soon be available on both websites. Thank you all so much for your support.

HOME ALONE

I have had a precious day at home, writing, cooking, gardening (not cleaning!) Just pulling up the odd weed when the fancy takes me, and thinking about all of the strawberries to come from my flowerful bed. The last two days have been heavenly, still and quiet, sunny and calm. A summer day to remember. What is this life, if full of care... My head is so full of my Betty brand. I am so excited about all of the new products we are developing. The textile range is not far away. My dreams are full of colour, the long and hard winter has taken it toll. It's time to break loose...and live a little

It is all very exciting

The sun is shinning, but it is still the weather for vests! A long walk this morning and time to think about the future. Betty is excited about her new website, which is almost ready. Gardening is of course on every one's mind, and to see new shoots appear is heart warming. We have planted cabbage and brocoli, carrots and parsnips, raddish and rocket. Tomatoes to come next. Tomatoes will be in grow bags, but covered with lovely old sacking covers, available from http://www.twyford-cookers.com/ all of this will soon be available from Betty's own website. Just a few more days.... Betty has been making bread like a mad thing, and soon to be picking salad leaves and tomatoes, it is all too exciting, I don't know how I can sleep at night. After a long and cruel recession, Betty is pleased think about the simple things in life, and plodding the long and winding road to a better lifexxx

What has been happening? Betty has been busy creating a cup cake range. This is not as easy as it sounds, but now she has refined her ideas and the results should be wonderful, so watch this space! The garden has suddenly become the focus of all attention, watching the miraculous green shoots of recovery from winter peaking through the ground. Raddish, beetroot, onions, carrots, spring cabbage and garlic. I cannot wait to pick and place into my trug. If you would like a trug, go to http://www.twyford-cookers.com and click on garden.

Home alone

Home at last, and back to work with a vengeance. No one is sorry for the cold weather we had in Florida, apparently it was far more dramatic here. Now it is dull and rainy and we are both jet lagged. Many changes taking place at Aga Twyford, and all of them for the better. We have a fantastic special offer deal where an Aga can be purchased for as little as £2,950 including installation. Can't get much better than that, especially considering our five year guarantee! I have been cooking again, lots of comfort food. Just cooked an apple cake and casseroled some pork for this evening's meal. Must be the cold! Will write some more recipes when I can finally get my sleeping patterns back and the brain is functioning again.

cooking in Florida

While it is cold, the urge is to cook! I am missing my Aga, but there is something quite nice about turning the cooking temperature to say 350 degrees, and knowing that you have that temperature. That is not to say that it is a better way to cook, but it is less instinctive and more predictable! I am missing that ambient warmth in my kitchen, and the certain way an Aga makes you feel, secure I suppose is the right word for it. Florida when is is 30 degrees less than normal, is quite a different place to be, and of course, we have packed all of the wrong clothes.

I have cooked a fool proof fruit cake. Here it is, in ounces still!

4 0z marg or butter (or could be half fat)

6 oz sugar

14oz dried fruit (I used chopped appricots and dates and sultanas)

8 fl oz water, 1tsp bicarb soda

1/2 tsp mixed spice (cinamon and nutmeg is good)

2 beaten eggs

4oz plain and 4oz S.R. Flour, pinch salt

AND COOK AT 350 degrees or in Roasting oven with cold shelf on second runners

Put marg/butter, sugar, fruit,bicarb, spice and water in a saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer for a minute, set aside to cool. Add beaten eggs, flour and salt, mix, then into a loaf tin and cook for one and a quarter hours but could be less in an Aga. Keep an eye on it! Go to Aga Twyford cookware site to see our special discounts at 15% off all cookware for January. And look at Betty Twyford cleaning kit - marvellous. Keep warm!

Betty in Florida

In Florida for the sunshine and sand - no sunshine, there is sand, and lots of cold cold rain and clouds. Are you feeling sorry for me? George is restless. Betty has been cooking - here is a recipe for corn bread. Go on, rush out and buy some corn meal! If you have a wheat intolerance, it is good to go!

First, take a bowl and mix 8oz (sorry about the ounces, I am after all, a 1950's housewife!) corn meal, 8oz plain flour,(could be Rye or Oat) 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp baking powder. Whish (Betty's word) it all together and in a separate bowl, mix 10 fl oz milk, 2 eggs and 2 tbsp oil together and add to the dry mix. Place in a greased loaf tin and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Yes, I know it is supposed to be cooked in an Aga, but I am in Florida and they look very confused when I ask them if they know what an Aga is! It is a lovely light bread and easily digested. George loves it with butter and jam, but then, he is naturally thin and I have to miss out the butter....