Things have suddenly got a bit hectic in this house over the last few days. I’ve mentioned before how my partner’s 89-year-old mother has been living with us since she suffered a stroke almost exactly twelve months ago. We had settled into a regular routine, but then on Friday she fell over in her bedroom, caught her head on the way down, and suddenly we’re right back to the beginning again. She’s badly bruised, quite weak and all of her confidence has gone. We spent the weekend rearranging the house so that she can have a bedroom downstairs and at the moment most of our time is taken up with caring for her.
At times like this any plans you’ve made soon go by the wayside and that’s certainly been the case as far as baking is concerned. I was quite pleased with myself when I sat down last week to write my Christmas baking list, but as of now, nothing has been ticked off.
When I can get back into the kitchen I’ll be starting with mince pies. I know these are traditional in Britain at this time of year but I’m not sure about the rest of the world. If you haven’t heard of them they are small individual sweet pastry pies, filled with a mixture of dried fruits and spices. They can be traced back to the 13th century when Crusaders returning from the Middle East to Europe bought recipes containing meats, fruits and spices. In their early forms, the pies did contain meat as well as fruits and spice, but over time they have become the purely sweet version we know today. Just to confuse the issue further, what much of the world knows as ground beef is also called mince is Britain.
I’ve been baking mince pies for a few years now but last year was the first time I made my own mincemeat. Previously I’d always used shop-bought and simply made the pastry case. That’s all changed now though and after last years success, I’m not going back. Homemade mincemeat is gorgeous, you have real control over the flavours you want to accentuate and the sugar content. The recipe I used to make the mincemeat was from Felicity Cloakes mince pie masterclass column in the Guardian. Felicity takes you through the baking stage by stage and if you’ve never tried a homemade mice pie this is a great place to start. When you look at the ingredients list for the mincemeat you may think it a bit daunting but take note of Felicity’s comment, things can be changed if there are items in there you don’t like or don’t have. I didn’t bother with the stem ginger in mine and I also left out the optional orange blossom water which she has as a pastry ingredient.
The recipe is for 20 pies. If like me you think that sounds rather a lot I’d suggest making the full amount of mincemeat but half the pastry. You can enjoy a batch now and keep the remaining mincemeat in the fridge for some more nearer Christmas.
David in the kitchen. 
David, I’m sorry to read that your partner’s mother fell. Losing her confidence is a big thing but maybe over time she will gain that back. I can see where having a bedroom downstairs would be useful and I’m glad you could find a way to make that happen. I am sure the pandemic doesn’t make any of this any easier.
As far as mince pies go, my dad used to make them every Christmas. I think he put brandy (or maybe run?) in them. My brothers and I liked them and looked forward to having them every year. And I didn’t know that ground beef= mince! I learn a lot from reading your blog!
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You are so right about the pandemic. Prior to this we would have got her to a doctor or hospital for a check up. Now we had to do it all over the phone and there is always the concern that you might be missing something. There are some signs of improvement today, so hopefully all is ok.
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