Pies & Scones

Today's offering a meat and potato pie

I am a plain to average cook
But I can knock out a good pie when the need arises
This surprises me as I have hot little fat hands
The hands of a serial killer , I have been told.
My grandmother always told me that you needed cold hands for good pastry

Today I was going to ask auntie Glad what the real secret of " good pastry" when I dropped off
Some duck eggs on my rounds but as it turned out, I didn't.
She had received some bad news from the doctor about her eye sight
and as usual, all she was thinking about , was other people
" Tell Chris  I won't be able to make scones for him anymore" 
She said with a sad faraway look


43 comments:

  1. It looks excellent. Oh what I would give for an 'Hollands' pie. What's your favourite commercial pie, John?

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  2. i am so sorry to hear this.

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  3. Your pie looks lovely, but it's overshadowed by the sad news for Auntie Gladys.

    But let her know it might not all be bad, my lovely late Mum in law was registered blind and could only make out shadows and movements, she had Macular Degeneration. But she took things in her stride, she carried on cooking and enjoying most things, just not her beloved driving.

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    1. Oh Sue, I so agree.
      My mother lost must of her eye sight and still could do many things. I remember the cake she backed me on one of my last times I saw her.
      Give Aunt Gladys a big hug from me, one of her devoted followers.
      What a lovely meat and potato pie.

      cheers, parsnip

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  4. oh that's a shame. Give Auntie Gladys all our best.

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  5. Oh my goodness John …… Mary Berry would be so proud of you and Paul Hollywood would take his hands out of his pockets and have a slice !! It looks wonderful.
    …. and, so sorry to hear of Auntie Glad's troubles …… time for everyone else to take scones to her now although, I'm sure she would rather be makng them. Life's a bitch sometimes. XXXX

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  6. What a shock for Auntie, take care

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  7. Sorry to hear of Auntie Glad's eye problems...maybe she can teach you and Chris how to make them...

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  8. Poor Auntie Gladys. That is such sad news. I hope that the outcome isn't as bleak as it sounds. I think your meat and potato pie looks most edible by the way. x

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  9. John....try to get Auntie Glad's scone recipe it should be a part of any of Trelawnyd history and you could take up the cross! Your pie crust looks wonderful...pastry crust is not one of my best in baking either.

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  10. Ah bless her. Perhaps she cold give you a cookery lesson..scones and mince pies.
    Jane x

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  11. Anonymous1:51 pm

    Poor Aunty.....that is sad news. Your pie looks lovely.

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  12. Ha, you've been telling her it was Chris gobbling down those scones all this time? That is sad news for the whole village...but maybe it's time for someone to come in and learn to carry on her secret. You have your days available, don't you?

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  13. I was going to buy some beef tomorrow for a Steak and Kidney Pie. Not normally in my repertoire; I shall keep fingers my crossed. Yours looks wonderful.

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  14. Serial killer hands????? You crack me up. Sorry to hear about Auntie Glad. And sorry about those scones, too.

    That is one fine looking pie, though. Fine, fine, fine...

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  15. Your pie looks delicious John! I was taught not to overwork the crust.
    You know, since Auntie Glad has made these so often for decades probably, she just may be able to with limited sight. My mom made tea biscuits without really ever looking and they were the best.

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  16. So sorry about Auntie Glad. What an incredible inspiration she is. I hope she finds a way to continue to make those scones for a while longer at least.

    Now, who the hell would tell you that you have the hands of a serial killer?!?

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  17. Lovely looking pie, when i make a pie crust, it tastes good but looks homemade, and not in a good way.

    No Auntie Glad scones?? Oh, what a dark day :0( I hope she shows you how she does it. I've only made scones a few times and often know when the mix is right because i mix with my hands and it feels right. Perhaps Auntie Glad can do the same?

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  18. I bet she finds a way. Tough Welsh girl that she is xx

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  19. Your pie looks delicious, I don't think it could have anything to do with cold hands, mine are the coldest and I never made a pie look that good.

    Sorry about Auntie Glad's eyes. I have found as we age, we lose a little bit of something every day... Sending a hug for her, please deliver.

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  20. Anonymous4:53 pm

    So sorry about Auntie Glad's eyes...perhaps there is something that can be done to help her.

    The pie looks marvelous, maybe grandmother was wrong! Hmmmm serial killer...oh dear :) Theanne

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  21. My grandmother had big cool hands & was a great pastry chef. I was told by a bloke on a T'ai Chi retreat that my ( very warm hands ) were " full of Chi " He was a real flirt so I told him that he was full of s**t !

    Poor Auntie Glad x

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  22. Pastry doesn't like my hands, however little I handle it and however cool they are. I make it in the food processor so that I don't touch it at all until I roll it out.

    Maybe someone could help Auntie Glad with the oven. After all these years, she doesn't need to see to make her scones.

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  23. A lovely pie , I like the little leaf touches :)
    I was the pie maker at my gran's bakery, I have cold hands.
    Sorry top read that Aunty Glad is having eye trouble, hopefully it won't interrupt her scone making, if so maybe you could offer to be her assistant, and learn all of her cooking secrets.
    ~Jo

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  24. Sorry to hear about Aunt Gladys' status. It always hurts when someone starts losing their autonomy.

    Regarding pie, you'd probably like Aunt Snow's "Pie a Week" series. I, myself, prefer a good steak-and-kidney pie, washed down with a couple of pints of ale.

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  25. Poor Aunt Glad - tell her we are all thinking about her.

    As for that pie - I don;t know what it tastes like but by golly it looks the part = love the decoration.

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  26. Anonymous8:16 pm

    My heart is breaking for Auntie Glad. I think you should encourage her to continue making her scones, if possible. We all need a purpose in life.

    They say we eat with our eyes first...that is one pretty pie, John. My mouth is watering.

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  27. Little Alex is sitting on my knee as I catch up with my favourite reads. We look at the pictures first and then I explain them so I only got to read about Auntie Glad at the end. So sorry for her.

    What the pair of us had missile lock on was your pie. Alex said, 'That's noice, Daddy, I wanna EAT it!'

    Don't worry about your fingers. I haven't got a full set and it is hotter than the devil's ass here but the pies always come out nice.

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  28. Poor Auntie Glad. Send her my best wishes.

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  29. Taught my daughter to make scones. Hers rose, mine don't. Hey ho!

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  30. For a while she has been baking only when her daughter has pre weighed the ingredients out for her.... Her eye sight has deteriorated since then.. Mind you today, she put on her coat and joined the other village grey hairs on a coach trip...
    Her sadness today broke my heart just a little

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  31. God bless her. What a sweet woman.

    As for your hot hands? Submerse them in ice water right before rolling the pastry out? All night?

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  32. Ooo! Yummy. My lady loves savory pies. Lucky you!

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  33. Ask her if she would be so kind as to share her recipe, and walk you through making them.
    God bless her.
    Your pie looks amazing to me.
    Have a good Friday, John. ♥

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  34. It is hard to watch those we love lose the things they enjoy doing. And yet so often the ones who make the most of life shift their attention to what they can still do. I hope I have the courage to do that when my time comes.

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    1. Lovely looking pie, by the way :)

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  35. Anonymous9:21 am

    That's a good looking pie John :-)

    Hot hands for a healer, so I was always taught. And I never put my pastry in the fridge -it comes out just fine, so praps the cold hands thing is a myth.

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  36. OMG so sorry to make this about my Mum but she was the best damn scone maker I have ever met. Light, fluffy, well risen but with some bite. Talk about strawberry jam and cream... And believe me, my palate is superb! Mind you, most of her cooking, for all of my childhood, was pretty jolly ordinary but her scones were, and have always been, absolutely gorgeous. She was a child of the Great Depression. Flour, butter and milk!
    And the bugger is she is now completely blind thanks to progressive, aggressive, wet macular degeneration and she can't cook scones any more. Jeeze, and usually you make me feel so happy. Look after your Auntie Glad. But saying that I know I am wasting my breath because you will do that as soon as you breathe. Love to you and Chris and to Auntie Glad.

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  37. Anonymous5:23 pm

    Thanks for that, John. There are three things I am scared shitless of. One of them is going blind.My hero and only consolation being Beethoven who composed the divine when deaf. How that translates into going blind and not divine I do not know.

    So, my heartfelt best wishes to Aunt Gladys. Love the woman.

    And yes, it's true: To make pastry you need cool hands. Since. like you, I have been likened to a hot water bottle, I tend to stick to savoury. Pie looks lovely.

    Hug,
    U

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  38. That pie looks great from where I'm sitting and I bet it tasted even better. Is the person who stated you've got the hands of a serial killer still alive? ha ha ha.

    And I hoping that the doctors can sort something out for Auntie Glad so she can still enjoy doing things that she needs her sight for. All the best.

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