Jan Edwards's Blog

With pear harvest in full swing here is a recipe for an old favourite!

Sponge layer

200g golden caster sugar200g dairy free spread200g gluten free flour1 tsp xantham gum2 tsp baking powder1 tsp vanilla extract3 medium eggs

Fruit layer

6 conference pears – peeled and quartered100 gms sugar500ml water50 gms butter3 star anise (or your spice of choice)1tsp vanilla essence

Method

Pears

In a covered pan poach the pear pieces in the sugar, water, vanilla and anise until almost tender.Remove pear with slotted spoonBoil liquid until it starts to form a syrup and turn colour.Remove star aniseAdd butter and cook until it begins to thicken once more – be careful not to burn it!Return pear pieces to the pan and coat with the syrupGrease a dish with butter and place pear pieces in the base with rounded side down. The pears should form a snug layer.

Sponge

Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffyAdd vanillaAdd beaten eggs and flour (in alternate portions to prevent curdling)Pour over pears and bake on a moderate oven until golden brown and springy to touchEase sponge around the sides of the dish with a palette knifePut in inverted plate over the top, turn over and with luck your upside down cake will fall onto the plate!

Serve with cream, ice cream, custard or just as it comes!

A very quick note to you all now that September is already here and the new titles are proliferating at an alarming rate!

Last month saw In Cases of Murder revamped with the Alchemy Press and for September a brand new edition of Deadly Plot is out in paper and kindle.

What is it about? “When a body is dug up in Wyncombe’s Victory gardens, Bunch Courtney’s investigations unearth far more than an escaped POW. What at first appears to be a cold case takes a darker turn as she uncovers links far beyond her Sussex home … and the body count begins to rise!”

The previously unseen Book 6 : A Party to Murder will be with you at the end of October!

The new revised edition of Deadly Plot is out on 11th September,  bringing all of the current titles in Bunch Courtney Investigations series into in the Alchemy Crime fold!

To be followed in late October by the brand new sixth book in the series A Party to Murder  so reviewers raise your hands for a review pdf now

Cover reveal for  A Party to Murder coming soon!

Flan/quiches are one of the easiest ‘from the fridge’ meals to make and can be tailored to any family’s palette. Here is one I made this week in a vague attempt to use up the glut of courgettes and tomatoes flooding in from the allotment, plus half a block of feta in dire need of using up!

Pastry ingredients:

250 gms gf flour125 gms butter (or veg alternative)1 tsp xantham gum1/2 tsp salt 1 egg yolk cold water

Method:

Mix dry ingredients and rub in butter into a breadcrumb textureAdd beaten egg with enough cold water to make a pliable dough (important to be really pliable or dough will crack when being rolled out!) 

Filling ingredients:

5 beaten eggs300ml milk 100 gms feta cheese2 tomatoes1 medium courgette (I used a yellow globe but any variety is good)salt and pepper and herbs of choice 

Method:

Roll out pastry and line your flan dish. Chop feta and toms into cubes and slice courgetteAdd to pastry caseMix beaten egg and milk, add seasoning and add to pastry caseCook in a medium oven until top is golden and filling set

And if all else fails leave out the pastry and call it a Baked Spanish Omlette

Notes

Some people prick the pastry base to stop it rising but I’ve found with gf flour that its seldom required. Baking blind is not a good idea with gf pastry – its already dry so prone to cracking!Full milk, lactose free or oat milk are all good – nut milks are often too thin.Its traditional to use cream in quiches but obviously not good for the lactose intolerant. For me in any case it makes a rather cloying texture and detracts from the more subtly flavoured fillings.The feta, tomato and courgette can be replaced with just about anything that will hold its integrity when cooked: asparagus, mushrooms, peas, figs, caramelised onion, sweetcorn, leeks – and for the carnivorous: salmon, grilled bacon (yum!), ham, chorizo or other grilled sausage – the list is close to endless. If you use cheddar or other hard cheese they are best grated, blue cheeses cubed as with feta.Root veg are usually best avoided but if you must then precook them. Beyond salt and pepper the herbs and spices used are down to you. If in doubt a good pinch of dried mixed herbs sprinkled over the mix just before cooking always does well. Likewise a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Fresh herbs are often best mixed into egg and milk mix. Likewise hot sauce with chorizo are best mixed into egg and milk mix before. You flan – your choice  

The new updated Alchemy Press edition of In Cases of Murder is out today!
Buy it HERE!

I have been a BFS member since the late 1980s – so a newcomer compared to some (like my other half Peter Coleborn).

If you read and/or write in the SFFH genres the BFS is well worth looking into.

Today I am featured in the Meet the … (link here) slot

Because figs  ripen sporadically on our small tree in the Courtyard Garden its seldom that we have sufficient to cook with.

Not a problem when eating them fresh from the tree with some cheese and/or ham is such a treat!

This week picking nine sweet, plump fruits at one time I cast around for a recipe. This is from Rick Stein who tells us that he obtained it from a small cafe in southern France, and which I have modified to suit gluten free diets. Yes it has nuts – but hey… it would hardly be frangipane without

pastry:

225 gms gf flour100 gms cold butter1 tsp xantham gumpinch salt1 eggfew tbs cold water

Filling:

100 gms butter (or non dairy equiv)100 gms sugar100 gms ground almonds2 eggs8/9 quartered figshalf teaspoon almond essence (optional)

Method

For the pastry, put the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add the egg yolk mixed with a tablespoon of cold water to make a smooth and pliable but not sticky dough. Add the extra water if required.Put the dough on a floured work surface, roll it out and line your flan dish . (you can bake the pastry blind but I find it makes GF pastry go rock hard) Turn the oven on at 190°C/Fan 170°C.To make the frangipane : Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until you have a smooth paste.Gradually whisk in the eggs and almond extract, then stir in the ground almonds and mix well.Fill pastry case and arrange fig wedges on top – press lightly into the mixture. Scatter with some  flaked almonds if likedbake for 20–25 minutes until golden.Dust with a little icing sugar (optional) and serve warm or at room temperature with some a good greek yoghurt.

Heads up – the new edition available on pre-order for Kindle now!

Kindle and paperback will be out 21st August!

Of Sands and Tides – by Jan Edwards

Way back in 2018 my crime novel Winter Downs – the first of the Bunch Courtney Investigations series – won an Arnold Bennett Book Prize. It was an incredibly exciting moment for me but, typically, I was away on holiday when those awards were announced.

Misha Herwin  kindly attended the ceremony on my behalf on the vague off chance that Winter Downs might win. I have been shortlisted for several things in the past and while that is always a good feeling had never envisaged actually winning.

Peter and I were lounging poolside in Cyprus, sipping cocktails on the evening that the awards were announced and Misha called me from England with the news.  The prize was a handsome cheque and letter from the judging panel;  Keele academics and the Arnold Bennett society committee.

More cocktails were in order!

The letter made special mention of my research on the WW2 era carried out for the book, which was gratifying. Ensuring those small details are correct is important to me and a lot of reading is done chasing down tiny facts, most especially regarding life on the home front.

A few months ago I attended the Arnold Bennett awards with Barry Lillie, who had been short listed for the award, and saw that handsome statuettes are now awarded to the winners. I tentatively asked if I might have one as  Winter Downs had won an Arnold Bennett Book Prize before the Bennett busts were available.

The committee kindly sent me one of the awards a few weeks ago and I promptly ordered a base and plaque, which I have now assembled, just in time for the re-branding of the Bunch Courtney Investigations  as they move from Penkhull Press to the Alchemy Press.

This had  been an opportunity to revamp both the text and covers, though the edits were far harder work than anticipated. Winter Downs, In Her Defence and Listed Dead are completed, In Cases of Murder and Deadly Plot will follow in August and September respectively and Party to Murder : Bunch Courtney Investigation #6 will be with you in early November!

Exciting times!

Plus it looks good on the mantle