Thursday 23 July 2015

Homity pie

If any of you have ever eaten at Cranks restaurants, you may well have tasted their wonderful homity pie. I love it and when Mum and I used to go over to Dartington Cider Press Centre we would sometimes nip into Cranks for lunch - homity pie was always my 'go to' meal with a selection of their salads.


I made one large pie and three individual, although I could only manage half an individual pie with all that salad.

http://www.cranks.co.uk/gb/recipes/homity-pie

This is the link to the recipe. I served it with a mixed green salad with plenty of watercress, a bean salad with spring onions and peppers and a carrot, poppy seed and apricot salad, but you could obviously serve it with whatever you fancy. It is neither vegan nor gluten free I'm afraid ( eldest daughter is in Paris this week) but very economical, freezes well and great tasting!



http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/b/banana_and_carrot_cake.html

I also made a banana and carrot cake. I use the Waitrose recipe, adding mixed spice to the mix. I didn't have any walnuts or pecans, so I added some macadamia nuts and some cashews. You could leave the nuts out altogether if you prefer. It's my favourite carrot cake recipe and can easily be turned into GF by using the correct flour and vegan by using egg replacer. I also add a little cinnamon to the topping or orange zest.




Mr D and I went on a nice dog walk this morning and came back with a tub of blackberries from a sunny spot along the Wey Navigation and a small bag of plums from a tree at the very back of the local park. Can't beat free food!

16 comments:

  1. Your food always looks amazing x Lucky you with the plums and blackberries, I haven't seen any ripe ones here yet.

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    1. Thanks. Most of the blackberries are still green, but there was one patch in the sunshine. There are many many more to come which is exciting! The plums are a bit firm too, but I'm going to use them in a clafoutis so they should soften when cooked.

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  2. I love Homity Pie, it was a firm favourite with my kids when they lived at home. I think I may just have to make one soon! I have the old Cranks book and the updated one with a newer version of Homity, both are great.

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    1. Yes I have the Cranks books too. I have always been a fan of their food as we're both of my parents. The pies I made on Tuesday actually served 14 people across 4 meals, which I was very pleased with!

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  3. Oooh a dog walk with foraged food thrown in. You've got some lovely fruit there. I don't tend to find anything worth foraging walking the pooches along the prom in Llandudno ;-)

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    1. I imagine perhaps the odd dropped chip or dollop of spilled icecream along the promenade? The plums I picked could be riper but I'm going to cook with them so am hoping they'll be OK!

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  4. I've never heard of homity pie! Your blackberries look delicious. I have seen any ripe ones yet. Hubby normally brings them home from near hos works.. They cut them down each year and they grow back like a cultivated blackberries large and fleshy.

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    1. I would certainly recommend the homity pie. It's a very frugal dish and very tasty too! I will certainly be going back for more blackberries and then freeze them. They are stupid prices to buy!!

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  5. Cranks do some lovely recipes. I have two of their cook books, The Cranks Recipe Book and Entertaining With Cranks. My favourite recipe is in the Entertaining book called Rice and Vegetable Bake which I've made a few times and is delicious. I have decluttered a lot of cook books, but these will always stay with me.

    Joan (Wales)

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    1. Those are the two books I have! I'll have to try the vegetable and rice bake - thanks for the tip off!

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  6. You must live in the most beautiful place, walks filled with lovely plants and flowers and free fruit.
    Right now where I live the only free foods are Mesquite Beans, ground makes the best flour, and Prickly Pear fruit.
    I was wondering since they are a bean (seed) are they gluten free ?

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I certainly wouldn't call where we live 'beautiful' but we do have access to some good walks along our local waterways. I imagine the mesquite bean flour would be gluten free. We use a lot of chick pea (gram) flour which is probably similar.

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  7. That takes me back to my youth, my mum always cooked from her beloved Cranks book, I had forgotten how yummy Homity Pie was, we used to have it loads!

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  8. Ah, I have very fond memories of discovering Homity Pie in the Covent Garden Cranks, many many years ago (in my pre vegan years). My mum took me to London so I could spend my Christmas money, a big treat!
    And thank you for the link to the nana carrot cake recipe, I love a cake with fruit and veg in it! I will follow your suggestion for veganising it. Fingers crossed!

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    1. I made a vegan topping by liquidising soaked cashew nuts (soaked overnight in soy milk or almond milk) with vanilla, cinnamon and icing sugar. Worked a treat and was in fact nicer than the normal cream cheese topping!

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