When I was little, I can’t quite remember how old, my maternal grandparents took me, by myself, (which is quite a big deal as the oldest of six kids) on a picnic to Russell Gardens. For dessert my Grandma produced a tiny dish filled with my favourite dessert, fruit crumble, and an old pill bottle filled with evaporated milk.
I spent the afternoon revelling in all the attention and dragging my grandparents to see the wild flower meadow which turned out to be a lot less like the Disney vision I had in my mind and a lot more like a scrubby old field.
{grandma and sarah 1988}
During University, up until my Grandfather died they would write me a letter every month asking me how I was doing. I think I will always feel a twinge of guilt for not writing back as often as I should have, but I was the typical self obsessed fresher and was too involved in halls of residence politics to take the time.
My Grandma was surprisingly supportive of this blog, though I’m not sure she even knew what one was. She invited me over to raid her collection of decorative plates as props for my photography. She even gave me her Mother’s rolling pin, which was one of the last things she had of hers as she had passed away when my Grandmother was only 13.
{grandma, sarah and mom 1989}
Above the door to her dining room she had two Cinderella style glass slippers. She had originally bought one, and then accidentally promised it to both my cousin and I, so she spent the next year trying to find a second one, so we could have one each.
For as long as I can remember she suffered from arthritis, which meant that she couldn’t be as active as she wanted to be when we were growing up. When I was around 5, we’d gone to Deal for the day and I had wanted to paddle. We’d had to climb over the bank of pebbles the council creates every year to protect the coast line, and when it came to going back she couldn’t climb back over.
{mom, sarah and grandma 1993}
I don’t remember the day at all, I just remember the fuss they made of me afterwards as I apparently held my Grandma’s hand and helped her up the slope.
These are the kind of memories that go through my head whenever I make recipes, like crumbles, that she used to make.
Almond Crumble Topping
serves 4-6
125g plain flour
25g flaked almonds plus extra to sprinkle over the top
60g butter
60g caster sugar
Mix the flour and sugar together and then rub in the butter.
The best way I have found to do this is to rub the flat of your thumb over the tip of your fingers quickly, shaking the bowl every 10 seconds or so to bring the lumps of butter to the top. This speeds up the process and stops your hands from getting too dirty.
When the mixture has formed a light bread crumb add in the flaked almonds.
Tip this over a pie dish filled with stewed fruit and pat down. Sprinkle with a few flaked almonds to decorate.
Bake in the middle of an oven at 180C for about 30 minutes, or until golden on top.
Serve with ice cream, custard or my Grandma’s favourite evaporated milk.
Love the story! Amazing where your mind can go when you get lost in doing something isn’t it! I’ve no doubt that your Grandmother would be extremely proud of your blog and your recipes too
xx
thanks Lauren, sometimes it’s nice to write down some things before you forget. It was lovely having the day photographing these with you too.
Icecream!! Lol where is the evaporated milk?? Really nice blog Jen x
I didn’t think about evaporated milk until I was doing the food styling. I might pick some up on the way home tonight!
nothing beats evaporated milk
hope you enjoyed the food when you got home!
Such a lovely post. My grandmother used to make crumbles every time we visited and they remind me of her so much.
they’re a really good way to get some extra fruit into little kids!
That’s lovely and now I have Grandma envy, both of mine died before I was born. I had a Granddad though and he taught me to make bread pudding, it’s lovely that we can take that and make different memories for other people..
I’m sorry to hear that. I love bread pudding though, I’m definitely going to have to learn how to make it. Is it difficult?
What a sweet tribute! I wouldn’t carry that twinge of guilt around about not writing them more often. Grandparents – especially such wonderful ones as yours – remember what it was like when they were young and I’m sure they were just thrilled to see you happy and thriving. Just my hunch
Thanks for posting this! It was wonderful to read!
Thank you, it’s really sweet of you to say
I’m glas she’s out of pain now
Your grandma sounds like a truly lovely woman. I have similar memories of mine. She had an amazing garden in her back yard and I can remember running all through the pathways, sneaking a gooseberry or two and playing hide and seek with my brother. This crumble is a fitting tribute to all grandparents!
you sound like you had a wonderful grandma too.
I’ve only just seen this post Jenny, it’s so lovely. I can’t believe it was over 2 years ago now. I think of Grandma and Grandad every time I make/eat crumble too (especially the first time I tried and thought ‘naaah that’s way too much sugar, I’ll just sprinkle a little bit on top’ – mistake.)
It was really nice having a look at your photos and reading about your memories, it was like having them back for a little bit. xxx
Thanks Lucy, I can’t believe its been 2/8 years with out them.