Delightful Repast - 16th Blogiversary

Here I am, friends! It's been a while, but since I have not officially stopped blogging (just paused it), I am celebrating my 16th blogiversary this month!

Unfortunately, I haven't created a recipe for you and written about it and photographed it. Nevertheless, I thought it high time I wrote a little something.

As life takes its twists and turns, new things take over the calendar and the clock, and old interests fall lower and lower on one's to-do list. Food blogging and art are two of those interests.

Still not "feeling it" in the food department, I have been feeling the need to paint so started going through my supplies this week. Couldn't decide what to paint, then I remembered I've been wanting to send a thank-you card to someone. Since the person likes wildflowers and rustic flowers, I decided to do a little sunflower.

And I wanted to start small. It's been sooo long, I wasn't at all sure how it would go. So a tiny painting, 3.5x5 inches for a card, was a sensible choice. Several attempts wouldn't waste all that much of my expensive watercolor paper. As it happened, I felt kind of okay about the first effort and so stopped there. No paper wasted! 

Now, if I can just paint a little every few days, I'll be happy. No point in my setting the unrealistic goal of a "daily practice," which would be ideal.

Even though I didn't meet my goal of doing a food post for my 16th blogiversary, I hope you'll take a look at the Recipes index page and perhaps find something delicious among the hundreds of recipes.

Still on hiatus,

Do say Hello in the comments,

Jean  

An Announcement

This post has absolutely nothing to do with pears, but I had to put up a picture of something. And pears made more sense than some of the stuff I paint, like autumn leaves, pine trees, trees in general, cats, birds and elephants! 

Each year as February 15 approaches, I consider the future of my blog. And never more so than this year when February 15 will mark the Tenth Blogiversary of Delightful Repast.

When I started blogging, I never dreamed I would be posting every week for 10 years. I know lots of bloggers post multiple times a week, but once a week was a real stretch for me.

I love developing recipes and writing them out in great detail so that my readers at every skill level can have success with them. I enjoy sharing my love of tea (the beverage and the ritual) and wine. And I slip in the occasional travel post.

One of my favorite types of posts is when I do a giveaway of a product or book or piece of kitchen equipment I use and love. 

The best part of blogging for me is something that many bloggers miss out on--engagement with my readers. I read and respond to every comment and, if the commenter has a blog, I visit the blog and leave a comment there. 

I really don't want to give all that up. So I've decided to post less frequently rather than stop posting altogether. I hope that will suit my readers as well as give me a bit more time for all the other aspects of my life.

Don't ask me how long it takes to produce one of my posts and do all the other things associated with blogging. I've never actually done the math on that because I didn't want to know!

Rather than posting every Thursday as I have all these years without a break, I am going to post every other Thursday. So don't look for a new post next week, but come by anyway and read an old post--there are more than 500 of them!

I'll be back on February 13 (10th blogiversary week), and I hope you'll join me! If you haven't subscribed, please do so and you'll automatically get an email notice when a new post is published. 

And just to get some food into this food blog post for you, here is what I'm making for dinner today: Slow Cooker Pork Loin Roast with Gravy.

Jean 

Grow Your Blog Traffic - Why I Don't Worry About It (Much)

What does this photo have to do with Grow Your Blog Traffic? Absolutely nothing! But this is a food blog and the time of year to be pointing you to my Indian Pudding - Pilgrim Comfort Food post in case you're looking for a change of pace for your autumn celebrations.

I just read that people share more than 27,000,000 pieces of content every day. So I can understand why so many bloggers are trying to learn how to get more eyes on their blogs. "Grow Your Blog Traffic" bloggers make up a huge niche in the blogosphere. Wonder if there are more of them than there are food bloggers?

Oh, BTW, here's the link to the Indian Pudding. 

Would I love to be a "successful" food blogger with a huge audience? Of course! But I don't usually think about that. If I did, I'd have to pay attention to things I'd rather not. Things like posting frequency and timing, stats, SEO, email lists, paid promotions on social media platforms, what recipes are "trending."

If you are a blogger who is doing all these things, please don't think I'm criticizing you. I'm just envious of your mad technical skills! 

Posting Frequency and Timing

Posting more than once a week is not going to happen. Being a freelance writer (print and web), working with clients and having a life, makes the requisite three times a week (according to many sources) impossible. And, it is said, there are certain days of the week and times of day that are better than others. (Sorry you caught me yawning!)

Stats

Oh my. Unique pageviews versus pageviews, traffic sources, I can't even tell you all the stuff that can be tracked, should one be inclined to track them. I am not inclined. I'd be more inclined to sit and do algebra and calculus all afternoon, which might be Mr Delightful's idea of a good time, but definitely not mine.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake - Slow Cooker Method

(but you can bake it in the oven if you like)

SEO

I know it means search engine optimization, but beyond that, well, it's beyond me. I just write what I write. I try to write a blog post that will inform and, sometimes, entertain my readers or a recipe that is original, appealing and clearly written so cooks at any skill level can make a success of it. I don't give a thought to such things as keywords and rankings.

But I just happened to read an interesting thing on the subject of SEO: 

Whenever you visit a blog you should make a point to leave it from another page. Something about "juice." If you just visit the first page you come to, it won't help the blog's SEO; but if you click to another page of the blog before you leave, it will. 

So I'm trying to do this for all the bloggers I visit and, of course, would appreciate it if my visitors would do the same because, well, I need all the help I can get, right?! 

(I read that somewhere on The Blogger's Lifestyle.)

Email Lists

I keep reading about the importance of growing an email list. Can't tell you how or why because I haven't done it. 

Paid Promotions on Social Media Platforms

Okay, I am on Twitter and, more recently, Pinterest; but I'm not on Facebook, Instagram, Yummly, Google+ or any of the other such things that seem to just keep on coming. And paid promotions on them? Uh uh. Not for me. 

(Lemon) Cupcakes - In or Out, Trendy or Passe, Who Cares?

Research What Recipes/Subjects Are Trending

Maybe it's just me, but I don't care what recipes/subjects are trending. I eat what I like and cook what I like, and that's what I'm going to write about for my readers. Call something "trendy" ... 

... and I'll go out of my way to avoid it. When I write a travel review or product review, it's of a place or thing I like and feel good about recommending to my readers; I don't care if it's "in" or "out."

Conclusion

The conclusion of the matter, all things having been considered, is this: I'm hopeless, not high-tech, so help me out. If you are on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social media and you like what you read here at Delightful Repast, share it. I'll try to reciprocate in some way.

And please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what all my smart readers have to say about all this. If you are a blogger, what is your Number One blogging tip? Or the one thing you just can't be bothered with?

Oh, and click on another page before leaving!

Don't forget to Pin it!

How to Make Clotted Cream - Also, a Bit of a Rant

Before I get to the homemade clotted cream, would you mind if I went off on a bit of a rant about a totally unrelated matter? I didn't think so!

The Rant

This has been brewing for a while. The daughter of an avid reader and magazine aficionado, I've been reading magazines since I was four years old. I love magazines. You might have read about my magazine addiction. I even write for magazines. 

But, more and more, I find my enjoyment of magazines being interrupted by annoyances. And then, of course, I annoy my husband and interrupt his reading with my outbursts. "Ha, listen to this!" Followed by my reading the offending phrase, sentence or paragraph aloud in a derisive tone. 

As a writer, one must adapt one's style to that of the publication. So I've written magazine articles that made me chuckle at my own high-flown turn of phrase. I understand that. But there are a couple of overused, misused terms that have no place in the food world. 

Last night I was happily reading along in a popular food mag when I came upon "creating a rule-breaking food scene all their own." When I stopped gagging, I sneeringly read the complete sentence aloud to my husband and proceeded to tell him more than he wanted to know about just why the sentence was ridiculous. 

I kept reading but never found out what rules were being broken by these food producers who harvested and cooked local ingredients. Called "mavericks" by the author, they seemed to be doing what farmers, fishermen and chefs everywhere are doing, working on new ways to make use of local ingredients. 

Yes, do tell me about a place and its food, about those who grow, harvest and cook that food. That's interesting enough in itself without embellishing it with nonsense. 

Second only to "rule-breaking" on my list of food writing peeves is "risk-taking." Oh.My.Goodness! Maybe it's not second after all, maybe it's first, at least tied for first. If you're going to tell me about a chef taking risks, you better be talking about one who is setting speed records chopping blind-folded or deep-frying in the nude. 

With more than 13 percent of the world not having enough food, isn't it time for us all to get over our pretentiousness about food?

"If you're going to tell me about a chef taking risks, you better be talking about one who is setting speed records chopping blind-folded or deep-frying in the nude." ~ Jean | Delightful Repast

The Clotted Cream

Okay, I'm done. On to the clotted cream, which doesn't sound that appealing to the uninitiated. You'll sometimes see it called Devonshire cream just because it sounds better, but it's only Devonshire cream if it is clotted cream made in Devonshire. Cornish cream is clotted cream made in Cornwall. 

Here in the US, imported clotted cream is quite expensive and few tea rooms make their own. So it's usually only seen at the poshest of afternoon teas. Its unique taste and texture take a simple scone to new heights. In Devon, the tradition is to put cream on the scone first, then jam. In Cornwall, it's jam first, then cream. 

Update 08/25/16: Fresh Peach Scones don't need jam, but would be great with a dollop of clotted cream.

Update 12/07/16: For how to throw an afternoon tea party and a roundup of afternoon tea recipes, see Afternoon Tea Party Tips.

There's nothing difficult about making clotted cream. Though it does take time, it's time you actually spend going about your business while the cream does its thing. So I don't know why there are so many "mock" versions out there. 

One popular American television personality and celebrity chef would have you strain cream through a coffee filter and call it clotted cream. Sorry, that's just not the real deal. Others would have you add various things to whipped cream. Again, no, just no. 

Some people prefer to make it with raw cream, but pasteurized cream works just as well. I haven't actually tried it with ultra-pasteurized cream, but I'm told it doesn't work well. Besides having been heated to higher temperatures, ultra-pasteurized creams contain added stabilizers.

Update 09/10/16: I have used organic heavy whipping creams minimally pasteurized, pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized; none were homogenized. All worked well. I have yet to try this with a popular organic brand that is both ultra-pasteurized and homogenized.  

There are two ways to make clotted cream in your oven: covered and uncovered. I made it both ways and then conducted an informal blind tasting (also known as serving tea and scones to my husband and friend).

Left: cream cooked covered / Right: cream cooked uncovered

He preferred the texture of the cream that had been uncovered, but she and I preferred the cream that had been covered. Here is what they looked like just out of the oven:

Clotted Cream Cooked Covered

Clotted Cream Cooked Uncovered

The cream that was cooked covered developed a softer top layer and had a smoother texture. The cream cooked uncovered developed a buttery yellow "crust" and after cooling and stirring had tiny bits of yellow butter throughout the finished cream.

Though we were divided on which we thought was best, we all thought both versions were very good.
  
Since the finished clotted cream only keeps for a few days (some say as long as 2 weeks, but I haven't tested it yet), it's best to make no more than you need. My friend really loves it and has no problem using it up! She says adding a dollop to a mug of hot chocolate is unimaginably good. 

Update 12/09/16: I've found that the clotted cream freezes beautifully, with no loss of quality, and so divide the cream between two 4-ounce jars and pop them into the freezer.

Do let me know if you have any questions or comments about the recipe (or the rant!). And if you like this post, be sure to Pin it and share it on your social media! 

Clotted Cream 

(Makes about 1 cup) 

1 pint (16 fluid ounces, 473 ml) pasteurized organic heavy whipping cream

Note: I like to put it in the oven at 6 a.m. and take it out at 6 p.m., refrigerate it until 6 a.m. the next morning, then scoop it into a container.

1 Preheat oven to 180F/82C. 

2 Pour cream into an 8-inch (20 cm) diameter baking dish (I use a Pyrex). It can be any shape, as long as the cream is about 1/2 to 1 inch (1.25 to 2.5 cm) deep.

A pint of organic heavy (40% butterfat) whipping cream in 8-inch baking dish

3 Place foil-covered or uncovered (I prefer to cook it covered--see the comparison above) dish of cream in preheated oven and set timer for 12 hours.

4 Remove from oven, lift foil a bit to vent, and let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes; cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. 

5 Using a flattish spoon, scoop up layer of clotted cream into jar or serving dish. Keeps for about 3 days, covered and refrigerated. Save the leftover liquid in the pan to use in your next batch of scones, pancakes or whatever you happen to be making. I like to make Classic Cream Scones with the leftover cream.

Note: I've found these cute little Ball 4-ounce freezer-safe canning/storage jars with plastic caps perfect for clotted cream. One recipe makes two jars. 

Now put the kettle on and Make a Proper Cup of Tea!

Jean