I'm not back at home... I never left. Instead, this gemini space is now back at my home, being served from a Raspberry Pi 4 hidden behind a router on my desk in the home office. Having it physically in the house on a small, cheap computer goes along with the whole ethos of the small / smol internet. It's definitely a nice idea that you can have your own space on a $35 computer, and that it doesn't have to sit behind any special data center internet connection. Nobody will really mind if my power goes out for a bit, or a child yanks on the USB-C power cord. Gemini land isn't a place for internet businesses who lose $1000s if they are unavailable for an hour.
Other than shutting down a VPS and moving to the Pi4 it has been a fairly computer-lite weekend. My wife's birthday was on Saturday, and I enjoyed baking a cake with the children, and then attempting some Cornish pasties. I'm surprised they came out fairly well given I'm not well practiced, and the Texas summer heat isn't ideal for making pastry. Pasties are definitely something I miss having moved to the US. Growing up in Cornwall we used to eat them regularly, cooked by my mum, grandmother, or the various pasty shops around and about. It seems over here in the US they are relatively common in Michigan and Minnesota due to a lot of Cornish emigrants ending up there in days gone by. Near us in Dallas there was a stall at the Farmers Market that sold British baked goods, and had a pretty decent pasty. It had only been around for a few months before things closed down. I wonder if it will be there again soon?
Anyway... here's a recipe for Cornish pasties... Although I have been in the US for nearly 10 years now I still think in grams :-)
Makes 4 pasties.
For the pastry:
- 225g Plain Flour
- 60g Hard margarine / lard (snowcap lard, not the soft lard in a tub)
- 60g Butter
- Cold water
- 1 Egg, beaten for egg wash
For the filling:
- 225g Beef Skirt cut into small cubes
- 170g Potato cut into small cubes / slices
- 115g Swede (Rutabaga) cut into small cubes / slices
- 115g Onion diced finely
To make the pastry: It's meant to be quite short but a bit flaky. The fat shouldn't get too warm as you make it. Put the fat in the freezer for several hours. Grate the fat into the flour in a large bowl. Use a knife to cut the fat into the flour. Rub the flour into the fat with fingertips only enough that there aren't any big lumps. Add water and bring together with a knife and then hands. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in fridge for at least an hour
Prepare the filling: Mix all the cubed ingredients in a bowl, with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Make each pasty: Roll 1/4 of the pastry out thin and cut into a neat 8-10" circle using a plate or similar. Place the filling in the middle, enough so you'll only just be able fold one side of the pastry over the filling and onto itself without making holes. Put a knob of butter on top of the filling and then fold the pasty over it. Crimp the open side of the pasty by pulling and tucking the pastry edge under itself all the way along. Poke two holes in the top with a knife for steam, and egg wash the top of the pasty. Transfer to a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or aluminium foil.
Bake at 210C / 410F for 10 minutes, then 175C / 350 F for another 30 minutes, until nicely browned and filling is cooked.
I think they are best left to cool quite a bit, so they are eaten warm, not piping hot.