If You Can't Find It, Do It Yourself (..or why I'm feeling a little smug today...)

If you were to follow me around the shops (please don't though, I'm paranoid enough!) you would quite often hear me rant about the sudden decision to take a product I like off the shelves for good. It seems that if I, or any member of my immediate family, express a liking for something readily available from your average supermarket, that is the signal for some higher power to withdraw it from circulation - I could make a list...but I won't.

Today's cause for exasperation (other than the usual fruitless hunt for Chappie Chicken & Rice dog food, which might as well be the Holy Grail in my town) was Waitrose's continued lack of Cypressa Filo Pastry. Having lived in Greece for many years, we still enjoy Greek cooking and I regularly make a family favourite, Spanakopita (spinach pie), and have so far been able to almost keep it authentic by using this filo pastry from Cyprus. Last week it wasn't there and I had to buy a nasty English subsitute which shall remain nameless but was gummy, alternately stuck together and fell apart and made for a very sub-standard pie. Today again there was only this revolting stuff on the shelves and I threw a small tantrum, stomped off and decided I'd damn well make it myself......something I never managed to to with any great success when living in Athens!


But after sifting the flour, rubbing in the olive oil, adding egg & water and kneading vigorously, it actually started to look like it should do. I even managed to roll it to the thickness of a piece of watercolour paper...


...and it covered the base of the pan perfectly and held the spinach mix with no leaks.


It made a lovely smooth top....


....cooked to a crispy golden brown......


...and tasted delicious!

In your face Waitrose, you can't defeat me, I can make my own damn filo! Now, about that dog food........



My daughter also wanted to have a go at cooking and made the apple pie on the left with the bare minimum of help. She has Down's Syndrome, so this was quite an undertaking with so much fiddly preparation involving her fine motor skills - I'm very proud of how she got on and can't wait to sample a slice later on today. On the right is a jam tart made with the remainder of the pastry and home-made berry jam - not pretty, but oh so tasty!