Remember When . . . The Senses of Cornwall

by Roseanna White | Jun 28, 2017 | 20th Century, Remember When Wednesdays

Y’all, A Name Unknown releases in six short days. Less than a week. It’s all getting so close! Yesterday I was packing up the pre-orders that had come into my shop for signed versions, which really brings the excitement home.

So today, I wanted to share with you guys a bit of the setting of the book. I’m sure I talked about it last autumn after I’d had the immense pleasure of visiting Cornwall, but some of my experiences actually came at home too. =)

First, taste. While there, we had to eat some famous Cornish pasties–handheld meat pies. And let me just tell you, they were good enough that I came home and immediately set about finding a recipe to get me as close as possible to the actual experience. I tried out several crust recipes before I found this one, and then watched video tutorials on how to crimp the edges (when I learn something, I’m determined to learn it well! LOL). The filling doesn’t require a recipe, per se, but to create an authentic, original Cornish pasty (for any American reader not familiar with the word, it’s pronounced with a short a, like in pat, not a long one like in pastry) you’re supposed to include only beef, potato, turnip, onion, a dab of butter, and salt and pepper. It’s amazing how those simple ingredients combine!

And for dessert, how about some ginger fairings? These cookies are so named because they were a favorite at fairs–and quickly became a favorite in my house too. I researched a few recipes and determined that they were quite similar, involving a few ingredients not exactly common in the US–I actually ordered the spice mix and the golden syrup from Amazon so I could make them, and they were well worth the investment! A bit like a gingersnap but with a hint of toffee flavor, a bit like gingerbread but minus the distinct molasses flavor, these became an instant success in my house. I used this recipe–and had invested a couple months ago in a gram scale because an increasing number of my recipes use weight instead of volume.

Curious about these? Well, stay tuned next week for my big A Name Unknown inspired giveaway, because a tin of cookies, handmade by me, will be one of the prizes!

Some other experiences I found to be unique to Cornwall were the so-dubbed “Cornish palms”–a tree that is actually a cabbage tree, but which looks distinctly like a palm tree. These things dot the Cornish landscape and give you a feel of being somewhere tropical…though the weather doesn’t agree. 😉

And of course, those famous Cornish cliffs.

All of these I enjoyed so very much. Then there were the harrowing sunken roads. My husband insists he loved driving on them, but I recall only the terror of praying we didn’t meet a tour bus or something… (Because yes, that pretty ribbon in the picture below is meant for two-way traffic. Somehow.)

All of these have made Cornwall come alive for me, and I pray it will also bring this beautiful countryside alive for you, through the eyes of Rosemary, who’s seeing it all for the first time, and Peter, who has to fight to keep his place in it.

Both of whom you’ll have the chance to meet in LESS THAN A WEEK! Squee!