Mince Pies, Funeral Home,

I can't believe it's the last day of November already. This year seems to have flown past.

As you know, I was very disappointed not to be able to get my mincemeat tarts the other day whilst out bowling. Saturday I ended up buying a jar of mincemeat and some pastry shells. Sorry, making one's own mincemeat is really too involved although I will certainly doctor this jar slightly. It talks about rum and brandy flavours but I think we want a tad more than flavours. I looked up a couple of recipes for mincemeat and there are a number of things I don't keep in house which I would have to buy and then only use little bits of them and then, unless I plan to do it again, they items would be wasted. I would like to have been able to obtain Crosse and Blackwell Mincemeat but....

Sad news yesterday for those of us involved, but the funeral home where I worked as a part timer for

6 years and where we have our arrangements, has been forced to close - guess why? Those stupid road works. All kinds of businesses are closing down and those that haven't are feeling the pinch. With the funeral home, it is a very old building, used to be a private home before it became a business. I just called them and it appears the files for all pre-arrangements will be sent to an associated home in the area. The girl, who was my boss, says she is going to try and arrange a reunion. That would be fun.

Pecan-Berry Coffee Cake

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

• This scrumptious coffee cake recipe has a crumbly pecan topping and is speckled with blueberries or raspberries. You’ll never guess there’s apple in the berry coffee cake: it replaces some of the butter found in most coffee cakes and adds a decidedly sweet taste and moist crumb. This is a great recipe to serve at brunch and can be made the day before.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, or white whole-wheat flour, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons, divided
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup low-fat milk
• 3 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, or raspberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped peeled apple
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch-square pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray.

Step 2

To prepare cake: Whisk 1 cup flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat softened butter and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add 3/4 cup sugar and beat on medium-high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, milk, lemon zest and vanilla and beat on medium-high until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated.

Step 3

Place berries and apple in a small bowl, sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons flour and toss very gently to coat. Sprinkle the fruit over the batter and very gently fold in until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Step 4

To prepare topping: Combine cold butter and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl. With two knives or a pastry blender, cut them together until the butter is in small pieces and uniform crumbles form. Add pecans and toss until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.

Step 5

Bake the cake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the nuts are a deep brown, 50 to 55 minutes.

Step 6

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours. Lift it out of the pan, using the edges of the foil, onto a cutting board, and cut into 16 squares. Use a spatula to lift the cake from the foil.

Have a great day