Oatcakes
When I moved in with Martin, he already had two
delightful, grown-up children. We went on a family road trip to Shropshire, via Blists Hill, which is a museum that attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I knew I was finally accepted into the family when they went on the carousel and his daughter said: ‘you can be Mum and hold the coats and bags!’ It made me so happy.
The other reason for our trip was because Martin loves Staffordshire oakcakes! The Staffordshire oatcake dates back to the 19th century where it was baked on a hotplate over an open fire, He loves them and we went into a supermarket and cleared the shelf, much to the amusement of the locals.
And now we have found the recipe, he can make them himself!

Ingredients
225g fine oatmeal
100g wholemeal flour
100g plain flour
1 tsp quick-action yeast
pinch salt
1 tbsp baking powder
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp olive oil

Method
Mix together all the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl until well combined.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture, then gradually add 1 pint water in a thin stream, stirring well with a wooden spoon, until the batter is well combined and the consistency of thick double cream. (NB: You may not need to use all of the water.)

Cover the batter with a damp, clean tea towel and set aside for 3–4 hours (or up to 8 hours in a cool place).
Once ready to cook the batter, whisk in the baking powder until well combined.
Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add a ladleful of the batter mixture and swirl the pan to coat the bottom of it in a thin layer of the batter. Fry the oatcake for 1–2 minutes, or until golden-brown on one side. Flip the oatcake and fry for a further minute, or until golden-brown on both sides.
Set the oatcake aside, cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Repeat with the remaining batter mixture, to make about 12 oatcakes. Stack them on top of each other, separated by greaseproof paper, and keep warm.

Filling:
Cook some rashers of bacon.
Heat the grill, place the pancakes on a baking tray. Put the bacon on and then springle with cheese. Heat until cheese has melted. Take out from under the grill and then fold the pancake so that the filling is in the middle. It works well with ham instead of bacon. You could also serve them with Jam!