Lemon Cake With a Story That I Wish Was Mine.

I have a craving for lemon. And sugar. And butter.
So rather than giving in to my first (probably-heading-for-diabetes) impluse and just throwing all those ingredients into my blender and making sweet fluffy lemon butter icing and eating it out of the bowl with a teaspoon while watching some equally soft fluffy movie, I looked up 'lemon cake' and came across a cooking blog and a really great story that sounds like it came directly from that aforementioned fluffy movie.

Thereby coming close to ticking both my boxes.

You have to visit are hereby invited to visit Sarah Secrett (what a cool name) and read her story.  And try the recipe, if you want.

Clickety here.

And here is 'her' cake, just out of my oven.  It smells divine.  It's one of those ones you pour lemon and sugar over the top the instant it comes out of the oven, so it has that lovely crisp, tart topping.

Making Grape Juice

I hope I'm doing it right. Washing (lots of little spiders of the same variety - dear little things with a wee round body shaped like a tiny unripe grape), plucking off the grapes, mash 'em, cook 'em up, strain through a cloth, and bottling with honey to sweeten. Last year the resultant thick cordial was elixir from heaven when added to carbonated water. 

Lime and Lemongrass Panacotta

Years ago I went up to Wharepuke - a restaurant and accomodation complex near Kerikeri. We stayed in a small cabin in a clearing in the sub-tropical forest, and ate a wonderfully sublime fruit called a casimiroa which we found under a tree, and which I have never tasted the like of before or since. One evening we had a meal in the restaurant. I don't recall the main, but the lime and lemon grass panacotta was heaven. In fact, the whole place was heaven... One day I'll return.

(This is a photo from a Facebook friend who went there recently.)

Granny's Mince and Macaroni

Part of the process of getting a house turned into a gallery is the Compression of Belongings and Throwing out of Stuff.  And this means I sometimes stumble across things I haven't seen for years, sometimes decades.
For example, while doing the digitisation of my recipe book, I found this tiny drawing that son James, now 28 and living in Germany, did 24 years ago, stuck on the bottom of a recipe of Granny's.
The recipe is much older, probably dating back to when I stayed at the homestead after we came back from our OE in '79 (I know this because it was only a few weeks that I didn't realise Phyl was spelled with a 'y').

It's such a neat drawing.  It has the most important bits.
And by the way it is a really easy, comforting and tasty dish too.

Simian Pancakes

(But is it ART?)

Crobread

... is quick, easy and tastes delicious!

Recipe here on Cro Magnon Man's blog.

Fast Day Dinner

Cro and I, and many others, are following the eating change made public by Dr Micheal Moser on his 'Horizon' programme 'Eat, Fast & Live Longer'.  I call it my 5:2.

Two days of the week we 'fast'  (males no more than 600 cals, females, 500).  The other five days we can eat (more-or less - don't go crazy!) whatever we like.

Last 'fast'* day I had a late breakfast of 1/4 cup of weight-watcher's muesli with a teaspoon of dried goji berries (from Helsie), three roasted unsalted almonds, and 1/3 cup of light soya milk.  This is 170 cals.

I had a couple of cups of green tea during the next five hours and by five pm I was sitting down to this:

Looks good to you?
You can't imagine how good!
Food tastes SOOO wonderful when you 5:2!

grilled eggplant: 30 cals

grilled pepper: 20 cals

sticky rice: 50 cals

broccoli stalk: 20 cals

2 spears asparagus: 6 cals

skinless chicken leg meat: 180 cals

2 teaspoons peanut satay marinade: 30 cals

tot:  336 cals

Total for the day: 506 cals.  

* Not really a fast at all, as you see.  But it works.  1/4 your usual intake twice a week, and although people tend to eat more on the other days, it's been found we don't quite make it up.  To the tune of being down about a 1/4 of a day at the end of each week.  Which equals steady, sustainable weight loss, but more importantly, some very very good other health benefits...

PS.  re. The link to the clip - it's long (nearly an hour) and unless you have better and cheaper interclacken access than me, I suggest downloading it to watch at your leisure.  If you haven't seen it, I recommend it very highly.

Patella, Paella, Patina, and Possum

I recently bought a lovely new Spanish cooking pan.  I spotted it in the shop and could immediately see how useful and versatile it would be.  It has already replaced my wok as the cookware I reach for most of the time.  But it goes by various names, and so does the food inside.  It could all get very confusing but I remember it this way:

A PaTella is a pan-shaped limpet, a pan-shaped kneecap, and a pan.

A PaELLA is a traditional Catalan or Spanish pan, and also the traditional food cooked in the pan.

A PaTINA is a old Roman pan, the greenish old coating on bronze pans, and the traditional food cooked in the pans.

A POSSUM is just a possum, singular.

PATELLA VULGATA
http://www.biolib.cz/en/image/id40923/

My PATELLA

My other, newer, PATELLA, PAELLA, or PATINA

My seafood PAELLA or PATINA (before the addition of peas and rice)

A PATINA  - a 2nd century Roman pan.
http://www.fragmentsoftime.com/39Pan36.htm

PAELLA:  Recipe for a Spanish Paella:  http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/20747/easy+spanish+paella

PATINA:  Recipe for a Patina:
Ancient Roman Patina of fresh anchovies.

Fresh Anchovies or other small oily fish
2 eggs
Garum
1/2 glass of wine
1/2 cup olive oil
pepper to taste

Wash and gut the fish.

Dip them in the beaten egg and fry at high heat in a pan in the olive oil, turning once they are brown on one side.

When both sides are brown pour off the excess oil add the wine and garum to the pan. Reduce this sauce by half.

Turn out into a serving platter and grind plenty of black pepper over and serve.

Do not over cook the fish or they will fall apart.
http://www.romanobritain.org/

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POSSUM

POSSUM.  The third in three weeks. 

How to make a Pizza.

My great niece lives with her parents in Ibiza.  What a life eh? Sun. Sea. Simple fresh food.  No clothes...

Waiting for Dad to come home.

Here's how to make a great pizza.

Katherine's Spiced Fruit Muffins

Bowing to public pressure, here is my world-famous-in-my-garden muffin recipe.

It's really easy, and you can use whatever fruit you have. I experiment with mixtures, for example banana with apricot yoghurt. Rhubarb is nice too. If there's nothing else, even apple and chopped dates will get favourable comments.

Mix together: 1 1/2 cups white flour

1/2 cup oat bran

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda (soda bic)

Heat together 1 cup lightly stewed diced fruit and 50 gm butter, just enough to melt the butter.

Add 1 egg and mix.

Add 2/3 cup yoghurt and mix again.

Fold wet into dry ingredients. Mixture will start to rise immediately. Don't over-mix or the muffins will be rubbery.

Quickly put spoonfuls into a greased muffin tin and bake at 200ºC for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden.

Makes 9 large or 12 small muffins.

Karyn’s Moist Chocolate Cake

A number of guests at the party have asked me for the chocolate cake recipe, so here it is.

Karyn, of course, didn't ask, because she knows it so well, having made it so many times for school lunches. It's a 'Little Black Dress' (a little brown dress?) of a cake - you can flash it up and make it into a formal gateau in layers with icing, frosting, berries, cream, jam etc, or make it casual in a meat dish, dusted with icing and cut it into utilitarian squares.

Here is the basic recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa powder mixed with 3/4 cup boiling water and 3/4 cup cold water.

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 Tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice

3/4 cup oil

2 eggs

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.
2. Mix together the cocoa and water with the other liquid ingredients and the eggs.
3. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into one large greased meat dish or two 20 cm round baking tins.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 170ºC for 35 - 40 minutes. Test around this time by inserting a skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, cake is done.
6. Let sit in tin for 5 minutes then run a knife around and remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.
7. When cool, dust with icing sugar or ice with chocolate icing.

Chocolate icing: 1 cup icing sugar, 1 Tbsp cocoa, 2 tsp butter. Add 1 Tbsp boiling water and mix until smooth.

8. Store cake in an airtight container. Makes 32 pieces.

Post Script: The reason for the party.

Here are a couple of collages of my wonderful daughter who turned 21 last week. They should enlargerate with a click.

And here, for the record, is the menu I compiled for the party:

Soup: Ann's special pumpkin soup with a selection of freshly-baked breads and butter

Main: Individual Chicken Pesto pie with orange butter carrots, salad potatoes and baby minted peas.

Dessert: Creme brulee, Berry-chocolate cream layer cake.

Tea, coffee, fruit punch (non-al), beer (Speights), and wines.

Recipes:

Ann's Pumpkin Soup

Chicken Pesto Pie

Creme Brulée

Karyn's Moist Chocolate cake

Fruit Punch

Avocados

Recently a lovely friend of my son's dropped off a load of avocados from his parent's orchard. After spreading them around the neighbourhood, there were still plenty to indulge. I cut one in half, scooped the stone out, filled the stone-hole with mayonnaise, and ate, straight from the shell. Yum. Decadence!

Coming the Raw Prawn with Me.*

Prawns a la TLVD

(Serves two as a lunch and 4-8 as a starter)

Ingredients.

About 40 prawns

4 tsp crushed garlic

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

about 1/4 cup white wine

2 tbsp avocado oil

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry prawns and garlic in oil for about 4 minutes, turning over once.

2. Add the wine and reduce by about half.

3. Add the tomatoes and chili sauce and, tossing the prawns in the liquor frequently, reduce the liquor until it's a thick consistency and coats the prawns. Season to taste.

4. Serve with fresh brown bread and butter.

* click

Sauce up your life

My son's sense of humour has infiltrated his family and friends. We all know what kind of things he likes for Christmas and Birthday presents!

P.S. This is our frequently-made and popular self-crusting quiche about which I have previously posted. The recipe is here.

The art of making a Lassi

To make one large glass of Lassi:

1. De-seed and chop the skin off a generous slice of what I call pawpaw (but you may call papaya).

Pop it into a suitable vessel that won't splatter fruit everywhere when you pulp it. I use my new cup because it fits my liquidiser stick perfectly.

2. Liquidise the fruit.

3. Add about the same volume again, of plain yoghurt, plus sugar to taste. I added one teaspoon and this was just right for me. Give it another spin, or mix well with a spoon.

4. Add milk until it is the consistency you wish. I added only a little because I like to eat lassi with a spoon. It's really supposed to be a drink.

5. Consume. This is like heaven. (It's especially good as a 'soother' after hot Indian curries.)

Strawberry Kiss

Blend 1 measure white rum, 1 measure Amaretto Disaronno, 1 measure double cream and 4 strawberries, with ice until smooth.  Pour into a tall wine glass and garnish with a strawberry on the rim.

This image is proof that there is a use for chokos after all.

Bacon Bone Soup

Bacon bone soup has to be one of the nicest winter soups. Well, pumpkin is a close second. But nothing really beats the aroma of onions and bacon steaming up the windows on a cold and rainy Sunday morning. It's so easy! Pop a bacon hock in the biggest saucepan half full of water (say two litres?), three chopped onions, a couple of handfuls of pearl barley, three sliced carrots, some leftover pumpkin and spuds, and simmer for four hours or so. You can take the bone out and cut the meat into chunks if you like. No salt usually needed, there's plenty in the bacon. (If you want to leave it overnight to cool and skim the fat off in the morning, that's a good idea.) At the last minute I like to add a cup of frozen peas. It just needs to be returned to the boil to cook them. Add some hot buttered toast, and here they come in to wash their hands after raking up the leaves.

Party Punch

This is the fairly standard, but popular recipe that I've used for years.

1 litre grapefruit juice

2 litres sparkling lemon

2 litres ginger ale

1 litre cold tea

mint, slices of orange, ice.

Chill liquids, add all, mix and serve in a glass bowl with a ladle.

For the non-alcoholic version, as above.

This recipe can be doctored with rum, wine (sparkling is nicest), or gin. Vodka doesn't contribute flavour, and so is not recommended.

Ann and Claire’s Decadent Pumpkin Soup

One wonderful meal our German friends cooked for us when they stayed, was this rich, superb-flavoured version of a pumpkin soup. Unforgettable!

Ingredients:

1 finely chopped onion

1 kg chopped pumpkin

60 gm butter

1 dessertspoon lemongrass cut in slices

1 tsp fresh grated or chopped ginger

1/2 chopped chili or a dash of hot chili pepper sauce

1 tsp mild curry powder

1 green cardamon

1 clove

100 ml dry white wine

400 ml chicken stock

pinch sea salt

pinch sugar

2-3 dessertspoon lime juice

freshly ground nutmeg

2 dessertspoons coriander leaves (optional)

water to add, depending on consistency of soup

Method:

1. Gently soften onion and pumpkin in 30 gm butter in a large pot for a few minutes, stirring continuously. Add and mix in lemongrass, ginger, chili, curry powder, cardamon and clove.
2. Add white wine and stock and season with salt, sugar, lime juice and nutmeg.
3. Gently cook without lid for 15 minutes. Puree.
4. Add the rest of the butter and water if required. Season again to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of coriander leaves.