Pineapple Walnut Cake

Today has been rather productive for a Sunday and a fasting day! We got a few things done in the herb garden and I also had time to get in some cooking and baking. Of course this is my favourite thing to do  - so I always have time for it.

As a result of today's exploits I made a pot of cream of broccoli soup and a pineapple walnut cake. That was aside from all the work with the herbs....

Of course the cake was the most interesting part - it all started with a tin of pineapple (organic of course) that was left over in the cupboard. I don't have many tins of things here, so this one just sort of stood out all alone.

Today I pulled it out and decided something had to be done with this lonely pineapple and it whispered 'cake'. Actually this is a really easy cake to make and it sort of just fell together in a matter of minutes. 

I always start out with the basic 3 cups of flour, bread soda, salt - to this I added cinnamon, coconut and chopped walnuts. It all looked good so far and I could actually taste the final result. I guess this time I was baking for a certain taste if that makes sense!

Then, for the wet ingredients I put in some agave syrup and apple sauce as a sweetener, 3 duck eggs and oil. It was all quickly mixed together until there was no more flour visible and now I had a lovely cake batter.

For an added twist I decided to bake it in one of my clay pots. After soaking the clay pot in water for about 15 minutes it was ready to be buttered and floured on the inside. I coated it well and then spooned the cake batter inside. 

I was a little worried that I might have just wasted my time (and my tin of pineapple!) because I had no idea how the clay pot would do with the cake - 55 minutes later it came out of the oven and smelled and looks delicious. 

My taste tester, who is 5 approved, but the only description I was able to get was that it tasted like 'cake'. She is right now eating a piece of the cake after I poured some honey over top as a topping.

Can't wait until the weekend when I can eat again! 

April

Pineapple walnut cake 

Walnut Apple Muffins - Lovely Autumn Treat!

Today has been a busy one for me - I did manage to get in some cooking though - this is my one favourite activity that I find so relaxing, or perhaps fulfilling is the best word to use here. On the days I don't cook I feel as if something is missing.

And no, it doesn't seem to matter that right now I am fasting and not eating solid foods - I still love to create these dishes in the kitchen and see how they turn out. I always thought it would bother me, but I am must be made of stronger stuff! Once my mind is made up, that is it, I see something through to the end.

Well, today I made some hazelnut butter which always turns out lovely - this is such an easy nut butter to make. I mean you hardly have to do anything - lightly roast the hazelnuts in the oven for 9 minutes, rub the skins off and then buzz them in the blender for a few minutes.

Voila! There is the most wonderful nut butter you can ever imagine - I have enough for the next couple of  weeks on hand right now and hope to make some nut butter cookies with it next week. Or maybe some other new recipe?

Then later today I decided to use up some goat's milk in the fridge and make muffins (I had already made bread in the morning). I wanted a nice rich taste for this time of year and settled on walnut and apple with lots of spices thrown in for good measure.

At this point I am so used to baking I just start throwing ingredients in and get going with the recipes! For these muffins I used white and whole grain spelt flour, 1 cup of ground linseeds, the usual baking soda, salt, cinnamon, apple sauce, milk and maple syrup.

This was such a simple little recipe and whipped up in minutes - they were done in 18 minutes and of course smelled great!. Got a thumbs up from my little girl and the dog who got the one that hit the floor!

April

Walnut apple muffins

Cooking Up a Storm

I like nothing better then having the house all to myself with plenty of time and space to cook or clean and otherwise putter around. My favourite day would be one where I get a chance to do both and feel that I have accomplished something at the end of it.

Today, I had a few hours to myself to get some things done and ended up just playing in the kitchen doing some cooking - it's amazing the things we will do when we believe we have all the time in the world. Today I made my spelt breads as usual, then some goat's cheese & rosemary muffins, next I started on our dinner which ended up being fish cakes and spelt pasta.

For the muffins, I decided to use up some goat's cream cheese that I had on hand which went well with fresh rosemary from the garden. For these savory muffins I sautéd some onions in butter, then made the batter (an egg, flour, soda, herbs, goat's milk and yogurt) and at the end once all the ingredients were folded into each other, I crumbled in the cheese and topped with more rosemary.

Goat's Cheese & Rosemary Muffins

They smelled divine and did not last long, but now I have requests for more! Muffins make great treats and snacks, are so easy to make and you can put nearly anything into them. In only a few minutes (18 minutes in the oven) you have a fresh batch of muffins that are far better than anything from the shop. 

Usually on Saturdays we get to the market for our fish (and nearly everything else) today I got a lovely piece of silver hake to make fish cakes. Long ago we gave up Night Shades, so these were to be made using sweet potato, carrot and onion. 

Sweet potato adds a pleasant, more subtle flavour to the overall fish cake and it looks really nice too. Today, I cooked everything up separately, then combined (sautéd onions, cooked sweet potato and carrot, steamed fish) each of these main ingredients together with some herbs.

Fish, vegetables, onion - ready for mashing

Where herbs are concerned, more is always better and for these fish cakes there was no exception. I used fresh dill, coriander and parsley from the garden, chopped them finely then tossed them into the fish mixture. The results were spectacular!

Herb scissors from France are fab for chopping! 

Now, I have to let you know that where fish was concerned I was stuck in a rut. I grew up eating piles of fish (Canada's east coast) and ate some variation on fish cakes every week of my childhood. However, I had not made them myself in years, mostly because it always seemed like so much work and with children being small, going through the fish for bones was a priority. I usually ended up baking the fish in a sauce and serving it with a rice dish and vegetables of some sort.

For the last few days however, as part of my challenge for myself, I wanted to expand on my meal base. You must have realized by now that we seem to have about 3-4 meals that we make ALL the time. Well, for me, this was getting old and I needed a little push forwards.

Of course, not using any kind of processed foods has perhaps helped to expand my mind a little bit further when it comes to eating, so I am trying to make the dishes I dream about, but would not have considered before or made often enough. Yet everything is proving to be easier then I had thought.

In the same way that canning, making jams and preserves is not difficult either. You know, this really is all in our minds - once that door gets opened though, you find you do have time, you do have space and you can make anything you want.

Oh, and for the pasta, I gathered fresh basil (growing in pots all around the place) and fresh baby rocket leaves, the usual garlic, lemon, olive oil and then some walnuts for added flavour. This became a pesto sauce added to a quick stir-fry of fresh vegetables from the garden and this mornings market and the meal was complete.

Fish cakes cooking in skillet

Often it is something simple, such as this meal when prepared with care and attention is bursting with flavour and goodness. Those fish cakes were delicious, nothing coming from a shop could have matched them and will be back on the menu again soon!

Well, off to think of something new and different for tomorrow,

April

I Think, I Am Going To Like This...

Yesterday I was doing some research on using the apricots that I had on hand and making some sort of preserve with them and came across several mentions of apricot fig preserve or jam. From several recipes and descriptions online I was able to come up with my own version of this lovely jam.

One thing that I love is the taste of figs and of course any fresh fruit is also nice, however, making this jam yesterday was not the only thing that got me thinking and so excited. It was actually a deep realization about the foods that I have been eating and of course complaining about.

I have long known that we eat the foods that are put on store shelves and part of us must fade away - the creative soul - because there really is little imagination into tastes, textures and flavors anymore. Well, we get strawberry jam or apricot jam or perhaps some company is a little daring and makes something a little different. But for the most part, the food is all alike and fairly generic, either way, it is someone else's idea of what 'we' would be likely to purchase. (There's my food management and supply degree talking)

Yesterday opened my eyes a little further into my creative soul because it hit home that now I was in charge of the jam and I could make it anyway that I wanted. My apricot fig preserves then ended up with some of the flavors that I love, such as cloves, cinnamon, walnut and orange. I did not follow a recipe or even an idea, just an intuitive sense of what would taste nice on roasted duck at Christmas or as an accompaniment to homemade crackers and goat's cheese. I wanted something tasty and versatile.

When you make your own foods completely from scratch and allow yourself to unleash the foodie in you, who knows what will result. I have a feeling that it would be something fabulous and great every time. This is really the only way to go, when it comes to food.

The tiny bit of preserves that were left over were sitting in a bowl on the countertop - waiting for me to taste today, because my fast is now over and I am getting back to solid foods. I had a little spoon of it and it is lovely, just as I imagined it would be, slightly spicy, very thick and rich, yet it has the freshness of homemade food. 

And as there are only 3 jars of this (which all sealed perfectly I might add!) we won't be sick of it, it will be treasured and reserved for feast days to be used on special dishes and meals. Just as wonderful food is meant to be. Not too much, no endless supply of any one item, just something precious to be enjoyed and used thoughtfully.

What a great approach to eating, mindfulness at it's best,

April

This is one of the many pots of baby salad leaves that grow outside my door and in my cold frames. Greatest way to get greens fresh for a good long season.