“Do not be afraid to go out on a limb. . .That’s where the fruit is.”
Anonymous
Fresh Plum Spice Cake
Blogging is greatly inspiring. It’s opens the mind to new ideas & makes you look at everything differently. Food blogging for foodies like me goes even a step further. A fruit means more than just a chomp now; it eggs me on to try & widen my horizons!
…am still on a fruit trail
Cherries have all but disappeared from the market; they show up for a very short period in summer. Peaches, plums & mangoes still rule the roost, with mangoes creating a sort of flood. I’m in a hurry to try out something fruitfullyplummy because plums are gonna disappear soon too. Until now, a plum was a mere juicy fruit to dig your teeth into & get splattered with juice ; also a connection to a beautiful colour. Googling opened new vistas & I set forth to try & experiment with a fresh plum cake. Would have thrown some ground almonds in too, but almonds being expensive, didn’t have the heart to take a chance. As an after thought, they may well have tasted wonderful. *Sigh*…next time maybe, but I am rapidly turning into a ‘try everything at least once’ sort of a person…& ‘the everything at least once list’ is rapidly expanding towards infinity; at the best of times is quite daunting! Also, have to balance calories, the bane of our existence!! What a challenging thing life is!!
Serving up a slice of happiness…
Ingredients: Plums – 8 ; pitted & quartered Pistachio nuts – ½ cup ; roughly chopped Butter – ½ cup Sugar – 1 cup Eggs – 2 Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp Almond Extract – 1 tsp Flour – 1 cup Cinnamon powder – 1 tbsp Baking powder – 1 tsp Salt – ¼ tsp Topping : Sugar – 2 tbsps Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees c. Grease & line bottom of a non-stick Victoria sandwich tin.
Sprinkle ¼ cup chopped pistachios on base of tin (over the lining). Top evenly with chopped plums.
Cream butter + sugar till fluffy.Add eggs + both extracts & beat well.
Mix in the flour mix well. Pour this batter evenly over the plums & pistachios.
Mix the cinnamon & sugar for the topping in a small bowl.
Sprinkle over the top evenly & bake for 35-40 minutes.
Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
Then turn out onto rack & gently peel off the lining off the top, scraping back any fruit that might cling on to the lining.
Give it a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar & the remaining chopped pistachios. Can dust with powdered sugar before serving again. Serve warm with a drizzle of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
… in the plum of things & loving it!! That’s the verdict!!
I made these yummy brownies & I made them with olive oil!! Believe it or not…they were scrumptious. If you are looking for butter laden, rich, dense brownies then these are not for you. But, if indulgence & counting calories are your kind of conflicting inclination, then these are right up your alley!!
Was surfing the net a few days ago & found this very interesting sounding brownie recipe…interesting because they were brownies made with olive oil accompanied by a stunning picture by Sabra @ Cookbook Catchall. The recipe that comes from Faith Heller Willinger’s new cookbook, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover is a twist on the traditional brownie in butter terms. The original recipe has a fruity olive oil which I didn’t have, but we loved how these turned out, & I was glad to be able to offer the kids a healthy brownie option.
I tried to make them healthier by adding some oats to the recipe & was worried that disaster might strike. They turned out just great & are are a lovely, healthy brownie option, specially for dessert. It was actually quite intriguing to learn that you can turn out olive oil brownies that taste so good!! My other alteration to the recipe was the use of pistachio nuts, my favourite pairing with chocolate in taste & visual appeal. The brownies had a semi-dry cracked surface & were moist within. I thought they were beautiful.
Equal Opportunity Kitchen is running a second round of their very successful first event Tried, Tested & True. The lovely ladies wanted to provide a forum for recipe sharing that people could go to when they needed something that was already proven, that wouldn’t fail and would shamelessly make them look great. Take 2 is on now, but with a slight difference; it’s calling for health-promoting tried, tested and true recipes. This time, they’re attaching a cause of importance to them, organ donation. “Just think about a submission that’s healthy and tastes good – that you would feed to someone you love knowing that you were promoting good, healthy eating.” This is absolutely great; I think there couldn’t be a better way to promote & spread the message. You’ve got until Monday, July 21st (EST) to rush in your entries. Also, do do stop by & read a wonderfully inspiring story at Ann’s @ Redacted Recipes. It’s heart-warming & beautiful.
Onto the recipe now as adapted from Sabra @ Cookbook Catchall Ingredients: Dark / bitter chocolate – 100gms (broken into pieces & melt in microwave)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1/3 cup Flour – 1/2 cup
Rolled Oats – 1/4 cup Sea salt – 1/4 teaspoon Eggs – 2 large; at room temperature Caster sugar – 2/3 cup Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon Pistachio nuts – 2/3 cup; chopped (save some to sprinkle on top if you like)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line an 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan with a lightly oiled and floured piece of parchment paper that overhangs the pan on two sides (this aids in removal later).
Whisk the oil into the melted chocolate. Leave to cool.
Whisk together the flour + oats + salt together in a bowl.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale, thickened and billowy, about five minutes. Fold in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and optional nuts, stirring just until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
Bake for 22-26 minutes (note from the Traveler’s Lunchbox: I would recommend checking earlier to avoid over-baking – mine were just on the verge after 22 minutes). The top will be dry and crackly, though a toothpick inserted in the center should emerge still a little wet.
Cool completely, then cut into squares. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
“It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it.”
M. F. K. Fisher
Hamburger Buns…made at home
“To yeast or not toyeast” seems to be my call these days. It’s been a while since I gained my yeastly confidence, & now, every weekend I wake up early to try a new yeast bread. Last weekend’s choice ended up being hamburgers because I found this nice recipe posted by Nicole Weston @ Slashfood. Looked like just what I wanted…perfect buns, ever so tempting.
The buns didn’t come out as perfect as the ones on Nicole’s post, but they did taste great. Her post is worth checking out…step by step pictures, explanations at every point & beautiful bunny snapshots!! I made one small change to her recipe…substituted 1/2 a cup of flour with whole-wheat flour. The buns were light with a nice wholesome chew to them…I think the addition of oats make a nice difference to the dough. I made 1 1/2 times the recipe & got 12 buns out of them.
…halfway through when the electricity decided to leave us & go away…
Home-made hamburger buns with grilled chicken within!
The recipe for Homemade Hamburger Buns from Slashfood
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups water, warm (110F) 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet) 2 tbsp honey 1/2 cup quick-cooking (or whole) oats 2-3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading ( I substituted 1/2 a cup with whole-wheat flour) 1 1/2 tsp salt
Method:
Combine 1/4 cup of the water with the yeast in a large bowl. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
Stir in the rest of the water, honey, oats, salt and 1 1/2 cups of flour.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured flat surface. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
Once it has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a rectangle. Divide into eight equal pieces.
To shape the buns, draw up the corners of each piece of dough and pinch together, forming a tight ball. Place, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet (I used a foil here).
Sprinkle the tops with a bit of extra oats or sesame seeds and let rise for 45 minutes, covered with a clean dish towel, until almost doubled in size.
Bake at 190 degrees C for 20-25 minutes, until dark gold. The rolls will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving. The rolls will soften slightly as they sit. These can also be used for sandwiches.
“In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips”
Unknown
I guess one can never have enough of chocolate chip cookies. These ones above are our current favourite…crisp, chocolaty & nutty too, with just the right hint of mocha. I scribbled the recipe down from the back of a box or chocolate chips packet ages ago. The chip cookies I’ve posted earlier were sans cocoa. These ones are more indulgent; quite a treat & disappear very fast…so watch out. Like most cookie recipes, this one is versatile too. Skip the cocoa if you want pure unadulterated chocolate pleasure, skip the nuts if you ain’t a nutty person. I have substituted 1/2 a cup of plain flour with whole-wheat flour, & thrown in some walnuts to give it a slightly healthier twist; believe me, these taste great & are pretty easy for kids to make too!
Ingredients:
Butter – 1 cup (200 gms)
Brown sugar – 12 tbsp
Vanilla Extract – 2 tsp
Egg – 1
Flour – 1 1/2 cup
Whole-wheat flour – 1/2 cup
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Cocoa – 1/2 cup
Instant coffee – 1 tbsp
Chocolate chips – 1/2 cup
Chopped walnuts – 1/2 cup ; optional
Method:
Lightly grease 4 baking sheets. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Sift the flours + baking soda + cocoa powder + a pinch of salt.
Make 1″ size balls, flatten a bit with a fork. Top with sprinkles, M n M’s / Smarties etc if desired.
Bake for 15-20 minutes till done & tops begin to crack.
Cool on racks.
a batch with walnuts…
& another without!!
I had been tagged for a music meme AGES ago by the brilliant Arfi@ HomemadeS. I say brilliant because that’s what she is…in every respect. A lovely human being, a great friend, a genius photographer with culinary skills to match…& belongs to a family of musicians. I feel quite unaccomplished; when I was young, I always thought I was this huge singer waiting to be discovered…LOL…in my dreams. I was singing ‘Karma Chameleon’ while driving the daughter somewhere the other day, & she turned around & said…‘You should be singing somewhere; you’re quite good, you know!!” *Blush* I thought to myself, I am singing somewhere, & here is good enough!! Relegated to the realms of bathroom singers lost to the world, I have a rocking passion for music & am happy to be tagged for a music meme. Thank you Arfi…
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.
It’ssummer here now & the songs singing to me at this time are …
Tracy Chapman – Fast Cars…one of my favourites now, & when I began working. I still sing at the top of my voice when I hear her sing this song. I love it; it stirs my soul (like all the following do too).
River of Dreams – Billy Joel…love his songs; Piano man, Uptown Girl, She’s Always a Woman…*sigh*
Carlos Santana – Into the Night…Gimme Santana & Latin music in any form. Iglesius too.
Boy George & Culture Club –Karma Chameleon…takes me back to college. Foot-tapping, peppy number.
Eric Clapton – Layla…the acoustics, the guitar, the voice. The only live Western music concert I have ever attended in my life is Eric Claptons‘ at London’s Royal Albert Hall, one very wet & cold night in the winter of 1990-91(1990!!Did I tell you I was ancient!!). The album released after the show was ’24 Nights’, as I think the show ran for 24 nights. We flew down to the UK after work specially for the show, almost got bumped off the aircraft coz we were airline staff, but the Capt was a gallant man & took us giggly girls on board! We couldn’t see a thing coz our seats at the Hall were by far the cheapest, but the show was entirely enthralling & memorable. His ‘Tears in Heavens’ touches a chord deep down in me.
Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing…all time forever favourite; the whole album actually. I can listen to this looped all day long. It’s nirvana!
Credence Clearwater Revival – Cotton Fields…somehow makes me think of Mammy in ‘Gone With the Wind’!
That’s the bunch I’m listening to currently & must admit that I rarely waver far from the sorts like above. Sometimes I wonder if the current generation can connect to the genre of music I enjoy. Am relieved to see the kids enjoying Abba (now creeping into the charts again), Boney M, BonJovi, U2, Bryan Adams, Santana as much as Will.I.Am, Hanna Montana & Enrique etc. I did try & introduce them to a bit of Bob Marley too (his Buffalo Soldier still enthralls me) but with no spectacular luck. I am about to tag a further 7 as the meme requires me to. Actually, am curious hear what others listen to. Is my music a generation old? With thoughts of the sort here goes…
Amy @ Familia Bencomo …she’s been run ragged by her family this vacation, so we will hear from her sometime (more like whenever), but I’d like to peep into her juke-box.
