COFFEE, ALMOND AND BLACKCURRANT CAKE

Looking back for favourite cakes and bakes to re-post I found this one which I remember being delicious and always intended to make again, but I never did.

You can see the recipe by clicking here.

WILL THERE EVER BE CAKE AGAIN?

There are still no cakes being made chez nous.  It's now nine weeks since I had cake, bread, biscuits or puddings of any kind and my weight is steadily falling.  I remember the wonderful Terry Wogan and his slogan "fight the flab" and I have to say that I am winning the battle and feeling much better for it.

I haven't felt hungry at all over the last nine weeks, not ever.  Filling up on fruit, veg and lean meat definitely seems to work and I have felt no desire to dive into the biscuit tin or raid the fridge for slabs of cheese.  (Although I have hankered after the occasional slap-up roast dinner.)  Nick and I are eating the same meals and his weight remains steady because he fills up on buttered toast with marmalade or cheese and patés. Watching him devour all the extras while I enjoy a nice, juicy orange has turned out to be easier than I thought!  I've even been making apple crumbles, just for him.  He's not much of a fan of cake so the temptation to have just one slice (it's impossible to have just the one) has been avoided.

At the back of my mind is my huge collection of cook books, cake tins and cake stands, all gathering dust from lack of use, and the worry that I might never get to need of them again - for fear of putting the weight back on.  

We'll have to wait and see but in the meantime I shall re-post some of my favourite recipes, some from years ago.

You can see this coconut and lemon cake if you click here. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR - AND THE RECIPE ROUND-UP FOR 2022.

This is what I posted about in 2022.

CAKES AND BAKES:  12

SOUPS:  9

SAVOURY DISHES:  5

DESSERTS:  2

MISCELLANEOUS:  1

A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !!

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND BUTTER BEAN SOUP (soup maker recipe)

I have mentioned before that there might be no cake posts for a while as I am on a mission to lose some weight.  The soup maker has really come into its own in this quest and this recipe is adapted from a cook book of recipes for slimmers.  The diet is going well, I have lost 15lb (7kg) so far and I can honestly say I haven’t felt hungry once.  I have however hankered after a decent sausage, mash and onion gravy, more than once, not to mention a nice thick wedge of cake, but not so much that I would be prepared to jeopardise the progress so far!  And I’m really enjoying trying new recipes.

This one uses a jar of roasted red peppers and it's important to buy the ones preserved in water, not oil, for the purpose of a diet.  The difference is significant but only if you're on a low calorie diet.

The recipe said to use red peppers but I used a jar of mixed ones, as that's what I had in stock.   It was absolutely delicious and a recipe I will make over and over again.  

Ingredients

2x  400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 460g jar roasted red peppers in brine, drained

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 tblsp sweet smoked paprika

1 garlic and thyme stockpot (or use home made stock - see here - and some fresh thyme)

A few extra thyme leaves, or chopped parsley, and some yoghurt or crème fraîche for serving

Method

Place all the ingredients into the machine, adding enough cold water to fill to the top line.  Cook on the smooth setting.  Add a swirl of yoghurt or crème fraîche and the remaining thyme leaves or parsley before serving.

Makes four generous servings.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!

(No Christmas cake this year.)

ITALIAN STYLE VEGETABLE SOUP (soup maker recipe)

This soup was made by my OH, Nick.  It started out as a kind of minestrone but when the cooking process was finished he thought it didn't quite look right so he processed it using the "blend" function on the machine until it was just slightly chunky, not entirely smooth.  I shall use this technique myself in future as I don't always want a completely smooth soup which you get when using the "smooth" function.

I was out doing some Christmas shopping and had no idea my lunch would be ready when I got home.  The house smelled divine as soon as I opened the front door and the soup was absolutely delicious.

Ingredients

1 red onion

1 large carrot

1 large parsnip

1 medium potato

2 sticks celery

½ a red pepper

½ a yellow pepper

1 garlic and thyme stock pot

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp Italian seasoning

 

Method

Prepare enough veg to fill the machine to the bottom line.  Add enough water to the top line.  Cook on the chunky setting then use the smooth setting to get the consistency you would like.

Makes four generous servings.

SPICED PARSNIP AND APPLE SOUP (soup maker recipe)

I spotted a recipe for something similar to this in a magazine recently.  The recipe included, like so many often do, chilli.  Chilli no longer agrees with me so I have to avoid it, which is a real shame because I do enjoy a nice curry - or at least I used to.

There seems to be chilli in everything these days and it turns up unexpectedly all over the place.  Goodness only knows why it ends up in some foods, such as the cauliflower cheese served in a local pub.  Cauliflower cheese is one of those foods that is perfect just as it is and definitely does not need any chilli.  The UK food scene seems to have gone chilli mad!

To make my version of the soup I used Sainsbury's garam masala because it contains lots of the spices I like but there is no chilli listed in the ingredients.  I also added a touch of fenugreek just for the sake of it.

It was very tasty.

Ingredients 

2 fat parsnips

2 dessert apples

1 onion

1 medium potato 

a chunk of celeriac

2 tsp garam masala

half a tsp ground fenugreek

2 tsp Marigold veg stock powder (or use a stock pot or home made stock)

Prepare enough veg to fill the machine to the lower line.  Add enough water (or stock) to fill to the top line and cook on the smooth setting.

Makes 4 generous portions.