Strawberry Polenta Cake

I found this recipe online some time ago and have been wanting to make it for ages, but with my baking urges somewhat satisfied with all the cafe baking, I have not got round to trying out something new. But with the arrival of strawberry season I sprung into action.

It was a lovely cold, rainy afternoon, my mom had come over the help finish a quilt I made for a friend, so while the cake baked, we sewed, drank tea and caught up on life.

This cake was beautiful to look at and the general taste was good, but my mom and I found it way too buttery (I never thought I'd say that!) but being left with a greasy residue in your mouth is not pleasant, and not the way it should be. Having said that, the polenta and strawberry combination was great!

So next time I shall have to alter the recipe a little by reducing the amount of butter added and see how it goes....

 What crazy this family was thinking taking a stroll in the weather is beyond me!

Baking Madness

So in the last few months I have been baking my butt off! It's been very rewarding, but it has also been rather tiring. I have learned so much along the way, the two biggest things have been time management and keep stocks up in the pantry. 

I no longer take my sweet time in the kitchen but get into a zone and just churn it all out.  And although there is still a lot of love and care that goes into my goods, I have learned that dilly-dallying in the kitchen means staying up baking until midnight. With a full time teaching job it is just not sustainable. So I get myself organised and work to a plan. What has helped a great deal is that the order I bake is pretty much the same every couple of days so I now know these recipes very well and know exactly how much time it will take to get it all done. Little things like preparing the four different frosting the day before really lightens the load on the night I need to bake! Baking cupcakes first so that they cool while the cake is baking for an hour and I can frost them while the the cake cools. Using every minute of time efficiently. 

The other big lesson learned is stocking the pantry, shopping well so that I don't have those "Oh no I forgot this or that" moments. I have had a fair few of those and the stress is just not worth it. So now as stocks run low I begin a list, on my iPhone so I have the list with me always,and I shop on the days I don't have to bake. I try not to have too much in the pantry as my space is limited so I have become a pretty good at keeping the balance just right. But like everything else this took a while to achieve! My poor pantry shelves were sagging under the weight of so many ingredients at one point!

Although I have been pretty exhausted since I started this regular baking, I have enjoyed every moment of it. I still look forward to my baking days and baking for myself and the family too. I am so pleased about this as I was a little concerned that if baking became a job I would not enjoy it so much. I am very glad that this is no the case (as yet!) I must admit though that my desire to try new things and experiment has some what abated as my baking urges are fulfilled regularly these days!

The biggest encouragement has been my wonderful Husband, who has been so supportive of this little mission I am on. He has been away a lot for work lately but has patiently heard my moans and groans over the phone and encouraged and sympathised with me. When he  has been home he has washed PILES of baking dishes and had made me so many meals while I bake away! He works very hard and the travelling really takes it out of him but he is still there, helping where he can and supporting me all the way. The rest of my friends and family have really been amazing, so enthusiastic and positive about my little journey. Their understanding has been really appreciated, especially when they have a grumpy friend/family member (me) to deal with every now and then!

So here are a few snaps of my baking mission from the past few months. Not all of them are 'styled' but I have put them up anyway. Baking is not always glamourous!

Greek Shortbread and Pecan Chocolate Cookies 

Gluten Free Quinoa and Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Quiona Cupcakes, Banana and Honey Cupcakes and Chocolate Oat Cookies

Lumberjack Loaves.

Orange and Poppyseed Syrup Cake

Raspberry and White Chocolate Friands 












Raspberry and Lime Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Layer Cake

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

Raspberry and White Chocolate is one of my all time favourite flavour combos. It just hits the spot for me! I have been on a bit of muffin mission lately (in case you have not already noticed that!) So I had to try and find a recipe that did the flavours justice, and after many trials, I finally found one that I like. I still need to work on the presentation. The white chocolate chunks I sprinkled on top burnt rather than melted, so that will have to change, but other than that I am pretty pleased with results.

 

In Loving Memory

My dear Gran died yesterday. She and my Grandfather, Lalla, were involved in a car accident at the beginning of the week. My Gran sustained serious head injuries and Lalla escaped with a few scratches and bruises. Sadly Gran never woke from her coma and passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning, 2 February 2013.

I have conflicting emotions; on one hand I am thankful for and rejoice in her long and full life. I am thankful that I kept up the contact via snail mail with her and Lalla when we moved to Australia. I have not regrets, not one. And on the other hand I am so very sad to no longer have a person who has been a part of my life from the day I was born.

When I received the news I was a little numb, but then the tears started to flow and I took a few moments to really mourn her. In the hours after the initial text, I was trying to keep busy with work related errands, I was sitting at the traffic lights and was overcome with emotion all over again. I just had this urge to speak of her, to share memories of her, almost talk to her. So there I was, crying my eyes out, talking to myself as I waited for the lights to change. After that I decided to make a cake in her honour. It's the first time I have baked where the reason behind it was death. Funnily enough my baking came through for me. The process of measuring and mixing ingredients and pouring my emotions into that cake was really therapeutic. I just knew it would work even though I had never tried the recipe before.

If I were to talk to my Gran one last time, this is what I would say, and these were my words in the car at the traffic lights:

My Gran, what an incredible woman, you are strong, stubborn and feisty. There were times as a child when I feared you and we did not get along very well. But thankfully that changed as I grew older and tougher. My Gran you have raised three successful children and you have been a fully involved, hands on, supportive grandmother to nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. There is not one memory of school sporting events that does not have you standing on the sidelines screaming "GOOOOO JOANNAAAAAAA!!!" From when I was a little girl, at my very first sports day to the last hockey game I played for the D team, you were there. You came to every cultural event I was involved and and have encouraged me in your own way.

Your gardening skills and endless knowledge of flowers is something you have passed on to me and I am proud to share that talent with you. You taught me the importance of cleaning a wound well, not matter how much pain the process may inflict on the victim and to keep the wound well looked after in order for it to heal as best as it could. You were a great fan of methaolate! You taught me to be tough, and not to take any 'bullshit' form anyone. You were the first person I ever heard swear and the words I learned from you were on another level! It never ceased to amaze me that no one told you off!

I will never be able to eat a paw paw without thinking of you, for some reason those little black seeds will always remind me of you. The same goes for apple pies, I remember how you used to bring up an apple pie from a bakery in Pinetown- I can't remember the name but I remember the red and white box it came in with the picture of a little old lady on the front. You were and always will be the champion sandwich maker. I remember many family events with home made sandwiches and thermoses of tea. I also recall you being prepared for EVERYTHING, the back of your car or the insides of your handbag held a menagerie of items that could be used in any emergency. I remember you telling my that sanitary pads are very good for stemming the flow of blood from a bad wound. That's right, ever practical! You taught me that the sap from an aloe plant can help with itchy bites and you amazed me when you ate nasturtium flowers!

I will always remember to check the inside of the jacaranda flower for bees before slipping them onto the end of my fingers to make witches nails. Your cotton collared shirts, long grey plait or curled up bun will be imprinted on my memory for ever. I promise to keep the tradition of salmon mousse at Christmas with melba toast alive now that I FINALLY have the recipe from you! I promise I will keep writing to Lalla, I know how much my letters meant to you, but in truth I think I got way more out of writing them than you got reading them. Knowing that my dear grandparents knew what was going on in my life was important to me.

I'll never forget your cackle-like laugh, the crinkles round your blue eyes and your smell. I think I inherited my tendency for hoarding from you. So far Troy had been a bit more successful with keeping the levels of useful crap low than Lalla was. I will forever be grateful for the fact that you were at our wedding, and that you had such a good time. A beautiful flower arrangement will always remind me of you and a jungle-like garden with lots of big trees and bushes will bring memories flooding back of the green oasis that is your garden.

I love you my Granny. I'll never forget you and will miss you.

I decided on this recipe because it had pecan nuts in it. My Gran was an amazing gardener. She had a huge garden, it was like a park and in it was a pecan nut tree. I remember collecting those nuts as a little girl, it was like hunting for treasure. I can vividly recall the shell of the nut and I remember a bowl of those nuts with the nut cracker waiting next to it should the desire to munch on a pecan nut come upon you.

I couldn't be there next to her bed to say goodbye, and I won't make the celebration of her life that the family has as it is in South Africa and I am in Perth, so decided to have my own goodbye ceremony, on my own, in my kitchen. I had a cup of tea and a slice of cake, all the while remembering my Granny and knowing she would have loved it. I even had two grains of sugar in my tea, just the way she had it.

Maple Syrup and Pecan Chiffon Cake with Brown Butter Icing

(p.s I can't seem to get these photos into the places I want them to be so they are the way they are)

                             

                    
 
                                   

A Farmers Wife?

I have to say I am very proud of myself! Today was the first time I have ever attempted preserving/canning something! I made Tomato Relish and it was great success. I was not entirely convinced it would be!

I did quite a bit of research and read a fair few recipes and finally settled on one. Then all that was left to do was jump right in!

I am really pleased with how it turned out, and everyone who had it, still warm from the pot on the freshly baked crusty loaf I made, loved it too! Hooray! So now I have a little collection of jars, beautifully packaged and filled with tomatoey goodness. The packaging was a very thoughtful gift from my dear Sister-In-Law, Didi.

I must admit that I am a little addicted, throughout the two day process I got to thinking what it would be like to to this as a matter of survival, i.e. if I were the wife of a farmer in a rural location where the nearest grocery store is 6 hours away. I'd like to think that I would enjoy it, using seasonal produce, no wastage and having a pantry packed to the brim with jars of preserves all home made! Perhaps one day it will be a reality for me and I shall see just how 'relaxing' it really is when I am surrounded by mountains of produce, empty jars and days of boiling, bottling and labelling ahead of me!

For now I am happy with my 10 jars of relish and look forward to the next session, whenever that may be!

Ginger and Lime Cake

I have had a great opportunity to try out a fair few new recipes over this lovely long summer break. This has got to be the stand out one for me. I am not a ginger fan... AT ALL. But I have a friend who loves it and requested a cake with the flavour included. Well, I am so glad that she did because this is a beautiful cake with the most refreshing flavours and I will definitely be making it again! 

It's one, very simple cake baked and then a lime syrup poured over the top whilst still hot. It was left to cool for about 3 hours, mostly in the fridge and then I cut it into three layers. I sandwiched each layer together with cream cheese frosting. This was just the most perfect flavour to finish off the cake. I then grated a little more lime zest over the top and stuck flaked coconut around the edges, just for a bit of show. I am very happy with this new cake, and I can tell it's going to be one of my favourites! Who knew, me liking ginger! Maybe I should be more adventurous more often!

Pear and Walnut Mini Loaves

I recently purchased a mini loaf pan. I have always loved the shape, all cute and mini, but never really had a need for one. Naturally, when I saw it on sale for a quarter of the price I just could not pass it up! Of course I just had to use it straight away...

I have learned that muffin mix can be made in the traditional round shape or it can be made into a loaf shape and visa versa! I thought that was very nifty when I read that... somewhere... So I decided to give the theory a go. I took a recipe for Pear and Walnut muffins and used the mini loaf tin instead of the muffin tin. I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I did feel that the actual mix could have had a bit more fresh pear in it though. But that's just me.