Chicken and Chickpea Masala

Hello everyone,

I hope this day finds you and your loved ones and friends doing well wherever you may be in the world.

It has been awhile since I shared a recipe so I'm posting a "new to me" recipe that I made in the pressure cooker. I didn't think to take photos until after almost everything was eaten! So this photos isn't the best presentation you will get.

I found this recipe on the website Serious Eats here. If you go there you will find a much nicer presentation of the dish and the full recipe. I am also copying the recipe here for your easy reference.

As always I made some modifications to the recipe. I didn't have coriander (even though I'm sure I purchased some earlier for such a time as this, I cannot find it). I also didn't have spinach so I substituted rainbow Swiss chard. Last ingredient I was missing was cilantro. It didn't harm my dish but if you like cilantro I think it adds a nice, fresh flavour.

Another modification is I used dried chickpeas. I cooked them for about 15 minutes in the pressure cooker as I didn't want them over done in the dish. That was a mistake for the dish had to be cooked for an extra 30 minutes or so just to get the chick peas soft enough.

Review:  This dish is quite good and very filling. It has healthy ingredients like chick peas, swiss chard and various spices. I try to eat chick peas whenever I can as a source of protein, fibre, vitamin B-6, iron and magnesium.

This dish is also a bit rich due to the whipping cream which is used as a thickening agent. I ate this chicken and chickpea masala over top of plain boiled potatoes.  It helped to cut the "richness".  You could also use rice, cous cous or yams.  I will definitely make this dish again but next time I will cook the chickpeas well done or used canned as called for in the recipe. On a final note, I noticed that the dish as pictured above looks like it is swimming in grease. That is probably the overhead lighting.  The dish wasn't greasy looking when I took the lid off the pot or when I spooned it into my dish.

Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Masala

About This Recipe

Yield:	Serves 4
Active time:	10 minutes
Total time:	40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound fresh spinach leaves, trimmed
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup fresh juice from 2 to 3 lemons
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 pounds chicken drumsticks and thighs (4 to 6 of each)
• Kosher salt

Procedures

1. Heat butter in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat ("sear" setting on an electric pressure cooker) until foaming subsides. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until pale brown, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and spinach. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
   
   
2. Add drained chickpeas, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, half of cilantro, and chicken pieces. Stir to combine. Seal pressure cooker and heat to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, cook for 15 minutes.
   
   
3. Allow to cool, release pressure, remove lid, add heavy cream and simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce is thickened. Stir in remaining lemon juice and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining cilantro leaves.
   
   

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My Saturday of Simple Things

Hi friends,

They have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to forward them on their journey [and you will please do so] in a way worthy of God's [service]. 
  3 John 1: 6

Saturday went by in a flash. I was invited to a friend's for lunch today and had a plethora of errands to run before and after my lunch date.

Alas, I could not sleep last night. Though my eyes were tired I just could not sleep. I even woke up and warmed some milk to drink. That has helped before but not this time. It made my eyes more sleepy but I still could not sleep. I did a lot of praying for others over this time as God brought remembrance of each one and their needs forward. Maybe that was the real reason I could not sleep. Someone needed prayer support. Did you ever have a night like that?

So I woke up much later than anticipated after only a few hours sleep.  I just had time to get a few things done around the house and then I had to get going. No time for shopping.  Off I went to meet my friend, her husband and her children who were just getting home as I was arriving at their door step.

My friend woke up early this morning and made a wonderful lunch of: a tomato based soup, chapati (Indian flat bread), braised green beans and broccoli, roasted organic chicken, brown rice, and salsa (with avocados and other veggies).  She also made chai tea to drink and a nice fruit platter for dessert. I can always count on my friend for a healthy and delicious meal. I felt so blessed to have such a delightful spread for lunch and very much enjoyed my fellowship with her family and one of their boarders.

I actually took my camera with me hoping to get a photo of the food but was so busy talking and eating that I forgot to take the photo, lol!

After a few hours there, I helped to clear the dishes and rinse them so that whoever is doing dishes later (her husband apparently), had a lighter load of work. Of course like all good hosts they didn't want me to clear away dishes but based on personal experience, I know what a chore clean up can be after one has had the fun of eating and sharing good conversation. It was also great to see the children. They are such dears. They kept asking me if I was going home every time I got up. I said no but do you want me to and they would shout "NO, we want you to stay and come more often!". They were so cute and the eldest boy who is 6 said it had been sooooooo long since we had visited last and when can I visit again. It is so nice to have such loving children to visit as well as my good friends.

After lunch and tidying, I had to rush as the business day was almost done. I needed to buy some contact lens. It is getting harder and harder to get contact lens by shopping around for a price here. I'm not sure what has happened but this lat year all opticians are telling me about the laws in place preventing them from selling contact lenses without certain paperwork. When I questioned as to whether this is new law or regulation they tell me it has been in place for 10 years! I didn't understand why then, I am only now (well actually the last 2 years or so) experiencing problems getting a prescription filled without a "fitting" and without a prescription written in the last 6 months.

My prescription is about 8 months old and I'm told I need to get a new one. One optician even told me that I need a higher prescription for my contact lenses based on my eyeglass prescription. I told her my eye doctor doesn't share her opinion and I don't want to go to a higher power which will then make it difficult to read.  I'm due for my annual eye exam in May and I don't want to make any big changes until I know the results of that examination.  What it seems to boil down to is more ways to make sure the consumer pays more money to get more examinations which they do not need. Once a year should be quite fine unless you have an eye problem that needs more frequent observation.

About 2-3 years ago the government stopped covering annual eye examinations as part of the insurance we all pay into.  We now all have to pay extra for that unless you have diabetes.  So this rigamarole around special contact lens fittings seems to correlate with when eye doctors and opticians started insisting that you (the patient) get more frequent eye exams. One required for eye glasses and one required for contact lenses.  Before all they did was use the eye glass prescription to also fill your contact lens prescription. So who are they kidding?  But I digress.

My mission was to get some disposable lenses because I have run out of them and my eyes are feeling the strain. I can't wear my glasses because my eye sight has gotten worse in the last year and a half.  That means since I got my last set of glasses prepared with special lenses and all the high cost of that, my eyes have weakened and so the glasses are distracting to look through and tire my eyes out.  I am waiting until my next annual check-up in Spring to see what has happened since last year and what I should do about the glasses.

The good news is that I was able to find a nice optician who understood my situation and who has dealt with me a few months back.  I bought some lens from him and was so grateful and joyful. I told him he was a "lifesaver".  He said he liked being a lifesaver *smile.  Needless to say I will deal with him again should I decide to get a new eye glass prescription in the Spring.

After my adventures in hunting for vision aids, I hopped on the bus back to my neighborhood.  I needed to buy some veggies and spices that I will be needing for this week's menu plan.  I got home and prepared the lamb dinner from my new plan.  It was quite good. I made up the recipe based on lunch a long-time friend made for me many years ago.  Since I had that lunch with her I've made the dish about 3 times (I don't eat lamb that much despite really enjoying the dish).

After eating I made a quick phone call to my mom who told me she had been trying unsuccessfully to reach me. Whenever she dials my number, which she has memorized correctly (she recited it to me), she gets a  message that the number is not in service. This is very frustrating for her and understandably so.  She reported that she is still under quarantine due to an outbreak of influenza in her care home.  This is about the 4th or 5th day of quarantine. This is difficult to deal with too.  So we prayed together after a short talk and then I had to go.

Smoked Black Bean Dip recipe can be found at Oprah.com

After that I responded to a friend who lives several hours away by plane ride. He is going through a low point.  Wanting to throw in the towel after just starting to get back on his feet. I don't think he realizes how he sabotages his own happiness and success. He goes through a familiar cycle of working hard, feeling upbeat then inexplicably (to me) feeling in a funk and defeated. He is also very bright and has loads of trouble getting along with anyone for very long.  His relationships tend to be quite dysfunctional and I choose not to be too heavily involved in that but want to be a supportive friend where I can and within my boundaries.

I thought he had reached a turning point after going through a particularly difficult time in the last year.  He was  starting to realize that he needs God and a spiritual life to overcome his challenges. We've chatted briefly over several times in the last month and he's been very upbeat. As recently as two nights ago he had wonderful news concerning his future.  Today he sends me a note saying he is burned out and wants to quit.  I'm afraid I've not much patience. It is okay to feel tired and maybe even feel like quitting but don't drop these "emotional bombs" on your friends and expect them to "fix your emotions". In the past I've done it for him and many, many others. I recognized that in myself and put a stop to much of it when I realized I was a "fixer" or an enabler.

Until he can overcome his self-limiting behavior he will not be able to meet his goals. I suggested some emergency scriptures and daily Bible reading and prayer. (He thanked me later so I think he will be okay).  Of course he needs others to support him in prayer too so I will add him to my prayer list. He needs to learn how to cope with adult things and how to deal with and overcoming the challenges that arise in his life.  We all need to learn those skills. Some seem to learn much better than others and some have more negative circumstances and backgrounds to overcome but overcome they must if they are going to move forward in life.  They also need God and loving supportive friends but they must first and foremost take responsibility and become accountable for their own actions.

Oh boy, I did not plan to go there at all but there you have it. Maybe this post will help someone else who is an enabler or someone who thrives on chaos and dysfunction and needs to get beyond it. I hope so.

Anyhow friends, I still have to prepare the smoked black bean dip and pita bread for tomorrow's church social so I best get at it.  We gather every week after the service and have a little fellowship. We all prepare light snacks (different teams take turns preparing food on any given week) 3 weeks out of the month.  Once a month we have a full meal together and everyone who can brings a contribution to the food and drink.  It is always nice to find a simple, portable recipe to take to such potlucks.  It is also nice to sit and chat over coffee and refreshments.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Update: Friends I only made half the black bean dip recipe and it was plenty so if you are only making for family you might want to halve the recipe. I also found it very hot without adding the jalapeno. I think I accidentally doubled the chipotles so be careful if firey hot isn't to your taste. Here is a link to the recipe.

Out with the Old, In With the New

Hi friends and newcomers, welcome!

This verse is a comfort to me today as I move forward in the New Year with all it's possibilities.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

I hope your new year is off to a great start. Mine has started out a bit slowly and in a bit of a funk. I was gentle with myself and didn't push myself to do things I didn't have to.  Since I am never able to do nothing much for very long, I also did a lot of reading and a bit of shopping.  The shopping was done at the end of last year and beginning of the New Year to help me get 2015 off to an organized start. I have some goals this year for my spiritual life, my physical being, my home and my relationships. I also have a theme word or a guiding word for the year "joy". This is to help me look for joy in the world each and every day. Sometimes I might share those moments with you here on the blog.

Those of you who have been reading me for years might recall that I go through frequent times of purging my possessions. When I need to replenish or renew them I try to do it in as frugal a way as possible. These actions relate to my personal goals of keeping things organized and tidy, financial goals to reduce spending and also spiritual goals to help on the mission field (read more at my Work in Africa page at the tab on the top of this page).

Purging at the end and beginning of the year happened again when after Christmas I realized that my pillows are well over 20 years old. I can't imagine all the dust mites in those pillows after all this time as they were not washable. I did keep them covered with washable pillow protectors and aired them out every now and then.

The pillows were still supportive but looking worse for wear. I'd been thinking of replacing them for some time.  This year I finally did it. I ordered them on line which is always a bit dicey but they were a good price.  Basically two for the price of one.  While they are not my best pillow (that is one I'm throwing out), I'm  happy to say they seem to be working out fine. If I think back over the past week or so I think perhaps I am also sleeping better too which is one of the claims made by the pillow's inventor. I will have to keep alert and see if the better sleep (not waking up so often through the night) is a long-term benefit.  I can now throw out my old and well worn pillows.

The new pillows are washable and that is a bonus. I want to buy another two good quality latex pillows.  Of the two pillows I'm throwing out, one was latex and one was buckwheat. I would say they were both worth the price I paid for them way back when. I'll take my time looking for a good pillow replacement.

I've also replaced some cheap towels and a floor mat I had purchased less than 10 years ago. These are white towels that cost me only $1.99 each at the time. They now look rather dingy and gray and are starting to fray. The towels I had before were good quality ones that lasted over 2 decades. I'm afraid I was still using those with a few holes and frayed edges when I bought the inexpensive white ones.

My new towels and bath mat finally match my shower curtain which I've had for a few years already.   I now have white towels (2 bath) with teal trim and several other teal coloured towels in various sizes (2 hand towels, 2 bath towels and 1 bath sheet). I couldn't get any facecloths as they were all sold out but I will probably just look for some packages of inexpensive white and teal facecloths somewhere else. I tend to go through face cloths much more quickly and there is no way I will spend $4 or more on one face cloth.

So what else is in or out in my life?

Well for years I've been saying I want to try meal planning. I think it would help me to know in advance about what I will eat so I can prepare several days ahead with the food buying.  This way I hope to get a better handle on my blood glucose levels which are still not fully under control.

I've never actually tried meal planning for a whole week at a time and for some reason I don't find it easy to do. Instead I go to the store and buy whatever is on sale meat wise.  Then I purchase a lot of things to go with it (rice, pasta, quinoa, all kinds of beans and legumes & all kinds of vegetables).  Each day I think about what is going to be for dinner and sometimes I think several days ahead especially if I am going to be fairly busy and want to eat healthy.  This method works fairly well but lately I feel I could do much better and maybe spend much less if I sat down and had a plan of meals.  Plans always include breakfast, lunch and dinner and it is really Breakfast and lunch that I seem to have the  most trouble with.  Also, I have this idea that meal planning is going to require me to also look up recipes and learn new dishes so I can keep things interesting and thus the time factor puts me off a bit.

My first attempt at meal planning started last night. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it.  I may have to start smaller than planning for a whole week.  It will be good for me to start with planning more for breakfast and lunch since I seem to be pretty good with the dinner menu. Maybe I shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel and just focus on planning ahead for breakfast and lunch and continue to plan dinners after buying whatever is one sale. That might work better for me. I'll have to experiment a bit so it might be awhile before I'm in a groove so to speak.

I've never been a breakfast person except for when I travel.  So I really do need to plan ahead for this meal.  It will  largely consist of one of  the following:  hot cereals with fruit, yogurt and fruit, combinations of egg dishes or yummy muffins. I don't eat bacon anymore largely due to the cost and heart health.  Though I would probably do better on a higher protein breakfast I don't often have meat left over from dinner.

Here is a good heart healthy and healthy weight muffin recipe that came with lots of rave reviews. The recipe is actually for Lemon-Raspberry muffins but I substituted cranberries since that is what I had in my freezer. I've made these muffins to have for breakfast every other day or so this week.

 Lemon-Cranberry Muffins * Rated as heart healthy & Healthy Weight

 

 Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour, or whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups cranberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.
3. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in berries.  Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
4. Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm.

Weekend Bake: Banana Loaf

Hi friends,

There are certain recipes I continue to search for and refine. One of them is Banana Bread. For something so seemingly simple, I still haven't found a Banana Bread recipe I really like.
Most of them seem to be too moist. I want a dense loaf that is more like a bread but with banana taste.  I don't want a loaf so moist that it is like pudding.  I also don't like big chunks of banana in my loaf though I do like to see the seeds. I'm also looking for a recipe that doesn't use such a lot of sugar and oil.

I tried this recipe tonight.

BANANA BREAD

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream (I use Greek style plain yogurt instead)

1 cup mashed fully ripe bananas (I used 2 bananas because that is all I had today)

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (I meant to add the walnuts but forgot)

Instructions

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

BEAT butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs and sour cream; mix well. Add bananas and combined dry ingredients; mix just until moistened. Stir in nuts.

POUR into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan.

BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing. Refrigerate leftovers. 

When I transferred the batter to the loaf pan I was immediately pleased.  The batter is much thicker than the previous recipes I've used. However I could tell it was also going to be very dense.  I also could have used slightly more banana in the mix but I only had 2.  It was enough for a pleasant banana flavour.

Sorry for the shadow on the banana loaf.  It was late and the lighting was poor.

Taste test:  Good but rather rubbery. I over mixed the batter.  You are only supposed to mix until moistened not beat it together well. It was getting late and I wasn't paying good attention  I will be more careful next time.  I used my tin loaf pans rather than the silicone pans. I find silicon bread pans are terrific for bread but give my muffins and quick breads a "jelly like" consistency at the bottom. Good for certain types of muffins like strawberry or raspberry but not so good for things like banana bread, IMHO.

I like this recipe much better than the other recipes I've tried so far. I'm going to enjoy tonight with a cup of rooibos tea before bed.

In weather news, we've been having a lot of high winds.  It is helping to chase away the clouds and bring out blue skies and sunshine for several hours a day though there is still an unseasonal chill in the air.  Several of my friends have been battling with the flu bug or bronchitis. I myself have not been feeling that great for about a week but have managed to thwart getting a bug. I am trying to get more rest and drink plenty of fluids.

 I hope your weather is cooperating wherever you are and that you have a wonderful weekend. Hugs. xx

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I hope my Canadian friends enjoyed Canada Day. I had a nice relaxing day and stayed in since I will be very busy soon.  My regular readers will know that it has been raining a lot where I live.  But suddenly the weather turned very warm a few days ago.  I think most people are happy about that.

Even though the temperature were very warm, I was craving some cream of broccoli soup. I very seldom eat cream soup and I never eat Cream of Broccoli soup so am not sure where that craving came from. So I googled a recipe and came up with this. First time I've made it and it was quite good.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 chopped onion 
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped 
• 3 cups of chicken stock 
• 8 cups of broccoli florets (I didn't have 8 cups. I used about 3-4 cups but if you want your soup to be greener or have a full broccoli flavour, I suggest you use the recommended amount). 
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.

Zucchini Brownies

I was away for a few days visiting mom. My main purpose was just to visit because I haven't been to see her since the Christmas holiday.  I also wanted to clean out her closets and drawers and cull a lot of her old clothing. Her closet and dresser space is rather limited .  She recently got an entire new wardrobe and needed the space to store them. I ordered or made everything myself, labelled them and organized them in her closet and drawers. I also had a chance to do some general tidying and straightening out for her as she cannot really do it herself.

The weather was very cooperative for my journey.  It was sunny on the drive there.  On the way back the weather was a bit overcast but not cold or rainy.  However, the clouds opened and the rain fell on my first day home.  Today if the rain keeps at bay, I hope to finally clean the debris from the garden so I can plant soon.  This year I will plant a variety of hostas.  Half of my small garden does not receive direct sunlight and so I think hostas will do well. I will also plant a lot of flowers in the containers I keep in the area where the sun reaches, and a few vegetables; mostly like tomatoes, hot peppers and herbs.

When the hot weather arrives I won't be doing much baking. Here is a good recipe for cooler days.  I picked this recipe up at a Monday night cooking gathering I join every now and then. I love the recipe because of the large quantity of zucchini in it. In Africa and Europe I think you call this a corgette (summer squash). I also like the crunchy top and moist insides.


Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I often mix half white, half whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chip (I used half chocolate chips and half chopped walnuts)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups finely shredded zucchini/corgette

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F. and prepare a 9x13 inch pan.
2.  Combine oil, sugar & vanilla extract and mix well.
3.  In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
4.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix together.
5.  Fold in zucchini/corgette and chocolate chips/walnuts.
6.  Spread brownie mixture into a pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes.

Let cool, cut into squares and enjoy! 

Most of us know that vegetables are good for us and zucchini is no exception. It contains manganese, an essential trace mineral, and has a lot of fiber so helps with weight control and lowering cholesterol. It is a good anti-inflammatory, aids in prostate health, cancer prevention, heart attacks and strokes.  Zucchini also has potassium and magnesium which helps in lowering blood pressure. You can see that this summer squash really has so many health benefits.

 

A Little Poetry, Tea and Cake

On Wednesday a friend who has recently returned from a holiday in India, invited a small group of women to her home for masala tea, nibblies and poetry readings.

I thought this was a lovely idea and decided to share a happy poem. One that brings me joy when I read it or hear it.  I can  "see" the daffodils come alive through the words of the poem  "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" (sometimes known as "Daffodils"), by William Wordsworth.  

For the nibblies, I contributed some Gingerbread Cake.  I haven't made it before and I found it had a nice, dense texture which was perfect for dunking in tea.  I left my cake plain rather than add a sweet topping because I knew there would be other sweet nibblies at the gathering. I  added some fresh ginger to the recipe in addition to powdered ginger but it was the fresh lemon zest that really gave it it's great taste. Not too sweet. Just perfect.

First I'll share the poem and then the recipe in case you'd like to try it too. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

A small piece of Gingerbread Cake, strawberries and Rooibos Tea

Gingerbread Cake 

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

Zest of 1 lemon (outer yellow skin of lemon)

1/2 cup (120 ml) unsulphured molasses (To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non stick vegetable spray.)

1 cup (240 ml) milk

Lemon Icing: (Optional)

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar

2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 9 inch (23 cm) round or square cake pan with 2 inch (5 cm) sides.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

In bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and molasses and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternately, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Let cool completely and then, if desired, frost with the Lemon Icing. 

 

Lemon Icing: Mix together the sifted confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. (The icing should be thick but still spreadable.) Pour the icing onto the center of the cake and spread with an offset spatula. Some of the icing will drip down the sides of the cake.

This cake will keep for several days at room temperature. Can serve with softly whipped cream, lemon curd, or slices of apples sauteed in a little butter and sugar.

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake

 

Mama's Bread Pudding

Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around mama's baking.  Among other things, she made delicious bread pudding. It was so creamy and soft. Actually she was an excellent cook overall. Self-taught and a largely intuitive cook. I was not a natural cook and I took little interest in the kitchen except to make baked goods.

My lack of interest in cooking continued after I was grown.  My jobs always required me to put in long hours and arriving home late at night left little energy or time to shop for a wide range of ingredients or slave over a stove.  While mom was still able to get around, she would often visit and I so appreciated her visits.  I loved to come home from work and have well made and good smelling food hit my nostrils as I walked in the door.  I also just appreciated being able to spend time lots of time with her and though I worked long hours my weekends were free so we would spend time together going around the city and being tourists.

In later years, I had to cook for my mother and my cooking skills improved though most times my cooking was not to her liking. Who can blame her after having been such a great cook all of her life? Others of her generation looked to her to teach them.  So it was hard for her to be able to enjoy much of what I'd cook.  Later, when I retired, I began to experiment more in the kitchen. A few of my recipes and experiments are on this blog.  However, I admit to still having little patience in the kitchen.  I need simple recipes that don't require too much fussing over, especially since I'm prone to multi-tasking.  I am a simple girl at heart and I love simple food.

Recently I've been thinking of recipes that mom made when my siblings and I were growing up.  Things like rice pudding, bread pudding, dream bars, hamburger soup, home made bread, and bannock bread. Of course she made much more than these dishes, but these are the comfort foods that stick out in my mind, and which I crave from time to time. I've posted my experiments with each of the above dishes on my blog.  Even though I had no intention of posting anything about cooking on my blog, it actually became something I did rather frequently and cooking has become something I enjoy from time to time.

If you are interested in any of my cooking experiments you can search for them on my blog by typing "recipes" or the type of recipe you are looking for like "baked beans".  The repertoire on the blog is not extensive, but it is growing.  I would say that my dream bars still need work to be truly "dreamy", lol.  But other than that my other cooking experiments have turned out well enough. I call them experiments because I didn't inherit any recipes as such from mother (except for the dream bars) and I experiment by changing up recipes a fair bit to suit what I have on hand or to capture the essence of how mama made something.


Today's cooking experiment is bread pudding. I remember that mom's bread pudding was not like most people's bread pudding.  Hers was very soft, melt in your mouth, and delicious like real custard pudding.

I took the following recipe and made it my own with a measure of success. I can see those areas where I can improve things.

I used left over 2 left over French baguettes, one was white and one was whole wheat,.  Rather than homogenized milk I used 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk with equal amounts of water and I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar (a slightly reduced amount).  I made sure to use lots of liquid to try and achieve the creamy consistency and also because the French baguette was very hard.  I can also use stale white bread if I want bread pudding more like mama used to make.

Some recipes call for the milk and eff mixture to be heated first which is what I did. If you do this with evaporated milk you need not boil the milk otherwise it will curdle with the added water.  I used mine when it was just before the boiling point.

I added the raisins to the bread before pouring in the milk mixture.

Ingredients

• 3 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 loaf day old bread, cut into cubes and toasted
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices and vanilla. Toss in bread and raisins. Pour into a 9” by 9” ovenproof casserole dish, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake for 30-45 minutes, until eggs are set, and the top is golden brown.

Ready for the oven.

In my house we never ate bread pudding with a sauce. We ate it with cream so I have not put a recipe here for bread pudding sauce.

Finished product.

 After the pudding was cooked I noticed that some of the bread pieces were still a bit hard. I left the pot in the oven after turning the heat off and kept it in there for another 15 minutes or so. When I took it out again, it looked like the pudding in the photo above (Finished product).  It softened up much of the bread that was chewier.

If I make this pudding again with hard French baguette, I will first soak the bread crumbs to soften the crusts a bit. In the end though, the pudding tasted a lot like that of my childhood.

What about you my dear reader? What childhood recipes do you recall and perhaps make?

Enjoy!