Pork is not something we eat a lot of in our house . . . It's not that we don't like it.  We both really love it . . . it's just not something we have very often.  When we do have it, I find myself wondering why we don't have it more often than we do!!  It's so very yummy!

When I was a child, we used to have pork chops about once a week.  In the olden days, way back then, people used to think that you had to cook pork to death . . . and so my mother's pork chops always closely resembled boomerangs.  It  never failed.  They always ended up dry and hard, except that you didn't want them to come back!  Sorry mom!


Mom would sometimes cook roast pork . . . but my dad only liked it served cold, so we never had hot roast pork for dinner.  It was always served  a day old and cold . . . thinly sliced, and  with some French's mustard on the side.  I used to long for a hot roast pork dinner . . . with lots of gravy and mashed spuds, and perhaps some applesauce and stuffing.  (Oh and let's not forget the brussels sprouts and carrots!)

We never ever had anything like pork tenderloin.  I am not sure I even knew pork tenderloin existed when I was growing up!  (Not in our house anyways!)  Once I became an adult, however, and began cooking for myself, I made up for lost time with lots of hot roast pork dinners, tender pork chops and tasty pork tenderloin . . .  One of my favourite ways to do a Pork loin involves making deep cuts into it every couple of inches of the surface and inserting thin slices of garlic and herbs into the pockets.  It's also fabulous stuffed with fruit . . . especially prunes and apricots . . .




I love pork tenderloin, as long as it's cooked properly. It is like the filet steak of porkdom!  Nice and tender and full of flavour . . .

Pork goes so  very well with fruit.  More often than not we have it with apples and cider . . .  but occasionally you come across a little gem like this fantastic recipe that I found in Cooking Light.  (Which also means it is low in fat and calories!  Always a bonus!) I adapted it slightly, of course!  The original didn't call for flouring the meat, but I felt that it would give it a lovely crispy crust.


I was right.  This is fabulous!  The meat nice and tender and moist, but with a rich outside crust, and that sauce . . . it's a wonderful combination of fruit and tang . . . in short . . . to die for!  A most wonderful combination!

What's even better is that it comes  together lickety split!!  You can have it on the table quicker than you can say Jack Robin!!  This will have them licking their chops for sure!  I would serve this to company!!



*Pork Cutlets with a Port and Cherry Pan Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Delicious pork tenderoin cutlets sauteed until golden brown and served with a scrumptious Port and Dried Cherry pan sauce.

250ml of ruby port (1 cup)
a generous handful of dried cherries
4 tsp seedless raspberry jam
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBS sunflower oil
1 1/2 pound piece of pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 dessert spoons of plain flour
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 TBS butter



Whisk together the port, cherries, jam and mustard.  Set aside to allow the cherries to macerate and plump up a bit.

Cut  the pork tenderloin crosswise into 16 even pieces.  Season well with  some salt and black pepper.  Dust lightly with flour, shaking off any  excess.

Heat the oil in a skillet until hot.  Add the pork and  cook approximately 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked  through.  Remove from the pan and set aside, keeping it warm.

Stir  the wine mixture into the pan, scraping to loosen any browned bits up from  the bottom of the pan.  Allow to bubble up and reduce until about half  the volume.  Remove from the heat.  Whisk in the butter.  Divide the  pork between heated dinner plates, spooning an equal amount of cherry  sauce over each portion.

Hooray for autumn and all those lovely apples that are now being offered at road stands and in the produce departments of the local shops.  Not French Apples either, but beautiful, sweet delicious fresh British Apples.  Perfect for eating out of hand, cooking into sauces and chutnies . . .  and for baking into lovely pies, tarts, muffins and cakes.  Cakes like this beautiful one I am showcasing here today.

This is a deliciously different cake, baked from an old traditional  recipe which is Irish in origin.  What makes it different you ask???  Well . . . this is a cake that is  a cross between a cake and a scone . . .



The method used to make the cake batter is very similar to the same method you would use when making traditional scones . . . rubbing the butter into the flour with your fingertips until crumbly. Stirring in the wet ingredients with a round bladed knife to make a soft dough . . . but that is where the similarity ends.  It bakes up into a deliciously moist cake . . . not a sturdy scone.



I guess you could say that is is also similar to a pie, because you have both a top and a bottom crust, with a delicious apple filling sandwiched in the middle . . . the top and bottom crusts melting together at the edges, and then baking in and around the apples, to form one of  the tastiest cakes ever!!



At one time this cake would have been placed into an iron pot oven, with burning coals topping the pot . . . the pot situated close to the open fire on a rustic Irish cottage hearth . . .



Oh what a romantic image that inspires . . .  I can almost  see it now . . . the flames from the open fire licking up and down the walls . . . the light flickering on the dark cottage walls . . . the smell of smoke mingled with that beautiful smell of baking cakes . . . apples . . .  and spice . . .



Alas, we have no open hearth . . . simply an electric oven and a deep flan tin but nevermind . . . it still tastes pretty darn good!!!

Served warm with lashings of warm custard . . . this was the perfect rainy day teatime treat.



*Irish Apple Cake*
Serves 6 to 8
 Printable Recipe

A delicous version of an apple cake, baked with tasty apple slices sandwiched in the centre. Serve warm with or without custard.

225g self raising flour (generous 2 cups)
(You may need extra
so don't put the flour away just yet)
115g  butter (1/2 cup)
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
115g caster sugar (9 1/2 TBS)
3 fluid ounces milk

Filling:
2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
57g soft light brown sugar (4 1/2 TBS)

Topping:
a little beaten egg
1 level TBS of caster sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter a deep flan tin, with a loose bottom, roughly 9 inches in diameter. set aside.

Place the flour and butter into a large bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips to form a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the sugar. Add the beaten egg and milk and mix together with a round bladed knife. If the dough seems a bit too sticky add a bit more flour. You want a soft dough, but not a sticky one. Turn out onto a floured board and cut the dough in half. Place half of the dough into the flan tin, pressing it in with floured fingers to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. Spread the apple slices evenly over the base, leaving a bit of an edge all the way around. Sprinkle with the soft light brown sugar and the cinnamon. Carefully roll out the remaining half of the dough into a circle roughly the same size as the dish. Place on top of the apples, pressing the edges together with the bottom crust. Cut several slits in the top of the cake for ventilation.

Brush with a little beaten egg and sprinkle the TBS of caster sugar evenly over top. Bake for 35 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.

Place the tin on top of a jar and push the sides of the pan down and remove. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool to warm before cutting into wedges to serve.



If there's anything else that goes very well on a rainy day with a cake such as this, it is a nice hot cup of herbal tea.  Today we were supping on beautiful cups of Fruit Medley Tea which was sent to us from Adagio Teas.  A delicious herbal blend of rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, natural strawberry flavour and strawberries, orange peel and natural wild cherry . . . soooo good, almost addictive and soooo good for you!  A wonderfully aromatic and flavourful blend which contains nothing artificial, no sweeteners, and totally caffeine free.

Adagio Teas recently sent me a lovely assortment of their herbal tea range . . . all lovely. We've really been enjoying these lovely blends . . .

Lemon Grass . . . with a delicate Meyer lemon taste, as well as a slight hint of sweet ginger, and very aromatic floral fragrance. Smooth and fragrant. It felt very soft in the mouth, not astringent at all with a lovely clean finish. Very Thai . . . an uplifting, yet naturally caffeine free tea.

Blood Orange . . . another favourite with a deep vibrant colour and sweet tangy flavour . . . and yet without sugar.  It's a combination of orange peels, hibiscus flowers, rose hips and natural orange flavour.  Very, very rich and tangy . . . just lovely.  (I used to love Constant Comment tea when I drank black teas . . . and this really reminded me of that.)

Rooibos Vanilla . . . this lovely rooibos tea combines that beautiful and rich  sugary scent of vanilla, combined with the fruity juiciness from the rooibos, altogether almost dessert-like . . . but without the calories.  A cookie you can drink, and not gain an ounce on your hips.

White Blueberry . . . you know how much I love Blueberries . . . a premium white tea, combined with the taste of juicy blueberries.  The Canuck in me loved this both warm as a hot drink . . . but also cold as an iced tea.  It had a clean refreshing taste . . . most delectable.



You would think that all those lovely herbal blends would be enough . . . but no, they also sent me a beautiful little gift  set of "Love Petals." This is a sweetly presented set of three delicious sounding teas in gorgeously romantic looking  rose printed tins . . . Ripe for Romance (a mix of black tea, cocoa nibs, raspberry leaves, raspberry pieces, and natural chocolate and raspberry flavours.  Sounds nummy.)  Sweet Nothings (a mix of white tea, sunflower petals, lavender buds, apricot bits, and natural peach flavour) Hugs and Kisses (A mix or rooibos, rose petals, cornflowers, and natural vanilla, almond, cream and caramel flavours.)  I have not tried these yet, but they do sound delicious and those tins are just beautiful.  I think these would be a lovely gift for someone special.

Wow, nice . . . I can hear you thinking that.  But that is not all . . .



They also sent me this really neat little tea steeper!  The ingenuiTEA is a really nice looking piece of kit which promises to be the  most convenient tea pot you will ever find anywhere.

From their page:  The most convenient teapot you will find anywhere - we guarantee it. When tea is ready, simply place it atop your cup. This will cause a valve at the bottom to release: crystal-clear tea flows down, while the mesh filter retains all the leaves with one of the best infusers on the market. Super easy to clean and dishwasher safe - perfect for the office or the road. You will wonder how you got along without one. 

Can it live up to it's promise??



Very simple, easy to read and great instructions on it's use clearly printed on the side
of the box.



Boiled water added to the tea.



Steep for the required time.



Placed over the cup, it empties itself into the cup.  Just make sure your cup is large enough to take the amount of liquid in the teapot . . . or else it will over flow!  (That happened to me the first time I used it!  DUH!)



A beautiful, well steeped, delicious flavoured cup, of hot, warming, comforting tea.

What more could you want??

Many thanks to Stepas and Adagio Teas for affording me this lovely chance.
What can I say . . . I'm hooked.  These herbal blends are quite, quite fabulous!

 

I just love this time of year, especially when you get a beautiful sunny day like today . . . the air is clean and fresh . . . it's somewhat warm, with a faint hint of cripsness . . . a tiny reminder that the cold days are not too far ahead, but for today . . . the sun has decided to come out and play and we enjoy . . .

 

I love that the nights are cooler, so we can sleep better.  I love that crispness in the air . . . I love the huge variety of fresh vegetables and fruits that are now coming into their own.   Summer's last hurrah before the big sleep . . . I love that the things we eat are getting a little bit heavier . . . and warming.



Our vegetable garden actually did quite poorly this year.  We hardly got anything out of it.  The things we grew in containers did ok . . . but the stuff we put in the ground were to all intents and purposes a huge failure . . . what didn't rot the snails and slugs ate.

 

On the positive side though, our berries did beautifully!  We had a huge abundance of them, which I just loved, especially the blueberries.  They did very well, as did the raspberries.  We bought a few more plants today at the garden centre, two blueberries, two raspberries (A red and a gold this time) and another gooseberry bush.  WE love our fruit.

 

This lovely cake/traybake is a beautiful way to showcase your autumn berries.  You can use a variety like I have done here today, or you can use just one or two, whatever you have.  Currants are also lovely in this, especially the black ones.

 

A buttery moist batter, lightly spiced and rich with ground almonds, wraps itself around each little jewel like berry . . . flaked almonds sprinkled across the top get all golden brown and toasted . . . the demerara sugar which you sprinkle on just as it comes out of the oven, gives it a deliciously sweet crunch.



Altogether it makes for a very moreish tray bake I would say . . . very moreish indeed!  Perfect with some pouring cream drizzled over top . . . or served warm with ice cream.  A dollop of clotted cream perhaps???  Some lightly sweetened mascarpone???  Pick your own poison.



You will want to eat this up within two days . . . not a problem, as you'll probably find yourself going back for a second slice later on after everyone's gone back to bed . . . a la Nigel-la . . .   OK . . . so I am a glutton.

As Dorcas would say . . . "Cake . . . it's my only weakness . . ."

 

 *Autumn Berry Tray Bake*
Makes 9 to 12 servings
Printable Recipe

A delightful traybake cake filled with autumn berry goodness!!

225g of unsalted butter, room temp (1 scant cup or 15 1/2 TBS)
225g golden caster sugar (1 cup plus 2 3/4 TBS fine sugar)
4 large free range eggs
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
150g of self raising flour (1 cup plus 5 1/2 TBS)
75g ground almonds (14 TBS almond meal)
200g of  fresh berries (I used raspberries, blackberries, tayberries and blueberries)  (about 2 cups)
3 TBS flaked almonds
demerara sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter and line a 9 by 12 inch tray bake tin with baking paper.  Butter the paper.

Cream the butter and sugar  together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.  Beat in the extracts and ground spices.  Beat the eggs together and then add them a little at a time, beating them into the creamed mixture until thoroughly amalgamated.  (If the mixture begins to curdle, whisk in 1 TBS of your flour)  Whisk together the flour and ground almonds.  Fold this mixture into the creamed mixture with a large spoon, folding until no streaks of flour are visible. Gently fold in the berries.  Spread this mixture carefully into the prepared tin.  (If you have used frozen berries the batter will be quite stiff.)  Smooth over the top and then sprinkle with the flaked almonds.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and golden brown,  and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Dust lightly with demerara sugar just as you are removing it from the oven.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.  Lovely served still warm, cut into squares, dusted with icing sugar along with some pouring cream.

 

Apricots and prunes have a natural affinity for each other.  One is rich, sticky and sweet, almost toffee-like . . . the other plump and  almost tart . . . and in it's dried state . . .  nicely chewy, almost leathery.  Steep them in some tea or sherry . . . and they take on an almost angelic texture . . . most satisfyingly moreish. 

They quite simply . . . belong together . . . much like  Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy . . .



I love puddings . . . that is what they call dessert over here . . . pudding . . .  It's one of the things that I love most about this country . . . these different  little words and phrases that are used to describe the ordinary.   This word "pudding" has such a deliciously beckoning sound . . . much more so than "dessert,"  don't you think??? 

Or maybe it is just because I am from away.  It just sounds so very proper . . . so very British.  Just saying the word makes me feel like an beautiful Austinish heroine . . . hiking across the wind swept moors in the company of an equally handsome gentleman . . .  of high rank and civility of course, the chaperone trailing behind in our wake.  Most proper . . . indeed.



"I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own.  He must enter into all my feelings; the same books, the same music must charm us both." ~Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

I would like to propose here that it would also be quite impossible to be happy with a man who didn't enjoy a good pudding . . . a properly delicious  pudding . . . a pudding which strokes your sense and sensibilities . . .  and makes you sigh with delight.  (every pun intended . . . )

Nothing does that more than an individual pudding, perfectly sized just for you . . . as it were always meant just for you, no sharing allowed . . . oh well . . . perchance you could share a small bite, but that's all . . .  let's  not be totally greedy.

 

These are the perfect pudding.  Light, buttery and moist, with just a hint of spice.  Stogged full of lovely, jewel-like, almost soporific . . . tender chunks of sherry steeped apricots and prunes . . . lightly blanketed in a not too rich or decadent, but utterly sublime . . .  butterscotch sauce, with just a merest  hint of lemon flavor . . .
 


Perfect for a showery, grey and very autumnal day in late September . . .and most especially perfect for indulging in after a long walk in the cool  autumn air . . . and most certainly to be enjoyed along with a certain gentleman of the utmost repute.

"A man does not recover from such devotion of the heart to such a woman!  he ought not; he does not."
Captain Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion



 *Apricot  & Prune Puddings with a  Lemon & Butterscotch Sauce*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Delicious little cakes, buttery and moist and stogged full of chopped apricots and prunes, served with a creamy butterscotch flavoured sauce.

5 ready to eat prunes, coarsely chopped
5 ready to eat dried apricots, coarsely chopped
2 TBS medium-dry sherry
120g of unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
pinch salt
5 1/2 TBS light Muscovado sugar, packed (can use soft light brown in a pinch)
6 TBS golden caster sugar (unrefined fine sugar)
2 medium free range eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
120g self raising flour (1 cup)

For the sauce:
50g of softened butter (3 1/2 TBS)
50g of light muscovado sugar (4 TBS packed)
50g of golden syrup (2 1/2 TBS)
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
fresh lemon juice to taste (approximately 1/2 lemon)
125ml of double cream (1/2 cup heavy cream)

 

Preheat the oven to 16-*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Butter and flour 4 individual sized pudding basins, or ramekins, each holding about 1 cup.  Tap out any excess flour.  Set onto a baking tray.

Put the chopped fruits into a small bowl along with the sherry to macerate.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, a bit at a time until thoroughly amalgamated.  If the mixture starts to split or curdle, beat in a bit of the flour.  Whisk together the flour and cinnamon.  Fold this into the creamed mixture until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the macerated fruit along with any juices.  Divide the mixture evenly between the 4 prepared pudding basins.  (Don't fill any more than 2/3 full)  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly touched.

To make the sauce, gently heat the butter, sugar, and syrup over medium low heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Whisk in the vanilla paste and remove from the heat.  Whisk in the lemon juice to taste.  Whisk in the cream.  Set aside and keep warm.

Tip the puddings out into individual pudding bowls while still warm.  (Run a thin knife around the edges of them, flip them upside down over the bowls and gently tap.  They should slip right out if you have buttered and floured them properly.)  Spoon a bit of the warm sauce over each and serve immediately.

As you all know, I have been bringing Nigel to bed with me each night this week.  Ever since he fell through my letter box I haven't been able to put him down . . . seriously.  This just may be his best book yet, but then again . . . I say that every time a new one of his comes out.



I love his cookery-books because they read like a great conversation with your bestest foodie friend ever . . . I could just sit and read his prose for hours . . . but then, I get hungry so I have to put him down and high tail it into the kitchen . . . to put some of what I have read into practice you know.

 

He says he not a chef . . . and I guess technically he isn't, but he's one heck of a cook and a pretty good source of inspiration when it comes to cooking and eating. I could just eat his words and be quite happily fed . . . but the glutton in me really wants to eat his food too . . . and so I do.

 

One thing I really love about his style of cooking and his recipes is that they are profoundly inspirational . . . good solid basic skills and backbones, that . . .  with a bit of knowledge about the chemistry of food and the way flavours actually work together . . .  you can grab and run with them . . . flesh them out . . . put your own stamp on them . . .

 

One of his early September recipes is a lovely salad of plums, lentils and coppa, which is a lovely air dried Italian ham . . . (pg 357 in the book).  It sounds fabulously delicious and the picture next to the recipe looks wonderfully scrumptious . . . a plate full of lovely lentils, plums and lentils . . . with a decadent looking dressing which looks steeped in herbs just gilding a corner of it's surface . . . I look at it with longing . . . wondering what the dressing is . . . but alas . . . there is no recipe for it.



So . . . I look at his recipe, and it begins to come alive for me . . . I can almost taste the sweetness of those ripe plums against the saltiness of the ham . . . and that nutty bite and meaty texture of the Puy lentils.  It all looks and sounds so good . . . and I am craving it for our tea . . . I think about it for two days . . . and then I decide to do what I can with his recipe.



I had some lovely plums . . . not too ripe,  sweet and still firm, perfect in every way, and quite able to stand up on their own in a salad.  I didn't have any coppa . . .but I did have a nice ham hock sitting in my fridge, just begging to be used.  It may not be most people's choice as they can be a bit fatty . . . but they can also be fabulously tender and flavorful, indeed most succulent  . . . when simmered with a bit of onion, a bay leaf and some cloves . . . just  until the meat falls away from the bone.  If you let the hock cool down in the liquid, it stays all lovely and  moist.

 

I wanted a creamy dressing though . . . something more than the simple herb lemon and oil that Nigel has put into his recipe . . . something that would go well with the ham and the plums . . . and the lentils too.  A dressing that would bring an added depth to the sweetness of the plums . . . calm the saltiness of the ham . . . and really bring those nutty lentils to life.  Something that would go pow in my mouth and dance across my tongue without taking away from anything else in the salad.

 

I decided on a creamy raspberry vinaigrette . . . filled with lovely bits of garlic, basil . . . flat leaf parsley.  Some grainy dijon mustard for texture, a touch of honey for just a hint of sweetness . . . rich extra virgin olive oil, with it's light peppery quality . . . blitzed together to give a creamy emulsified dressing that would be very much at home on this salad . . . yes, it does make far much more than you need . . . but that's not really a problem.

 

I can see this dressing going very well on lots of different salads.  It will keep for about a week in the refrigerator, but I wouldn't keep it longer than that because of the fresh herbs.  You will also want to bring it to room temperature before using after storing it in the fridge.  It would be fabulous on a sweet potato salad . . . with perhaps some cranberries and toasted pecans, spring onions . . . oops . . . there I go again.  I grabbed that ball and started running.

 

In any case do try this salad.  It's not quite Nigel's, but I thank him greatly for the inspiration.  This is the perfect autumn salad . . .a wonderful marriage of color, texture  . . . and flavor.  Hearty enough to be the whole meal.

Quite, quite looking forward to the leftovers for my lunch today. ☺

 

*An Autumn Salad of Fresh Plums, Ham Hock and Lentils*
with an herbed raspberry vinaigrette
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Loosely based on a recipe from Nigel Slater. I was inspired.

1 ham hock
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
a few cloves
a bay leaf
2 cups of Puy lentils
3 cups of boiling water
1 cup dry white wine
2 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
a handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1 pound fresh FIRM ripe plums, unpeeled

For the dressing:
75ml of red wine vinegar
2 TBS raspberry vinegar2 TBS chopped fresh basil
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 TBS liquid honey
1 TBS grainy Dijon mustard
375ml of extra virgin olive oil (1 1/4 cups)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Start early in the day by cooking the ham hock.  Place it into a saucepan along with the onion, cloves and bay leaf.  Cover with boiling water.  Bring back to the boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the meat is very tender.  Allow to cool completely in the liquid.  Once it is cold, remove, discarding any liquid and peel off the fat.  Tear the ham into large chunks.

Bring the water and white wine to the boil.  Rinse the lentils under cold running water, drain, then tip them into the pot with the wine mixture.  Bring back to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. They should be tender, but not mushy, with a bit of an almost nutty bite.  Drain them well and then rinse with cold water.  Tip into a bowl, adding about 1 tsp of olive oil, tossing them to coat them with the oil.

Whisk together the red wine vinegar, raspberry vinegar and garlic with a stick blender in a tall beaker.  Tip in the herbs, mustard and honey.  Whisk again.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously until completely amalgamated.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the lentils in a large shallow salad bowl.  Add 1 TBS of the vinaigrette and toss together with the flat leaf parsley and chopped spring onions.  Wash the plums, dry with some paper kitchen toweling and then slice them in half, discarding the stones.  Slice each half into 2 or 3 wedges, depending on the size of the plums.  Gently fold them into the lentils, along with the ham hock chunks.  Add a few TBS more of the dressing, tossing gently to combine.  Sprinkle with a few coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley sprigs and serve, along with a nice crusty loaf (if desired.)

We were feeding the missionaries their supper tonight, and I wanted to bake them something scrummy for their afters. You know how I love to spoil them.



I had a punnet of plums that had arrived in my veggie box the other day and I decided to make a plum cake!



But not just any plum cake. A wholesome plum cake made with whole wheat flour and olive oil.



Moist and deliciously spicey . . . filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and ginger . . . not to mention vanilla and almond. Oh my, but this smells some good when it is baking.



But don't take my word for it . . . try some with yourself. We like ours with ice cream, but whipped cream, or creme anglaise or even creme fraiche go very . . . very . . . well.



*Whole Wheat Plum Cake*
Makes one 9 inch round cake

A delicious cake that is wholesome and stogged full of tart plums. It's spicy and moist and very toothsome!

1 pound fresh plums, stoned and cut in half
6 ounces whole wheat flour (1 1/2 cups)
7 ounces sugar (1 cup sugar)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allsmpice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
240ml of olive oil (1 cup)
3 large free range eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch cake dish and lightly dust with flour. Arrange the plums in the dish cut side up.

Whisk the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Beat together the eggs, olive oil, vanilla and almond extract. Spread this mixture over top of the plums, trying to spread it as evenly as you can and covering the plums.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until well risen anda toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cake plate. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Cut into wedges to serve. Goes great with a hot drink. We like it with cold vanilla ice cream. Nom Nom!!



Over in The Cottage today, Oven Fried Chicken.