Grief control. Knitting, cakes and chicken tray bakes

Grief. It’s a strange thing. Different very time. Why did I think I’d feel the same after my dad died as I would after my mum did?

I guess it is (blessed) inexperience. But it has been so much harder.

Anyway. I’m out the other side of (most of) it now. And I have a very neglected blog.

I haven’t been sewing as much as normal. But I have been doing some cooking and knitting.

So. Let me tell you about it. Starting with the cakes first because my dad had a sweet tooth.

The cakes

Lemon and ricotta cake

Delicious on its own or with blackberry and strawberry compote and ice cream as a dessert.

• 250g unsalted butter, diced and softened
• 220g (1 cup) caster sugar
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 250g ricotta
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 220g almond flour
• 75g (1/2 cup) SR flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan). Grease a 23 cm springform pan and line the base with paper
2. Cream butter and sugar with zest until pale and creamy
3. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between
4. Beat in ricotta, a little at a time
5. Whisk almond flour, flour, baking powder and salt separately
6. Reduce speed, add vanilla, the dry ingredients and lemon juice to the mixture, and mix until combined
7. Whisk egg whites separately until stiff peaks form and then carefully fold egg whites into cake mixture
8. Spoon into tin, smooth surface and bake 50-60 minutes

This delicious moist cake recipe is from David Herbert’s column in the 25-26 July 2020 issue of the Weekend Australian magazine.

 

Persian love cake

This is a super easy gluten free cake that is deliciously moist and with fabulous spicing. Super pretty too, especially when you fortuitously have Persian fairy floss in your pantry and use it for decoration!

Adapted from Poh Bakes 100 Greats

• 300 g (3 cups) almond flour
• 185 g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 220 g (1 cup) firmly packed soft brown sugar
• 120 g (generous 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 250 g Greek-style yoghurt
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons rosewater
• 4 tablespoons flaked almonds
• 4 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan).
2. Grease a 24 cm springform pan and line the base with paper.
3. Combine the almond flour, caster sugar, brown sugar and melted butter in a food processor until you have an even, sandy consistency.
4. Divide the mixture in two and tip half into the pan. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the eggs, yogurt, salt, cardamom, and rosewater to the remaining crumb mixture and whisk until there are no lumps.
6. Pour over the crumb base and sprinkle the flaked almonds and pistachios over the top.
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes

Serve this cake with a dollop of Greek yoghurt – it helps balance out the sweetness

The pistachio and almond topping makes this cake very attractive. No need for pink fairy floss to make it pretty – it already is!

 

The chicken tray bakes

Moroccan chicken tray bake

This is another one of David Herbert’s recipes from the Weekend Australia Magazine – the 13-14 June 2020 issue.

• 4 tablespoons harissa paste
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6-8 chicken pieces (David recommends skinless thighs – I’ve made this a couple of times, every time with something different – skin-on Marylands, skin-on thighs and skinless chicken chops – all good)
• 2 red onions, quartered
• 2-4 zucchini, cut into 2 cm slices
• 8 capsicum pieces from a jar
• 50g whole blanched almonds  (I used flaked)
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley (I just picked the leaves off)

Couscous

• 175g (1 cup) instant couscous
• zest  half lemon
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• seeds from half a pomegranate
• 2 tablespoons sultanas ( I used currants)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (fan)
2. Mix harissa and vinegar in a large bowl.
3. Add chicken pieces, onion  and zucchini and gently mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer to a large roasting pan and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, turning halfway.
5. Add capsicum and almonds and cook a further 10 minutes or until chicken is tender
6. Meanwhile, make couscous:
   • Put couscous in heat proof bowl and add 350mL boiling water, stir, then cover and leave for 5-7 minutes.
   • Stir through Zest, garlic and herbs; drizzle with oil
   • Add pomegranate seeds and sultanas and toss well
   • Season with salt and pepper
7. Scatter chicken with parsley and serve with couscous and lemon wedges (I made a space in the roasting pan, piled the couscous in, added lemon wedges and served it straight from the pan)

I highly recommend this – so simple and yet so delicious. It is almost my favourite chicken tray bake recipe.

Sheet pan chicken tikka

This queen of all tray bakes from Smitten Kitchen is still my favourite.

The version below is double the recipe (recipe serves 4) and so well and truly smothered in coriander and pickled red onion that you wouldn’t know there was chicken and potato and cauliflower underneath.

• For the chicken
  • 4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 fresh green chili seeded and minced
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 kg chicken thighs or drumsticks (skin-on, bone-in)
• For the vegetables
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 potatoes, peeled if desired, cut into 2 cm chunks
  • 1 small cauliflower, cut into 2 cm-wide florets
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• To finish, if desired
  • A few thin slices of red onion
  • Lemon wedges
  • Salt
  • Dollops of yogurt
  • A few tablespoons roughly chopped coriander, parsley or mint

1. Combine ginger, garlic, fresh chili, yogurt, salt, and spices  in bowl. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly. Let marinate for 15 minutes or up to a day, covered, in the fridge.
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
3. Add potatoes, cauliflower, salt, cumin and olive oil to the roasting pan and toss together with your hands until evenly coated.
4. Remove chicken from marinade and leave excess behind. Make spaces in the vegetables for chicken parts throughout the pan.
5. Roast in oven for 20 minutes, then toss the potato and cauliflower to ensure they’re cooking evenly, and return the pan to the oven for 10 to 20 minutes more (i.e. 30 to 40 minutes total roasting time), until chicken and vegetables are cooked through.
6. While it roasts, if you’d like to use lightly pickled onion rings on top ( it adds colour and a nice tangy fresh zip to the dish) separate the rings and toss them in a small bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Set aside until needed.
7. When chicken and vegetables are cooked, top with dollops of yogurt, herbs and scattered the above onion rings all over.
8. Serve right in the pan.

Truly delicious!

 

The knitting

This winter I finished off two long term WIPs.

A cable hat

This is from Moda Vera Mawson yarn and the pattern was on the ball band.

Memorable mostly for my daughter’s delight in the truly terrible photos of me modelling it (actually I have to admit that it was a lot of fun taking these photos).

But also memorable because I finished this off in the hospice at the bedside of my beloved father. Plus I used a cute label from KATM.

A lacy shrug

This one was started on holiday in Yorkshire – that’s Richmond castle in the background! It’s the wrap from pattern #5954 in Wendy Aran with Wool yarn, both purchased in a little shop in the middle of Leicester.

Happy holiday vibes to this one.

I don’t have any ‘good’ modeled shots of me wearing this (this is as good as it gets), but it was worn a lot WFH over winter. It is one of those great things to add for a little bit of extra warmth whilst sitting in a chilly home office.

The sewing

I know. Its time to get back to sewing…

Coming to the blog soon..

Zucchini fritters with salmon, lemon slice and orange muffins. All gluten free

Are you lucky enough to have a group of likeminded sewers, creative knitters, crocheting geniuses, embroidery queens and other crafty people to share your obsessions with?

I am. And they are fabulous.

My group has a very healthy emphasis on delicious food and wonderful conversation as well as endless cups of tea and craftiness. One of the crafty people is a coeliac, so gluten free food is the go.

This is what we enjoyed this week:

Zucchini fritters with smoked salmon

Ingredients

• 4 cups grated zucchini (about 3 small to medium sized zucchini)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup gluten free flour
• oil and/or butter for shallow frying (we used a mixture of both)

1. Drain the zucchini in a strainer for 10 minutes then place in a clean dish towel and wrap up tightly and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. It’s amazingly green! Yay for chlorophyll! (mix the green juice with the left over lemon juice from the other things you’re cooking, drink it and feel like a super hero)
2. Add zucchini and the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Drop and flatten slightly a spoonful of batter onto hot pan

4. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until browned. Even better, get He who Cooks to cook the fritters. If he is wearing his favourite old green jumper, even better, it looks great in the photos.

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5. Place cooked fritters onto a plate lined with a paper towel then continue with the rest of the batter.

6. Enjoy immediately with sour cream and smoked salmon, garnished with coriander or refrigerate the leftovers and scoff the next day while you’re cooking dinner.

Makes 12. (I made 1.5 times the recipe because I had lots of zucchini. That’s why I had leftovers)

Recipe from sugar free mom

Lemon and Coconut Slice

It’s winter in Australia. My sister in law is over run with lemons. I had to make a lemon slice! Lucky I love anything with citrus. Yes pity my poor family and friends.

• Crust
  5 T coconut oil
  3 T maple syrup
  2 cups shredded coconut
  1 cup almond flour
  1 pinch salt
  2 egg whites (save the yolks for the lemon curd)
  
• Filling
  3 eggs + 2 egg yolks
  6 T maple syrup( or if you run out like I did, 1 T maple sypup and 5 T honey)
  1/3 cup lemon juice + 1 T zest (around 2 lemons)
  1/3 cup almond flour
  

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
   
2. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan on low heat. Add maple syrup, shredded coconut, almond flour and salt. Stir around until everything is combined. Remove from the heat.
   
3. Crack two eggs, save the egg yolks for later and add the whites to the sauce pan while stirring. Keep stirring for about a minute. The mixture should be quite sticky now.
   
4. Line a 30×20 cm baking dish with baking paper and pour the coconut mixture into it. Use your hands, a spatula or the backside of a spoon to flatten it out. Press it down firmly so it becomes quite compact.
   
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes
   
6. Beat the eggs and the 2 egg yolks until frothy. Add the rest of the ingredients. Beat for two more minutes.
   
7.  Pour the mixture over the baked crust in the baking dish. Bake for around 16-19 minutes or until edges are light brown and center is set. Let cool for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing up the bars.
   
8. Cut into roughly 3 x 3 cm rectangles. Dust with icing sugar.
   

Recipe from  green kitchen stories

Yummy moist little orange cakes

This is my boiled orange almond cake that I make. All. The. Time. ( ask my long suffering family). This time I baked it in muffis cases and topped with He Who Cooks’ fabulous almond brittle: flaked almonds cooked in a pan with butter and sugar. Quantities? Don’t ask? He never measures).

I love this recipe!