Saturday, 29 September 2012

Green tomatoes, room re-jigs and more cake





Summer is well and truly gone.  Me and the kiddos picked every last green tom from our two sun starved plants.  Even the tiny wee hard green acorn sized ones! We then made some green tomato chutney- loosely based on Nigel Slater's recipe- which you can find here.  I added a teaspoon each of cumin, coriander, turmeric and 3 teaspoons of nigella seeds- oh and one of my Dads very hot red chillies that I have stowed away in the freezer.  It came out really well and as my beloved Laurie says chutney is 'practically foolproof, it is always good and hard to ruin'.  Mine yielded two and a half good sized jars and is more akin to mango chutney with the spicing I added.  It made us feel really good to make something out of our unripe and destined for the compost heap crop.

Change around up stairs with the single bed moved from its storage place in the wee ones room to the boys room- his small wooden bed put away until the bubba moves out her cot.  She is quite taken with having some room to play and there are a lot of tea parties both real and imaginary going on in this little space.

The final of four family birthdays that happen for us in September- my husband's and after a busy, busy week that raced by at break neck speed this amazingly easy but super tasty chocolate cake saved my life- find it below;

Karen Edward's version of Buttermilk Cocoa Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350f and butter and flour a 9 by 2 inch round cake pan (or a heart one is like me you bought one specifically to make Nigella's heart cake.....)
2. Mix together 1 3/4 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
3. To these dry ingredients add 1 cup of buttermilk, 1/2 cup rapeseed oil or melted butter and two teaspoons of vanilla. Mix together.
4. Turn batter into cake pan and bake in middle of oven for 30 mins until a tester comes out clean.

(this is take from the essay Three Chocolate Cakes' in More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin. I used the American cup measure and it worked perfectly)

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12 comments:

  1. BIKBIK AND RORO29 September 2012 at 05:37

    Ooh, that chuntey looks amazing. And aw, look at those adorable red curls :)

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:44

      Thank you- the curls are very cute aren't they! Jxx

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  2. Lisa-Marie29 September 2012 at 08:12

    The chutney looks really good! I have been buying up about to go off and therefore reduced leg in supermarkets and picking everything!

    Changing bed is much a big thing!

    This cake sounds divine!

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:45

      Thanks Lisa Marie- yes the bed is a big change for wee ones! The cake in your post just now is lush too, Jxx

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  3. Rainbow Vintage Home29 September 2012 at 08:50

    I remember my mum making vats of green tomato chutney,it stank the house out while it was cooking but tasted amazing! Love your tray and that Sanna Annukka mug, she's one of my fave designers. And that cake recipe looks brilliantly easy, thanks for sharing! Hope you're having a lovely weekend, ours is full of puppy cuteness! Rachel xx

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:49

      Hi Rachel- I totally love your new wee family member! Hope you are all enjoying getting to know each other! You know I bought that mug in a shop near Kenmore in Perthshire- its a wee Finnish oasis. They sell Scandi woodburners and a small selection of itala glass, Marimekko etc. That was the last mug left and I have tried to find the other three since but they were sold out everywhere! I saw you pinned them recently. I will keep looking! Jxx

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  4. the linen cloud29 September 2012 at 13:31

    Oooh your chutney looks amazing ... yummy ... I really love the tray ... and the chocolate cake looks divine ... perfect for a long evening sitting by the fire... mug of tea in hand :) ... Bee xx

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:43

      Thanks Bee- its an Isak tray that a friend gave me- I love it too- Lots of woodland friends on it!Yes the last of the cake will be consumed like that tonight! Jxx

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  5. Gillian Roe29 September 2012 at 13:59

    You are right about chutney - it's so easy and rewarding, and you don't have to worry about it setting. I love making it - and how wonderful to use your own harvest in your cooking! Thanks for the cake recipe, it sounds very yummy. xx

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:38

      Thanks Gillian- I only got a few jars but I really quite amazed myself with how good it tastes! Its def the nigella seeds that make the flavour! Jxx

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  6. Westendmaw29 September 2012 at 14:11

    Love the picture of the green tomatoes, they match that fabric perfectly. Cake looks great too - am going to buy Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin when the new edition comes out in October - all the recipes always look so lovely. X

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    1. Unknown1 October 2012 at 12:37

      Thanks Kate- Yes you will love her books. The cake is quite amazing. So so simple, real depth of flavour, the kids actually ate loads of it and they don't usually eat chocolate cake! Jxx

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