Time to bake the Christmas cake!

I don't know about you, but I like to bake my Christmas cake at this time of year so that it has time to mature; I find the flavours mellow and blend together.  I also "feed" it by pricking the surface and pouring over a tablespoon or so of brandy every few weeks.

So, line a 9" cake tin ( I use pre-shaped paper cases that I bought in a catering shop that was closing down!), and bake my wheat free, vegan Christmas cake:

500g mixed dried fruit, I used sultanas, raisins, candied peel

125g chopped dates
25g glace cherries, chopped
4 fruit tea bags, I used mandarin and ginger
500ml boiling water
125g margarine
80g unrefined sugar
1½ tblsp molasses (45ml)
250g barley flour (or any other you choose)
125ml fruit soaking liquid
3 tblsp mixed spice

Put the dried fruit, except the cherries, into a container with the tea bags, pour over the boiling water.  Stir and leave overnight to soak.  This will ensure your cake is moist as the fruit won't be leaching up the liquid in the cake mix.

Drain off the liquid and put to one side, above you can see the plumped up fruit - compare that to what your looks like in the packet, and you'll see why it's worthwhile soaking the fruit!
Beat the margarine and sugar together, then add the molasses, soaking liquid and spice.  Sieve the flour on top.

 Stir the flour in carefully until it's well blended.

 Add the soaked fruit and the chopped glace cherries, they are usually so moist that they don't need soaking.

 Mix the fruit in so that it's evenly distributed.

 Spoon into the lined tin and level off.  This cake has no raising agents, you will have noticed, so it's not going to rise.  Bake for about 3 hours at 145C in a fan oven, about 150C, 300F or gas mark 2 if you don't have a fan oven.  Test with a skewer, and if it comes out clean, it's done, if some mixture is sticking to the skewer, give it another fifteen minutes then try again.  At this temperature it's unlikely to burn, so don't worry!

 It should look something like this when it's baked:-)  I didn't cover my cake, although many people do - I don't find it's necessary.

It's simple to make, tastes great, so what are you waiting for?

raw food, "hoummous" recipe, vegan, wheat-free, coincidences

Strange conincidences have always fascinated me.

For instance, the government introduced a scheme to train mothers who wanted to return to work in the modern computerised office when my daughter was about 8. I applied for a place, but was unsuccessful. They said if they ran another, they would contact me. 6 months later, they did just that, and I spent 10 weeks learning not to be afraid of computers, how to make them serve me! Well, that was the theory, anyway!!

In the penultimate week of the course we learned to write a good CV, including our newly won quallifications in Word+ and other such archaic things. We were also obliged to apply for at least one job advertised in the local paper. I applied for, and got, one of the best jobs of my life, working in a primary school office.

If I'd got a place on the first course, I probably would have ended up somewhere else, and missed out on so much fun and valuable experience around the children I love so much. As it was, I started out working nine and a half hours a week, the only person who could use the new computer on which all ordering was soon to be done. As you can guess, it wasn't long before all pupil data, personnel data etc etc was computerised. I was promoted after just four months, and over the next couple of years became the school Bursar, or office manager. I stayed for 16 and a half years, only retiring to go to uni as a full time mature student. I loved that place.

So, coincidences are great.

Today, I was flicking through some raw food sites, and saw a recipe for "hummous". Only, of course, it wasn't hoummous as I know and love it, it was all raw. As it was coming up to lunch time, I went into the kitchen and made it.

Well, I say I made it, but of course, you never have exactly what the recipe needs, do you? I'd got most of it though, so here's what I did. I liquidised:

2 medium courgettes, well scrubbed
a good handful of pitted black olives, drained
1 small pickled gherkin
2 cloves of garlic
a pinch of dried chilli flakes
2 tablespoons of tahini
1 avocado (which replaced the olive oil in the original recipe - I had loads of avocados, and not much oil, that's all)
good handful of linseeds
pinch of salt

the recipe also called for some cumin, but I didn't have any in my spice box!!! I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it?

It came out a sludgy colour, but tasted great. I ate it over some falafels, and put the rest in the fridge.

The coincidence - no, I hadn't forgotten that's what I was chattering about, even though you thought I had - is, that I've just got a new (second-hand) wheat-free cookery book. (I was given it through the freecycle group - I gave her 2 jackets I don't wear any more!). As I was flicking through the recipes, what did I see, but a reciep entitled warm courgette and cumin dip! The ingredients are very similar to the above, but the courgettes are lightly fried before blending. Now I'll have to try that too :) Life can be so hard!

Maybe you'll try it, and enjoy it too. It doesn't, in my opinion, replace that lovely warm flavour of chickpeas in the real deal, but it is good :)