I had an urge to bake.
Bake cakes.
This may not seem surprising for someone who likes to cook but for me it is really out of character.
I'm not a mumma baker.
I bake bread.
I bake pies.
But I don't really bake the sweet stuff.
This week I just had ideas floating in my head about little mixtures of things.
I had 2 bananas in the fruit bowl that were just a little bit too ripe for the kids and given that they still cost about $110 a kilo while the crops recover from the floods, I am not going to let them waste!
I had some Macadamias too and wanted to use them.
I was inspired by Matthew Evans lovely brownie recipe that incorporated Walnuts (go here for the Brownie recipe- believe me it's worth it!)
I had a head full of thoughts about other stuff and I needed a distraction.
Does cooking do that for you too?
It takes me to a happy place.
A place where I allow my mind to be free.
To be in the moment.
Time to breathe.
To slow down.
To be in the moment.
That is why I love it so much.
In my busy busy world of wrangling about a gazillion children it is good for me to have somewhere I can let go of it all....
So when my weird desire to bake the sweet stuff happened I let myself go with the flow.
And I reminded myself to use a lovely and very precious gift that my lovely Hubster gave me many years ago.
NOTHING beats tea that is made in a pot. A teabag just doesn't cut it. It is not just the flavour...there is something beautiful about the ritual of pouring tea from a pot. A few cultures give significant importance to tea ceremonies. I love that.
It is the slowing down.
The taking care.
The taking of a deep breath.
Morning tea that day was looking very good indeed!
It tasted very good too.
GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S BANANA & MACADAMIA LOAF:
I was really happy with the way this worked out. When I started I really wasn't sure but the result was fabulous.
I hope it works well for you too!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 2 ripe Bananas
- 2 tblspoons Golden Syrup
- 3/4 cup of Sugar
- 1 cup SR Flour
- 1/2 vanilla bean (or use 1 tspn Vanilla extract)
- 1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts, chopped coarsely
- 30g melted Butter
- 1 egg
- flaked almonds (optional)
Place the bananas in a large bowl and squish with a fork.
Add butter, egg, vanilla bean and golden syrup. Mix well.
Add flour and sugar. Stir through.
Lastly add the Macadamia nuts.
Line a loaf tin with baking paper. Pour mix into tin and sprinkle almond flakes over the top.
Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
Serve with tea from a teapot and sit quietly and enjoy.
Beautiful post. Baking sweet stuff is my favourite - other than pasta, which is very therapeutic. I plan to spend this afternoon in the kitchen, just letting go and doing something that I know the ending to.
ReplyDeleteAhhh. Making time for yourself is so important, especially when your life is totally devoted to others 98% of the time.
ReplyDeleteNothing makes me happier than baking a cake! Nice post xx
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of my favourite posts of yours. Cooking ALWAYS does that to me - it's why I don't mind cooking anything at all that I feel so inclined to but especially sweet things and bread. Like Megan said, it's a matter of starting and finishing something. It gives me the chance to think or not think and the not thinking thing is something I find really hard. Oh, and that tea set is just beautiful. I LOVE it and the fact it just belongs to you. I've been thinking of you. xxx
ReplyDeleteWhat a delicious looking loaf. Cooking transports me to a good space too. It can be very therapeutic!
ReplyDeletehello.
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